Analysis

The analysis of the short story “Galveston” by Frederick Barthelme shows that it follows a non-linear plot structure. The story follows the narrator’s thoughts, as he remembers several events from the past in non-chronological order.

The main character in the story is the unnamed narrator. We do not know much about the narrator, except that his wife wants to divorce him, and he feels disconnected from everyone.

The setting is New Orleans, United States of America. The town of Galveston, Texas, where the narrator used to live as a child, is present in the narrator’s memories. It is a special place where the narrator wishes he could return.

The story is told from the point of view of a first-person narrator. The narrator is biased when it comes to other people, but he provides the readers with a detailed insight into his thoughts and feelings.

The language is conversational. The text uses the stream of consciousness technique, which allows the reader access to the narrator’s private thoughts.

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

Engelsk

Short story analysis

I denne vejledning får du Studienets hjælp til at analysere noveller (short stories) i engelsk.

Excerpt from the study guide:

The narrator is subjective and may also be biased. He makes assumptions about the other characters which may or may not be true. For instance, the narrator makes many assumptions about Rachel and why they got married. He assumes that Rachel wanted to get married for the same reasons he did. This reveals his inability to relate to another person’s perspective.

The narrator is also very self-absorbed and does not appear to be particularly observant. For instance, he does not remember anything about his wife’s family, except that they wear khakis. His memories of the Utah trip are disjointed, and none of it has to do with how his wife was feeling or what she was doing at the time.