Analyse af 'Monsters under the bed' af Lezanne Clannachan

The most important thing for a child is to be a child with no responsibility. A child’s childhood has to involve care and safety. It’s the parents who are supposed to take care of their children in both negative and positive situations. When the roles switch from the parents being the caretaker to the child, suddenly something unnatural initiates. The short story “Monsters under the bed” by Lezanne Clannachan concerns a young 15-year-old boy called Eddie, who takes care of his mentally ill mom. One day in London Waterloo train station Eddie is waiting on the train to take him home, to his mom when a woman initiates a small talk with him.

The short story takes place in London Waterloo train station where the events take out span over one evening. The setting plays an important part in the plot of the short story. In the beginning, the train station is like an escape for Eddie, almost like he’s free e.g., “Above him, the glass ceiling of Waterloo station' soars away. The space makes him dizzy. Feels like he's inside a giant hot-air balloon flying close to the sun.” (l. 1-3). But then the time goes on, he remembers that he has to go home to his sick mother. So even the station loses its charm.