Analyse af 'The Death of Tommy Grimes'

The short story “The death of Tommy Grimes” is written by R.J. Meaddough and concerns the meaning of going from boyhood to manhood. It is clear to see that R.J. Meaddough has some experience with the outdoor life and therefore creates some realistic and tense pictures in our heads. The story takes place in Mississippi where the main character, Tommy’s father is pushing his son Tommy into a state of mind that he needs to prove his manhood. Tommy must hide the fact that he is may not is ready for the next stage in his life. Tommy welling to do anything for his father’s acknowledgment gives the story a wild twist at the end of the story.

The story takes place in Mississippi during the slave period which was known as a tough slavery environment at that time. It was the time with male dominance and you did not have the opportunity to be a teenager. As said in the introduction the author R.J Meaddough has experience with the outdoor hunting life. “They felt like sticks of wood, stilts that somebody had glued on his legs. An ant left the ground and started climbing his arm until he blew, softly, blew the ant into some brave new world”. That is well described in the text. The way he goes down in detail gives the reader the feeling that they are there with Tommy and his dad.