Fear In Lezanne Clannachan's The Monster Under The Bed

Everyone, from the youngest child to the oldest adult, experiences fear at one time or another. If you want to conquer fear, you have to face it, do not sit home and think about it. You have to go out and get busy, because in the end, it is only going to hurt you and the people you love.
The short story ”The monster under the bed” written by Lezanne Clannachan represents the topic of fear.

The short story is set in London Waterloo at a train station. The whole story takes place on a bench in the station hall. The place of action remains the same physical setting, but there are some references to the main character, Eddie’s home. The story takes place over one evening, but the exact time setting is not mentioned. It can be assumed that

Angie is a mother for two and she works with insurances. From her outer characterisation, we find that she does not look like a typical mother. She is very aware of how she looks, ”She laughs at his bad joke, the light catching a diamond piercing above her lip. She’s wearing a lot of make-up. Trying to look younger than she is.”(ll.31-32) From the conversation between her and Eddie, it is clear that she has a curious mind. As a reader, we do not get into Angie’s thoughts, but we get to know her by her actions and how she is presented from Eddie’s point of view.

The short story is a third-person narration. It is from Eddie’s point of view the story is told, which is how the narrator illustrates the story’s themes. We know about Eddie’s feelings, thoughts and what he remembers, ”The anger sits on his chest like a fat, ugly toad. If he goes home feeling like this, it’ll ruin his mum’s birthday surprise” (ll.73-74). The fact that the narrator uses Eddie’s point of view helps the reader to understand the main character’s situation. Furthermore, it makes the character more relatable, which brings the message into