A Gap of Sky

976 Words4 Pages
A Gap of Sky ”A Gap of Sky” is a short story written by author Anna Hope in 2008. The story follows Ellie; the nineteen-year-old student, with an unhealthy habit of partying and doing drugs. She wakes up after a night out, to find out that she has an important essay due the next morning. We follow her through the city of London on her quest to get ink to print her essay. Throughout this trip in London, we get an insight into Ellie’s mind and the many thoughts and feeling she has. This essay will focus on an analysis of the narrative technique, characterization of Ellie and the importance of the city. The short story has a third person narrator with a limited omniscient point of view that is linked to Ellie. The story is told from her point of view, which also makes her the centre of revelation. This has an impact on the language of the story. The language is very informal, and the use of swear words like “fuck” and “shit” occurs many times in the short story. The story consists of many short sentences and words that do not fit into the context: “Nice, now. Coffee. Swill out cafetière, fill it. Computer. Is. On. Fags.. Student shop. She could always score some more, too; see if Jez is about. Good plan. Good, this was good, fine.” (l. 30). This stream of consciousness gives the reader an idea of what the mind of a teenage girl looks like and how she is not only able to control her actions but also her thoughts. As she walks through London she constantly gets distracted by the city and her own thoughts. A pain in her head makes her reconsider her whole life (l. 85), a little orange stone makes her think about the relationship with her mother. She changes her mind numerous times about how the essay is the most important thing in the world, to how she is free and able to do whatever she likes. This again adds to the confusion about her and the fact that she is not

More about A Gap of Sky

Open Document