Analyse af Maggie Cobbetts novelle 'Not Wanted'

Immigration is a crucial topic for several countries and societies, especially nowadays. Immigration involves moving to a new country to stay and live there. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants travel, legally and illegally, to other countries for a variety of reasons. Some people seek a better life due to persecution or war, others are motivated for employment opportunities, educational purposes, or to reunite with loved ones. The individual who immigrates to another country is of course bound to be cast in a different cultural setting. However, immigrants are often categorized in their new presence because of their place of origin and their local culture, determining and maybe even increasing the cultural difference, which can make it hard for the immigrant to adapt to the new environment and develop new relations. This seems to be the case in Maggie Cobbett’s short story “Not Wanted”, where the young Turkish boy, Osman, decides to immigrate illegally to England to meet his love, Liz.

The short story follows a flashback plot since Osman recalls the events that brought him to his current setting in England: “His life had come full circle from the little hotel back home in Turkey to this squalid Leeds basement…” (lines 1-3). The first part of the story took place in Turkey in his hometown Iskenderun, where he had his love affair with the British lady Liz. The second part takes place in England, where he confronts Liz and finds out the hard truth. The short story is narrated in the past tense followed by a third-person narrator, who is bound to Osman’s perspective which gives us access to his thoughts and feelings: “Osman's pride would neither allow him to plead nor to stay a moment longer in a house where he was so obviously not wanted.” (lines 124-126). Consequently, we do not receive any form of feelings or thoughts from Liz.