Mrs Vadnie Marlene Sevlon
Analytical essay of Mrs Vadnie Marlene Sevlon by Jackie Kay
Today, living in the city can be a lonely affair for many people. To combat this, some use their imagination to envisage the life they could have had. But, what happens when you cannot separate fact from fancy? This is the problem Jakie Kay deals with in her short story “Mrs Vadnie Marlene Sevlon,” which deals with a middle-aged woman, whose quiet life is far from what she envisages.
The short story takes place in London and follows Mrs Vadnie Marlene Sevlon, who is a 52-year old woman, originally from Jamaica. During the narrative time, she is fired from her job as a caretaker in a home for elderly. As the story progresses, we learn more and more about Mrs Sevlon, and how she likes using her lunch break in Willesden Lane Cemetery imagining how her own gravestone will look, and how she actually is not a Mrs but a Miss.
Sevlon describes how she likes the atmosphere of the graveyard, and how there is room for contemplation. She wonders if her gravestone will say “past …show more content…
The story ends by her walking home after being fired from her job, and feeling the breeze on her face. That makes the story a circle composition, because it is also here the story starts. This gives a feeling of very little development, which adds to the feeling of tragedy. The story mostly focuses on the everyday life of Mrs Selvon, but also features her strain of thought. This is made possible by the narrator. The narrator is from a 3rd person perspective and omniscient. That way, the contrast between her true life, and the life she presents to everyone else is revealed. Additionally, the narrator it also comments on the events and thoughts of Mrs Sevlon in the story. For example, when Mrs Sevlon tells the story of where her husband Prestin is from, the narrator remarks: “Well this was the story Vadnie first of all made up and later
Analytical essay of Mrs Vadnie Marlene Sevlon by Jackie Kay
Today, living in the city can be a lonely affair for many people. To combat this, some use their imagination to envisage the life they could have had. But, what happens when you cannot separate fact from fancy? This is the problem Jakie Kay deals with in her short story “Mrs Vadnie Marlene Sevlon,” which deals with a middle-aged woman, whose quiet life is far from what she envisages.
The short story takes place in London and follows Mrs Vadnie Marlene Sevlon, who is a 52-year old woman, originally from Jamaica. During the narrative time, she is fired from her job as a caretaker in a home for elderly. As the story progresses, we learn more and more about Mrs Sevlon, and how she likes using her lunch break in Willesden Lane Cemetery imagining how her own gravestone will look, and how she actually is not a Mrs but a Miss.
Sevlon describes how she likes the atmosphere of the graveyard, and how there is room for contemplation. She wonders if her gravestone will say “past …show more content…
The story ends by her walking home after being fired from her job, and feeling the breeze on her face. That makes the story a circle composition, because it is also here the story starts. This gives a feeling of very little development, which adds to the feeling of tragedy. The story mostly focuses on the everyday life of Mrs Selvon, but also features her strain of thought. This is made possible by the narrator. The narrator is from a 3rd person perspective and omniscient. That way, the contrast between her true life, and the life she presents to everyone else is revealed. Additionally, the narrator it also comments on the events and thoughts of Mrs Sevlon in the story. For example, when Mrs Sevlon tells the story of where her husband Prestin is from, the narrator remarks: “Well this was the story Vadnie first of all made up and later