Hur kan jag förbättra min text?
Hej! Jag har jobbat så otroligt mycket med min novellanalys i engelska 7 men nu kommer jag inte längre. Jag ska analysera karaktärens utveckling genom novellen men jag är så dålig på det här med att analysera. Jag vore jättetacksam på tankesätt eller frågor man kan ställa sig för att bättre förstå begreppet.
Short story analysis
The story takes place on a day in Nita’s life where an intruder comes into her home she has shared with her now dead husband. It is a story about grief and individuality, with an interesting protagonist who at first seems broken and lost in her new life.
Character development
In the beginning of the story, the protagonist Nita seems to be struggling with her husband's sudden passing.
”She hadn’t had time to wonder about his being late. He’d died bent over the sidewalk sign that stood in front of the hardware store offering a discount on lawnmowers. He hadn’t even managed to get into the store. He’d been eighty-one years old and in fine health, aside from some deafness in his right ear. His doctor had checked him over only the week before.” (Munro, 2008)
Nita is an elderly woman with terminal cancer. In the beginning of the story the reader learns about her and her husband Rich, how they met and how they lived. Their story is mainly told with fondness but Nita does not seem overly emotional over Rich’s death. Instead the tone in the above quote about his passing can be interpreted as grim and accusing, as if she is angry about him dying. The way the author highlights the fact he had seen his doctor just a week before adds to the interpretation of Nita finding it unfair and upsetting.
”She gets out of bed early and washes herself and dresses in anything that comes to hand. But she does dress and wash, and she brushes her teeth and combs her hair, which has grown back decently, gray around her face and dark at the back, the way it was before. She puts on lipstick and pencils her eyebrows, [...] She sits in her usual ample armchair, with piles of books and unopened magazines around her.” (Munro 2008)
This could be interpreted as if Nita is trying to move on and she is doing what she is supposed to. Getting dressed and looking after herself. But she has not truly moved on, it is as if she is stunned by her husband's death and now she is only existing. The days go on but her life is empty, she sits in her armchair but she does not read any of her books or magazines, they remain unopened.
When the intruder starts to act threatening, again it seems as if Nita is not quite reacting. She is calm and does not reveal any emotions to the reader, until the below pivotal moment:
”Because she was frightened. Certainly. Her cancer was not going to be any help to her at the present moment, none at all. The fact that she was going to die within a year refused to cancel out the fact that she might die now.” (Munro 2008)
This is the first time the reader learns about Nita's emotions. She finally realises she is frightened and she is awakened from the daze she has been in. She wants to get away from the dangerous situation and she starts working on her story to make sure she gets away safely from her intruder. Following this moment, Nita doesn’t just get away unscathed but she also gets in touch with her feelings of missing her dead husband and she can start to mourn him “Rich. Rich. Now she knew what it was to miss him. Like having the air sucked out of the sky.” (Munro, 2008).
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