Aufgabe 2 · Abitur NRW Englisch LK · Xie: Holding Pattern 2026

2 Analyze how the narrator's emotional state is conveyed. Focus on narrative techniques and use of language. (40 %)

Lösung: Key aspects of the narrator's emotional state and the literary/linguistic devices conveying it: Overwhelmed by mother's request to go shopping for her wedding and by the fancy store: - reflects on her troubled inner self (e.g., first-person narration, words referring to negative emotions) $\rightarrow$ provides insight into her negative feelings - juxtaposes her observations of the present with negative memories of childhood (e.g., enumeration of negative experiences, negative connotation, contrast) $\rightarrow$ illustrates her bewilderment with unexpected changes in her mother's life Appears in tense emotional state: - is hyper-aware of her surroundings, reflects on her own perceptions (e.g., imagery) $\rightarrow$ exposes her annoyance and feelings of inadequacy - feels and reacts differently than her mother to the same circumstances (e.g., contrast between description of mother's behavior and narrator's reaction, imagery) $\rightarrow$ reveals discomfort and embarrassment as she has to play along to meet her mother's expectations Struggles with coming to terms with mother's altered personal situation: - questions mother's emotional attachment to fiancé (e.g., comparison) $\rightarrow$ insinuates that her mother's emotional attachment is shallow and driven by ulterior motives - has to come to terms with her mother's changed personality (e.g., unusual forms of reference, anaphora, imagery, comparison, negative connotation) $\rightarrow$ illustrates narrator's alienation from her mother and her sense of loss