The Moose and the Sparrow

Med denne study guiden får du hjelp til din analyse av novellen “The Moose and the Sparrow”(1966) av Hugh Garner. Novellen finnes på side 209 i læreboken Targets.

Hugh Garner (1913-1979) ble født i England, men han vokste opp og bodde mesteparten av livet sitt i Canada. Hans litterære verk er inspirert av hans eget eventyrlige liv, og de tar for seg livet i Canada og krigstemaer. Garner skrev både fantastisk og realistisk litteratur.

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Winning against the odds

Another important theme in the short story is winning against the odds, where a stronger opponent can be defeated by a trick or by a special skill by the weaker opponent. This story features a conflict between two unevenly matched opponents. Moose is not only physically stronger, he is also Cecil's boss. However, Cecil wins against Moose through a combination of skill and intelligence.

Everyone in the logging camp, even Moose, is impressed by Cecil's ability to work with wire: “The way he braided the thin wire and shaped it around a length of thin sapling was an interesting thing to see. Moose was watching him too, but pretending not to.” (p. 212, ll. 6-9). After it serves its purpose of tripping Moose to his death, the wire is then used to make a watch strap for Mr Anderson. The watch strap “looked like a real professional job” (p. 214, l. 19).

Cecil uses his mind to set a trap for Moose, which no one suspects. As Mr Anderson realizes later, Cecil probably calls Moose’s name and tricks him into ...