In the short story “Blink and You miss it” (1997) by Alex Garland, an unnamed narrator reflects over his life and an episode in South Asia which landed him in jail. The reflection is triggered by an illusion of his next-door neighbour’s son back in England. Sammy who in the illusion is five-year-old is, in the opinion of the narrator, still packed with common sense. The narrator recalls that he was just as careful once, but has changed with time. The short story now jumps to an episode on a beach in South Asia where the narrator is picked randomly by the beach guru who has conspired with the cops, so that the guru’s dealers are able to sell drugs at the big full moon party. With a blink of an eye the narrator is on the ground being handcuffed and now 5 years later still in prison.
Analytical essay
The path to adulthood is often the most difficult period in life. During adolescence you tend to not realize the consequences decisions you make may have. Which can put you on a rite of passage that changes your whole life. Putting your trust with the wrong people can easily lead you to saturations you can’t get out of. In the short story “Blink and you miss it” (1997) by Alex Garland we follow a young guy who puts his faith into the wrong hands resulting in him being sent to jail where he 5 years later reflects on how he ended up this way The main character is looking at himself 5 years ago as a seventeen-years-old drug user from England. The event in the story takes place in South Asia and the narrator is now in jail in a Buddhist country. He describes himself as “an abject free-fall” but also as one who once was a better kid with common sense “At five, I was certainly the kind of kid who looked both ways before crossing the road”. He talks about how he sees himself in his English neighbours’ son, Sammy. Which leads me to assume that the narrator is himself a boy. We also read about how he was naïve and not careful about who he was trusting. That we can see here “I should have tapped on the driver’s window and told him to pull over. Got off the truck and walked home. And the idea did cross my mind, but at the same time I was imagining the reactions of everyone when I got back. So I kept my mouth shut”. He is underestimating the consequences to come and being naïve to think he can trust the beach guru. The title is a hint for the reader that something in the story will change as fast as a blink of an eye. As you follow the narrator’s story the title becomes a metaphor for how a small and apparently insignificant decision in his life changed everything as fast as a blink of an eye. The composition of the short story is a circular narrative. As we start reading, we get introduced to Sammy and the concept of common sense, free-fall and how it’s all connected to your age. From here the narrator jumps into the reason for his arrest in the form of a flash-back. At the end the text circles back to Sammy, and how he has to be careful not to end up like the narrator: “How’s your common sense? Watch out for that, Sam!”. Here the narrator warns Sammy not to lose his common sense as part of adolescence. Not to become like the narrator. “Blink and You Miss It” is set in the nineties in South Asia in a Buddhist country and with places like “Goa or Koh Phangan”. Knowing that and that one of the authors other books “The Beach” is set in Thailand. We can assume that this story is set in Thailand too. Thereby the sentence the narrator got must be lifetime or close to lifetime, if it took place in Thailand.If we look at the setting, we can see a circular form as in the composition. The setting in the jail, at the hippie community which chances into his arrest and we end in the setting in the jail again. Physical setting there are 2 main settings that are described. First it is in the beginning of the flash-back where the narrator tells us about the beach where the hippies’ community resides “So, sunny day, on a beach, and I was sitting in a circle of people. In the centre sat the beach guru”. Secondly, we get a glimpse of the docks in town where the drugs were supposed to be bought but instead it’s his arrest that takes place. “Not where the ferry came in, but where the fishing boats dropped their catch. … Lots of dirt and confusion, people shouting rushing around with crates, easier to pass unnoticed”. In the short story we also find multiple social settings. For example when the narrator illustrates drugs and the attractive image of a guru brought people together. Despite the fact that the guru is not a genuine spiritual guide, they were still fascinated by his figure and looked up to him. As we can read here “Centre of the organization, … the beach guru.” and in the way the guru can do “eeny meeny miny…” and pick whomever to do whatever for him and they’ll do it without any question. Furthermore the story also illustrates the way drugs can affect hippie ideals of peaceful communal living. When the drugs became scarce after the raid of the police, they changed behaviour from a sharing caring community to competitive individuals : “And all the hippy sharing ideals went straight out the window. Those that had, hoarded, and those that not, hung around like jackals hoping for scraps of the lion’s kill”The short story also gives us insight to an aspect of society in Thailand. Here the law enforcement forces are corrupt and well-aware of drug dealing. The police just needed someone to arrest, a randomly picked scapegoat, in order to look the other way and let the drug dealing continue. On the other side we also hear of the English society, represented by Sammy and his parents, where common sense and politeness are dominating values. The main theme of “Blink and You Miss It” is adolescence/growing up and while doing so making seemingly small insignificant decisions that suddenly changes your life. From being a normal senseful child to being imprisoned reflecting about the warning signs he should have seen. Going into adulthood is a scary road. Teenagers start to be on their own for the first time and therefore it is easier to make wrong choices. When the narrator chose to be in a drug community, he made his first bad decision. On top of that he trusted and put his future into the hands of the beach guru with no consideration. That’s what landed him in jail. Therefore decisions likewise is what the narrator hopes Sammy won’t end up making. Since he sees Sammy as a reflection of himself. Even though you are a good kid in the beginning of life you have to be caseous. Because when your common sense starts disappearing and you come to the stage of free-fall it doesn’t matter how you are as a five-year-old. One wrong decision can take your whole life away … with a blink of an eye.
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