Essay on “Owl” by Jackie Kay

“Owl” is a story about two friends and their childhood encounter with an owl. It is a story about a childhood friendship that lasts longer than they could have imagined. Barn and Tawny is what they called themselves when they one holiday discover an owl together. These nicknames and the encounter with the owl stays with them all the way till their forties. Now they are all grownup, but did their childhood have an influence on the way they are today? It is a tale of how one experience can connect to friends forever.
The short story takes places in several places. In the beginning, it takes place on the farmland where their parents went on summer holiday. This is the place where the two friends come across an Owl on the farm. The two friends bond over this owl and make up their first nicknames for each other. The narrator was named Barn and her friend was named Tawny. What they did not know was that this bonding experience would make them friends for long out into the future. Another thing that they find out, but do not pay much attention to, is that Barns parents are starting to like Tawny’s parents, meaning that Barns mother is starting to talk more with Tawny’s father, and vice versa with Barns father and Tawny’s mother. This might seem weird for the receiver; however, the main characters do not seem to realize it too much. Then in the middle of the text, they are suddenly at back home from the farm. A scene is described where Barn and Tawny are in school and are meeting up with their friend Sandra. Sandra is envious with Barn having gotten a closer friendship with her former best friend, Tawny. The last section of the text is presumably set in Barns parents’ home. Either way it is not set at her own house or Tawny’s house based on these quotes: PP. 4, ll. 76 “”What are you going to do?” She asked me” and PP. 6, ll. 154 “I didn’t want her to leave. We walked to the end of my street and turned left”, this indicates, that it is not Barns house, but still her street. In this section, they talk about their old memories of finding the owl. For the first time, here they also talk about their parents’ relationships and how it was tough time for them to deal with. Furthermore, they talk about how they are forty years and the outside, but still feel young on the inside. They prove this to themselves through talking about their childhood and by acting as if they are young again. One might say they are reliving their old memories in order to stay young inside. The ending to the short story is very idyllic and symbolic. At the end, they both see a heron flying away with its big wings. PP. 6, ll. 167: ““We had big wings, didn’t we Tawny?” I said a little sadly, the river slow beside me. “You’re starting to sound very middle-aged” Tawn said. “Remember you’re only ten. And you do still have wings. You’re going to need them anytime soon.”” This can interpreted as you always have a chance to begin from scratch. People talk about the term “Growing your own wings and flying away” which meaning is to grow up and make it on your own. When the main character, Barn, talks about getting her a place of her own this can be interpreted as her taking of and taking care of herself.
The narrative technique is consistent throughout the story. The short story is told from a third person perspective from Barns point of view. The story does not start in medias res but it starts in a rather fast tempo in the beginning. In the first sentence we already get the two main characters’ names and are told about their encounter with the Owl. The narrator seems a bit unreliable in the first part of the text because there is a mixture between reality and imagination. This is seen here PP. 3, ll. 49: “But she wasn’t there,” I said. “She never brought the owl a rabbit!” I was outraged. “You’ve got to earn your nickname!” “But we never brought the owl a rabbit.” “But she’s not to know that!” I said. “Anyway, we did really because we did it in our head”. On the other hand this can also be interpreted as a sign of a reliable narrator, because the narrator admits that she was wrong and based her statements on imagination. The act of admitting can also be a sign of reliability. The tone of the short story is very personal and calm. This is based on the colloquial language. This style of writing is used to personalize the text itself. When including the use of words with standard difficulty it makes the stylistic level very low and thereby makes the short story easily readable. Even though the text is quite simple it still makes use of some more or less hidden imagery and symbolism. For example the owl. Firstly, the owl symbolizes Tawny and Barn’s friendship. It is the one thing they bonded over that has kept them friends until their forties. However, the owl is also known to symbolize wisdom. This might have to do with the wisdom they have gained throughout their friendship. In the part of the story where the two characters reminisce about their childhood Tawny, especially, seems to have gained a lot of wisdom since the incident with the owl. The owl is also the connection that ties the two contrasts of being young and being middle-aged together. The contrast between the characters being young and the characters being middle-aged is shown very vividly throughout the short story. The short story is divided into two main parts and the distinction between these two parts is very visible. The part of the short story with them being children is characterized by the childish colloquial language and the event that happen within this part. In contrast to this, the part with them being middle-aged is influenced by a high stylistic level, but without any formalities.
Generally, this short story is a point of view from a child and her friend that grew up, but still stood together and are still young on the inside. The story is rather simple, but has element and features that require a deeper understanding of the text. The contrast between the two distinctive parts of the text is very visible, and emphasizes the importance of staying young on the inside.