I denne study guide får du hjælp til analyse af "Owl" af Jackie Kay. "Owl" var en del af den skriftlige eksamen til Engelsk A på STX fra 3. december 2013, hvor opgaveformuleringen lød:
Write an essay (900-1200 words) in which you analyse and interpret Jackie Kay's short story “Owl”.
Part of your essay must focus on the narrative technique and the use of contrasts.
Præsentation af teksten
Titel: "Owl" (2012)
Forfatter: Jackie Kay
Genre: Novelle
Jackie Kay (f. 1961) er en kritikerrost skotsk forfatter, som skriver både poesi, romaner, noveller og børnebøger. "Owl" er fra novellesamlingen Reality, Reality.
Uddrag
Her får du en lille smagsprøve på analysehjælpen:
Title
The title of the story, “Owl”, does not reveal anything about the action, so it is easy to assume that it is symbolic. After reading the story, we discover that the two characters became close friends because of two overlapping events: spotting a screech owl and discovering their parents were having affairs (each girl’s father with the other girl’s mother). But while the owl is something they would talk about for a long time (they even gave each other nicknames inspired by the owl), they do not discuss their parents’ affairs until forty years later.
The owl becomes a symbol of the past. It is a positive symbol because it brought the girls together. It is a negative symbol because it also reminds them of their parents kissing.
Forty years later, the characters realise that their nicknames and their lives no longer depended on the owl event: “ ‘After a while, I don’t think you connect any name to anything any more. It just is,’ Tawn said.” (ll. 142-143)