In 2009 Ali Smith published her fascinating short story “The Go-Between”. The story tells the story about an African refugee and his attempts of fleeing to Spain. The following essay shows an analysis of setting and the conditions and the environment that the refugees live in. Furthermore the style of writing and the writer’s intention will be analysed. The story has one main theme, which is “life as an African refugee”, this theme will bed interpreted a long with other sub themes.
Ali Smith has written the story in a first person narrator, who talks directly to the reader. “You know what Spain is?” (P.1 L.1). The quote is the first line of the story and by starting with the word “you” the writer creates a connection to the reader from …show more content…
You could assume that her intention was to cast light on a very serious topic. She describes the life of an African refugee who is mistreated and with this story she informs ordinary and somewhat wealthy people about what is going on in the world. “The Go-Between” is based on Article 13 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state” and “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country”. These quotes are from article 13 in the declaration and, according to Ali Smith, many countries including Spain do not follow these rules. “First this arm and then the other arm, and then this leg, (…) Behind me I’m spilling a litter of myself. It’s spoiling the streets of Spain” (P.4 L.113-115). The quote is a metaphor for how the Africans are not welcome in Europe and in the same time how they literally are treated as trash. And this is a clear indication of the writers …show more content…
He calls himself a “border crosser”(P.4 L.123). This is to tell that he often cross a border, but it is the same border every time. He goes back and forth between Morocco and Spain. He also goes between to different futures. Every time he gets to Spain, he is one step closer to the safe future he wants, and every time he gets deported back to Morocco, he is one step further from the future.
“The Go-between” is a thrilling story about an African refugee, who reports about his life in Morocco and his attempts of escaping. He has without success tried to flee to Spain two times. He lives in a poor environment and has to make do with what he has. Ali Smith has written the story in a first-person narrator, which makes the story more personal. The story is about the life of an African refugee including subthemes as authorial mistreatment and horrible living
Ali Smith has written the story in a first person narrator, who talks directly to the reader. “You know what Spain is?” (P.1 L.1). The quote is the first line of the story and by starting with the word “you” the writer creates a connection to the reader from …show more content…
You could assume that her intention was to cast light on a very serious topic. She describes the life of an African refugee who is mistreated and with this story she informs ordinary and somewhat wealthy people about what is going on in the world. “The Go-Between” is based on Article 13 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state” and “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country”. These quotes are from article 13 in the declaration and, according to Ali Smith, many countries including Spain do not follow these rules. “First this arm and then the other arm, and then this leg, (…) Behind me I’m spilling a litter of myself. It’s spoiling the streets of Spain” (P.4 L.113-115). The quote is a metaphor for how the Africans are not welcome in Europe and in the same time how they literally are treated as trash. And this is a clear indication of the writers …show more content…
He calls himself a “border crosser”(P.4 L.123). This is to tell that he often cross a border, but it is the same border every time. He goes back and forth between Morocco and Spain. He also goes between to different futures. Every time he gets to Spain, he is one step closer to the safe future he wants, and every time he gets deported back to Morocco, he is one step further from the future.
“The Go-between” is a thrilling story about an African refugee, who reports about his life in Morocco and his attempts of escaping. He has without success tried to flee to Spain two times. He lives in a poor environment and has to make do with what he has. Ali Smith has written the story in a first-person narrator, which makes the story more personal. The story is about the life of an African refugee including subthemes as authorial mistreatment and horrible living