Structure

The short story “Troll Bridge” by Neil Gaiman is structured around several moments in the life of the protagonist, marked by his meeting with a troll. Each time the protagonist meets the troll represents a moment of tension in the narrative, but also a stage in Jack’s life: childhood, teenage years, adulthood.

In what follows, we will look at the structure of “Troll Bridge”, outlining the plot elements.

Title

The title of the short story suggests the narrative is connected to a troll bridge, yet we do not know if the story is actually about trolls or not. However, the readers might imagine that the story is a fable or fairytale involving trolls. Upon reading the short story, we realise it is, indeed, about a troll and a boy, who subsequently becomes an adu...