Analyse af Anna Hopes novelle 'A Gap of Sky'

How we form and structure our life is self-elected. We have the freedom to make our own decisions. We may swim with the current but we follow it in our own personal way. We are all dealing with personal issues which some times make our life a living hell. Opposition sometimes turns life into one big mess, but we all need it in our lives. With opposition we can be aware of things that we wouldn’t appreciate if we didn’t have opposition in life. Suddenly we see things clearly and we love them more than ever before.

The short story “A Gap of Sky” written by Anna Hope in 2008, deals with the issues of a nineteen-year-old girl. The short story takes its beginning in media res where our main character finds herself in an unhealthy and chaotic environment filled with alcohol, drugs and essay deadlines. Ellie our main character is living away from her parents in London. Ellie’s character is wild and confused. She misses a sort of guide to show her the right direction, since she seems to be easily persuaded. Ellie wakes up from a wild night in the city with only a vague memory of what happened. One thing she remembers is saying a name out loud. “…And then getting up and saying, “Virginia Woolf!” very loudly in the middle of the room. And everyone laughing…”. Ellie is aware of the essay deadline, and it fills up her mind. The fact that Anna Hope has chosen Virginia Woolf to be a part of her short story shows that there exists a sort of connection between the two characters. Virginia Woolf’s writing is written in “a stream of consciousness”. The books of Virginia Woolf are dealing with the person’s thoughts and feelings. Beside that her work is very experimental and innovating. Virginia Woolf was a woman fighting with her personal issues but anyhow she managed to find the strength to overcome the issues and to become a success. Through the text we learn how Ellie reacts in certain situations, and how Ellie and Virginia Woolf have some similarities. Ellie’s character also has a lot of inner strength. She wants to write the essay, not only because of the deadline but also to fulfill her parents’ expectations.