I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen "Where the Gods Fly" af Jean Kwok, som har været brugt til skriftlig eksamen i Engelsk A på STX den 23. maj 2014. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten samt idéer til fortolkning og perspektivering.
Eksamensspørgsmål
Write an analytical essay (900-1200 words) in which you analyse and interpret Jean Kwok’s short story “Where the Gods Fly”.
Part of your essay must focus on the structure of the story and the use of contrasts.
Præsentation af teksten
Titel: “Where the Gods Fly” (2012)
Forfatter: Jean Kwok
Genre: Short story
Jean Kwok er en prisvindende kinesisk-amerikansk forfatter, som er bosat i Holland. Hendes mest kendte værker er romanerne Girl in Translation (2010) og Mambo in Chinatown (2015).
Kwok voksede op i Chinatown og fik balletundervisning under sin opvækst, hvilket måske har inspireret elementer af novellen "Where the Gods Fly".
Mere hjælp
Har du brug for yderligere hjælp, kan du læse vores vejledning til at skrive analytical essays:
Vejledning til analytical essay
Få hjælp til at skrive et analytical essay i Engelsk med Studienets trin-for-trin vejledning. Vejledningen kan både bruges til opgaver inden for fiction og non-fiction.
Uddrag
Nedenfor kan du læse et kort uddrag fra vores study guide til teksten:
Title
The title of the short story “Where the Gods Fly” by Jean Kwok is intriguing because it does not reveal much about the plot of the story. Given the reference to ‘gods’, readers might expect the story to explore religious themes.
Upon reading the short story it is revealed that the title refers to a Buddhist religious idea:
It is not easy to maintain your balance when the winds of fate blow upon your back; when they are strong, if you are not as strong as they, they can topple you over and roll you into the earth. But if you have the strength to withstand their blows, they can propel you to where the gods fly. (ll. 107-110)
The phrase refers to the idea of being rewarded if one does not fall into temptation and if one overcomes the tests and challenges encountered in life. It is unclear whether this reward or success is achieved in this life or the afterlife.
As the story follows the thoughts, memories, and attitude of the narrator - a Chinese woman living in the US who worries about her daughter’s future - the title becomes symbolic of the narrator’s attachment to tradition and religion.
