Her præsenterer vi Studienets study guide til novellen "Just below the Surface" af Kate Nivison, som også er blevet bragt i grundbogen A New Entrance (s. 128). Her får du et godt overblik over novellen, idet vi her behandler alle de vigtigste analyse-elementer i teksten, som du skal have styr på, når du skriver din egen analyse. Vi kommer fx ind på indhold og opbygning, personkarakteristik og temaer, sprogbrug og meget mere ...
Præsentation af teksten
Titel: “Just below the Surface”
Forfatter: Kate Nivison, en engelsk freelance forfatter.
Udgivelsesår: 1993
Genre: Novelle
Kate Nivison er en engelsk forfatter af skønlitteratur og rejsebøger, som ofte fokuserer på sociale problemstillinger i hendes litteære værker. Nogle af hendes værker er Tiger Country (1998) og Travelling Light (2011).
Uddrag
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Title
The title of the short story “Just below the Surface” by Kate Nivison has both a literal and a symbolic meaning. In the literal sense, it refers to Indrani and Kumar’s rat problem. The title appears in the story, as the man from the Council explains the presence of the rats: “‘The sewage from half London comes through this way (…) It’s like rush hour on the Underground down there. There’s millions of them, just below the surface.’ ” (p. 133, ll. 41-44, p. 134, ll. 1-3). This suggests there are numerous rats hidden very close to the house, threatening to take over the house.
The symbolic meaning of the title is portrayed through the contrast between what is beneath the house and Indrani and Kumar’s expensive home in a beautiful suburban neighborhood (p. 128, ll. 13-14) where one would not expect rats to appear: that appearances can be deceptive. Specifically, the symbolism refers to how the apparently friendly people whom Indrani encounters actually seem to stereotype and judge her.
