2nd Attempt
“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 tried their best to work 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, Even in small town such as Klynham where “a horse would clip-clop along the dead center of the main street at noon-day”. However Morrieson’s intentions are clear when readers find out that murders are being committed in Klynham, showing that evil is ubiquitous. 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. 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 shows us again that evil is ever present and is not just contained within the big city but also capable of infecting small towns. This is especially true even in modern cases such as Singapore where possession of weapons is illegal. From a tourist’s perspective they are only able to see a façade, that it is a country that is safe and a crime-rate, low. However any local would tell you about the rich history of murders that take place every now and then, such as the “Downtown Youth Stabbings” – rival gangs fought resulting in the death of a teen, “The One Eyed Dragon – A gangster shot and killed a nightclub owner. Clearly evil characters such, as Salter does not only exist in New Zealand and the imagination of Morrieson but all over the world.
There is however some goodness to the novel and apart from just the darkness and evil that is constantly haunting Klynham. Goodness, Hard work and Kindness exists, Morrieson shows this in his characters, such as Les’s dad who owns 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. Neddy and Les would spend their free time thinking of ways to make money and indulge in their personal delights such as having a “milkshake at the Confectionary store”. “We went collecting cones from pine plantations weekend after weekend, tore our pants on barbed wire fences, fell in creeks and fell out of trees and braved all manner of hazards, including being bitted by dogs, when we hawked the pine cones from door to door”. Such was the innovative and enterprising ideas of the main character. 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 growing from an innocent young boy to one that is exploring mixed emotions and sexual desires. Neddy explores his sexual fantasies with women and dreams of having sexual intercourse. Unable to satisfy his urge to have intercourse, he explores and experiments with masturbation. He gets his source of stimulation from reading magazines about film stars and lying in bed at night thinking about women, his blood is “simmering like an Irish stew”. Afraid of his obsession with spend long periods of time masturbating, he confides in his brother “I told him all about what I was up to and how, no matter how hard I tried, I could not help myself. “I’ll go blind. I’ll die.” 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. In Ronald Hugh Morrieson’s Biography by Julia Millen, evidences of links between his novels, “The Scarecrow”, “Came a Hot Friday”, and “Pallet on the Floor” are littered all over and explained. Characters are shaped after people that he grew up with in Hawera exposing a darker side to the innocence that people would normally perceive. Morrieson’s imagination and creativity using the local townsfolk as a canvas to paint his work of art has helped to reveal the true side of human beings and expose the image they try so hard to conceal. He had the worm’s-eye view and saw underneath and behind the respectability – another town inhabited by an extraordinarily varied cast of characters. The fortune teller, sly grog dealers, bookies, the drunken undertaker, crooked lawyers, the eccentric, pathetic, silly, lewd, crude, sinister and downright evil – these people live in the novels of Ronald Hugh Morrieson which he set in a town called Klynham or Harpertron – clearly Hawera. 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 – one of the links that bind the stories he write to his personal character, 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 them into the setting, the darkness, depression period, a time where technology was scarce and entertainment was catching a “flick” at a barnyard. His imaginative ways puts us in the front seat of this winding passage through rocky roads, where Klynham is our destination. Morrieson’s technique of writing involving word building gives readers a better understanding of the context in which he wrote, and he is clearly successful in bringing this about as seen in the novel “ The Scarecrow”
Words: 1521
Mohamed Sahdique Caubang
Date: 15th March 2011
