'A Christmas Fairy Tale' af Penelope Lively, analyse

Write a summary of a "Christmas Fairy Tale" by Penelope Lively

This story is about two people: Sylvia Cramp and her neighbor Sydney Tyler both in their 70’s. They both describe what is expected of them from their families at Christmas. Sylvia’s daughters expect her to cook and do everything for them, and Sydney (the neighbor) goes to his family, who use him at their convenience. But in the end her children get a lesson and she gets some time on her own.

Discuss the positive and negative aspects of Christmas, the expectations and the challenges it holds for families today. Use examples from the text and your own experiences. Is it overrated (overvurderet)?

Christmas is a fantastic time of year. It's when you want to gather your family around you. It's a combination of good food, friends and family - combined with closeness and love, it results in a fantastic mood – a little real-life fairytale.

The positive and best aspect of Christmas are to bake with your family, for example gingerbread, Sarah Bernhard cakes and chocolate sweets. But it's also respecting your parents’ feelings and the stress they can get at this time, because they make the dinner for Christmas Eve/Day and shopping for presents. But in this story it's the opposite: Sylvia's children forget to do it. Maybe they don’t do it deliberately, but on the other hand, they should think of the consequences of their rude behavior towards their mother. Sylvia seems like a typical mother today, in the understanding of, she handles more than that she can. Sylvia seems like a nurturing person, she wants to do all she can for her children. However, as the story and the requirements increases, her willingness to help her children decreases. It is shown in text (page 3, l. 24 to 33): “Sylvia trudged to the shops and back again. And again and again...”