Analysis

In the following pages of this webbook, we will work through the most important elements regarding analysing the short story "Ray the Rottweiler" by Alice Jolly. The short story was featured in the written exam in STX English level B on the 2nd December 2016, which our analysis will also reflect.

Setting out, we look at the structure of the short story, which follows a quite traditional plot structure without any particular surprises. In turn, we take a thorough look at the title of the short story as the exam question requires us to do so.

On the following page, we take in-depth looks at the texts two main characters, Tess, who doubles as the narrator of the story, and Ray, who appears in the title. To comply with the exam question, we also take a closer look at the nature of the relationship between these two characters.

Moving on, we deal with the setting of the short story, which is a contemporary story set somewhere in rural England, where Tess and Ray find themselves being social outcasts from the small town society.

Finally, we turn our attention to the narrator and point of view, which is limited to Tess' personal perspective. And we explore the literary devices in the text and the way in which the author builds the dialogue between the characters.

All of the observations that we make in the analysis lay the ground for discussing the theme and message of the short story in the following section.