Disscussing an Extract

Infant on a spit – page 256

We decided to look at this extract as it is such a prominent, horrifying episode in the novel. Also when comparing it against the rest of the novel, it seems to be quite an anomaly, many things occur in this section that don’t appear anywhere else.

The main observation we made in this extract is the role reversal or change in speech. This is show through the following quotes…

·         Boy : oh Papa

Usually when the boy witnesses something distressing or evidence of the harming of others he breaks down in hysteria. However here he turns back emotionlessly to look again, as if he needs to clarify and process what the human race is capable of. The oh papa come across emotionless and cold, it is more of a way to show his father acknowledgment of what he’s seen rather than wanting comfort from him. This is a key moment in the boy’s development; he emotionally perjures, and accepts this kind of horror to be normal.

 ·         Man: what is it?

Throughout the novel it is usually the boy who is persistently asking questions. However in this extract the man is the one who is questioning. This again emphasises the loss we see in the boy, it is almost as if he does not even care enough to ask anymore. It is another example of accepting such horror as the norm.

 ·         Man : im sorry.

Once again it is the boy who is usually constantly apologising. However in this extract, with great emotion the man does. He is obviously apologising to the boy for not protecting him from witnessing the gutted infant on a spit. But also I think he is apologising for everything that has happened, and everything he knows is going to happen. The fact the boy has lost his childhood, and will never be the same again but also the fact the whole time they have both been lying to each other, he is apologising for making the boy live a life full of lies.