Analyse af 'Sorry for the Loss'

Death is a controversial subject, and it is virtually impossible to predict a person’s reaction to a sudden death in the family. In the short story “Sorry for the Loss” from 2008 Evie faces this problem, as she must deliver a death notice to a prisoner regarding the death of his grandmother.

The short story “Sorry for the Loss” has a typical short story composition, as it introduces the main characters Evie and Victor very quickly. It starts in media res with the quote: “Evie has to tell Victor his Nan is dead (l 1), where the plot of the short story is also revealed. Unlike the typical short story, “Sorry for the Loss” does not have an open ending.

The short story has a third person, limited narrator and proceeds chronological. The narrator only has access to the thoughts of Evie and not the remainder of the participating characters, which gives a significantly better identification with the protagonist, Evie. We know all of her intensions and her opinion on various subjects. This short story has the postmodern trait of giving the readers the authority to make their own impressions and conclusions on different situations. However, the reliable narrator gives some consistent truth to the short story, which simplifies the interpretation for the readers. The narrator portrays the persons and describes the events impartially and without any prejudices. Because of the limited narrator our knowledge of Victor’s inner self and emotions is learned through his conversations and actions. Victor appearance is described thoroughly, and he is described as a good-looking boy (l 75) with sparky eyes (l 79), olive skin, (l 79) blue eyes (l 79-80) and beautiful white teeth (l 136). Victor does not fit the typical prisoner profile, as he seems well educated, intellectual and curious about transcendent phenomena. He shows interest in Shakespeare (l 101) and the Qur’an (l 121), and earns Evie’s and the readers’ respect and sympathy. Evie and we show sympathy towards Victor because he values and focuses on the non-materialistic things. However, this compassion for Victor is completely neglected when we learn that he is a murderer.