random very messy notes
Spirituality
- Third person narrative – fish’s other half
- Intextuality of Hymn “Shall We Gather At The River” – example ‘the beautiful the beautiful river)
- Description of the scenery in 1st and last scene – landscape has spiritual quality – physical, spiritual and temporal all come together
- The spirits mention as well “another crowd had gathered” (p1-3, 422-4)
- Cyclical structure
- "Even the missing are there, the gone and taken are with them in the shade pools of the peppermints of the beautiful, the beautiful, the river."
- The change in the syntax is poetic, the description of the trees realistic and the evocation of the spirit world a paradox.
- multi-dimensional world
- The characters in the novel are all spiritual in their own way
- Setting and symbolism of the river
- the church lets the Lambs down but it’s harder to escape than you think e.g. Oriel has the bible in her tent; they still sing hymns
- spirituality is also privileged in the ghosts in the Library, the Blackfella, the stolen children
- characterisation of Fish – when he drowns, he loses his other half – built on the idea that when you die, you truly know yourself and become whole. This is emphasised by Fish’s attraction to other spiritual symbols within the novel – pig, house, blackfella, river, the knife and his thinking guy fawkes is Jesus
The spirits, Fish and the Blackman
Act as links between the two families and the spiritual world, womething they cannot seem to come to terms with without a little help
The Pig
Symbolises the ability of more sensitive beings/ characters to tap into a higher plane of spirituality – oriel prefers to ignore Lester’s and Fish’s claims that it talks
The House
Acts as a refuge for both families after they both have losses. In the novel the loss of Sam’s brother gives something to the pickles as they gain a house which after 20 years sets them all on their given path – fate. The final loss of Fish gives the Lambs peace of mind, something they have been battling under the roof of CS for since Fish’s first drowning. Fish is the only character that can connect with CS – both share the need for fullfillment, unfinished journeys - Fish and water
- house and love – “The house is sad Lester…it talks…it hurts – Fish p166
Spirits disappear when love is brought, with Quick’s new windows. Rose and Quick bring unity to the two families. Fish is finally satisfied enough to leave it all behind in last scene by the river
also check out
http://www.boredofstudies.org/cours...2004_English_Advanced_Notes_Paul_Hennessy.doc
he has very good notes, but you probably would've already seen them
