Analyse af 'Stone Cold' af Robert Swindells

The book, Stone Cold, got two main characters, Link and Shelter. Link had a fair life, until his mother gets a new boyfriend called Vince. Vince isn’t treading Link probably and that’s why, Link ran away to London. In London he meet’s a homeless called Ginger. Ginger teaches Link, how to survive on the streets.

Once Shelter was in the army, but he got kicked out because he’s mentally unstable. He plans to kill homeless people; he tries not to make any pattern so he can’t get tracked down.Shelter kills Ginger in his apartment. Shortly after Link, meets Gail. Shelter invites Link up to his apartment and tries to kill Link, but Gail had called the police and they save Link, at the end, Gail tells Link that she is actually a reporter studying homelessness. Moreover Link thinks that it’s unfair Shelter gets a roof over his head and a hot meal and Link gets nothing – living on the streets of London, cold and hungry.

Personally, I feel the most sympathy for Link definitely rather than Shelter. Although, people may feel sorry for Shelter because he was kicked out the army and has gone mad. I can’t really do this because he chose to become insane and is a psychopath for killing people for no reason. Shelter is crazy and even found the process funny of murdering his victims. But, I do feel the most sympathy for Link because he didn’t want to be homeless, as his step dad forced him to be that way and it certainly was not his fault. It was also unfair for him because he couldn’t get a job, as he says “…no-one would employ me.” He also lost his closest friends, nearly got killed, lost his watch to someone, but he did not do anything wrong with his life. In the end, he did not get a ‘happy ending’ like most stories do and carried on being homeless, instead of getting a house or anything at all. Robert Swindells did not make it a happy ending - probably to demonstrate what really happens as a homeless person. So he makes you feel sympathy and the reader may realize all the problems one homeless person may go through – as they are ignored by the society and looked at as a lower class citizen.