Skribentens beskrivelse af Monster under the bed
Growing up with an ill parent can be stressful for many logic reasons. The illness of a parent can cause damaged relationships that will end up having a big impact on both confidence and mental health. Children can be overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety, guilt, fear, isolation and even anger for some. These emotions can end up affecting relationships with friends and loved ones. It can also create scars that will show themselves on the journey of adulthood. In the short story “Monster under the bed” by Lezanne clannachan from 2011, we meet the main character, Eddie. His meeting with a stranger, and his walk around London's streets becomes a walk through his own mind and conscience.
The short story is written in third person. The narrator knows what the main character thinks and feels. Eddie is a fifteen-year-old boy, who lives with his ill mother. Because of his mother's illness, and it pushing his father away, Eddie fills in his father’s role. “She’s not well. She needs me.”? (p.3 l.11) Eddie is his mother's caretaker. “.... when he fetches her rug, brushes her hair, rubs her feet.” (p.3 l.15-16) Being that Eddie’s mother fears Eddie loving someone more than her, and also fears going outside, it restricts Eddie’s freedom. (p.5 l. 16-21) Eddie has because of his mother, left his dearly loved dog for dead and ended a relationship with his girlfriend. This indicates how extreme his mother's illness is. Even though Eddie cares for his mother, he still gets overwhelmed by feelings such as fear, isolation and anger. (p. 3 l.16) The anger stems from him not being able to live the normal and happy life that he really wants to, but also him having to do terrible things for his mother's wellbeing.
The short story takes place in Waterloo station. The events span over one evening. The exact time of the short story is not mentioned, but we assume that the story was set around of the time of publishing. Because of Eddie being very observant of his surroundings, it seems like it is his first time being out in the public alone, because of his mother preventing him from that. (p. 2 l. 23) At the train station, Eddie meets Angie. Angie is older than Eddie, since she has to children at home. (p. 3 l.10) Angie is a very kind, vivacious and understanding lady. She really listens to Eddie, and lets him speak out about his issues. (p.5 l.17) This tells us Angie is a very compassionate person. The dialogue between Angie and Eddie is limited, because we do not hear how Angie feels, or what she thinks. Eddie seems to be a calm, tolerant and non-aggressive boy. (p.1 l. 9) Eddie walks with a hood as a symbol of being shut and inside his own world. (p.1 l.16) He is very considerate about his ill mother. As mentioned before Eddie shuts himself in and doesn’t meet new people and hardly sees those he knows. His world is shrinking and the anxiousness about his mother's illness does not.
The main themes of the short story are fear and family relationships. The author’s message is that parents’ problems influence their children. Eddie’s relationship with his mother really illustrates how a parent’s illness influences the child. Eddie is deprived of his teenage years. He can not go to football practice or even maintain his relationship with his girlfriend. The other theme, fear, is shown in the title. The “monster under the bed” is usually fictitious creatures that children make up. However, the story is not only about a child’s fear, but also about a mother’s fear of going outside. To make her son fully understand her fear, the mother uses the similarity of the monster under the bed that Eddie feared when he was younger. (p.4 l. 5-6)
There really is no such thing as the perfect family. Every family is unique with its own ups and downs. Just like with Eddie and his mother, families can be overwhelmed by huge upheavals. Since Eddie’s mother is very timid, it shows how we as humans fear what we do not know. What the author underlines in this story is that maybe we should not be so scared all the time, and learn to gain more confidence in ourselves. We should not let our fears control our lives. Because a life where we stay inside hiding, from what we fear, is a unhappy life. Also if parents can not be good examples for their kids, it is common for something uncommon to initiate within the family.
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