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Letter from the Understudy

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“Letter from the Understudy”
The price for fame, attention and recognition can be high – and yet so many people around the world, want to achieve it. At times, the aim for these achievements can result in horrible situations that might end up hurting more people than you thought. In the short story “Letter from the Understudy”, by the famous British writer Katryn Simmonds, the protagonist draws to psychotic measures to keep up with his fellow actor on his journey to fame. This essay will analyze and interpret the narrative technique, the many references to Shakespeare and his works and a characterization of the protagonist, Gavin.
The short story’s protagonist is Gavin Pollard who lives in London and works as an actor. The text is formed as a letter from Gavin to Malcolm – the director of a play, in which Gavin plays the understudy. In the personal letter Gavin tries to explain a crime he has committed towards his fellow actor, Alex, who plays the leading role of the play. In the letter Gavin writes about his passion for the theatre and that he really wants to be in the spotlight – just for once. His jealous feelings towards Alex results in a purchase from a Chinese herbalist, which is used to poison Alex. Because of the poisoning Alex gets sick, with a short-term stomachache, and therefore Gavin gets the chance to perform in front of the audience.
After the performance, Gavin gets the attention that he so badly wants, which makes him greedy. He gets his friend to round up journalists and casting agents to come see him as the lead role of the play. But when Alex recovers and is ready to come back to the play, Gavin panics and hits him in the head with a cricket bat. They start fighting, but it shortly ends when Gavin hits him again and gets Alex seriously hurt. In the letter Gavin states that it wasn’t his intention to hurt Alex in that extend, although it did

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