Chameleon

I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen "Chameleon" af Ranbir Sahota. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten samt idéer til fortolkning og perspektivering.

Præsentation af teksten

Titel: “Chameleon” (2003)
Forfatter: Ranbir Sahota
Genre: Short story

Ranbir Sahota er en forfatter med indisk baggrund, som er født i Storbritannien. Hun er uddannet på University of Sheffield og har tidligere arbejdet som lærer i Tyskland.

Uddrag

Nedenfor kan du læse et kort uddrag fra vores study guide til novellen:

Title

The title of Ranbir Sahota’s story, “Chameleon”, serves a symbolic function, as a metaphor for the main character, Rita. However, when reading the title for the first time, readers might be intrigued because it does not reveal much about the plot of the story. A chameleon is an animal which can change the color of its skin according to the conditions in which it lives. The link between the title and the story is made through references to skin color (white or dark): “I was white in every way, apart from my skin colour – l listened to white music, wore white clothes and ate white food […] I conveniently forgot that I knew how to eat curry with my fingers…” (p. 1, ll. 3-6)

Rita prefers to consider herself white because she is immersed in British culture and acts like a white person. This is also the reason why she uses skin-bleach products. She wants to become more Western and blend in better in the UK. However, she is also connected to her Indian culture through her family. When she is with Mark, she acts like a white person, but when she is with her parents, she conforms to some of their Indian customs. Rita ends up acting like a chameleon, adapting her behavior according to who she is with. For example, she meets Indian men to please her parents, but she doesn’t tell Mark about it. In this way, she also acts like a chameleon towards Mark.