Analyse af novellen 'A gap of sky'

In the modern society, young people are exposed to an infinite amount of pressure. They are expected to dress in a certain way, be confident and popular and be sure of what they want in life. When the pressure begins to weigh too much and the anxiety of failing comes crawling, it is only natural to want to get away for a while. In the short story “A gap of sky”, we encounter an example of how a young girl is caught in the dilemma between other people’s expectations and her own desires.

The story begins in medias res and has no intension of concealing the harsh fact that we are dealing with a young woman who wakes up after a night with an overload of drugs and alcohol. It doesn’t take long before you are aware that the main character Ellie is feeling lost and alone in life. This is shown through a third-person narrator, with an insight in Ellie’s thoughts and feelings. “Her chest hurts. The room is cold. It is warm under the duvet though, and meaty smelling.”(l.11) This narrative technique brings you closer to Ellie and makes you sympathize with her. Besides the fact that you get to hear her thoughts, the language has a certain effect on the story. With swearwords and occasionally comments, it fits the behavior of Ellie and brings the story down to a realistic and rough level. Because of the use of a very observant narrator, you feel like the lid has been taken off anything that could have relevance to the story, which also from time to time can make it a bit confusing. Every situation is delineated by Ellie’s thoughts, which are rather distractive and fitful on impact of ingesting drugs – she changes her focus constantly.