Paper Topic:

analysis short story

AN ANALYSIS OF LAWSON 'S A CHILD IN THE DARK

AND A FOREIGN FATHER

By

[Name of author]

Presented to the

[Institutional information]

In Partial Fulfilment of the

Requirements for the [Degree]

[University information]

[Date]

Summary : A Child in the Dark , and a Foreign Father

The story begins with a brief of the surrounding environment : a dark evening with nothing but the sound of the footsteps of a man walking to and fro before entering the hut , only to find out that one of his sons

was not feeling well as well as his wife . After carefully attending to his sick son , he went on to the next room and fixed his other son on the sofa for comfort while her wife lay fast asleep . As the story progressed , the father appeared to be the gentle and loving father who cared most to his children , making sure that they do not burden themselves with household tasks he could have done himself

But even though the husband - Nils - is portrayed in the story as the epitome of a father balancing family needs with what he can provide , his wife - Emma - appears to be disd with his efforts . Even though he tries to their children through his simple efforts , Emma appears indifferent and disd towards his actions at least in terms of practicality . For instance , Nils gave one of his children a doll for which Emma mistaken for a rattle . theless , Emma still managed to criticize the efforts of Nil , claiming that while he was too busy buying rubbish ' which may end up in the dust-heap the next day he all along forgot her needs

As Nils and his son , Sonny , lay in the sofa in an attempt to rest and get some sleep , Nils is reminded of his Sonny 's fear of growing up as a man . Sonny had this fear since he was a small child , afraid that life would run too short as a will grow up as a man , become old and die

The next day , like the other days that went by , Nils woke up early in the morning in to go to a farming town to attend to his trading job . Before doing so , he first attends to the needs of his children cooking them breakfast and making sure everything 's alright before he leaves the house . As for Emma , her discontent continued , only to recede after the time when Nils has left for work

Background of the Story

Henry Lawson , an Australian writer and poet and the author of the story , sheds a bit of light on situations where a man and his family is facing times of a weakening and a bleak relationship . It may be believed that the story reflects an autobiographical sketch of Lawson 's life . It is no hidden fact that Lawson has also had a share of struggles in life In fact , Lawson attempted to commit suicide after he was able to finish the story . The book...

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