On the Island Essay

The fear of getting older usually comes when we think about our life and future. When we get older we get less social responsibilities. How can we enjoy life, without feeling alone or “not needed”? In the short story “On the island”, which was published in 1992 in Scotland, Doris is on a mission to find the answer. The majority of the story is presumably set during the summertime on the island Tiree. The island is located off the west coast of Scotland. This fact tells us, that the rest of the story maybe is set in a bigger city in Scotland. A third person narrator, who limits himself to Doris’ thoughts and feelings, narrates this story. The fact that Doris has a grown up son and his indirect mentioning of her way of growing up in the beginning, “It is a different world from when you were young, Mum” (ll. 13-14), indicates that she is an older woman. Despite her age she is very independent, but seems more like a quiet type of person. She can start a conversation with a stranger if she is motivated and interested to do so, but mostly she refrains from answering or even listening to some of the remarks towards her. Her relationship with her son, John, and his wife, Annette, is very important to the understanding of the short story. The passage “They saw several more beaches that Doris wanted to explore on foot, but she was imprisoned in the backseat” (ll. 41-43), introduces “imprisoned” as one of the important keyword when describing her situation. Her happiness clearly isn't John and Annette's first priority anymore. They see her as a nuisance that needs to be taken care of and try to make it easier for themselves by always keeping an eye on her, e.g. through the rearview mirror. Some might assume that she is seriously ill by the way she is treated by her own family, but because of nothing about illness is mentioned in the text, this probably isn't the case. They pretend to look out for her with such intensity, that it isn’t for their own advantage later, as they’re planning to sell her house so they buy a better house for themselves. The title “On the island” itself has a relation to the Robinsonade genre. It is characteristic for these stories to play around someone who is stranded somewhere, e.g. “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe. Doris is determined to proposes her plan to move to Tiree on their way home. Of cause it is met with anger, since it interferes with John and Annette’s own plans. Page 1/2