TCG- Mental Health Flashcards
Introduction
‘The Cone Gatherers’ is a tragic and heart-wrenching novel written by Scottish author Robin Jenkins which was originally published in 1955. The novel is set in Scotland in Autumn time during the second world war. The story follows brothers, Calum and Neil, who have been sent to an estate to collect cones. Duror, the game keeper stalks the brothers and completely invades their privacy which develops ideas of mental health deterioration. Jenkins effectively uses techniques like characterisation, plot and key incidents to explore the thought- provoking theme of mental health, which is of social significance to the story, mainly through the complex character of Duror.
Summary
The story of ‘The Cone Gatherers’ takes place over the course of five days where brothers Calum and Neil are working on an estate collecting cones. Throughout the novel we see Duror’s mental health deteriorate and his hatred forthe cone gatherers, especially Calum, develop into an obsession. Duror does everything he can to get the brothers removed from the estate but fails to do so until they ruin an important event, the deer drive. Duror decides he wants their exit to be more dramatic so allows them to stay longer than what was originally decided. At the end of the novel Duror’s mental health overpowers him so he brutally kills Calum and then kills himself.
First introduction to the theme- ‘he had waited for over an hour to see them pass’
Jenkins first introduces the important theme of mental health at the very beginning of the novel through Duror’s obsession with the cone gatherers which continues all throughout the story. It begins with the brothers returning home from work while Duror stood waiting outside their hut with a gun pointed towards it ready for them, ‘he had waited for over an hour to see them pass’. This incident demonstrates the theme of mental health through the beginning of Duror’s mental health decline because he was outside waiting for such a long time just to stalk them and watch them return from work.
‘he had been to their hut so often’
Not only did he wait for them to return but he has also ‘been to their hut so often’, this develops Duror’s mental health because he is constantly invading their personal space and trying to torment them. This unhealthy obsessive hatred for the brothers is very creepy and paints Duror as an evil person fom the very beginning, and although this partly is the case, his mental health plays a big part in his insanity and huge struggle he faces throughout the novel.
‘Neil had said little in reply, but had faced up to the gun raised once or twice to emphasise threats’
Duror has broken into Calum and Neil’s house in the past and held them at gunpoint ‘Neil had said little in reply, but had faced up to the gun raised once or twice to emphasise threats’. This further reinforces his mental health deterioration because these men are innocent and Duror is trying his best to make their life miserable and torment them so they are constantly on edge with him
Release too, from the noose of disgust and despair drawn, these past few days, so much tighter’
When Duror thinks about actually pulling the trigger on Calum he thought that it would have been to much for him ‘Release too, from the noose of disgust and despair drawn, these past few days, so much tighter’. This shows Duror is miserable and suffering in his obsession. The metaphor of ‘noose’ shows he is trapped by it which also foreshadows his later suicide. ‘Disgust and despair’ are both strong work choices which connote extreme negative and depressive emotions.
Introduction to MBP 2, the deer drive
‘Peggy! Peggy!
We see Duror’s mental health hit its peak during a key event in the novel: the deer drive. He arrived at the deer drive half asleep shouting ‘Peggy! Peggy!’. He was having a nightmare followed by hallucinations about his wife, Peggy.
‘Shaking his head like a sick dog, he tried to shake off that hallucination’
and continued on with the deer drive but he had passed out.
‘Was Peggy dead? Suddenly it was as if the burden of misery had been lifted from him. He began to laugh’
When he opened his eyes his first thought was: ‘Was Peggy dead? Suddenly it was as if the burden of misery had been lifted from him. He began to laugh’. This key incident reveals that Duror’s mental health has declined so rapidly to the point he is psychotic as he is laughing at the thought of his wife being dead.
‘seemed to be laughing in some kind of beserk joy’
When they were nearing the end of the event, Duror ‘seemed to be laughing in some kind of beserk joy’. The word choice of ‘beserk’ connotes that Duror is completely insane in this moment as he decides to savagely kill the deer right in the view of Calum, who has previously expressed that he doesn’t want to see a dead animal.
‘They thought he must be ill; but none cared to ask’
Everyone at the deer drive was puzzled as to why Duror was acting so strangely: ‘They thought he must be ill; but none cared to ask’ This incident strengthens the theme of mental health because although everybody at the deer drive could see that Duror was struggling, nobody paid attention to him and left him on his own when he was in desperate need of help.
Final connection to question and themes
These striking examples explore the theme of mental health and how this has affected his social life. It also develops my understanding of another important theme: good versus evil in that Duror is fighting within himself between his mental health, which is declining rapidly, and his sanity.
Introduction to MBP 3, Duror’s suicide etc
‘she noticed the gamekeeper was again unkempt, with the neck of his shirt grubby’.
The day after the incident at the beach hut, a meeting is set to take place between Lady Runcie-Campbell, Duror and Mr Tulloch to discuss the cone gatherers future at the estate. Duror arrived very late and in a complete mess, ‘she noticed the gamekeeper was again unkempt, with the neck of his shirt grubby’. This reveals that Duror’s mental health is declining even more because he doesn’t have any effort to even make himself look half presentable espcially when it is a meeting with someone of such high power in the estate. He doesn’t bother or care to make an effort when meeting with others and possibly looked that same way for a few days which shows his lack of energy to be hygienic and help himself.
‘no dogs accompanied him’
Lady Runcie- Campbell also notices that ‘no dogs accompanied him’ which reveals his mental health deterioration even more as we’ve previously learned he’d rather them to his own wife, so forgetting the dogs or not bringing them is unusual and shows that his mind is all over the place
‘Leaning forward, as if sick’
He was also ‘Leaning forward, as if sick’ and started to utter things about Calum but was not really making any sense. This also reveals Duror’s mental decline because he has his head against the wall as if he is faint and can’t concentrate, and he can’t even put together a proper sentence. Lady Runcie- Campbell doesn’t bother to help Duror and sends him straight back to work which only makes matters worse.
