Analysis Of Eastmouth By Alison Moore

Think about the place you call home, and then think how differently another person might think regarding “home”. Opinions regarding home can never be fully agreed upon, since preference is a personal matter. Therefore, the definition of home is easy but the description not as easily done. Some might call their little cabin home, whilst others could never call that place as their home. There are people who grew up in the city, who can never see a country house as their home, whilst people who grew up on the country side will never really feel at home in the city. The contrast can some-times be too big, for a person to adapt accordingly. The short story “Eastmouth” written by Alison Moore in 2014, shows how opinions can variate and thereby
By having a third person narrator narrate the story, the story becomes more reliable, resulting in the purpose of the story not being lost. The narrator is able to give the reader a more reliable picture, regarding the relationship between Peter and Sonia, and the mum meddling in Sonia’s private life, compared to if it had been a first person narrator. Howev-er, the point of view, which the narrator uses, is Sonia’s. By doing so, the narrator becomes limited and loses credibility, seeing that the thoughts and feelings Sonia is having throughout the story are included in the narration. This and the fact that her thought are not marked in any way to create a distinct line between narration and indirect speech. An example from the story could be, “Is there really nothing to do at all on a Sunday, she wonders; does nothing even pass through?” Another example from the story could be, “ ’We’re almost home,’ and ‘Won’t it be nice to be home?’ as if this were her home too.” Here the narrator adapts the tone Sonia would use into the narration, thereby creating a closer relation between reader and main character, yet also becoming
Peter and his parents think alike regarding Eastmouth as home. Therefore, when Sonia does not share the same opinions the family try rather forcibly to change her mind, seeing what is written on the sticker on her bag and the missing pregnancy test, not to mention how they keep trying to point out how Eastmouth has more and better things to offer than any other place. An example could be, “ ‘See?’ says Peter. ‘Who needs Las Vegas?’ At the pavilion, they see an Elvis. Sonia finds him disappointing.”

The short story “Eastmouth” is a compelling tale of how different people regard something as their home and that family cannot be forced upon you. Sonia and Peters relationship is more common than one might think, and even the position Sonia is in, can be seen as relatable. The story succeeds in creating a reliable link between the reader and narrator by using Sonia’s point of view, though the cost is that the reader cannot see the big picture in the story, due to the fact that the narrator be-comes