Analysis Of Frank Sargeson s Short Stories Conversation...

Connections One might have heard about Frank Sargeson many times, but never really had the opportunity to know more about him. This text offers the chance to learn about his contribution to New Zealand literature. Frank Sargeson was one of New Zealand’s most important short story writers. He was born in Hamilton on the 21st, March 1903 and died in Auckland, the first of March of 1982. His peculiar works contributed to creating a special language. Like Katherine Mansfield, who is considered to be the first who used New Zealand’s modernist writing style, Sargeson has been responsible for placing New Zealand’s literature on the world map. Because he lived in the years when New Zealanders were still looking for their own identity, as most Pakeha at that time considered Britain their motherland, it was complicated for him to distinguish himself from the rest of them. My aim in this essay is to identify, analyse and critique the similarities and differences of four Frank Sargesonà ¢â‚¬â„¢s short stories: ‘Conversation with my Uncle’, ‘Cats by the Tail’, ‘A Piece of Yellow Soap’ and ‘Chaucerian’. Many things intrigued me about Sargeson such as: the development of anecdotes into short stories, the transcript of the New Zealand colloquial language, and the use of simple words leading to a breathtaking level of complexity in his stories. But what impressed me the most was the fact that he almost never referred to himself in his workings, keeping a low, mysterious profile. In every story we