Mother and Son | Iain Crichton Smith Flashcards
‘The daylight was hooded by thick yellow curtains’
the house is a cage and the way out is covered by a thick barrier, this symbolises the isolation John feels
‘A face which had something childish about it’
the word choice of ‘childish’ initially has connotations of innocence although it could also suggest that John is immature and rather petulant, he hasn’t left home as the other young men from the have so he’s not had the opportunity to grow up fully
‘Dangerous and irresponsible as a child’s’
this extra detail about John’s eyes develops his characterisation and alters our initial perception of him namely that he’s simply immature, the previous connotations of innocence conjured up by the word childish changed suddenly by the adjectives ‘dangerous’ and ‘irresponsible’ this simile suggests that John might be capable of doing harm to his mother if he is pushed too far, because like a child he might lose control in a fit of anger | John is ill-equipped to deal with his mother
‘Soiled pillows and a coverlet of some dark, rough material’
the house is poor and uncared for, gives connotations of the unsettling atmosphere John is having to live with
‘Bitter smile on her lips’
this description initially appears oxymoronic as a smile would generally be considered to be a happy pleasant expression, yet the use of the adjective ‘bitter’ suggests that the woman feels resentment because life has treated her badly in some way | she has allowed resentment to consume her life and that she possibly even enjoys wallowing in misery | ‘bitter smile’ is repeated as a motif later in the story for emphasis to reinforce the characterisation of the mother as a bitter old woman
‘My father was never like you. He was a man who knew his business’
John’s mother had no kind words to say to her long suffering son and she doesn’t miss the opportunity to emphasise that her family was exemplary and that her family was intelligent and competent, in other words ‘knew his business’ unlike John and all his fathers’ side of the family | this constant undermining of John is probably the very reason that he seems to lack the confidence to defend himself effectively against her relentless ridicule
‘Can’t you get a new record for your gramophone’
the gramophone metaphor used by John when he attempts to defend himself is highly effective in conveying the frustration he feels at the repetitive nature of his mothers critical remarks, just as when someone would play the same record over and over again on the record player it becomes monotonous and almost impossible to tolerate so too John finds it unbearable to have to hear the same criticisms over and over again
‘It was in your family but not in ours’
John’s mother is keen to portion the blame for John’s mental weakness and lack of rigour to falts inherited by his fathers’ side of the family | the use of ‘not in ours’ shows that she considers herself to be not part of the same family as her own child
‘Trying to keep detached, trying to force himself from listening’
repetition - ‘trying to’ shows internal struggle, he is emotionally exhausted
‘Burst venomously towards him’
the mother is compared to a snake, constantly biting into him
‘Bitter barbs’
‘bitter’ appears again, reminding us of the resentful, discontentful and spiteful nature of the mother | the imagery of ‘barbs’ is highly effective, just as a barb is a sharp pointed end of an arrow or fish hook which can pierce the skin, be difficult to remove and cause pain so to her critical comments and insults are extremely hurtful and damaging to John, causing long lasting effects that are difficult to forget
‘She enjoyed pricking him with her subtle arrows’
imagery of ‘arrows’ conveys emotional pain John’s mother regularly inflicts on her son with her words | just as a hunter fires arrows from his bow to attack and wound an animal causing it physical suffering so to John’s mother launches verbal attacks on him that are actively intended to wound his feelings
‘Devilish meaning into her smallest utterance’
he sees her as an evil force | inhumane and cruel
‘Joyously’
he still looks for opportunity to try and please his mother
‘His childish blue eyes brimmed with tears’
reinforces the idea of him being a small child and is stuck in his ways
‘Murderous determination’
contrasts with ‘childish’ he is not a child and is capable of harm | word choice of ‘murderous’ is powerful, suggesting that John might be capable of not only fighting back but also of killing his mother
‘If you’ll only say’
repetition - the dependant clause of ‘if only you’ll say’ suggests John has lives for his mother for so long that he doesn’t have a sense of of self and needs his mothers permission to do the ordinary thing of getting a job
‘He would never take any action’
conveys a deep sense of defeat and powerlessness – he knows he is trapped and believed he lacks the strength or will to change
‘Why, you’d be no good in a job’
yet again John’s malicious mother makes a spiteful remark to further undermine her sons already rock bottom self confidence, it’s ironic that she is so quick to judge him for not having a job yet has probably never encouraged him to have one as it would take away her unpaid skivvy.
‘Mute suffering animal’
suggests his lack of intelligence in the mothers’ eyes
‘Why should anybody laugh at me?’
the rhetorical question highlights John’s deep insecurity and his struggle with self-worth, asking this question shows us his sensitivity to the opinions of others | he has a deep internalized feeling of inadequacy and vulnerability and stops himself from being an individual because of his fear of how people perceive him
‘A wall beyond which he could not go through – paradise lay yonder’
word choice of ‘yonder’ conjures up images of an idyllic place and promised land, given how unbearable John’s current existence is the reader can understand why he would dream of breaking free | ‘yonder’ suggests this idyllic place is out of reach
‘Fire leaping about as if it were a soul in hell’
the writer uses a simile to suggest that the house is full of evil. Just as hell is full of darkness and evil so to the house is filled with negativity
‘Dark cave… never to be any escape’
imagery of the ‘dark cave’ - just as if you were in a dark cave it would be pitch black making it difficult or even impossible to identify how to escape the restrictive environment so to John feels imprisoned by his situation, hopelessly lost and with no hope of his life improving
