I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen “Kiss” af Elizabeth Baines, som har været brugt til skriftlig eksamen i Engelsk A på HHX den 20. maj 2020. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde idéer til din fortolkning af teksten.
Hvis du har brug for hjælp til Assignment 1-3 fra den skriftlige eksamen på HHX A den 20. maj 2020, kan du læse vores vejledning her.
Præsentation af teksten
Titel: “Kiss” (2019)
Forfatter: Elizabeth Baines
Genre: Short story
Elizabeth Baines er en britisk forfatter, som både har skrevet romaner, noveller og radiodramaer. Hun har vundet adskillige priser for sin litteratur.
Baines' novelle “Kiss” blev første gang udgivet i The Barcelona Review og indgår også i antologien The Best British Short Stories 2019.
Uddrag
Her kan du læse et uddrag af vores study guide:
Symbols
The kiss mentioned in the story (and included in its title) symbolizes how people can become connected through love. The kiss is seen as a gesture that can change the characters’ lives and also symbolizes the complex narratives that have led to this single important moment.
However, when the young man with the backpack is ready to trigger the detonator, this gesture is also described like a kiss. The symbolism thus takes a darker turn, as this type of kiss can also have life-changing effects, but in a much more negative way.
The couple’s journey through the Tube (ll. 7-9) symbolizes their own personal journey from a life of abuse, discrimination, or anger to resilience. In contrast, the young man with the backpack’s entrance into the Tube can be seen as a symbol of going to the ‘underground’, to a dark place where you are overwhelmed and defeated by hardships. The couple is described as “rising up out of the underground” (l. 7) while the young man with the background walks out from the “glittering day” (l. 11). These contrasting actions symbolize the characters’ different responses to hardship.
