Every Good Boy Analysis

In life it’s important to find your calling, wherever it contains playing sports, or mastering the piano. In the short story Every Good Boy by David Nicholls, the protagonist has yet to discover his true talent, and at the age of nine he hasn’t discovered the one thing he can do well. He finds a cure for his problem through learning to play the piano, and thinks of it as his breakthrough to finally being good at something. But his on-going journey to success shows to be no ride in the park, and lots of struggles are to come.

Right from the start the reader gain an insight in the pressure to shine at something, that the protagonist undergoes, which contributes to the main theme Identity. He uses the piano as a tool of discovering his own personal

The narrator describes himself as being an “an aggressively polite and obedient boy” (p.2 l.49). He is very strong willed and stubborn, and is proud to finally be pursuing his dream of being good at something. Even though the narrator shows a thriving drive and a certainty to become successful, he also has a degree of insecurity as he compares himself to his other successful siblings. ” My sister was a gifted and influential majorette, my older brother could dismantle things, but at that time of my life I could – and this really is no exaggeration – do nothing well.” As the only untalented family member, it makes him feel like the black sheep of the family. Nicholls places the point of view with the narrator and main character and tells the story with a personal narration that contains few instances on how the main character fell himself, instead it’s told through objective considerations and observations. “Mrs Chin could not afford to be a snob. She was local, cheap and needy and therefore the ideal teacher for me.” (P.2 ll. 38-40) Nicholls uses this technique, as it reflects the mindset of a 9-year-old, and let the reader experience how the main character deals with his