Close to the Water's Edge

Dette er vores study guide til novellen "Close to the Water's Edge" af Claire Keegan, som du kan læse i lærebogen Worlds of English (s. 144). Med denne vejledning giver vi dig et fuldstændigt overblik over novellens indhold og analytiske nøglepunkter.

Præsentation af teksten

Titel: “Close to the Water’s Edge”
Forfatter: Claire Keegan
Udgivet i: Walk the Blue Fields
Udgivet: 2007
Genre: Novelle

Claire Keegan (f. 1968) er en irsk novelleforfatter og underviser, hvis noveller har vundet flere priser.

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Symbols

The ocean is a very important symbol in the story “Close to the Water's Edge” by Claire Keegan. The Atlantic Ocean symbolizes the unknown for the grandmother. The grandmother admits that “she had no idea how deep it was” (p. 150, l. 21) which points to her fear of getting into an unfamiliar situation.For the young man, the ocean is also a symbol of his grandmother’s unfulfilled life and, implicitly, of the fact that he can make a different choice. This is shown when, unlike his grandmother (p. 150, ll. 17-21), he swims in the ocean and seems to realize that he has a chance to do things differently and live the life he wants (p. 149, ll. 12-13).

The young man’s metaphorical “rebirth” and personal evolution are suggested through symbols such as his nakedness, the T-shirt he wears like a diaper (p. 150, l. 5) and the mention of the first species which courageously emerged from the sea (p. 149, ll. 31-32). The suit and tie that are taken by the ocean represent symbols of his pretend identity (p. 149, ll. 30-31).