Analysis of 'About a Boy, a Man and a Duck'

The short story is written by Philip Hughes. He wrote it in the year 2004. The story is about a 7-year old boy called James. He has had a chaotic childhood and he is different from his contemporaries. His best friend is the duck, Henry The Duck and vice versa as well. James visits the duck, Henry, every day and he often brings along the remnant of his lunch because he enjoys to feed the ducks. At the park an elderly man named Simon always carries a bag of Jelly Babies. Simon is untidy and hungry and he asks James if he wants some of the gumdrop. Henry The Duck see the old man as and unreliable person and he doesn’t think Simon has a clear conscience. When James discovers that the packet of wine gum is empty the fetid man invites him home were there is more sweets and James rises to the bait. On the way to Simon’s house James throws small pieces of bread and corned beef, which ensures that Henry The Duck follows. When the man, the boy and the duck attend to the house the duck gets eaten by the man. James eats a red Jelly Baby and walks home. It is written with omniscient point of view because the narrator knows why all the characters in the story act the way they do, their thoughts, past and position in the hierarchy. (er ikke 100 procent? Otto og jeg har også delte meninger). The author uses humour (Page 85, line 13-15 “He would have.. his direction”). The language is very simple, the author hasn’t used any difficult phrases and everything has been cut out in cardboard. The title is yet an instance of the style of writing - it is easy and plain. (Page 85, line 6-7 “Henry The Duck (the duck) was a duck and had been all his life”). The title only shows who the story is about and you receive an impression of irony and humour.I think it is because the author wants the story to be suitable for both the younger and the older generation. He wants the different age groups to construe the text in a variety of ways. The story has got an introduction and it is chronologically organised. The story is a bit untrustworthy because the duck thinks like a human, and it is described very different from the other ducks. The end of the story is unusual and weird and as a reader you become unsure of exactly what has happened. It is an unpredictable ending but at the same time something you can relate to. I am ignorant of whether Simon harasses James, if the duck dies because he tries to protect James or if James resists Simon when he eats Henry. It is sort of an open ending because as a reader you have to use your imagination and draw your one conclusion. You feel sympathy for all the mentioned. Harry, because he gets bullied by the other ducks and dies at the end. James, because he hasn’t got a packet of money or many friends and he is just a defenceless child. Lastly you feel sympathy for Simon, because he is a poor chap with mental disorders. Kan ikke rigtig se nogle symboler, måske JB. Skriv endelig nogle på The story takes place in a park and in Simon’s house in the Midlands. Henry The Duck lives in a park in Midlands and his social environment is okay – he is the most popular duck in the park but as a logical consequence of this he is envied and the other ducks haze him. He is well feed and he doesn’t lack the necessaries of life. James is a country-bread and poor child. He hasn’t had an efficient childhood (Page 85, line 24-25 “..from a broken home in the estate.”). His relationship to his dad is bad and we don’t get to know anything about his mother, most likely she isn’t a part of James’ life. Simon is unprivileged. It shows in the text because he never has sandwiches for the ducks. Still he isn’t as poor as a church mouse because he has got a house and can afford sweets.James and Henry have got a very unique relationship. Firstly because it consists of a duck and a boy which is unusual. Immediately afterwards James attends to the park Henry turns his back on whatever he is doing and draws his attention to James instead. Henry The Duck cares a lot about James and vice versa. Henry The Duck gets worried when the smelly, old man contacts James and he follows them when they leave. By night James sometimes slips away just to see how Henry is doing. They know they can always count on each other and they have faith in one another too. (Page 86, line 27-28 “It wouldn’t be.. after him”)James is seven years old and hasn’t had the best life conditions. He lives together with his temperamental dad who never coddles James. James is still a child and hasn’t become responsible and rumbling (er det et ord for gennemskuende?) yet. He appears naïve. (Page 86, line 41 “James doesn’t know that trick”). He is different from others at his age because he isn’t fond of the same things and hasn’t got the same interests. I consider him as a very tolerant guy because he likes to feed ducks as a good turn. He is perhaps a bit withdrawn based on the fact that his best friend is a duck instead of a human. He likes Jelly Babies, especially the green ones.Henry The Duck looks like he has a green beard and he is continually in the public eye. He had always been small for his age but then he ate till it came out of the ears and he is now a big duck. Henry is top of the form and the other ducks think he is too clever by half. On the other hand he is the most popular duck in the lady ducks’ opinion. He is hilarious, good-looking and a very caring duck. The duck hasn’t got confidence in many people but he trusts James a lot and he cares very much about James as well (Page 86, line 15-17 “It unnerves him... a Jelly Baby”). He is a smart duck; it shows for example when he sees the old man trying to tempt James. In this situation he smells the rat immediately. Henry loves when James brings parts of his food and gives it to him. Simon is a lonely, old man who always smells very bad. He often carries Jelly Babies and tries to entice young people to follow him to his house. In the text it suggests Simon is having mental health problems. For example he panics (forkert ordstilling, ved ikke præcis hvordan den skal drejes) whepræcis hvor den skal drejes)ed ikke prle ich jelly baby they prefer from his bag. mes as well (Page 86, line 15-17 "es when his surroundings consider which Jelly Baby they prefer from his bag. He is perverted and possibly a paedophile as well. (Page 86, line 15-17 “It unnerves.. a Jelly Baby”, page 87, line 10 “..he steals woman’s panties from laundrettes). It isn’t dead cert that Simon actually wants James to his house because Simon call attention to the duck too and Simon is hungry. The duck could be the reason he invites James at home. (Page 87, line 16-19 “Simon was hungry.. a duck”, page 87, line 32 “One cannot survive on Jelly Babies alone”). The genre is fable and short story. The text deal with subjects as poverty, friendship, loneliness, conditions of life, paedophilia and differences. The morale is that a friendship between two human beings isn’t always the best; it could be as great between an animal and a human too. The morale is that love and understanding for each other can arise even though you aren’t exactly alike. The message is also that you have to be careful around strangers. I would put the text into perspective to the movie “The iron man”. It is about a young boy who forms firmly cemented friendship with a robot. Suddenly the government is interested in the golem and in the ending the sculpture sacrifice himself for the world’s survival. The plot is by and large the same as in “About a Boy, a Man and a Duck”.