Collective power vs individual power - Individual power Flashcards
How do individuals possess destructive power?
For not speaking the truth
Walter repeats throughout the course of the novel variations on
‘But I choose to hold my tongue’
Why did the killing of the doves, which was blamed on the newcomers start a spiral of destruction?
Because it was not committed by the outsiders at all -
The act of burning the dovecot was actually committed by the…
‘Fairy-headed men’ - Brooker Higgs and the Derby twins
The reader is aware that Walter knows the act was not committed by the outsiders as he says…
‘I know at once who is to blame’
Why is the theme of scapegoating important?
Crace illustrates the ease at which the blameless can become the accused
What could have happened if Walter had spoken up for his beliefs and the truth?
Avoided the death of the man on the pillory, the anger of the Beldam’s and the burning of the village
Why is the responsibility of the individual important?
Crace chooses an ‘Ode to Solitude’ for the epigraph
Why is Walter’s first person narration destructive?
Walter’s view is the only narration that we are presented with and he is therefore the individual who seems most destructive
