A Elderly Couple's Journey to Reunite with Their Son in 'The Buried Giant', Appunti di Letteratura Inglese

Scarica A Elderly Couple's Journey to Reunite with Their Son in 'The Buried Giant' e più Appunti in PDF di Letteratura Inglese solo su Docsity! THE BURIED GIANT Key Facts  Full Title: The Buried Giant  Where Written: England  When Published: 2015  Literary Period: Contemporary  Genre: Fantasy  Setting: Post-Arthurian England (early- to mid-6th century)  Climax: Sir Gawain’s recounts King Arthur breaking the treaty and ordering that a forgetting spell be put on Querig’s breath.  Antagonist: King Arthur  Point of View: Third Person; First Person SUMMARY / PLOT THE BURIED GIANT The narrator describes the landscape of England at the time of the story, with ogres haunting the forests and very few castles to be found. On the edge of one of the bogs found in the rural countryside, Axl and Beatrice, an elderly Briton couple, live together in a communal warren dug into a hillside. They live alone in one of the back rooms, far away from the communal fire, and are not allowed to have candles. Axl is awake and excited about a decision he has just made, but decides to keep it to himself until Beatrice wakes up. As he waits, Axl thinks about their lives in the warren and wonders if they have always lived as societal outcasts, relegated to the back corners and treated with little to no respect. Axl thinks about a problem that everyone seems to be having: they forget things that they should remember, even their own children or people who once lived among them. Finally, Beatrice wakes up and Axl tells her that he’s decided they should go on a journey to their son’s village. They have not seen their son in many years, and can’t remember the details of why he chose to leave or even his name. Still, they are certain that he’s waiting for them and that they’ll be able to live with him when they get to his village. Beatrice agrees and, after talking to the pastor about their plan, they set out on their journey alone. It is dangerous to walk through parts of the English countryside because of the monsters that still live there, so Beatrice often asks Axl (who walks behind her) whether he’s still there. When it begins to rain, they take shelter in an abandoned house. Inside, they meet a boatman and an old woman who is about to slaughter a rabbit. The boatman hates the woman, who has been harassing him since he took her husband across the river to an island but left her behind. The island is a place where people can live in peace forever, but if they go alone then they may never run into another person there, even their loved ones. Only couples who are bound by true love and whose relationship is not characterized by anger, resentment, or indifference can go there together, according to the boatman. When the boatman tells the old woman to “look into her heart” and determine whether her bond with her husband was really strong enough for them to be taken to the island together, she refuses to answer him. Beatrice is particularly interested in this idea and wants to go there with Axl one day after they see their son. When the rain stops, Axl and Beatrice leave the boatman and continue their journey until they reach a Saxon village where Beatrice often does trading. Not only will they stay the night at the village, but Beatrice wants to see a medicine woman who might give her medicine for a pain in her side she’s been experiencing. When they get there, however, the townspeople are on edge because a young boy, Edwin, had been kidnapped by ogres. Beatrice and Axl watch and listen to the uproar around them, taking notice of a haggard-looking man who is at the center of a group of people. Eventually, Beatrice notices Ivor, a Briton who serves as mayor of the town, and he tells her that the man they noticed, Wistan, is going to lead a group of men out to rescue Edwin. Because the town is so tense, Ivor invites Beatrice and Axl to stay at his home instead of having to go to the inn. At Ivor’s house, Beatrice, Axl, and Ivor discuss the mysterious mist that permeates the land and makes everyone forget. Ivor says he believes the mist has invaded because God has forgotten their pasts, and Beatrice soon adapts this theory and believes God is ashamed of something they did in the past and is willing them all to forget what it was. Ivor leaves the house to wait for Wistan’s return and so Beatrice and Axl can sleep. During the night, however, Edwin is found and returned, but his family turns against him because he was bitten by a mysterious creature. Ivor sends him to stay in a nearby barn until it’s safe. When Axl wakes up, he sees Beatrice is still sleeping and feels a rush of tenderness mixed with an indecipherable sense of sadness. He pushes the sadness from his mind and waits for Beatrice to wake up. When she does awake, they get their stuff together and leave Ivor’s house to find breakfast and prepare to continue their journey. Wistan seems to remember Axl, but he can’t remember from where, and neither can Axl. While they talk, Ivor asks Beatrice and Axl if they’ll take Edwin with them because it’s not safe for him to stay in the village. They agree, and Wistan decides to journey with them for a little while. Beatrice wants to go to a monastery where the well-respected Father Jonus, a monk with a penchant for medicine, might have a cure for her pain. The group agrees and they set off together. As Beatrice, Axl, Wistan, and Edwin walk along, they run into a band of Briton soldiers who are guarding a bridge they need to cross. Wistan foresees danger because he is a Saxon warrior sent on a mission by a Saxon leader to see how Saxons and Britons are getting along. He tells Beatrice and Axl to pretend that he is mute and mentally ill, and that Edwin is his brother in order to avoid suspicion. Going up to the soldiers to ask to pass, Beatrice and Axl convince the leader, a grey-haired soldier, that they are innocent farmers and are given permission to pass. Once they are far away from him, Wistan stops acting like a mute and they press on. A short time later, they run into a knight resting near a tree. Although Wistan resumes acting like a mute at first, he soon recognizes the knight as Sir Gawain, one of King Arthur’s nephews and most trusted knights. Sir Gawain and Wistan start talking about the past, although Wistan clearly can’t remember all of it. At one point, Wistan tells Sir Gawain to look at Axl and see if he remembers him. Sir Gawain looks taken aback, but says he doesn’t remember Axl. They continue talking until suddenly hearing someone coming: it is the grey-haired knight from before. This time, the knight, who is working for the Briton Lord Brennus, confronts Wistan and they duel. The grey-haired knight asks Sir Gawain for backup, but Sir Gawain refuses and Wistan easily defeats the knight. Sir Gawain agrees to help bury the body, but he and Wistan argue over Wistan’s mission of slaying the dragon Querig. Sir Gawain insists that it is his duty because King Arthur would have wanted him to, but is unable to get Wistan to promise not to kill the dragon himself. Sir Gawain accompanies the group to the monastery, but leaves shortly after getting them there. Wistan is suspicious of what’s going on there, especially when Beatrice is told that she can’t see Father Jonus yet. As time passes, they discover a device that they fear the monks use to torture people. This is verified when Father Ninian, a silent monk, sneaks them in to see Father Jonus and they discover that he had been tortured. Father Jonus gives Beatrice medicine and makes something to treat Edwin’s bite before the group leaves him to rest. Wistan observes to Edwin that the monastery shows evidence of once being a Saxon stronghold with traps for Britons, proving past violence. That night, the group is woken up by Father Brian, who tells them that soldiers are everywhere looking for them and Wistan. While Wistan is left behind in a tower, the rest of the group is led to a secret tunnel. Once inside, Father Brian shuts them in, and they realize they’ve been trapped. Fortunately, Father Ninian warned Sir Gawain, who is waiting for them in the CHARACTERS: Axl Axl is an elderly Briton and Beatrice’s husband. They live alone together in the back room of a warren in which they are regularly mistreated, especially after the pastor decides to take away their… read analysis of Axl Beatrice Beatrice is an elderly Briton and Axl’s wife. Although their memories of their past have been taken away by a mysterious mist created by Querig’s breath, Beatrice loves Axl and is determined to… read analysis of Beatrice Wistan Wistan is a Saxon warrior traveling through England to see how the Saxons and Britons are living together and to slay the dragon Querig, whose breath has made everyone living in the country forget… read analysis of Wistan Sir Gawain Sir Gawain is both the nephew and a dedicated knight of King Arthur. As one of Arthur’s closest friends, Sir Gawain was entrusted with the responsibility of both overseeing Merlin as he cast a… read analysis of Sir Gawain Edwin Edwin is a young orphan being raised by his aunt in the Saxon village where Axl and Beatrice stay at on the first night of their journey. Edwin’s mother was kidnapped by a group of… read analysis of Edwin Get the entire The Buried Giant LitChart as a printable PDF. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S. Download King Arthur King Arthur was king of the Britons and led them in a bloody civil war against the Saxons living in England. He gets Axl, who had been a great diplomat in his youth, to… read analysis of King Arthur Querig Querig is a female dragon that has been trapped in a pit at the top of a mountain by Merlin and King Arthur. King Arthur ordered Merlin to cast a spell on Querig’s breath… read analysis of Querig Father Jonus Father Jonus is a wise monk who is famous in England for his intelligence and ability to make medicines that heal all kinds of illnesses and injuries. He lives in a monastery on a mountain… read analysis of Father Jonus Axl and Beatrice’s Son Axl and Beatrice know that they have a son who is an adult and may be married and have children, but they do not know where he lives. Axl and Beatrice leave their warren with… read analysis of Axl and Beatrice’s Son The Narrator / The Boatman The boatman is responsible for carrying people to the island, but is also responsible for putting couples who want to go together through a test to determine whether or not their marriage is strong… read analysis of The Narrator / The Boatman Merlin Merlin is a legendary wizard who practiced alchemy and magic in Arthurian England. Merlin was a valued friend of King Arthur and was highly respected by Arthur’s knights. During one of the bloodiest battles between… read analysis of Merlin Edwin’s Mother Edwin’s mother was kidnapped by a mysterious band of men when Edwin was very young. Edwin does not know where his mother is, but somehow knows that she has been travelling all over the… read analysis of Edwin’s Mother Horace Horace is Sir Gawain’s faithful war horse. Horace obediently follows Gawain’s orders and seems to sense when things are not right—as when Sir Gawain and he stumble on a group of widows who want… read analysis of Horace Father Ninian Father Ninian is one of the monks at the monastery Beatrice, Axl, Wistan, and Edwin stop at on their journey. Father Ninian has taken a vow of silence, but he is very… read analysis of Father Ninian Lord Brennus Lord Brennus is a Briton and has accumulated a large army that threatens to bring war back to England. He sends out soldiers to find Wistan, who is a notorious Saxon warrior searching for… read analysis of Lord Brennus Father Brian Father Brian is one of the head monks at the monastery that Axl, Beatrice, Wistan, and Edwin stop at on their journey. Father Brian is at first very welcoming and kind to… read analysis of Father Brian Ivor Although he is a Briton, Ivor is the mayor of a Saxon town that Beatrice frequently travels to with other women from the warren. Ivor and Beatrice are friends, and when she and Axl… read analysis of Ivor The Medicine Woman The medicine woman is a friend of Beatrice’s in the Saxon town where she and Axl stay in on the first night of their journey. Beatrice goes to the medicine woman to ask about… read analysis of The Medicine Woman The Pastor The Pastor was a well-respected leader in Axl and Beatrice’s warren. He both makes and enforces the rules, but Axl and Beatrice feel he mistreats them. The pastor encouraged the warren to make Axl… read analysis of The Pastor Steffa Steffa was an elderly man in Edwin’s home village. He was the one who first told Edwin that he had the spirit of a warrior and encouraged him to train as a soldier from… read analysis of Steffa Old Woman Axl and Beatrice meet the old woman while taking shelter from a storm in the beginning of their journey. The old woman is preparing to slaughter a rabbit to irritate the boatman, who is… read analysis of Old Woman Edra Edra was a young Briton woman whom Sir Gawain met during a major battle between Britons and Saxons. Edra as searching for the Saxon who killed her mother and sisters, and Sir Gawain promised… read analysis of Edra Marta Marta was a young girl living in Axl and Beatrice’s warren. One day, Marta went missing and everyone in the warren panicked and decide to go look for her, afraid that an ogre or… read analysis of Marta Harvey A fellow Briton and companion of Axl’s many years ago when they were soldiers. Axl did not like Harvey because he believed Harvey was needlessly violent and vicious with even the most innocent people… read analysis of Harvey Grey-haired Soldier A soldier of Lord Brennus who is sent to look for Wistan and kill him. When he does find Wistan, the soldier does not recognize him at first and Wistan is able to get away… read analysis of Grey-haired Soldier THEMES: Memory, Truth and Justice Lost memories and the fight to get them back is the most pervasive theme in The Buried Giant. In the novel, only a handful of people know that Merlin cursed the breath of Querig to create a mysterious mist which make everyone forget the past—namely the fact that King Arthur broke his treaty with the Saxons. While this creates peace, it also makes people forget the details of their personal histories. read analysis of Memory, Truth and Justice War, Peace, Vengeance, and Forgiveness In The Buried Giant, Ishiguro takes readers back to England in the years following the death of King Arthur. A mysterious mist created by the breath of Querig, the last dragon, has permeated the land and made nearly everyone forget the past, including the bloody wars King Arthur (a Briton) led against the Saxons. With this forgetfulness comes peace: Saxons and Britons live side by side with no trouble. read analysis of War, Peace, Vengeance, and Forgiveness Love and Hatred At its heart, The Buried Giant is about love and hatred, on both the personal and national levels. Although the breath of the dragon Querig permeates the land, makes everyone forget the past, and establishes peace, old hatreds—which have roots in the time before they began forgetting—still