English Essay
By Alexander Vollmers-Hansen
2. F
This essay is an analysis of the short story “Every good Boy” by David Nicholls. I will analyse the main theme, characterize the narrator, the composition, the role of the piano and the ending.
Introduction
We have all been there, and for some, it is still a main struggle; what are we good at? Will we ever be good at anything? Michael, the main character and the narrator of this story, is in that situation; he was literally not good at anything at the age of nine. He was remarkable for being entirely without any abilities, but maybe, he had just found the cure for his problem. “It’s a piano” is the first sentence in the text, and at the same time, it is what Michael thinks, is his breakthrough chance to be good at something. The whole story is about, how he learns to play the piano, because he thinks that this is something he could be good at, but in the end he finds out that, it actually was not.
Composition
The story is build up with flashbacks about events that appeared in chronological order in the past. The language in the text is normal and understandable English. The story probably takes places, sometime between 1964 and 2006, because an old TV-show called “Top Of The Pops” from 1964 is mentioned. The geographical location of the story would most likely be in London.
The theme
There are several themes in this text, but the main theme is the quest for a personal skill. Throughout the whole story, Michael is trying to learn to play the piano. Even though he describes the instrument itself as a monster, but because he thinks that playing the piano is his strong ability, he does not give up. Due to the pressure from his parents, he is testing whether this is in fact his true skill and ability. They want him to be good at something, like his sister, who is a gifted and influential majorette.

Characterization of the narrator
The main character and the narrator in this story is Michael. He is a young man, who is looking back at his childhood, from when he was a 9-year-old boy. He talks about how he lived in a family, where he was the only one, who didn’t have a special gift or ability. He describes in depth the piano that he gets free from a pub, how monstrously build it was and how the keys were chipped and discoloured like fungal toenails. Overall, how disgustingly creepy and ugly it was. He also describes, how that even though the lid was down, the machine oozed malevolence, thrumming along to the TV as if possessed. So already from the beginning, he sees the piano as a bad thing. However, does that opinion have anything to do with what happens at the end of the story?
The piano
The piano is the main element in this story. In the text, the piano is the symbol for being acknowledged. For Michael, being able to play the piano would mean that his parents would recognize him, because he for once would be good at something. Unfortunately, the piano represents at the same time the cruel monster that will murder his piano teacher, Mrs Patricia Chin, at the end of the story. This symbolises an answer to Michael, which is that he should not play the piano. Michael feels very responsible for her death, as he sees the way he played the piano, as the reason for her death. This event finally made a full stop for him playing the piano and instead go look for something else that he could be good at.
The ending
As mentioned, Mrs Patricia Chin dies while she was teaching Michael to play the piano. Michael blames himself for playing Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” so poorly that her heart stopped. It is not the fact that his teacher passed away that bothers him, but the fact that the police would blame him. He knew he should call the police, but he was afraid that maybe he would be charged for manslaughter. Therefore, instead of calling them, he raises Mrs Chin body into a more natural position, and then leaves her apartment pretending nothing happened. He kept the money he was supposed to have given to Mrs Chin for the piano lesson. The police never did suspect him of anything.

The piano, that was the symbol of acknowledgement, instead became the monster, who killed his piano teacher (at least according to Michael). This tragedy actually ended up being the answer to Michael’s quest, as Michael finds out, that playing the piano was not his unique skill. His quest for finding his uniqueness was not answered through a piano, however, his quest continued as he took up violin lessons 6 months later.