Analyse af Shirley Goldens novelle 'The Right Time to Fly'

Have you ever felt, that your job is wrong for you? Do you think a career shift is too late? The protagonist Marcus in this short story experience both feelings, but mostly because of the influence inflicted by a woman called Suzy. The same woman is also the reason, why Marcus gets a new view of the world. This short story “The Right Time to Fly” is written by Shirley Golden, who is a young American author, living in the UK.

The settings of this short story takes place in a landfill, which in Marcus eyes it is a rather hopeless place. Suzy has quite a different view of the landfill, she believes it is a matter of perspective. She finds beauty even in waste, where other peoples would just see some old junk, as seen in the following quote: (““Look.” She points to the side of the heap. Wires spiral like springs from a broken clock. Imbedded in the tangle is a radiator halffolded, its corners point towards the sky. “It’s like a pair of wings, waiting for release, for the right time to fly,” she says.” (page 11, line 112-115)).

The Narrator in this short story is third-person, who renders the story from Marcus` view of point. This can be seen, as we hear his thoughts and observations: (“Marcus glances at his watch and heads into the yard. The cranes are giant birds, petrified in mid-flight.” (page 9, line 32-33)).