Posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on October 02, 2008 at 00:04:42 user ACB.
In Reply to: Re: Help with homework, please? posted by Duncan on September 29, 2008 at 21:49:44:
Here is the bulk of Alex's essay; I have omitted the plot summary and some comparisons with Hemingway:
It is very difficult to find Arthur Ransome’s style. He seems to have an invisible style – you don’t notice it much. Unlike the Hemingway, in this book, because there are four characters, there is dialogue as well as description. There are two sorts of description – simple description of the boat and the sea and the events of the story and descriptions of the characters state of mind as events take place.
The part of the book I shall be using PEE on is the part when the children find themselves out at sea in rising wind... chapter XII –“A cure for seasickness”
Arthur Ransome uses lots of sailing related terms. These words, such as “halyards” are all explained in the text. This all suggests that Arthur Ransome is trying to explain in detail the different parts if the boat. It is a slight learning experience for readers who would have never been sailing before.
Ransome, like Hemingway, uses simple, plain, language.
"John had never felt so lonely in his life. In the cockpit, with its high coamings, he had been flung about and bumped here, there and everywhere in his desperate struggle with the tiller, keeping Goblin before the wind and stopping her from broaching to. But he had felt that he was inside something, in the boat, together with Susan, Titty and Roger. The moment he had climbed out of the cockpit that feeling was gone. He was not in something but on something, and on something that was doing its best to get rid of him. Wild water churned past his feet. The Goblin leapt and dived and leapt again as the seas swept by."
Here we are seeing through the eyes of a character – John. Ransome shows us John’s feelings as well as what he sees. We see the sea and feel John’s fear of being thrown overboard as he climbs along the side deck to reach the mast and put a reef in.
"Loose ends of rope were sloshing about on the foredeck. Luckily he had lashed the anchor, as Jim had shown him how to do it. What would have happened if it had come adrift."
Ransome is taking us into John’s mind here. We are thinking his thoughts, as he sees the ropes ends washing around. We can see that he is a careful, conscientious boy, but a very worried one.
John is determined to overcome his fear – a very boyish reaction. He dares himself to stand up after he has put the reef in:
"He felt suddenly confident. He raised himself to his feet and stood on the foredeck, holding on by the shrouds and halyards, while the deck lifted beneath him, dropped away and lifted again. The Goblin was safe now. They could run on all night like this. They could run on forever. Hello! Was that Susan calling? He turned, stepped on a rope, took his foot off it, found he had a bight of rope round his ankle, kicked, let go with one hand to get rid of it, and, as he slipped and fell, heard Susan’s piercing shriek..."
John seems to be the main character in the book but his point of view is not the only one. Here is the same scene through the eyes of his sister, Susan;
"“John!” her call was indignant. What on earth was he doing that for?
“John!” Her angry call turned unexpectedly into a call for help. She was going to be sick again. She choked. Something buzzed in her head. Spots dithered before her eyes. Yes, she was going to be sick now, at once. He must come, quickly, to take the tiller for her.
“John!...OH!” Her call for help turned into a shriek of terror. John was gone. One moment he had been standing on the foredeck swaying with the motion of the Goblin. The next moment he was gone. A clutching hand, missing the shrouds...the lifeline jerking taut. He was gone. Without knowing what she did she threw up both hands, loosing the tiller. She looked at the seas racing past the Goblin’s side.”
Again Ransome explains the thoughts of another character. Susan is definitely a girl. She is worried about John who has now been swept overboard and is upset about breaking their mother’s promise which was not to go past the “Beach End” Buoy.
We find that Ransome is not really doing description about the settings and the boat.
He is doing the descriptions through his characters eyes, it seems that they are setting out the story and Ransome is just copying what they see in words. Susan is a very careful girl but gets worried very easily.
Ransome then goes on to describe Roger who is just come out of the cabin to see what has happened after Susan. Ransome's description of Roger goes like this:
"“Where’s John?” said Roger, scrambling out on all fours, and tumbling head first into the cockpit. By the time he picked himself up, John had swung his legs over the coaming.”
Roger “Tumbling” shows that he thinks it is a big adventure and seems to be enjoying himself. Roger is a very young boy and is acting normally, most people would find that young children in a situation like this would cry and be sea sick. This brings in a very humorous and funny character with no worries. Ransome then carries on:
"“What happened?” said Roger
“Nothing happened said John “I slipped. The life-line works beautifully...”"
Again this proves that Roger thinks things are a joke and is intrigued to find out what happening. This funny side make things even glummer to the reader. Compare it to ‘Macbeth, scene III- the same”
"Knocking within. Enter porter.
Porter: Here’s a knocking, indeed! If a man were a porter of Hell Gate he should have old turning the key. [knocking within] knock, knock, knock! Who’s there, i’ the name of Beelzebub? Here’s a farmer that hanged himself on the expectation of penalty: Come in time; have napkins enough about you; he you’ll sweat for’t..."
It goes on about other events, but it does make the listener or reader feel very glum. As in Roger, John has just been swept of the boat and has only just got back on, soaking wet; Susan is worried Sick (literally!!!). All of these events and Roger thinks it is all an adventure?
Where’s Titty all this time?
Ransome describes her after these events like this:
"“Good “said John “Once it’s over, you’ll probably never be sea-sick again. How’s Titty?”
“All right” said Titty.
“She lit the cabin lamp” said Roger “I was just going to light the candle lamp for the compass, may I?”"
Ransome also says:
"“What about our red and green lights in the dark?” asked Titty.
“No oil in them” said John"
Titty is a responsible girl, she is like another John and she is helpful and keeps the boat tidy. Susan cannot do this because she is helping John in the Cockpit. Titty is a bit tomboyish at times. If John cannot do one job because he is doing something else she will do it for helm. She has good seamanship skills. She really is and able seaman...
My last point is that Ransome really likes sailing, he did it himself this is why this book is a great piece of sea literature. A prefect tale for children who want to read about a good sea story, for adults who want some fun and the best sailors who want some inspiration in this catching, funny, breath taking book...