This study guide will help you analyse the short story “Troll Bridge” by Neil Gaiman (1993). We will show you examples of elements in the text that will be relevant for your analysis. In these notes, we will focus on the summary, characters, analysis, theme and message.
Neil Gaiman (1960) is a versatile British author who writes short stories, graphic novels, theatre plays and even comic books. In fact, a lot of his popularity comes from his comic book series “The Sandman”.
Excerpt
Below, you can read an excerpt from our study guide:
Physical setting
The main physical setting is an old railroad area which, like the narrator, changes across years. When the narrator is a child, the area is still wild in many ways, with fields and forests: “…I found myself on a shady path that was new to me and overgrown with trees; the light that penetrated the leaves was stained green and gold, and I thought I was in fairyland.”
The descriptions of the changing setting reflect the character’s evolution. As a child, the area was a place of adventure for Jack. But, as the character grows older, the landscape also changes, reflecting Jack’s loss of innocence: “The fields started to go, as I grew older. One by one, row by row, houses sprang up with roads named after wildflowers and respectable authors.”
Note that lengthy parts of the narrative are dedicated to presenting the setting through the narrator’s eyes, and the descriptions help emphasise the idea of change and of the passage of time.
