The Red Door | Iain Crichton Smith Flashcards
‘Frugally prepared breakfast’
not wasteful, only necessary, lives a simple, almost primitive life
‘Murdo was a bachelor’
reveals he is unmarried | keeps to himself
‘He was liked by everyone since he didn’t offend anyone by gossiping’
Murdo is keen not to offend or upset anyone else so he avoids becoming involved in village politics as most who do are disliked because of it
‘Maintained a long silence unless he had something important to say’
quiet and does not push himself forward, perhaps lacks confidence
‘No one in his experience had had a red door in the village before’
nothing in the village is unique or creative, it’s all the same
‘Singled him out’
sets the tone for Murdo’s relationship with the village and its rigid social norms | the phrase suggests Murdo is subtly aware of how the community polices behavior. The fear of being different is enough to make people suppress their identity
‘Murdo had never in his life done anything unusual’
the words ‘never done anything unusual’ sums up the routine and the lack of ambition that had characterised Murdo’s life so far | Word choice of ‘never’ sounds very blunt and final and makes the reader feel a degree of sympathy towards Murdo as well as frustration as he clearly has not been living his life to his full potential for the sole purpose to not stand out | lives a basic life, not materialistic but conventional + practical
‘As they did’
repetition - emphasises how much he blindly follows what the other villagers do just so that he could fit in and be liked
‘Nevertheless there were times when he felt that there was more to life than that’
We sense that Murdo is aware he wants more from his life, he thinks differently to his neighbours, but unless an opportunity presents itself to escape from his repetitive routine he could keep going in the same way until he dies
‘I have nothing to get up for really… none would notice the difference’
Murdo is shown here to be apathetic, he feels that his life has no meaning or purpose and that there is no point in him getting up because none of the other villagers are interested enough in him to notice whether he’s there or not
‘Almost unintelligible exclamation which had been repeated as a sign of his foolishness’
when he did speak his mind he was judged, the fact he was ridiculed as a child for doing something spontaneous is maybe why he doesn’t speak out much
‘He spent working on the land in a dull concentrated matter’
doesn’t particularly enjoy his job and just simply gets on with it
‘She dressed in red clothes’
the colour red symbolises passion and anger and links to the freedom of the painted red door
‘Considered slightly odd by the villagers’
Mary is someone who doesn’t fit the village’s mold and is criticised because of it, much like the red door symbolises | represents what Murdo aspires to be – free from social constraints
‘Rusty pipes like snakes’
imagery of snakes used to describe the pipe work in Murdo’s house, just as serpents have connotations of evil so too the pipes in the house are long and thin and look snake like seeming threatening and unpleasant | Word choice of ‘rusty’ suggests the old traditional way of life which Murdo is going to leave behind
‘As people in art galleries do when studying an oil painting’
turning point in how Murdo perceives the door and himself | he sees the door as something that should be admired and contemplated not just a functional object
‘A work of art’
contrasts ‘rusty pipes like snakes’ | metaphor - just as a work of art is a creative object of beauty and worthy of being admired so too the red door is appreciated by Murdo because of its aesthetic, artistic qualities
‘Deeply buried for years’
metaphor of ‘deeply buried’ suggests that Murdo’s true nature has almost died after being continually repressed and suffocated by village life | Word choice of ‘for years’ also reminds us that he has been unfulfilled for a very long time
‘What would the neighbors say about it’
shows the built in routine of always conforming to the villagers surrounding Murdo created for himself is still a reflex thought when something new arises in his life, he will always care about what they say and think
‘Never in the history of the village had there been a red door before’
the village is all the same, nothing unique
‘I have never, he thought with wonder, been myself.’
epiphany - suddenly he sees that his whole life has been spent fitting in to the community and he has never been true to his own identity | this shows he is now willing to break the restrictions that have governed his life in the village up to this moment
‘The red door stood out against the whiteness of the frost’
saying the red door ‘stood out’ shows the symbolism it has of individualism, the fact this red door is contrasting with the landscape it is in is similar to the fact that Murdo deep down wants the courage to ‘stand out’ when in a group of his village folk.
‘The door seemed to him to have its own courage’
the personification of the door makes it seem alive just as a human can summon bravery from within so too the red door appears to be facing the future bravely because it is shining out brightly against the bland whiteness | This inspired Murdo do cease the courage to approach Mary, ready to embrace a new life
‘But really was he happy?’
rhetorical question - questions his assumptions about what had made him feel good in his life
