The text as I see
it has two themes: Homosexuality and society today (in the nineties). The
relationship between Jaz and Tony as depicted in the story clearly shows that
a homosexual relationship in many ways
resembles a heterosexual relationship. Jaz and Tony have their occasional
disputes as would any other couple - everything is normal. Yet they face some
problems other couples would not. For example, it seems that Jaz has no contact
(at least not very much) with his family anymore. This sudden loss of contact
with his family must come as a great surprise to him as he reacts very strongly
to it. We are never told why Jaz' family did not contact him that Christmas,
but my guess would be that they did it on purpose, maybe by order of the father
who was very much against Jaz moving in with Tony. As we know that Jaz and Tony
have lived together for almost three years, this must be the first year Jaz
does not hear from his family. If it was not, I do not think he would be as
upset as he is.
The way Tony responds to Jaz shows that Tony
does not find it easy to express his feelings toward Jaz. He thinks that trying
to comfort him would cause a worse temper whereas I believe that Jaz would like
some words of consolation. Of course Tony knows Jaz better than I do, but most
people like some comforting when they are upset about something.
(In the following
paragraphs I presume that the city referred to in the text is London. This may
not be correct, but I know of no other English city with an Underground).
Miss Massey and
her situation is not unusual in London. There are many destitute people living
on a day-to-day basis just like herself. We Danes are not used to seeing
homeless people walking around in the streets here in Denmark, but in London
this is a normal sight. Some of them have chosen to live their life in the
streets (just like our "bag ladies"), but the majority has been
forced to live in the streets because of their financial situation. We are not
directly told whether Miss Massey has chosen to live in the streets herself or
has been forced to do so because of her financial situation, but I have a
feeling that it is her own choice. She never complains about her life or the
system, she seems to be very satisfied with her life as it is. Her only problem
is that she is sick. That is not unusual at her age, but in her case it is
probably because she has lived in the streets for such a long time. The rough
weather taxes any person's health, especially if one is getting on in years.
The picture of
society as presented in the text gives us a very realistic picture of London
today. The description of the homeless is very matter-of-fact, nothing is
embellished to make it sound better than it actually is. Miss Massey lives in a
cupboard in an Underground station. She is lucky - many people do not have a
roof over their head at all. They have to sleep in the streets and beg for
money to live for. This is one of the things that characterizes London: The
destitute people. You see them on every corner and in every back alley in
London. Miss Massey has lived in the street for many years. This is another
thing which characterizes many larger cities. Once you are without a roof over
your head, you stay that way forever. We see the same thing happening
everywhere in the world today. More and more people are without a home today,
and most of them will stay that way if not for the rest of their lives then for
a very, very long time.
A thing which is not depicted in the story is
how homosexual couples are looked upon in general. This varies quite a lot from
country to country, but in most countries gay couples are not welcome
everywhere. I do not know how the situation is in England, but if gay couples
had been very unwelcome in England, the text would probably have described the
situation in some way. I think gay couples are widely accepted in Danish society, but I have nothing to base
this allegation on, it is purely a guess.
Based on what we
know about Tony and Jaz, the ending does not come as a surprise to me. They
often talk at cross purposes and thereby misunderstand each other at times.
This is exactly what happens in the end of the story. Tony wants to show that
he really loves Jaz and wants to help him with all his problems as much as he
is able to, but Jaz is not sure he understands him right and Tony is not sure
he expressed himself clearly enough. This, I think, is the beginning of the end
of their relationship unless something drastic is done. No relationship can
exist if the persons involved do not understand each other. I believe that Tony
and Jaz will work out their problems, but no one knows for sure if they are
able to open up to each other and thereby understand each other better.
A continuation of
the story:
When they got
home, they were met by a foul smell of vomit. They immediately hurried into the
living room where they found Miss Massey lying on the floor with her face
buried in vomit.
"What has happened?!", Jaz asked her
with a strident voice while supporting her head with one hand. She did not look
good - her face was very pale and her eyes had a very distant look. Tony had
already gone to the kitchen to get some water.
"It's the medicine," Miss Massey
stuttered, "I think I'm allergic to it." She had a fit of coughing and it sounded as
if she was going to regurgitate once again, but she managed to keep it inside
her this time. Tony came back with a glass of water and handed it to Jaz.
"Here, have a drink of water," Jaz
said holding the glass to her lips. She sipped a few times and began to cough
again.
"We have to get her to the
hospital," Tony said to Jaz,
clearly concered about Miss Massey. She was about to protest, but Tony and Jaz
both gave her a look that could not be misunderstood. She was going to the
hospital, no doubt about it.
Jaz was driving the car to the hospital, Tony
and Miss Massey were in the back seat of the car. Miss Massey had not coughed
much since they left the apartment, but just before they reached the hospital,
she went into a paroxysm of coughing. Her face became all blue and she gasped
for breath. Tony tried to pat her on the back, but that did not help.
"Then do something, dammit!", Jaz
screamed, but there was nothing Tony could do. When they arrived at the hospital,
Miss Massey was unconscious. Jaz ran ahead to find a doctor. Tony had Miss
Massey in his arms when he arrived at the casualty department. In no time, a
doctor and three nurses were working on her, stuffing needles and tubes into
her. Tony and Jaz who were both paralyzed, were escorted to the waiting room by
another nurse who told them not to worry about Miss Massey - she was going to
be just fine. Neither Tony nor Jaz believed her, but they were both too shocked
to protest.
It was not twenty minutes before the doctor who
had received them at the entrance entered the waiting room with a sad look on
his face. Miss Massey had died. Tony and Jaz could not believe their own ears.
They had never given any thought to how it would be to lose Miss Massey and how
much she really meant to them. Now when she was dead, they had all the time in
the world to think about it. And they did.
Overs'ttelse: Why
was Jack the Ripper never found?
In the autumn of
1888, the inhabitants of London were frightened out of their wits. A murderer
called Jack the Ripper had killed five women in the most brutal way. The
victims were all prostitutes from Whitechapel, a slum area in London. In spite
of the fact that the police had concentrated all available manpower on the case,
they never succeeded in finding the culprit, and the case was officially closed
in 1892. At that time, many of the technical methods of investigation we know
of today did not exist. In the nineteenth century, the police had difficulties
solving a crime unless the culprit was caught in the act or an eyewitness was
found.
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