The Arcade

I denne study guide finder du hjælp til at analysere novellen “The Arcade” af Alan Gillespie. Teksten har været brugt til den skriftlige eksamen i Engelsk A på STX den 5. maj 2022. Udover hjælp til analysen finder du også et summary samt hjælp til fortolkning af novellen.

Uddrag

Her kan du læse et uddrag af vores study guide:

Fear of intimacy

The story also explores fear of intimacy. Bill’s idea to make the date more interesting by pretending to be shopping for an engagement ring for him and Gaynor also means that he gets to make up a role for himself to play instead of being himself. Throughout the date, he mostly presents a fictional version of himself who proposes to Gaynor on a romantic evening in Paris after meeting her in school.

In this way, the only time when Bill and Gaynor get to reveal their true selves is when the sales assistants are not present. Even then, they appear reluctant to share too much and mostly discuss things about their former partners or their dating life. After brief conversations about their real lives, they always go back to the safety net of their fake life together.

Though their date ends up being fun and memorable, it is also a failure, as Bill and Gaynor do not get to know each other. Because they fear being vulnerable with each other, Bill and Gaynor ultimately fail to connect and might not go on another date together.