Summary
It is a short story, Ellyday, by Helen Olajumoke Oyeyem in 2005 and the theme is anorexia. It is about two girls, Elly and Sophie, who have been best friends for years. Sophie has discovered that Elly suffers from anorexia and she wants to do something about it. Sophie has some inner conflicts about how to approach the problem. Elly is so ill that she can’t even speak, read or see properly anymore. She asks Elly to pull up her jumper, but when Elly refuses, Sophie says that she knows what’s going on. Elly starts to cry and partly blames Sophie for her sickness. Elly asks Sophie when it is okay to die. If there are some things in life you must have done before you die. Sophie doesn’t know how to answer her question and then finally Elly pulls up her jumper.
Characterization
Sophie and Elly have been best friends for years. Sophie is the bossy one who is always telling Elly what to do, she has often threatened to stop talking to Elly if she doesn’t do what Sophie says. Elly’s mother never really liked Sophie. Elly must have had a low self-esteem in a while, because she has developed anorexia. In the beginning of the story Elly is hostile towards Sophie. She doesn’t want to admit to her best friend that she has an illness, probably because she is embarrassed and feels like a failure. Sophie is nervous about her friend from the beginning of the text, but also a bit annoyed about how Elly pronounces words and sentences. I think Sophie is embarrassed for not doing something before and that comes out in her annoyance, because she is mad at herself. In my opinion Sophie is right trying to help her friend, but I think she should have done something about it before it got out of hand. I think Elly has felt inferior to Sophie because Sophie is the boss in their relationship, and that she has felt neglected because she has lived in the shadow of Sophie. But now, when Elly has got an illness she will get the attention that Sophie used to get and