“The imaginary world of a novel helps the reader to understand the author’s intentions”
To what extent do you agree with this view?
Respond to this question with close reference to one or more novels you have studied.
Ronald Hugh Morrieson is one of New Zealand’s famous literature artists, his novel “ The Scarecrow “ has gained much notice over the years and is now a celebrated piece of national literature. However it’s popularity was not without much controversy. Growing up and living in a rural small town known as Hawera in New Zealand, he was able to relay his life experiences in the form of a novel. His novel is one that depicts and reveals the bizarre and unexpected incidents that normally do not happen. Through the novel his intentions is to expose the hidden and unknown part of a small town through the creation of an imaginary world.
Klynham, the imaginary world that Morrieson creates for his readers is actually based on a real town in which he grew up in, which is Hawera. A small town that initially was untouched by the darkness and evil of man. Morrieson takes his readers back to the 1930’s an era where crime is uncommon and everyone had to work real hard to earn a living. We see this in the story where Neddy’s Dad, the main character of the novel struggles to pay for the rent and the citizens of Klynham rely a lot on borrowing and personal favours. Our perspective on life in Morrieson’s novel is seen through the eyes of Neddy Pointdexter, a young poor teenage boy from a typical 1930’s family. In order for us to understand and follow the story carefully we have to believe and fit ourselves into the imaginary world that has been created for us. A setting, that brings us back into the past.
It’s common knowledge that in the past crimes were often less committed and were limited to petty thefts and the occasional robbery, which tends to happen more in the big cities. However as seen in this novel, Evil is always lurking around the corner and is never always limited to just the big cities in the earlier part of the novel Morrieson makes reference to a "big puddle of water in the middle of Klynham's mainstreet". Explaining further that "it was always there, even in the heat of summer. It was a feature of the town". However Morrieson’s intentions are clear when readers find out that murders are being committed in the town of Klynham. When Salter the Sensational – from the Big City, the epitome of all that is evil steps into the town of Klynham, evil has set its first step on to the town and its citizens are in for a big surprise.
Mysterious, sudden occurences and disappearances are reported in the town, immediately upon the arrival of the unwanted guest, Salter the Sensational – A spooky old man who resembles the likes of a Scarecrow "He looked as tall as a lamp post and carried about the same amount of fat. ... He was so thin, so gaunt, he looked as if he might belong to the walking dead". Having said this prior to setting foot onto Klynham, Salter from the "big City", had committed a murder in which he was forced to flee and at the expense of Klynham’s peace. Through this Morrieson’s intention of creating a theme of darkness and mystery in rural New Zealand has been set and readers will be anticipating the next move of the wicked Villain. He also shows us that evil is ever present, just like the puddle, and is not just contained within the big city but also capable of infecting small towns.
There is however some goodness to the novel and apart from just the darkness and evil that is constantly haunting Klynham. Goodness and Kindness exists, Morrieson shows this in his characters, such as Mr "A. C. Wilson,Family Merchant" the owner of the local convenience store. After learning of Neddy’s intention to surprise his sister Prudence with a makeover for her room, gives away a beautiful wallpaper of Pink Roses, showing the cohesiveness and closeness that a small town like Klynham shares, which is rarely seen nowadays. Len Ramsbottom after being struck by the charm of Prudence offers her type writing lessons, thus allowing her to develop her skills and making her a more independent individual. Prudence of course is thrilled and delighted at the offer. Although the underlying intention of such an offer was possibly to court Prudence, nevertheless he was noble. Through these characters Morrieson indirectly reminds us that kindness and good brings about happiness and delight.
Another of Morriesons’s intention by using Neddy as our perspective on Klynham we are given an opportunity to see the works and effects of puberty through a young adolescent teenager. Throughout the novel Morriesson developed it to show that Neddy was maturing and progressing through a long period, we see Neddy a keen fan of "The Fire God's Treasure" growing from an innocent young boy to one that is exploring mixed emotions and sexual desires. Even to the extent of noticing that Prudence suddenly appeared to be a lot more sexier "My Big sister! It might have been just the effect of wearing shoes, but she seemed to have sprouted, her legs seemed longer" Neddy explores his sexual fantasies with women and dreams of having "yuh know" sexual intercourse. Unable to satisfying his urge to have intercourse, he explores and experiments with masturbation and fears that "I'll go blind. I'll die" as a result. Being set in the 1930’s where people were conservative and discussions about sex was deemed taboo and undesired, Neddy is forced to suppress his growing urge to the confines of his mind and own devices. Thus Morrieson’s intentions of exposing what lays underneath a normal individual could be unexpected thoughts.
Overall we know that the characters and stories in the novel are based on the true to life experiences and encounters of Ronald Hugh Morrieson. Characters are shaped after people that he grew up with in Hawera exposing a darker side to the innocence that people would normally perceive. This exposition of the characters in his novel unfortunately created more enemies for him than friends with the locals in Hawera. Being an alcoholic himself as Ma would say "nothing but a wretched slave to the bottle" Morrieson, shows us the horrible effects of being intoxicated and the amount of displeasure it brings about to loved ones, as seen in the novel when Uncle Athol disgusts Neddy’s Ma by constantly being intoxicated and rendering him incapable of proper work.
To conclude, it is crucial for an author to create an imaginary world to aid in the running of a story and to bring about a sense of direction in which one is able to follow and immerse themselves into the setting. Morrieson’s technique of writing involving word building gives readers a better understanding, "a worm's eye view" of the context in which he wrote, and he is clearly successful in bringing this about as seen in the novel “ The Scarecrow”
Words:1036
Mohamed Sahdique Caubang
Date: 9th March 2011
To what extent do you agree with this view?
Respond to this question with close reference to one or more novels you have studied.
Ronald Hugh Morrieson is one of New Zealand’s famous literature artists, his novel “ The Scarecrow “ has gained much notice over the years and is now a celebrated piece of national literature. However it’s popularity was not without much controversy. Growing up and living in a rural small town known as Hawera in New Zealand, he was able to relay his life experiences in the form of a novel. His novel is one that depicts and reveals the bizarre and unexpected incidents that normally do not happen. Through the novel his intentions is to expose the hidden and unknown part of a small town through the creation of an imaginary world.
Klynham, the imaginary world that Morrieson creates for his readers is actually based on a real town in which he grew up in, which is Hawera. A small town that initially was untouched by the darkness and evil of man. Morrieson takes his readers back to the 1930’s an era where crime is uncommon and everyone had to work real hard to earn a living. We see this in the story where Neddy’s Dad, the main character of the novel struggles to pay for the rent and the citizens of Klynham rely a lot on borrowing and personal favours. Our perspective on life in Morrieson’s novel is seen through the eyes of Neddy Pointdexter, a young poor teenage boy from a typical 1930’s family. In order for us to understand and follow the story carefully we have to believe and fit ourselves into the imaginary world that has been created for us. A setting, that brings us back into the past.
It’s common knowledge that in the past crimes were often less committed and were limited to petty thefts and the occasional robbery, which tends to happen more in the big cities. However as seen in this novel, Evil is always lurking around the corner and is never always limited to just the big cities in the earlier part of the novel Morrieson makes reference to a "big puddle of water in the middle of Klynham's mainstreet". Explaining further that "it was always there, even in the heat of summer. It was a feature of the town". However Morrieson’s intentions are clear when readers find out that murders are being committed in the town of Klynham. When Salter the Sensational – from the Big City, the epitome of all that is evil steps into the town of Klynham, evil has set its first step on to the town and its citizens are in for a big surprise.
Mysterious, sudden occurences and disappearances are reported in the town, immediately upon the arrival of the unwanted guest, Salter the Sensational – A spooky old man who resembles the likes of a Scarecrow "He looked as tall as a lamp post and carried about the same amount of fat. ... He was so thin, so gaunt, he looked as if he might belong to the walking dead". Having said this prior to setting foot onto Klynham, Salter from the "big City", had committed a murder in which he was forced to flee and at the expense of Klynham’s peace. Through this Morrieson’s intention of creating a theme of darkness and mystery in rural New Zealand has been set and readers will be anticipating the next move of the wicked Villain. He also shows us that evil is ever present, just like the puddle, and is not just contained within the big city but also capable of infecting small towns.
There is however some goodness to the novel and apart from just the darkness and evil that is constantly haunting Klynham. Goodness and Kindness exists, Morrieson shows this in his characters, such as Mr "A. C. Wilson,Family Merchant" the owner of the local convenience store. After learning of Neddy’s intention to surprise his sister Prudence with a makeover for her room, gives away a beautiful wallpaper of Pink Roses, showing the cohesiveness and closeness that a small town like Klynham shares, which is rarely seen nowadays. Len Ramsbottom after being struck by the charm of Prudence offers her type writing lessons, thus allowing her to develop her skills and making her a more independent individual. Prudence of course is thrilled and delighted at the offer. Although the underlying intention of such an offer was possibly to court Prudence, nevertheless he was noble. Through these characters Morrieson indirectly reminds us that kindness and good brings about happiness and delight.
Another of Morriesons’s intention by using Neddy as our perspective on Klynham we are given an opportunity to see the works and effects of puberty through a young adolescent teenager. Throughout the novel Morriesson developed it to show that Neddy was maturing and progressing through a long period, we see Neddy a keen fan of "The Fire God's Treasure" growing from an innocent young boy to one that is exploring mixed emotions and sexual desires. Even to the extent of noticing that Prudence suddenly appeared to be a lot more sexier "My Big sister! It might have been just the effect of wearing shoes, but she seemed to have sprouted, her legs seemed longer" Neddy explores his sexual fantasies with women and dreams of having "yuh know" sexual intercourse. Unable to satisfying his urge to have intercourse, he explores and experiments with masturbation and fears that "I'll go blind. I'll die" as a result. Being set in the 1930’s where people were conservative and discussions about sex was deemed taboo and undesired, Neddy is forced to suppress his growing urge to the confines of his mind and own devices. Thus Morrieson’s intentions of exposing what lays underneath a normal individual could be unexpected thoughts.
Overall we know that the characters and stories in the novel are based on the true to life experiences and encounters of Ronald Hugh Morrieson. Characters are shaped after people that he grew up with in Hawera exposing a darker side to the innocence that people would normally perceive. This exposition of the characters in his novel unfortunately created more enemies for him than friends with the locals in Hawera. Being an alcoholic himself as Ma would say "nothing but a wretched slave to the bottle" Morrieson, shows us the horrible effects of being intoxicated and the amount of displeasure it brings about to loved ones, as seen in the novel when Uncle Athol disgusts Neddy’s Ma by constantly being intoxicated and rendering him incapable of proper work.
To conclude, it is crucial for an author to create an imaginary world to aid in the running of a story and to bring about a sense of direction in which one is able to follow and immerse themselves into the setting. Morrieson’s technique of writing involving word building gives readers a better understanding, "a worm's eye view" of the context in which he wrote, and he is clearly successful in bringing this about as seen in the novel “ The Scarecrow”
Words:1036
Mohamed Sahdique Caubang
Date: 9th March 2011
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