Analysis of ”a Gap of Sky” by Anna Hope

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While she walks in the search for ink her head suddenly feels an intensifying pain in her brain, she is convinced that it is because of the drugs. The pain is so extreme that she feels as if she is dying, that makes her think about life and death.

“What would happen to her if she (Ellie) dies?”

She is afraid by the thought of her being dead and she starts to realize that she needs to change.

She notices a gap of sky, which is also the title of the short story. It is a metaphor for her state of mind and she does not know whether it is where something has just collapsed, or if it is an empty space where something new can grow.

The setting of A Gap of Sky is London, but it is not the city itself that is important. It is the environment that plays a major factor in the short story. This placing shows the modern society. People of different races and cultures live together and Ellie blends in easily,

“It is filled with people, and everyone, everyone Ellie sees has the same substance within them, around them, connecting them, looping between them in great bonds of love”.

The city gives her freedom to develop her life in numerous ways, but unfortunately it also makes the way for things like drugs into Ellie’s life.

It is important to remember though, that Ellie is not meant to be thought of as an actual human being. She is a symbol, an exaggeration of the things she stands for. She represents the result of children growing up in this modern society. Coming generations has more choices and more freedom than ever before, but like everything else, this has both positive and negative outcomes. Are we able to handle all these choices? Which path is the “right” one to take in life, when there are so many available? This is the theme Anna Hope uses in her short story, also individualism and existentialism because the meaning of life isn’t clear but chaotic and confusing. She has to go through a “journey” to discover her identity and the meaning of life.