Prejudice is a problem that most people face at some time in their lives. It is one of those things that always strikes us as monstrously unfair, precisely because it involves pre-judging, judging a person or situation before we actually know anything. Yet, no matter how we try, ‘’pre-judgements’’ are terribly difficult to root out of our minds and heart. Instead of bringing or holding us together, prejudice pushes us apart. A person’s clothing, shoes, hairstyle, jewellery, tattoos or lack thereof often become a basis for us to make a snap judgement about the person. Although, some progress has been made throughout the years, prejudice is still very much a part of our society.
‘School Run’ is a short story written by Kate Marsh in 2013. It evolves around a 1st person narrator, who comes to meet and marry her husband Magnus. The story begins with the very first meeting between them, when she was five years old. Magnus is one of her brother’s friends and he drives with them to school every day. It is quite obvious, that the two have a connection between them. As the story moves on, they grow older and Magnus goes away for university. Though, they still keep in touch via letters. In between these events, it is described how the narrator’s friends ask several questions about her relationship with Magnus. It is clear that their relationship is a bit different from the general idea that exists between the people in the story. Magnus wants to ask the narrator to marry her, and we are told that they discuss this between them in a very rational way. Throughout the story it is very clear, that the narrator’s mother is not fond of her daughter marrying Magnus. She asks questions about other boys from the narrator’s youth, insinuating that these might be better for her. Eventually they had children, and when their sons start secondary school the narrator begins to notice a change. People around them start to act differently and less prejudicial. Fashion changes and suddenly the style Magnus had his entire life is becoming fashionable. As the story ends, the narrator tells how old friends ring her up only to get some help for their children’s homework from Magnus. Their view upon him has changed drastically. However, the narrator’s view and love for Magnus has always been the same.
The story is told by a 1st person narrator. Overall, this creates a close bond between the narrator and the reader. Usually this narrative technique is used, so the reader can get an insight in the narrator’s thoughts and emotions. However, in this short story we are kept at bay. We do not witness her thoughts about what other people say; ‘’My friends, as they prepare for another Saturday night, say: ‘Do you really think it’s a good idea to try to keep the relationship going while he’s away (….)’Doesn’t he ever invite you up there to parties and stuff?’’ (l.33-36). As the narrator moves on from this description to a whole other situation in time, we are not enlightened in the narrator’s personal feelings nor opinions. Therefore it is obvious that the story is relatively objective, and thus differs from the more traditional use of a 1st person narrator, which is often used to let the reader get a very subjective relation to the story.
In addition it is relevant to consider the narrative time. The story is written in present tense, even though it goes on over the course of many years, from she is five years old till she is a grown up. The author’s use of present tense throughout the story gives the impression of the different events that occur are small scenes; so called snapshots from her life. This use of narrative time adds to an effect of it being built up by isolated memories or scenes which lets the story move on in its own quite unique time frame.
Magnus is introduced from the very beginning as the best friend of the narrator’s older brother. He teaches her to read while they drive to school. Already in the first paragraph, Magnus is described as ‘’unusual’’, when the mother praises his singing in the car; ‘’How unusual that a schoolboy in this day and age would appreciate them. But then Magnus is a very unusual boy’’ (l.9-11). Other than that we get the impression that Magnus is very clever and intelligent, because he takes a high educational degree. When the narrator describes the situation around their marriage, we get the impression that Magnus is very rational and honest in everything he does; ‘’He says to me, ‘I was going to buy you an engagement ring but I wasn’t sure whether we should buy it together or if I should choose one and surprise you. There appear to be two schools of though.’’ (ll.43-45). Even though this proposal is not described as a classic romantic proposal, we do sense that Magnus indeed cares for the narrator, and clearly wants to make her happy.
The abovementioned points all contribute to the characterization of Magnus, however, the relationship between him and the narrator is also very important to characterise. It is not explicitly described how neither the narrator nor Magnus feels about their relationship. The narrator’s affection seems to be implicitly embedded in her descriptions of her friends’ opinions about him. So even though there are no real descriptions of how they actually begin an intimate relationship or their emotional connection, we are as readers not in doubt about their love and affection for each other. She is the one who ‘’(…) really knows him’’ (ll.122). On top of that we experience the connection between them with the narrator’s detailed description of him while sleeping. She simply admires him. In addition, it is worth mentioning that their love and connection is quite unconditional. She describes how he sleeps through movies, but she does not care. The most important thing was that he was there. She also does not mind that he pronounces the R’s wrong. This indicates how her love for him needs no explanation; it just is.
The narrator’s descriptions of Magnus does indeed emphasize that he is a special guy. She is aware of the differences between him and the other boys. Nevertheless, as the story develops, it becomes very clear that almost everyone except the narrator has prejudice against both Magnus, their relationship and the narrator’s feelings for him. The narrator meets scepticism both from her friends and her mother as well. Even when the narrator and Magnus have children the mother’s negative opinion of him endures. Towards the end of the story, the ‘type’ of person Magnus is becomes more and more accepted in the society. Suddenly he is more acknowledged, and when he attends TV programs, people start calling them for help for their own children. This drastic change simply underline the essential point of prejudice: how people judge someone from a certain idea of what is both ‘cool’ or ‘normal’.