Graveyard Shift

I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen "Graveyard Shift" af James M. Reasoner, som er udgivet i antologien Open Wide (s. 81-83). Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten samt idéer til fortolkning og perspektivering.

Præsentation af teksten

Titel: “Graveyard Shift” (1978)
Forfatter: James M. Reasoner
Genre: Short story

James M. Reasoner (1953) er en amerikansk forfatter. Han skriver både noveller og romaner og har udgivet hundrevis af værker under en række forskellige pseudonymer. Selvom han er mest kendt for at skrive westerns og historiske fortællinger, har han også produceret nogle tekster i krimi- og mysteriegenren.

Uddrag

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Title

The title of James M. Reasoner’s short story “Graveyard Shift” refers to the work shift which runs through the night, specifically from late evening to early morning. Frank works the graveyard shift in the convenience store and is used to the feelings it produces: “Graveyard shifts are all alike. I know too well the emotions that fill the long nights: boredom and fear. Boredom because nothing different ever happens, fear that sometime it might.” (p. 81, ll. 1-3). Consequently, readers might expect an important event which happens to one of the characters during the night shift.

The expression “graveyard shift” also has a deeper meaning in this particular story. The word “graveyard” is generally associated with death and darkness, so the title also anticipates a dramatic or tragic event. In the context of the story, the plot twist implies that Frank frequently shoots the unfortunate robbers who come into the convenience stores where he works. Thus, the expression graveyard shift takes on a much more literal meaning here.