I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen "Only You Farang Are So Easy to Come and Leave" af Mai Nardone, som har været brugt til Opgave 5A i et vejledende opgavesæt til Engelsk B på STX fra november 2018. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten samt idéer til fortolkning og perspektivering.
Opgaveformulering
1. Write a short summary of Mai Nardone’s short story “Only You Farang Are So Easy to Come and Leave” in about 125 words.
2. Write an analytical essay (600-900 words) in which you analyse and interpret the short story. Your essay must focus on the relationship between the characters.
Include the following analytical terms in your essay: point of view, setting, main theme.
In your essay, you must include references to the text.
Præsentation af teksten
Titel: “Only You Farang Are So Easy to Come and Leave” (2017)
Forfatter: Mai Nardone
Genre: Short story
Mai Nardone er en ung thailandsk-amerikansk forfatter, som har modtaget adskillige stipendier for sit forfatterskab. Hans værker er udgivet i diverse litterære tidsskrifter.
Uddrag
Nedenfor kan du læse et kort uddrag fra vores study guide til teksten:
Title
The title of the story, “Only You Farang Are So Easy to Come and Leave” by Mai Nardone includes the Thai word “farang” which describes someone of European origin. The title gives readers the first hint about where the action is set, namely Thailand. This is confirmed by the first lines of the story, which mention Bangkok (l. 1).
The title also suggests that someone might feel abandoned by someone of European origins and that this person might have some commitment issues as it is ‘easy’ for them to come and leave.
The title refers to the father in the story, an American man living in Thailand who married a Thai-Chinese woman with whom he has a daughter named Lara. The title is specifically taken from a line that the mother says in the story when she finds out the family needs to move back to the suburbs: “Temporary move? Ma had said weeks ago when we left our condo. Only you farang are so easy to come and leave” (ll. 64-65). The use of the Thai word and non-standard English grammar draw attention to the communication problems between the parents.
