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Question: Choose a novel (Sunset Song) which is influenced by the presence of a POWERFUL or overbearing character. SHOW HOW the novelist creates this impression of the character and discuss to what extent you felt you could SYMPATHISE with him / her . In your answer, you must refer closely to the text (ie quote) and to at least two of: CHARACTERISATION, narrative technique, language, THEME or any other appropriate feature. Setting is also appropriate. Critical Response to Sunset Song by Andrew McCann Lewis Grassic Gibbons Sunset Song is hailed as one of the greatest pieces of Scottish fiction, with some basis on the authors knowledge of the area. Set at the turn of the 19 th century it follows the life of Chris Guthrie and the events she encounters in her life.
Chris faces many trials in her young life, over the relatively short span of the story. Her parents die, her brother leaves and she is left alone to work on the farm. From there she marries and loses her first husband and is faced with life affecting decisions. Gibbon creates a powerful character who makes the reader sympathetic to her cause. Following her fathers death Chris is told by the lawyer that she is now a wealthy young woman. Chris shows her determination and also her attachment to the land when she decides to continue running the farm on her own.
she was going to live on at Blawearie a while but you cant live there alone! this shows Chris as a powerful character as she deals with the lawyer in a brazen fashion when women were still seen as lesser than men and not eligible to run a farm. It also helps create sympathy for Chris as she has just experienced the loss of her father and she is still a strong character. Chris defies these social prejudices by stating what she means to do and not backing down from her position. Just?
Hell, a womans mind just! ... Chris hardly listened, fathers will had said she could do what she liked. , this again shows Chris as a powerful character as she stands up to a man in a position of power and gets what she wants. This event evokes sympathy for Chris as she is fighting against what was acceptable at the time and proves she is a strong character. In the latter part of the novel, Chris is being courted by Ewan Tavendale. From their first meeting at the fire at Peesies Knapp to the day in Stonehaven, Chris is shown as the stronger character in this relationship. When Chris and Ewan are discussing the plans for their marriage, Ewan admits that he does not have much money to spend.
she told him she had three hundred pounds put him his Highland pride in his pouch and muttered All right. This quote again shows Chris as a powerful character. Chris had her own money and knew how she wished to spend it. She was not held back by the restrictions of society from the beginning of her relationship made it clear that she would always submit to Ewan's will. This again shows the theme of breaking out against what was deemed normal that runs strongly throughout the novel. It also helps the reader empathize with Chris as many people today may find themselves in similar situations and can relate to Chris.
Grassic Gibbon used strong elements of his own upbringing when constructing Chris as a character, which helps give Chris a more personal feel as Gibbon can write more about Chris personality. The theme is continued when Chris realises that she has no choice available to her but to take over the running of the house when Jean commits suicide. Youll find little time for dreaming and dirt when youre keeping the house at Blawearie. Mistress Munro says this to Chris when she came down to prepare Jeans body for the funeral.
What else can I do but bide at home now? Chris has come to the realisation that the only path left is that of foregoing a formal education and living out her life as a housewife to either her father, or a future husband. This creates great sympathy for Chris as the reader has seen how ambitious Chris was to go to University and receive a formal education, when her hopes are dashed by the untimely death of her mother. Grassic Gibbon has effectively created a character in Chris who creates sympathy. AT various points in the text, sympathy is evoked by Gibbons writing for Chris and the events she has to face. Chris is also a very powerful character in the novel, demonstrating at many times her inner strength and ability to stand up to people.
This is made effective via the use of characterisation and the continuous reference to the theme of what could be viewed as non conformity with society.
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Research essay sample on Sunset Song Chris Guthrie As A Powerful Character
