Chemistry - Graham Swift Flashcards
‘Mother, Grandfather and I’
Rule of Three:
Sense of completion and balance.
‘As if Grandfather was pulling us towards him on some invisible cord’
Grandfather takes the patriarchal role within the family, a dependant figure. ‘Pulling’: possessive, controlling.
‘An actual line existing between Grandfather, myself and Mother’
Metaphor: symbolising the depth of their bond, as if they were connected literally.
‘Suddenly became deeper and deeper into the water, sank’
The boat sinking acts as a metaphor for their relationship. Sinking mirrors the Father’s death - ‘Irish sea’ / ‘miniature sea’. The first time the narrator witnesses a tragedy.
‘He said, very gravely, ‘you must accept it, you can’t get it back’ as if he were repeating something to himself.
Links to Grandfather’s own experience with grief, linking to the theme/motif. Adverb ‘gravely’ exemplifies solemnity of the loss, which is still affecting the Grandfather.
‘Grandfather, without saying anything, would often gaze curiously into my face.’
Adds to the grief motif, seeing reminders of the person you lost again due to physical similarities. Adverb ‘curiously’ - unusual, questioning manner.
‘In a state which resembled a trance, as if some outside force were all the time directing her’
Child perspective/understanding of grief and depression. Grief motif: Mother tries to move on as soon as possible to supress the grief.
‘My childish assumptions were only a way of allaying my own grief.’ (father’s death)
Narrator properly reflects upon the situation, trying to understand loss as a child with low emotional depth/intelligence.
‘Allaying’ verb: diminish
‘As if afraid I might turn into air.’
Mother struggles with the fear that loss installs in people.
‘We lived quietly, calmly, even contentedly within the scope of this sad symmetry.’
Rule of 3: exemplify to reader how comfortable their life had become (before Ralph)
Sibilance: tension, the reoccurrence of grief, the mirroring of loss between Mother and Grandfather.
‘He was a big man, who ate heartily, and I was often afraid he might hit me.’
Shows the classical patriarchal power/role Ralph has within the family dynamic.
‘We lived for each other’
Effect of grief: moving on, emotional dependence.
‘The delicate equilibrium he, she and I had constructed over the months.’
Chemistry motif: ‘equilibrium’, the sense of balance/completion
‘I remember keeping a sort of equation in my head: if Ralph hurts Grandfather it means I am right’
Chemistry motif: reactants and products. Growing up motif: The childish processing of relationship and emotional changes whilst growing up. Reader immersed in the narrators thoughts.
‘Her face had the same quivery look of being about to spill over.’
Metaphor for the breakdown of the family, a reoccurring image to the narrator.
