Chemistry by Graham Swift, Snowdrops by Leslie Norris,...

Chemistry by Graham Swift, Snowdrops by Leslie Norris, and finally Superman and Paula Brown’s New Snowsuit by Sylvia Platt. How do the authors of the anthology deal with the subject of change? In this essay I am comparing three stories together. These stories are ‘Chemistry by Graham Swift’, ‘Snowdrops by Leslie Norris’, and finally ‘Superman and Paula Brown’s New Snowsuit by Sylvia Platt.’ I will investigate how the stories are similar and different, and also how they come across to the reader. I will explore the techniques they use and how each author deals with the subject of change. ‘Chemistry’ is about a boy recalling his childhood and that sees an ‘invisible’ bond between himself, his mother, and his†¦show more content†¦So we see from the beginning these three stories share similar themes of childhood experiences. Chemistry is a very depressing story, the boy loves his grandfather, and he sees a triangle bond between himself, his mother, and his grandfather. The three go to the pond together to play with the boy’s boat; he sees that the trip the boat makes across the water is on an invisible bonding line. One day the boat sinks, the boy is heartbroken, and not soon after his mother’s lover Ralph invades and takes over the house, forcing Grandfather into isolation in his shed. Grandfather doesn’t seem to mind being in his shed, he sees it as ‘freedom’ and shows the boy some chemistry. He tells the boy a valuable lesson that everything can change. Snowdrops is also quite a depressing story, it is misunderstood until the end what is going on in the story. At the beginning a funeral was mentioned but seems it does not have any relevance to the story. At the middle of the story the mother asks if Miss Webster was in school, which she was not. When Miss Webster does turn up she is wearing a ‘black frock’ (any relevance?) and she makes sure that they see the snowdrops at the same time the funeral passes the school, she then stands at the gates mourning. Superman and Paula Brown’s new snowsuit’s mood is depressing. The poor girl’s childhood dreams are shattered by horrible documentaries of war, and an incident that she was blamed for.