Exploring Identity and Pressure in Anna Hope’s Short Story about Elli

The short story written by Anna Hope is about a girl called Elli. Her life is a typical dystrophy student's chaos, dominated by drugs, anticipation parents and a distracting Identity crisis. There are several themes that concern the story, and I shall now review some of them. As my aforementioned statement points out, Identity crawls Is an essential Issue throughout the story. Her mind Lies In a dilemma between either to follow her desires, or the expectations which are upon her.

She doesn't know whether o succumb to the temptation of the drugs and partying, or to complete her course and score high grades for the good of her mom and dad. Other themes which could cover a Gap of Sky would be issues like expectations, responsibility, drugs, youth and pressure. The narrator is using the stream of consciousness" technique throughout most of the story, which is very similar to similar to Virginia Woofs writing manner. It gives the reader a slightly confusing and unfocused interpretation, though it also manages to pull the reader Into the main character's mind.

In spite of the fact that you may easily feel; that the narrator Is Elli herself, It Is actually a third person omniscient narrator. The language of the text Is highly Influenced by slang, and has a typical youngster" stereotypical use. The story begins In an "In medias rest" and follows a linearly progression. It has its turning point when Elli begins her adventure of finding ink, by walking out of her door. There is also a use of similes, metaphors and symbols. Especially the similes are visible - for example in line 49 "(... And it feels like ledge, like thick dark sludge", and line 83 "(... ) and her skull feels as though it might split open". The metaphors aren't particularly prominent in the text, but these, plus the similes, make you get a more figurative interpretation, than if there weren't any. The last rhetorical device used in the text, that I shall go into, is the personification which for example Is used In line 128 "(... ) she wants to receive this night and Its great dark pulsing" Symbols are dominant In the text. Some very obviously, some less obvious.

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The love on line 61, which has its "buck finger"' raised, makes Elli think "Buck it all". It is therefore a symbol of Else's rebellious side and the way that Elli wishes to follow her dreams without any concerns for her surroundings. But this sensation vanishes when Elli sees the skull at the exhibition. Her state of mind suddenly orbits the thought of life and death. She feels that it isn't a coincidence that she's there. She thinks that the exhibition is made to tell her something, to wake her up. She becomes so afraid of facing death, that she has to run away from the museum.

There is also the red Jasper to mention. Although the symbolism of this object is explained to some extent, it Is worth to mention how much the stone voices the regret Elli has over how much she has taken her mother's love for granted. Despite all the loving and caring Else's mother has yielded, Elli has been entirely ungrateful. Also the title of the story "A gap of sky plays an Important part In this analysis. Somewhere In the story Elli sees a gap of sky. This is partially a metaphor, which illustrates the gap in her state of broken, or a gap where something new can grow.

Where something can change. There is a certain enumeration of nouns in the short story, which creates a dynamic understanding and concludes with a certain amount of short sentences. Especially in line 28-37. It takes place over a couple of hours, from afternoon to early evening in central London. It is also the city where Elli lives and studies. One might almost say that "A gap of sky' is a parallel history to Virginia Wolf's life. The fact that both of her parents killed themselves caused, that Virginia went through a long time clogged tit depressions and nervous breakdowns.

The outcome of it was that she, at the age of 59, threw herself in the river near her home and drowned. In the end of the story Elli comes to a river at the end of The Strand. This river is yet another dilemma. The aforementioned climax at the exhibition, makes her become afraid of death, thus afraid of drugs. The river could be the place where she would be able to wash herself clean. On the other hand the river could also be the place where she could end all these troubles and worries, like Virginia Wolf.

The ending of the story makes it up to ourselves to figure out what will happen next. This whole scenario that we, as readers, are brought into, is not only a Journey through the streets of London, but also a Journey through Else's mind and thought. You have to notice that Elli is not only a simple human being. She is also representing the dilemmas and crises that teenagers have to go through nowadays. They have so many possibilities, and therefore also a lot of responsibility. That is the fundamental topic in A Gap of Sky.

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