The study approaches the short story of Sándor Tar, “Szilvia” with two specific aims. The first is scientific, to identify the linguistic components of the short story and to interpret its language and narration. The analysis is also about how the short story reflects on the literary tradition, especially the tradition of the initiation-stories and the short stories of Ferenc Móra from the beginning of the 20th century. The second aim is educational: to show how a certain literary analysis can be applied in schools.