M is for Mother

A Brief Summary:

A short chapter, M is for Mother, Mothering Sunday performs two roles. Simply, it compares the mothers of Boy A and Boy B. It appears that the mother of Boy A is dutiful and kind whereas the mother of Boy B left at an early stage of his life, only communicating with the family by sending them a postcard every Mother’s Day.

On a more subtle level it encourages the reader to think of the lives of these two women and how both felt let down by their respective husbands. Boy A’s mother is hurt when Mother’s Day is forgotten and by the general loss of passion in their relationship that has become “dutiful rather than wonderful”. In contrast it is hardly a surprise that the mother of Boy B sought to leave her family, particularly her drunkard husband and her violent older son.

This encouragement to empathise with the women is brought home most poignantly in the final paragraph of the chapter. Boy A’s mother recognised him on CCTV footage broadcast on the news a full five days before his arrest. She has just been waiting for the inevitable knock on her door. When the police arrive the fear and panic she feels when she brings Boy A down from his bedroom is starkly conveyed in the description of the mother and son “…holding hands, on trembling legs”.

Points for consideration:

• This is a novel that constantly surprises readers by revealing new facts. How does this extra detail about Boy B’s family background inform our understanding of him and his behaviour?
• To what extent is the writer explaining Boy B’s behaviour through his parental background? How important is parental influence in moral development? How important is genetics? How important is peer influence. How much do you agree with this article? 

L is for Letters

A Brief Summary

Back at work, Chris asks Jack about his previous evening with Michelle, but Jack struggles to tell Chris the truth. As he notes, “... this is something friends talk about” but he finds it difficult to discuss. This reminds the reader just how difficult it must be for Jack to adjust to normal life.

As they are driving in their van to another drop off, a deer rushes onto the road and causes the car in front of Chris and Jack to brake hard. The car loses control and careers off the road, smashing through a fence and sliding down a steep bank. The two men pull up and rush to the battered car to find a young girl in a child seat who is not breathing. Jack remembers first aid training from his time in prison and resuscitates the girl, ensuring she is breathing and alive. He is congratulated by the arriving emergency services who tell Jack that he “almost certainly saved the girl’s life”.

The chapter closes with a rush of positives. On their return to the depot Jack and Chris are cheered as heroes and Jack is described as feeling an unusual “sense of belonging”. When Terry hears about Jack saving the young girl’s life he is full of excitement, suggesting that “that’s someone saying you’ve been forgiven”. Even his previous failures with Michelle are righted as they spend a fulfilling night together. The chapter ends on an unusually upbeat note.

Points for consideration:

• There is positive imagery through the second half of the chapter: “His prayer is of thanks”; and Chris and Jack sit “In the sunny garden of a pub” but can you find some bleaker tones even in the last few pages of this chapter?
• “The policemen shake Jack’s hands after they have congratulated him”. What thoughts do you imagine Jack would be having at this moment?
• Throughout the chapters after Jack’s release from prison events are described in the present tense. For example in this chapter, “They jump out and run to the car” rather than “They jumped out and ran to the car”. How does this use of present tense add to the reader’s experience?

K is for Kangaroo

A Brief Summary

In a further flashback Trigell describes Boy A’s journey to court in a police van. The van comes under heavy attack from an angry crowd, eager to take revenge on the two boys. The reader is continually challenged to question whether these boys should be considered as responsible adults or vulnerable children. Their small size is emphasised, as they sit on the defendants’ benches in court “the toes of the defendant did not quite reach the floor from their seats”. Trigell also notes that the age of legal responsibility is lower in Britain than many other areas of the world.

The identity of the victim is revealed for the first time, a ten year old girl called Angela Milton. The jury are played audiotapes of the two boys’ evidence in which they deny any responsibility for the girl’s death. Boy A lies consistently but Boy B’s evidence is contradictory and quickly reveals that he is trying to deceive the questioners.

The court passes a sentence of seven years imprisonment for the murder. This is increased by the Home Secretary to ‘indefinite detention’, under pressure from public opinion, fuelled by a tabloid newspaper campaign.

Points for consideration:

• Trigell writes in an almost poetic style. In this chapter rhyme (“narrow arrow slits”, “the treasure and measure of this clan”)and frequent alliteration (“concerned and curious”, “blameless, beautiful”) are used. How well does this lyrical style suit a novel whose themes are so dark and so graphic?
• Phrenology was an old fashioned belief that some scientists held suggesting your personality was set from birth - read more here. Why does Trigell refer to this old fashioned idea when describing the public’s reaction to the boys?
• Note how the descriptions of Boy A (“… wore new clothes that fitted perfectly”) and Boy B (“… wore a tracksuit throughout the trial”) differ, not for the first time in the novel. Can you spot any other differences in their presentation in this chapter?

J is for Jonah. Just Jinxed.

A Brief Summary:

After his embarrassing drug-fuelled encounter with Michelle last weekend, Jack makes amends by taking her for a coffee. They have an open conversation, establishing the fact that they like each other and they agree to go watch a film at Michelle’s house.

 

They start to watch an action film but soon find themselves caught up in lusty distraction on the sofa.

They begin to make love. Jack prematurely ejaculates, suddenly feels self conscious, pulls his clothes back on and gets out of there.

Points for discussion:

•  Look at Page 101 – how does Trigell use paragraph-breaks to control the pace of his story. Why do you think he does this?
•  In this chapter we see Jack beginning to develop all of the trappings of a normal adult life. Do you think Trigell wants us to think that Jack deserves to have a normal life?
• Why do you think that people treat Jack differently now to how they did when he was a boy? Do you think that Trigell is trying to teach us any sort of lesson about life and childhood here?

I is for Insects. As Flies to Wanton Boys.

A brief summary:

Before getting into this chapter, have a look at the title of it. Do you know where it comes from? It is from a play by William Shakespeare called King Lear – the entire quotation reads: ‘As flies to wanton boys are we to th’ Gods’.

Trigell is doing something very interesting in alluding to this line. By taking this line from Shakespeare which is based on the assumption that ‘boys are cruel to little insects’ he is reminding us that children have always had the capacity for cruelty and that, in many ways, the issues that he is dealing with in this tale are timeless and could have happened at any point in history.

He is also reminding us of what the boys lack in their lives – nobody looks up to them, they do not have the respect of others – and when young boys do not have something they need, they are wont to take it by any means necessary. We have already seen in Chapter B that Boy B is known to cross out God’s name from the Bible and insert his own. In many ways this chapter deals with the boys’ desire to feel god-like.

Another important function of this chapter is that it tells us what sort of area the boys grew up in – descriptions of the concrete blocks, the discarded nappy and the used condom all add up to give us the impression that the boys’ inhabit a relentlessly bleak world with no source of human warmth or decency.

The only real ‘event’ of this chapter is the two boys sat by the dirty river Byrne fishing for eels. The death of the eel is described with painstaking detail and the description of the boys’ nihilistic destruction of the animal gives us sense of the crime that is to be committed later on in the novel.

We also get a chilling glimpse into the home-life of Boy B who we learn comes from a run down estate and has been the victim of sexual assault.

Points for discussion:

• Notice the calm concentration that Boy B shows when fishing – a side to him that is never seen in any other aspects of his childhood. What do you think this tells us about his character, and does it contain any clues as to how B’s fate could have been avoided?
• Does Trigell want us to see these boys in a sympathetic way, or is he presenting them as monsters? Find a quotation to support each point of view.
• Why do you think that people treat Jack differently now to how they did when he was a boy? Do you think that Trigell is trying to teach us any sort of lesson about life and childhood here?

H is for Home. Home Help.

A brief summary:

The story of A becoming accustomed to prison life continues – thankfully for him his new inmate is not as volatile as the man that tried to kill him in Chapter D. Whilst his cell my have become a less threatening place, the world outside his cell is full of predatory prisoners, all eager to show Boy A his place in the pecking order.

A’s first night in his cell is met with a cacophony of taunts and violent threats from the cells around him. The voices from surrounding inmates are urging A to come to the window and sing a nursery rhyme for them. A’s new cellmate, Hacendado, tells him that he is wiser not to. A closes the window of his cell, despite threats from outside that he will be assaulted for doing so.

The rest of the chapter concerns A’s initiation into the routines of prison life – the importance of keeping a clean cell, the rituals of collecting food in the canteen and storing some for later, as well as the importance of keeping a low profile on the inside.

A has a meeting with his Personal Officer who makes it clear that he is aware of exactly what A has done to land himself inside – and the importance that this information is not leaked to the rest of the prisoners.

Points for consideration:

• Compare this chapter with Chapter Q… how do A and B’s experiences of prison differ and why do you think this is?
• Look at the final line of the chapter – ‘You just do what you can… I’ll see you do the rest.’ To what extent do you feel that A’s personality has been shaped by those who have had control over his life at various stages? Who do you think have been the most important characters to have an influence over him?
• Read the final paragraph on p.74 starting with the word ‘suck’. How would you describe Trigell’s writing style here, and what effect do you think that he is trying to create?
• Notice how Trigell sometimes refers to the protagonist as A and sometimes Boy A. What effect does this have on us?

G is for Garden. Garden Party.

Brief Summary

Back to Jack’s big night out.  This chapter opens with Jack being left alone with Michelle.  In the spur of the moment, he feels overcome by his attraction towards her and he tells her that he loves her.  Steve the Mechanic returns to reveal that Jack’s outburst of love is a result of the ecstasy tablets; Jack has not successfully rid them from his system.  Michelle is angry and walks away.  Due to the drugs, this does not bother Jack as he feels like he can fix anything.

Jack starts dancing.  He momentarily feels paranoid that people are watching him and criticising him for his dancing, but in his drug-induced state, he quickly decides that everyone around him on the dance floor are his friends.

At the end of the club night, Jack gets invited to an after party, to which he invites Chris and Steve the Mechanic.  Two men approach Chris at the party, clearly looking for trouble.  Jack watches on protectively, hoping that nothing will come of it.  When things turn ugly, Jack races over to prevent Chris from having his face stamped on.

Jack’s experiences in prison have clearly left him well able to handle himself in a fight.  He quickly gets the upper-hand and starts to head butt the main culprit until Steve the mechanic pulls him away.

The boys leave the party in haste.  They all go home and Jack is left feeling anxious, upset by the night’s events.

Things to consider:

§         Can violence ever be justified?

§         Did Jack go too far?

§         How has Jack’s time in prison changed him?

F is for Family, Fathers, Fidelity

Brief Summary

In this chapter, Terry informs Boy A of his mother’s death.  This news still comes as a shock, despite having known that she was dying from ovarian cancer.  We learn that his mother had continued to visit Jack whilst he was in prison whereas A’s father never visited.  He therefore considered her to be his last link to love.

 

Devastated by the news, Jack cries.  He is comforted by Terry and we see the bond between them strengthening when Terry accompanies Jack to the funeral.  At the funeral, it is clear that any relationship Jack and his father once had, is now deteriorated; they are anxious in each other’s company and the strain of what has happened is too much for them to be able to maintain contact.  Jack later receives a letter from his dad informing him that he has accepted a job abroad.

We also learn more about Terry’s family life in this chapter.  Like Jack, he has had to deal with separation after he learns of his wife’s affair which leads to their divorce.  It is decided that his son, Zeb, should not hear of the reasons behind the divorce so as not to destroy his relationship with his mum.  However, Terry feels that Zeb suspects it was his fault and father and son slowly grow apart.

Things to consider

§       How have Jack’s parents reacted to the crime?  Can you understand each reaction?

§       What role does Jack’s father play in his life and what’s happened to him?

§       Compare the bond between Terry and Jack with the waning bond between Terry and his own son

§       Why does Jack blame himself for this mother’s death?  Why does he compare himself to her cancer?

E is for Elephant. White Elephant.

Brief Summary

This chapter opens with Jack struggling to get the washer-dryer to work, whilst also burning his dinner under the grill; trapped inside is his only shirt option for an evening out with the lads from work and, of course, Michelle.

The reader learns that knowing suicide is an option is a comfort to Jack.  It means that he always has a choice, which makes him feel more powerful and therefore able to keep going when life gets difficult.

Jack manages to save both his shirt and dinner before meeting Chris and Steve the mechanic at the pub.  He is pleased to meet them first before joining the larger group, which will include Michelle, as it allows him some time to get used to being out socially with his new friends.  However, he still feels out of his league during a conversation about chat-up lines and it becomes clear to the reader how inexperienced Jack is.

In the next bar, Jack spots Michelle.  Once he is aware that she is there, he feels distracted by her, but he is too nervous to approach her.  When he sees two men talking to her and Claire, he feels pangs of jealousy, but is relieved to learn that she has left to go to the next club without the men.

On their way in to the nightclub, he is ‘struck by the unreality of it all’.  Once inside, he is overwhelmed by the thump of the loud music and the many scantily clad women.  Michelle beckons him to the dance floor, but he is still too shy to speak to her, let alone dance with her, especially as he has never danced before.

As the chapter continues, Jack becomes increasingly drunk and unstable; however, the alcohol is also helping him enjoy himself as he is more ‘at ease than he can ever remember being’.

Unfortunately the night takes a dangerous turn towards the end of the chapter, when Jack unknowingly accepts drugs from Chris.  He is told to close his eyes, open his mouth and swallow; Jack, used to following orders, simply obeys.  On advice from Chris and Steve the mechanic, Jack goes to the toilets to make himself sick in the hope of getting the pill out of his system. When there, he meets a ginger bloke, high on drugs, who wishes him luck.

Points to consider:

§         What does Jacks’s reaction to the washer-dryer tell the reader about him?

§         What is Jack’s reason for not being scared of Jaws, the movie?

§         Trigell states that ‘It doesn’t occur to him that maybe he doesn’t deserve this’ when his night is going well.  How much has Jack adapted to being out of prison?

§         Why is he ‘just used to obeying orders’?