I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen "The Larder" af Morris Lurie, som findes i antologien Footprints, s. 91-94. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten samt idéer til fortolkning og perspektivering.
Præsentation af teksten
Titel: “The Larder” (1984)
Forfatter: Morris Lurie
Genre: Short story
Morris Lurie (1938-2014) var en australsk forfatter, som skrev værker for både voksne og børn i mange forskellige genrer. Lurie var berømt for både sin kreativitet og sin produktivitet og modtog gennem sit liv en lang række litteraturpriser. Et af hans bedst kendte værker er romanen Flying Home (1978).
Uddrag
Nedenfor kan du læse et kort uddrag fra vores study guide til novellen:
Title
A larder is a large storage cupboard or room for storing food, therefore readers might expect the story “The Larder” by Morris Lurie to deal with something related to food. Upon reading the story, however, readers learn that a character – the real-estate agent – uses the term as a metaphor. He suggests that the sea provides human beings with plenty of resources: “‘Larder of the earth, the sea. Man’s richest feeding ground” (p. 92, ll. 34-35).
The title is ironic in several ways. The real-estate agent’s statement seems to suggest his respect for the sea. However, it ironically helps him justify his cruelty towards the creature he is trying to get out of its shell: “ ‘There’s plenty more where this came from, and getting this fella out won’t make any difference at all.’ ” (p. 92, ll. 35-36). The title is also ironic because the creatures inside the shells are not edible, and therefore there is no reason to take them out of the sea other than their appearance and rarity: “ ‘Pity they’re not edible though’ ” (p. 92, ll. 36-37). The irony in the title is enhanced by the group of tourists’ abusive actions. The tourists bring “almost a hundred shells” (p. 91, l. 14) from their trip to the reef. They then treat the creatures inside with cruelty, and eventually the creatures are eaten by birds (p. 93, ll. 32-38).
