• Engelsk
  • Uddannelse: STX
  • Karakter: 10 tal
  • Ord: 899

Indledning
How do you manage to move forward, if you lose the most precious thing in life – your child. Whether death is expected or sudden the loss will affect the lives of the survivor.

Grief is a condition of life, but the question is how the individual chooses to deal with it.

In the short story “The arena” written by Martin Golan back in 2008, we are presented to a father who is trapped in the past as the loss of his first son keeps his attention. The arena brings back old memories and every time he is there it feels like a battle from the past.

Optimer dit sprog - Læs vores guide og scor topkarakter

Uddrag
The title does not only describe a place where you can practice sports. In this story, the arena is a symbol of the stages in which you are in life.

Furthermore, the arena reminds the father of his son Willie, which gives the reader an impression of that the father and son had a story there together.

“Every time I’ve gone to the Arena I enter a personal arena, a battle from the past.” (l. 65) The arena is a place where the father is confronted with the past.

At the arena his thoughts and feelings from the past and the present, get seriously mixed up.

In the short story there is 3 dominant themes: 1. The terror of parent-love. ”It was Willie who taught me this, the terror of parent-love, its brutal force and its nightmare risk, the love beside which all out other loves fall away.” (ll. 152-153)

The love for Willie was so great, that when the father lost him, his marriage broke. 2. Being stuck in the past. The father's past continues to haunt him and he is forced to make peace with his past.

3. Protectiveness. The father wants to protect his living son because he feels guilty about the inability to protect the son he lost. Therefore, it is important for him to be attentive of driving carefully and keep their appointments.

”You always have to think of safety with children.” (ll. 84-85) Symbolism is used in the short story, which substantiates that the father has difficulty separating from the past. Every time he looks in the rear-view mirror he looks back at his past.

“I check my rear-view mirror; all I find are narrowing streets and sidewalks skipping backward. When I look again through the front I sense that I am seeing not only ahead but also behind, that I’m glimpsing my future as well as my past.” (ll. 17-19)