The Telegram | Iain Crichton Smith Flashcards
‘Fat domestic bird’
bird simile contrasts the two women | ‘domestic’ suggests that the fat woman belongs in the village and is comfortable there as she is a native as well as emphasising her rotund shape | lack of drive and aspirations as she leads an unfulfilling life, never leaving the nest
‘Like a buzzard’
bird simile contrasts the two women | comparison to a bird of prey that flies above fat domestic birds implies that she looks down on the fat woman and the other women of the village and that she has to be constantly vigilant to survive
‘Strange plague… meaninglessly, randomly’
simile - comparing the destructiveness of war to a plague | just as a plague is an insidious, infectious disease that people are terrified of catching because it kills them so to the destructiveness of war causes people to be afraid and results in death | develops the theme of loss and the destructiveness of war | word choice of ‘meaningless’ underlines the futility or pointlessness of war
‘Strange missile’
by using imagery of a missile; a weapon of destruction, that is aimed at a target to convey the effects of the yellow telegram on a household and its inhabitants the writer makes clear the devastating impact of these telegrams on families | just as a missile destroys its target so to the arrival of a telegram causes irreversible damage to the families affected and fear awaiting for it
‘Desolation’
extends the previous imagery | effectively uses language to convey the effects of war and its destructiveness | just as a weapon of great power can destroy everything you love so to can the telegram by giving you the worst news imaginable
‘The thin woman was not popular’
this shows the thin woman is an outsider to the community | non-conformity is frowned upon in the village | her lack of popularity may be due to her being educated and seen as ‘above’ others
‘She was an incomer’
highlights the difference from everyone else | the thin woman is not native to the village, the community holds resentment towards people who are not native therefore the thin woman being isolated to herself and never fully accepted
‘The fat woman had lived in the village all her days; she was a native’
contrasts the thin woman’s outsider status | suggests someone’s value in the village is tied to their origin
‘It’s different for the officers’
the sarcastic tone in the fat womans’ voice tells us that just as she is judgemental of the thin woman and how she acts she is also judgemental of the fact that she may not have to worry as much about her son as the others in the village
‘Thin woman who was thinking that the fat woman was very stupid’
the thin woman may appear reserved, but harbors strong, unspoken feelings | she doesn’t express this though, demonstrating her internal restraint
‘But then most of them were’
tone - suggests a dismissive attitude | the thin woman holds her own judgemental views of the village around her
‘Didn’t want to be thought of as snobbish’ life in the village is conformative, people care about what others think and choose not to better themselves and instead just conform to each other
‘Didn’t want to be thought of as snobbish’
life in the village is conformative, people care about what others think and choose not to better themselves and instead just conform to each other
‘The thin woman continued remorselessly as if she were pecking away at something she had pecked at for many years’
extended metaphor linked to bird imagery
‘Her mind was vague and diffused except from when she was thinking about herself’
shows she is narcissistic and only pays attention to herself
‘And for all I know he may marry an English girl and where will I be?’
the thin woman is anxious about being left behind and she holds disappointment for her son for something he has not yet done because of how she doesn’t know for certain he will stay loyal to her
‘I’m sure she smokes and drinks’
assumptions about people the son might associate with shows the thin woman’s potential prejudice attitude | it reflects the idea that she has a desire to stay an influence in her son;s choices, even from afar
‘He never sends me anything’
there is a contradiction within this sentence as normally people would assume this would hold disappointment and a sense of being forgotten from a mother who’s speaking about her son however, she later says she doesn’t mind which holds a potential suppression or denial. The fat woman is likely saying she doesn’t mind because she is protecting herself however, it could also just be the way the village works, she may not feel a need or worthiness for her son to show her respect and love. She is living an unfulfilled life but doesn’t seem to mind
‘You could never talk to the thin woman’
the village created a barrier between them and the thin woman, maybe because of the fact she seems to hold herself at a higher ‘class’ than them | it could also suggest the thin woman herself is emotionally distant, perhaps by choice
‘Why did she want to be better than anyone else?’
rhetorical question - reveals the fat woman’s own feelings of inferiority | the fat woman assumes ambition equals arrogance
‘But the thin woman didn’t gossip much’
sets her apart from the village norm where gossip is common and expected | she is maybe private and reserved and doesn’t seek connection from the village
‘You couldn’t feel at ease with her’
suggests her differences make others uncomfortable to be around her | being different in this village isolates you | they feel distrust towards her because of the fear and assumption that she is judging them silently
‘The thin woman drank her tea very delicately’
careful, not letting her guard down
‘Her little finger elegantly curled in an irritating way’
word choice of ‘irritating’ she is annoyed
‘That foreigner’
harsh word choice | links to enemies in war | shows just because the thin woman is from another village and doesn’t conform to this one she is judged because of it, it is all blamed on the fact she isn’t native therefore showing the judgemental attitudes the village have towards incomers
