I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen "How to Lose" af Victoria Patterson, som var en del af skriftlig eksamen i Engelsk B på HF den 27. maj 2019. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten samt idéer til at fortolke og diskutere.
Eksamensspørgsmål
1. Write a summary of “How to Lose” in about 150 words.
2. Write a short analytical essay (at least 300 words) about “How to Lose”. You must focus on the main character Natalie.
Include the following analytical terms in your essay:relationship, development, main theme, title
Your essay must include references to the text.
3. Taking your starting point in the short story, discuss different ways children may deal with personal challenges.
Use at least two phrases from the following ones in your discussion: due to, in addition, for example, whereas, in contrast, even though, in other words, consequently
Præsentation af teksten
Titel: “How to Lose”(2018)
Forfatter: Victoria Patterson
Genre: Short story
Victoria Patterson er en amerikansk forfatter fra Californien. Hun har udgivet tre romaner og en række noveller.
"How to Lose" kommer fra Pattersons novellesamling The Secret Habit of Sorrow.
Mere hjælp
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Uddrag
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Title
The title of the short story “How to Lose” by Victoria Patterson refers to many versions of loss, as experienced by the main characters Natalie and AJ.
The words of the title come from AJ’s baseball coach. In a flashback paragraph, Natalie remembers the coach at his first meeting with the parents: “He said that though he wanted and expected to win, baseball wasn’t just about winning. ‘It’s also about learning how to lose,’ he said” (ll. 91-93). The coach is reminding the parents that sports can teach their children a valuable lesson about how to handle loss and disappointment.
However, there is also a secondary meaning to his words, as the coach’s personal experience suggests that his words also refer to leaning how to deal with loss in one’s personal life: “She liked AJ’s baseball coach, with his practical, military-like sense of discipline. He wore a cumbersome metal back brace over his fancy shirts to the games and practices” (ll. 89-91). It’s thus indicated that the coach suffers from significant back problems that he still needs to handle. His military-like attitude could be his way of dealing with loss. In his case, it could refer to losing mobility or a career in baseball.
