Homework (short story)

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"Homework" is a short story written by Helen Simpson and was published in 2007.

Plot Summary

The opening of the story begins with George entering the house complaining to his mother that his English teacher, Mr. Mottram, has assigned the students a three page paper that must describe an event that changed their life. As George continues to complain that he does not like the assigned topic, his mother realizes that he had all of the Easter holidays to complete this assignment. Although his mother should scold him for not doing his assignment during the holiday, she feels sympathy for her son and says that she will only help him this one time. George agrees with his mother’s proposition and they begin to compile ideas for George’s three page paper.

George’s mother begins developing ideas to write about such as parent’s getting divorced, extreme arguments, terrifying dreams, and major life rearrangements after divorce. Despite all the ideas, George is hesitant about writing them in his paper because none of the ideas are actually happening in his life. The more ideas George’s mother contributes, the more hesitant George becomes to writing them. She continues to add ideas about George having an older sister, the father having another woman in his life, and the way the woman intrudes on the attention the children get from their father. George’s mother notices the worried expression on George’s face and explains that there is no problem with him writing about the ideas because it is considered creative writing.

After constant explanation from his mother that Mr. Mottram will never know if the story is true or false, George becomes less hesitant and feels more confident about writing his three page paper. At the end of the story, George realizes that he has become more capable of writing his paper and as a result, he sends his mother away while stating he can write the paper on his own now.

Characters and Setting

• The narrator- An adoring unnamed mother who helps her son with homework when he comes home complaining about his English assignment. She wants to help her son but does not realize how uncomfortable her ideas are making her son.
• George- The narrators 13 year-old son who struggles to find ideas for his English paper. He is extremely uncomfortable with the ideas his mother provides for his paper because he thinks he will get in trouble by his teacher for lying.
• Mr. Mottram- George's English teacher who assigns his students to write a three page paper.

About the Author

Helen Simpson was born in 1959 in Bristol and was raised in London. Simpson attended Oxford University and graduated with a major in English. After winning a writing competition sponsored by Vogue magazine, Simpson began working for Vogue as a staff writer for five years until she was able to become financially stable on her own. She began working as a freelance writer for newspaper and magazine companies before she published her first collection of short stories Four Bare Legs in a Bed in 1990. Simpson’s first book of short stories was quickly followed by two more books, Dear George in 1995 and Hey Yeah Right Get a Life in 2000, which was later renamed Getting a Life upon its publishing in the United States. Simpson’s next story titled In the Driver’s Seat was published in 2007 and was followed by the publication of Homework. Many of Simpsons publications have displayed her unique writing style and as a result she was given many awards.

Helen Simpsons stories have each progressively depicted the life of a woman. Her first story, Four Bare Legs in a Bed talks about the intense lust two newlyweds feel for each other. The next story, Dear George depicts the life of a psychotic girlfriend. Simpsons third publication Hey Yeah Right Get a Life is the story that essentially made Simpson name more recognizable. Hey Yeah Right Get a Life illustrated the painful and messy situation about giving birth. In an interview, Simpson explains why this story raised so much controversy:

"It's not that being a young mother is so awful, but it used to be that you couldn't say anything about it, you just had to bite the bullet and get on with it. It was new then... [n]ow you can't pick up the paper without finding someone writing about their babysitter."

Simpsons stories are believed to have been written based on her own life experiences, however her stories come from pure imagination and inspiration. They begin growing from allusions, random pictures and unspecific ideas which she covers with her artistic ways of writing.

Other Short Story Collections by Helen Simpson

• 1990- Four Bare Legs in a Bed and Other Stories
• 1995- Dear George
• 2000- Hey Yeah Right Get a Life (renamed Getting a Life in 2002)
• 2005- Constitutional (renamed In the Driver's Seat in 2007)
• 2007- Homework
• 2010- In Flight Entertainment

2020- "Dear George will my dog eat you"

Simpson's Awards

• (1991) London Sunday Times "Young Writer of the Year" Award:
  • Four Bare Legs in a Bed
• (1991) Somerset Maugham Award:
  • Four Bare Legs in a Bed
• (1993) Granta magazine's twenty "Best Young British Novelist"
• (2001) Hawthornden Prize:
  • Hey Yeah Right Get a Life
• (2002) E.M. Forster Award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Simpson's Other Works

• Libretto for Good Friday, 1663 (Jazz Opera)
• Kate and Mike Westbrook's jazz suite bar Utopia lyrics

Sources

• Charters, Ann. Comp. The Story And Its Writer Compact, An Introduction To Short Fiction. 8th. Boston: Bedford/st Martins, 2011. 770-776. Print.
• http://literature.bureau-va.com/helen-simpson
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006/jan/07/featuresreviews.guardianreview9