The World Ending in Fire

I denne study guide finder du hjælp til at analysere novellen “The World Ending in Fire” af Jan Carson. Teksten har været brugt til den skriftlige eksamen i Engelsk B på STX den 25. maj 2022. Udover hjælp til analysen finder du også et summary samt hjælp til fortolkning af novellen.

Hvis du har brug for hjælp til Assignment 1-4 fra den skriftlig eksamen på STX B den 25. maj 2022, kan du finde vores vejledning her.

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Symbols

The story contains several symbols which are important to the interpretation. The main symbol of the story is the paddling pool which symbolizes Mrs Agnew’s mental breakdown. Mrs Agnew stays in the pool around the clock because she fears that the whole world will end in fire, as the Bible says.

Mrs Agnew’s fear of the world burning also has a figurative meaning, as both her and her daughter Lyndsey’s worlds ‘burn’: After Lyndsey’s father is killed by a car bomb, the mother becomes grief-stricken and mentally ill, and eventually dies. Thus, it shows how people’s worlds can collapse. The symbolic meaning is also hinted at in the story’s title, as it suggests the narrator is recounting a story about “the world ending in fire”.

Mrs Agnew’s deterioration is also symbolic in a double sense. Mentally, she is coming apart because of the grief from losing her husband which makes her incapable of going on with her life. Physically, Mrs Agnew is also coming apart or dissolving because she spends three years submerged in water.

Lastly, another central symbol is the stain left behind by the pool. The importance of this symbol is highlighted by the fact that it is found in the very ending of the story. The narrator notices this stain at Mrs Agnew’s funeral and ...