I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen "Old Growth" af Lisa Alward, som har været brugt til en skriftlig eksamen i Engelsk A på STX den 27. maj 2019. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten samt idéer til din fortolkning.
Eksamensspørgsmål
Write an analytical essay (900-1200 words) in which you analyze and interpret Lisa Alward’s short story “Old Growth”.
Part of your essay must focus on the point of view and on the title of the story.
Præsentation af teksten
Titel: “Old Growth” (2017)
Forfatter: Lisa Alward
Genre: Short story
Lisa Alward er en canadisk forfatter. Hendes værker har været udgivet i tidsskrifter som Best Canadian Stories, The Fiddlehead og The New Quarterly.
Mere hjælp
Vejledning til analytical essay
Få hjælp til at skrive et analytical essay i Engelsk med Studienets trin-for-trin vejledning. Vejledningen kan både bruges til opgaver inden for fiction og non-fiction.
Uddrag
Nedenfor kan du læse et kort uddrag fra vores study guide til teksten:
Symbols
One of the most significant symbols in the story is the old growth, which is also the title of the story. As old growth represents very old trees that implicitly withstood time and natural events such as fires, floods etc., it can firstly be seen as a symbol of strength. In this sense, the old growth is a symbol of Ray and Gwyneth’s relationship which, despite their incompatibility, resentment, and divorce, provides for a strong bond between them. The symbol’s meaning is enhanced by the tree rings (ll. 104-115) that show how the tree grew through different seasons. Ray and Gwyneth’s strong connection is based on their shared history – the times they lived through and the memories they made and stored away, like the tree stored the memories of the seasons in its rings.
The tree’s rings are also used as a symbol of Ray and Fern’s relationship when Gwyneth thinks: “Let him add another ring” (ll. 165-166). This could refer to Ray’s own growing process and to him adding another “ring” to his set of life experiences. In this case, as well as in Gwyneth and Ray’s case, the “ring” is also a symbol for the mark that relationships can leave on a person. The word “ring” could also refer to a wedding ring, suggesting Gwyneth’s acceptance that Ray may marry Fern, or another woman, in the future.
