The Go-Between

The Go-Between Essay The Go-Between is a short business relationship written by Ali Smith in 2009. The yarn was written for a collection of short stories written to celebrate the sixertieth anniversary of the United Nations adoption of the universal declaration of hu public rights. The generator found inspiration in article 13, which describes the right to freedom of movement. The degree follows the 33-year-old former microbiologist who gives us a direct insight into what it means to be African refugees on the border between Morocco and Spain. I was a microbiologist, before. (Page 3, striving 32-33)The fabricator is even, for some reason, fled his native Cameroon, and has on some(prenominal) occasions assay to flee across the border to Europe. None of his attempt is successful, and they have woo him pull up stakes of his ear and a hitch. He explains in detail intimately how flight tests were acquiree and what treatment he has received from the authorities. The fibber has put a panache himself to escape and have now settled in the Spanish metropolis of Ceuta, located in Morocco. Here he lives in a picayune room with three former(a)s, w present he works as a happen (Go-between) for newly arrived refugees.He establishes contact between aid organization doctors and refugees. He speaks several(prenominal) languages and can put the switch in position. The French doctors can be Italian, Spanish, French, English, for instance. I speak these, and also some others. (Page 2, line 31-32) The novel provides a powerful insight into the miserable and tragically conditions refugees in North Africa. The story is told finished a first person narrator, who sound outs the story in the onetime(prenominal) tense. The narrator seems to be at a distance of the actions he describes.The narrator is authoritarian by virtue of the feature that he is anticipating the events of the story. Given the incident that the story is told by a first person narrator, in tha t location is yet one propose of view. Obviously we argon dealing with an inner point of view the events argon being viewed with inner sight from the narrators point of view. We are only told roughly the narrators own thoughts and what he feels and senses. As mentioned, the narrator has several times attempted to flee to Europe, but all the experiments have failed, and he has every time been sent back.The first time the narrator is assay to reach Europe, his ladder number two breaks, and he gets caught out in nowhere between the two fences that separates Europe and Africa. Here he lives for six weeks, with the help of the workers who are about to put the fence up. Finally prisoners police him and send him back to Africa. The second time the narrator, along with 500 other refugees, tries to jump over the two fences that separate them from Europe. During the trial he, loses a part of his ear, then they all get caught and sent back to Africa.Before repatriation, they are pursue b y dogs, beaten with sticks and shot at. They are non officially recorded, as is supposed, but are simply sent back to Africa. The third and quartern escape attempt takes place in the water, but the narrator gets picked up by patrols boats both times. One of those times he loses a finger on one of the barbed wire fence that is set up under water. After the many unsuccessful escape attempts, the narrator helps the African refugees who arrive from Ceuta. I help the French doctors. Borders are not eer visibleI can go between people and places. I can go to the bits of the city they cant, or the buildings they cant, or the people they dont know about, or the people who dont wish to be seen. I can take them with me I can tell the people its okay. (Page 2, line 39-42) The writer uses an unusual report sprint in his short story, which starts in medias res with a irresolution You know what Spain is? (Page 1, line 1) That the story starts in medias res means that there is no introducti on or opening, and the reader is not presented to the situation, persons or stage setting of the story.So you dont know what has happened in advance of the situation you are presented to. The most rank feature in the story in terms of writing style is the fact that it is written like if the narrator is talking to somebody. That we can tell by the questions, the informal, the casual language and the missing questions marks. It is almost like you are reading a part of a conversation between the narrator and someone else. We are only introduced to the narrator, which makes him the main character.The only things we know about him is his former work and his physique. As mentioned before, he is a educated man who speaks several languages. He does also quote the scientist Van Leeuwenhoeck. We are told that he is 33 years old, and in the end of the story he describes himself as a slight man. Im a small, slight man. Im not a big man. Im slight and slight. My stature is slight. My coat is a bit too slight here comes the winter. (Page 4, line 120-121) The story seems to be critical of the problems concerning freedom of movement in the existence.Weve been given an insight in a world where freedom of movements is non-existent. To bespeak this, Ali Smith uses irony as a very effective way of calling peoples attention to the problem, which he is perfectly illustrating through the short story. He wants to draw peoples attention to the fact that the human right are not fulfilled, and that politicians all over the world has to look at this problem, because the people who are supposed to register the refugees seemingly dont know how to do their job.The refugees are injured, humiliated and chased, with dogs, sticks, electric automobile shock sticks and gun (Page 1, line 23-24) The short story can be seen as a wake-up call to the world. Instead of celebrating the anniversary, action should be taken. right away it the time to actually fulfil the rights we have given peop le and not just be satisfied with the ways things are functioning at the moment. Ali Smith