Analysis

Souvankham Thammavongsa’s short story “Edge of the World” follows a circular structure. The events are presented in chronological order, but large parts of the story read like the adult narrator’s flashback. Both the beginning and the ending present a happy memory that the narrator has of her mother.

The main character is the narrator who is now a 45-year-old woman looking back on events from her childhood. The story focuses on the relationship between the characters, especially that between the narrator and her mother.

The physical setting of the story is an English-speaking country, most likely Canada. The social setting explores cultural differences , focusing on the relationship between the narrator and her mother. 

The story is told by a first-person narrator. The narrator mentions past events building up to the moment her mother left her. She is reliable.

The language is neutral although the tone is almost conversational at times. Several symbols such as the soap operas or the map puzzle enhance the story’s meaning.

Several conflicts in the story illustrate the cultural differences between the mother’s experience and that of the narrator. Apart from the external conflict between the mother and the narrator, we also have the mother’s own internal conflict, as well as the adult narrator’s.

You can read a more detailed analysis in the following pages.