•Revise notes
•Complete Scottish text questions below:
The Cone Gatherers by Robin Jenkins – Passage 3
The following section of text comes from the opening of
Chapter Five and gives further elaboration on the character of Neil.
In Neil, so canny about admitting happiness, all the
hindrances had vanished, one by one, like the early mists over the loch. Now,
in the warmth and splendour he sang softly the sad Gaelic song that had been
his mother’s favourite: it was about a girl who, though without tocher or
dowrie, still did not lack sweethearts. He sang it Gaelic, although his
knowledge of that ancestral language was grown meager and vague.
Among those hindrances to happiness had been the big
gamekeeper. He could not forget Duror’s quiet, inconceivable hatred; and all
last night he had felt that his and Calum’s argument over the trapped rabbit
would in some way be sensed by the gamekeeper, strengthening his vow to have
them driven from the wood. In the morning sunlight, however, that fear of their
desperate pity being detectable in the dead fur and glazed eyes seemed
ridiculous. Duror would come to the ride, pick up the rabbit, and put it into
his bag, without even thinking about them. Indeed, according to what Mr.
Tulloch had said, the gamekeeper had enough to worry him in that his wife had
been an invalid for many years. If they kept out of his way, they would not be
troubled by him; and how much more out of the way could they be than at the top
of this ninety-foot larch?
Another hindrance had been the
constant sight of the mansion house chimneys, reminding him of their hut, which
to him remained a symbol of humiliation. But this morning he remembered what
Mr. Tulloch had said about the lady: she was rich and high in rank, but she was
also generous and just; and her son, the thin boy in the red cap, had waved to
them and shouted in a friendly voice. Those people represented the power of the
world, and so long as he was humble it would be benignant. He and Calum would
be humble. In spite of his bitterness, humility and acquiescence in public had
always been his instinctive defence: so far it had been successful enough.
The greatest and most persistent
obstacle was, of course, the fear of what would become of his brother if he
were to die. Though he was a healthy man, except for his rheumatism in wet
weather, he could meet with any of a number of likely accidents: a fall from a
tree, for instance; a wound from axe or rutter, followed by lock-jaw; pneumonia
after a day’s soaking on the hill; even an adder bite. Once, when suffering
from a suppurating finger caused by a splinter from a fence stop, he had been
chafed by Mr. Tulloch for looking so solemn and frightened over what, by manly
standards, was a trivial injury. He had confided in the forrester, who had
listened with a smile of sympathy, and assured him there was no need to worry
about Calum, who would always find a place at Ardmore. Neil had learned that
even kindness made promises it could not fulfill, but he had been grateful to
Mr. Tulloch and afterwards his heart had been lighter. In the larch tree this
morning, when he examined that promise anew, he found it fresh and sound.
Practice Questions on Passage 3
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Analyse the writer’s use of
language in the first sentence of the extract (lines 1-2) to effectively convey
Neil’s state of mind.
Show
how word choice is used in lines 7-17 to express Neil’s initial perception of
Duror as a ‘hindrance’.
Referring
closely to lines 18-26, explain clearly in your own words Neil’s
interpretation of the Runcie-Campbell household and his course of action
towards them in response.
Analyse
the effect of sentence structure in lines 27-39 in revealing Neil’s thoughts
as they develop.
Discuss
how well the presentation of Neil’s character in this section reflects his
development as a character in the rest of the novel.
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3
2
2
3
10
(20)
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Have a great holiday!!!
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