The Shining Mountain

"The Shining Mountain"

By Alison Fell

"The Shining Mountain" is a story written by a Scottish poet, and novelist named Alison Fell. She has published poetry and fiction for both adults and children. She has written for "Scotland Magazine", and has worked for the underground newspaper. Alison has won awards such as Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature and Royal Literary Fund Fellowship.

The "Shining Mountain" is a story about a girl named Pangma-La. Her father named her this special name because he wanted to name her after a mountain. Her friends and classmates tease her a lot with the special name, but the worst for her is that those who attend her school, is more interested in her father than they are in her. That's because her father is a famous mountaineer. The father has very high expectations for his daughter, but Pangma-La does not feel that she can live up to these expectations. Therefore, she decides that she once and for all will make him proud, so she begins to train in climbing mountains. As Pangma-La has trained enough, the father and she decides that they will take to the Pangma-La Mountain and conquer the mountain by reaching the top. Over by the mountain as they just are about to begin climbing the meet a Sherpa man. The man wants to carry their bags, but the father thanks no to that, because he did not believe that it is necessary because he and his daughter are strong enough to carry themselves. Pangma-La has many problems along the way to the top. An old Sherpa woman appears and offers her help to Pangma-La. Every day when the Sherpa woman comes she takes something from her. At the end the woman takes her heart and soul, and then the father realizes what his daughter has done, and he shows his real human feelings.

In the beginning of the text the action takes place in Scotland. But then the story takes place possibly in an Asian country as they fly out of Scotland. "Pangma-La and her father took off in a white plane." (p. 2 l. 11-12). Since the father is in the BBC news we must assume the story takes place after 1991 since the BBC news was established that year. It's a story that can both take place in reality, but in some points also only in the imaginary world. An example of that this couldn't happen in real world, would be when the Sherpa woman takes Pangma-La's heart "Give me your heavy, heavy heart daughter" (p. 4 l. 5). But on the other hand, I am sure that there is someone who believes that you can give up your heart to others, just as Pangma-La did. The environment Pangma-La lives in is not very good for her. Her classmates bully her with her name, and she gets no attention, but so does her father instead. But she does not show these feelings toward her parents, and especially to her father, and this one can interpret as she thinks that her father is a role model for her. As she sees him as her role model, she wants to make him proud, she does not show her feelings, and try to be tough like him instead, and that makes her change herself.

In this story there are three main characters. The leading character as the story is about is Pangma-La. She is a girl from Scotland. She has the name because her father would name her, after a mountain. He named her after the mountain in the hope that she