Shouting at Cars

Essay “Shouting at Cars”

Most families who celebrate Christmas have their own holiday traditions, whether it be to bake cookies, meet Santa Claus at the mall, dress up and so on. That’s not the case with the family in the short story “Shouting at Cars” written by Adam Marek, published in 2013. Here we witness a family with a strange holiday tradition that includes a troll.

Every year this family, consisting of four people, take care of a troll. They do not enjoy giving, it was more like a burden to them. The narrator says at P.3 L. 103-105

“ What made me most angry was how everyone else in the house seemed so much more relaxed after the troll died. So light and warm and happy, once they were freed from the their obligation”. This stands out to the reader, and makes us wonder what the purpose of this act is. They didn’t do it out of kindness, but rather because they have to. This is might be similar to the immigration crisis occurring in the west lately.

I believe the theme of the short story is acceptance and friendship. A clear example of the friendship is the actual friendship that the narrator creates with the troll. Even the title suggest some of the activities they used to perform together, such as Shouting as Cars.

Shouting at Cars is a fantastic short story, because the reader encounters something strange, which is the troll. We hesitate, but then find a logical explanation. However I feel as though this has some uncanny features, because when you analyse it, you find a logical explanation. An example could be that the “troll” is a substitute/metaphor for a homeless man or a disabled person, either way we find a logical explanation.

The troll is a symbol for the outcast, the weirdos or simply the “different”. Informally they could be known as handicapped or even minorities. The point is that they are different. Therefore a contrast from the “normal” people. What they all have in common is that society judges them and that something might be wrong with them merely for their individuality.