Higher English : Themes : Cone Gatherers : Class-Divison

Throughout the novel we are made aware of the distinction between the two classes. This was removed after the war, and the book tries to show this.

The division is between the lower class cone gatherers and LRC's family who live in a mansion

Quotes:

"tiny shed" - emphasises the scale of the cone gatherers hut

"greasy hut" - emphasises the dirt, uncleanliness of the living conditions.

"private fence of silver firs" - "private" suggests the lower class should be kept out, "fence" acts as the barrier between classes, "silver" is used to establish the wealth of the upper class.

"in none of her many rooms" - shows the scale of the mansion. Contrast to "tiny shed"

"it would be replaced" - they can afford to replace things that are completely un-needed

"hardly bigger than a rabbit hutch" - compares the CG's to animals again, link to nature, used to emphasise poor living conditions.
"high above these cone men" - literally she was high above, and also in terms of the social ladder.
"they are our inferiors" - clearly shows that LRC thinks lowly of the cone gatherers.
"drag us down to their level" - she fears of being like them, thinks of their level as much lower than hers. Superiority.
"kennels .. bigger than our hut" - again links the cone gatherers to animals, suggests that the animals owned by LRC are kept in better premises than themselves.
"she could not see this barrier" - LRC appears to be unaware of the different views of the other class, and how this barrier is likely to come down after the war has ended.

Higher English : Critical Essays : Maccaig : Memorable Experience

disclaimer: This essay is not a model essay. It will not get 20/20, and is simply for future reference for myself. If you wish to read it and pick up ideas from it feel free to do so. I also know I spelt Maccaig wrong every time.

Choose a poem which takes as its starting point a memorable experience. Discuss how the poet’s presentation of the experience helps you to appreciate its significance. 

In Aunt Juila by Norman Mccaig, we are made aware of Mccaig's childhood memories of times he spent at his aunt's house on a remote Scottish island. We are made aware of Mccaigs lack of understanding of the Gaelic language, which creates a language barrier. This is one of the main memories Mccaig has of his Aunt, and is created through Mccaig's skillful use of word choice, sentence structure and character development. 

We are made aware that Mccaigs aunt was a role model to him through the use of characterization. "she wore men's boots when she wore any" highlights her hard working attitude. It also creates the idea of the fact that she was not very wealthy which is surprising as we are aware that the memories Mccaig has of his time on the island were some of his best memories. The fact that he was relaxed- "crickets being friendly" - in pitch blackness on an island where he could barely communicate. This is shown through "very loud and very fast" which is repeated to emphasis the lack of understanding that Mccaig had for what she was saying, and shows us that she was growing impatient of the struggle of communication barriers. It allows us to see her impact on him and the strong nature of her caring manner. This helps to portray the theme of loss, which allows us to appreciate the significant impact that the loss of his aunt was incredibly hard on him. 

Mccaig also uses sentence structure to help portray Aunt Julia's character and emphasis her characteristics. The poems ending links back to the start by repeating the lines "spoke … very fast". This allows us to see that Mccaig reflects on his memory with the same light he felt at the time, suggesting he feels that there has been no improvement in communication despite the fact he is now a grown man. It also emphasizes the anger he still feels today at the fact that he never made the effort to speak to his Aunt while he could, showing us the regret he feels and this allows us to understand he has a deepened understanding of communicating with people which makes the idea of his change in understanding of communication significant. 

Higher English : Critical Essays : Maccaig : Vivid Character

disclaimer: This essay is not a model essay. It will not get 20/20, and is simply for future reference for myself. If you wish to read it and pick up ideas from it feel free to do so.

Choose a poem in which the poet effectively creates a character or persona. 

Discuss, with reference to appropriate techniques, how the poet’s effective creation of the 

character or persona enhances your appreciation of the poem as a whole 

  

Aunt Julia by Norman Mccaig is a poem which creates the character of "Aunt Julia", who was a relative of Mccaig's that he stayed with on a small Scottish island. It follows his reflection on memories of time he spent with her, and looks back on the regrets he feels towards losing her. The character also allows us to understand the effects that a lack of communication can have on a relationship.  

  

We are aware that Aunt Julia is somewhat of a role model to young Mccaig. "drew yarn ... out of the air" suggests her work was magical, entrancing young Mccaig. It allows us to see that she is highly skilled at the jobs she fulfils, and emphasises the islander characteristics in her. We are made aware of his admiration towards her as her house is the "only house" where he has experienced the box-bed experience and felt safe. This allows us to see that he feels safe in a culture completely different to he is use to, which allows us to understand the caring attitude that Aunt Julia had. The idea of the "absolute darkness" of the bed is contrasted to the "absolute black" of her grave. We know Mccaig felt safe in the darkness which he experienced, allows us to understand he looked up to her and was comforted by her. This allows us to build a picture of the relationship that they had together, despite the communication barriers. 

  

She is also portrayed as a very masculine character - "she wore men's boots when she wore any" suggests she lives rough, which possibly suggests a lack of wealth but is used to emphasises her confident and out-going personality. We are also aware that she speaks  "very loud and very fast". Repetition of this phrase, at the introduction & conclusion of the passage, allow us to be made more aware of her masculinity and the highly co-ordinated way in which she conducted her self. It also shows us that young Mccaig must have been totally perplexed by her nature, a huge contrast to his daily life at home. These skilful uses of language allow us to effectively build a picture of Aunt Julia in our minds, which effectively contribute to the poems meanings & central concerns.  

  

Higher English : Critical Essays : Cone Gatherers : Character + Theme

disclaimer: This essay is not a model essay. It will not get 20/20, and is simply for future reference for myself. If you wish to read it and pick up ideas from it feel free to do so.

Choose a novel or short story which has a character important to the main theme. Explain the characters role, and how the characters fate casts light on the theme. 

  

"The Cone Gatherers" by Robin Jenkins is a book which explores the theme of good versus evil. The book is based around the everyday life of Callum and Neil, two cone gatherers at the time of the second world war. We understand that their boss, Duror, despises them and this creates conflict in the novel which ultimately leads to the death of Callum. I will be discussing the character of Duror, who represents evil throughout the novel. Duror's role in the book is to represent evil and cause conflict between Callum and himself.  

  

At the start of the book, we are made aware of Durors hatred towards Callum. We understand that Callum represents good through the quote - "beautiful with trust". This emphasises Callums innocence and allows us to see the difference between the characters of Callum and Duror. We understand Durors hatred towards Callum though the quote - "He hated the hunchback so profoundly". This suggests that he has evil intent only for Callum, while also showing us the extent to which it impacts upon his mental state. We are also aware of the deterioration of Duror's mental state at the deer hunt. We are told that Duror's wife, Peggy, is obese and cannot move. During the hunt, Duror kills a deer and pictures it as Peggy - "what has happened to Peggy?" This suggests he wishes to kill his wife, which creates the idea that Duror is violent and discontent with his home life.  

  

Throughout the book, Duror is associated with trees. This foreshadows events, and allows us to understand that he is losing control of himself. The images of trees crescendo - from the "idea sprouting" to "felt his sap poisoned" and ultimately "death was creeping along the roots. This allows us to see that Duror is mentally unfit, and this is closely linked to the books other crucial theme of nature. As Duror is unable to control his body it is contrasted with Callums complete control over his body in the animal world. We can see Callums animal like nature through "as discreet as a squirrel" which Jenkins uses to suggest Callum is incredibly quiet and at one with nature. It builds on the idea of good and evil as we are aware that Callum intends good towards nature, as he feels apart of it and Duror intends to destroy nature & kill life in anyway possible through scenes such as the Deer Hunt which gives him "berserk joy" to end the Deer's life. 

  

We become less aware of Durors motives and thought process as the novel goes on. At the start, we realise "Duror was alone in his obsession". We understand he is the only one that hates deformity - in this case Callum and his wife Peggy, and allows us to see that he is very much rogue in his mind. "felt in the mood for murder" foreshadows the books dramatic climax. It is the main quotation that allows us to realise Durors motives, and builds upon the idea that he has this "evil plan" of what he plans to do to Callum. During the last few chapters, we are unaware of Durors thought process as his thoughts are not shown to the reader. We do realise that he is worsening, as "his tie askew" suggests he has lost interest in keeping up with how he looks, possibly indicating his lack of care for social interaction & detached emotions he is feeling. We are aware, that at this stage Callum has been depicted as Christ. "His going therefore.... a crucifixion" suggests Callums death is much like that of Christ. This builds up to the scene were Duror shoots Callum while Callum was collecting cones, allowing us to see that Roderick, the son of the lady who owned the estate where Callum collected his cones, was right when saying "good did not always win".  

  

To conclude, The Cone Gatherers uses the character of Duror to symbolise evil in the key theme of the Conflict between good and evil. He depicts his evil through skilled use of imagery and reference to trees, while building interest in the reader by keeping his thought process hidden from the reader as the novel progresses. We clearly see the stages of Durors mental deterioration, and are subjected to the saddening loss of the innocent & peaceful character of Callum. This builds on the idea of Duror, allowing us to clearly see his role in the books main theme. 

Higher English : Themes : Cone Gatherers : Imagery

Jenkins use of Imagery in the cone-gatherers is used to show the mental decline of  Duror.

As the novel progresses, we are made aware that he is becoming more and more mentally unstable, up until his eventual murder of Callum & then suicide.

Quotes:

"It was a good tree" - all starts out positive, simple statement shows that at this point we are unaware of Duror's mental health.

"poisoned sap" - his blood has been infected by the impure and evil ideas of what he wants to do to Callum.

" it would need to be cut down" - Duror must be taken care of, otherwise he may cause harm.

"overspreading tree of revulsion" - The tree is taking over control of him, he has lost the power to make decisions for himself.

"still showing signs of green leaves" - to the other characters in the novel, he appears to be perfectly fine.

"death was creeping along the roots" - foreshadows the books ending, suggests that Duror will not live much longer

"his triumph, a handful of withered leaves" - that his triumph has been lost, and is now worthless.

Higher English : 10 Mark question : Maccaig : Use of Imagery

Imagery is dealt with in many of Maccaigs poems.

To set out the 10 mark question;

2 marks: state what the imagery is used for in each of the poems you will use quotes from
2 marks: quote from the poem on the paper and show how the image adds to the poem.
6 marks: quote from other poems showing how the image adds to the theme.

Here are the examples I would use:

Memorial - In memorial Maccaig deals with his painful emotions after the loss of someone very close to him. His use of imagery is used to highlight his pain.

Quotes I would use:
- "no crocus is carved more gently" - very beautiful image, suggests how much he cares for her
- "carousel of language" - contrasts the fun times spent on a carousel to the pain he experiences & silence which the death has surrounded her in.

Assisi - In Assisi Maccaig deals with a visit to the Italian town of Assisi which provoked anger in him due to the hypocrisy of tourists & a priest ignoring a dwarf. His use of imagery allows us to further understand the poor condition of the dwarf.

Quotes I would use:
- "half-filled sack" - suggests the dwarf is not eating enough, and that his body is like a "sack" and is slouched and disformed.
- "clucking contentedly" - suggests the tourists are like chickens, which de-humanizes them, suggesting they are being arrogant and thoughtless towards the dwarf.
- "ruined temple" - suggests the dwarfs body is ruined. "temple" is a bible reference to your body.

Aunt Julia - In Aunt Julia Maccaig recollects on memories he has of spending time with his Aunt Julia on a Scottish island. He uses imagery to give us a vivid description of what she was like and allow us to understand her character more.

Quotes I would use: 

- "she was buckets" - suggests she had a very typical islander life-style

- " she was winds" - suggests she was like the islands weather, possibly violent.

Higher English : 10 Mark Question : Maccaig : Contrast

Contrast is used in many of Maccaigs poems.

To set out the 10 mark question;

2 marks: state the contrast being used in each of the poems.
2 marks: quote from the poem on the paper and show how it uses contrast.
6 marks: quote from other poems showing how this portrays the contrast.

Here are the examples I would use:

Sounds of the day -  Maccaig explores his thoughts after someone very close to him has left him. 

Quotes I would use:

"clatter .. it was horses" AND "door scraped" - This is quite in depth, and if you feel you may be tight on time in the exam it may be worth avoiding this. The use of an inverted list of sounds to objects in stanza 1 is used to suggest that the sound is more important, however after the person has left him in stanza 2 we see that the "door scraped" which suggests the object has become more important which contrasts the sounds he experienced before and after the loss.

"quietest fire" AND "air creaked" - After the loss Maccaig cannot hear the fire, however before he was able to hear such a quiet thing as the "air creaking". This suggests his sensations have been numbed due to the pain of the loss.

Assisi - Maccaig reflects on the anger he felt after a visit to Assisi where tourists & a priest ignored a dis-formed dwarf.

Quote I would use:

"I understood the explanation and the cleverness" - This is used to contrast what Maccaig views the tourists understand to what he understands. By using "and the cleverness" he is suggesting the tourists do not understand the true beauty and magic of Giotto's work, which is used to contrast the difference between Maccaig and the other tourists.

"three tiers of churches" AND "half filled sack" - the scale of the three tiers of churches is emphasised, which is contrasted to the tiny dwarf who is dis-formed. Contrast between both SCALE and BEAUTY of both objects.

"three tiers of churches" AND "ruined temple" - This is quite in depth, and if you feel you may be tight on time in the exam it may be worth avoiding this. However, this is a very skillful use of language by Maccaig. Maccaig contrasts the peoples attitudes to the "churches" and the "ruined temple" of a dwarf. The churches are seen to be grande, and that people are paying to visit them. They get refurbished, and well maintained. "three tiers" emphasises this. However the dwarf (ruined temple) has a very poor physical condition, and is uncared for. The contrast also exists as if the dwarf was literally a ruined temple then the tourists would likely pay to visit him. This creates further irony and allows us to contrast the tourists attitudes to both things.