The story of Anil is based around a father and son relationship; similarly the basis of the story of compass and torch. Both authors use effective techniques such as symbolism, imagery and emotive language, to show the strong feelings of the characters. Anil is mainly from a narrative view point and tells the story of a boy who has witnessed a murder. Consequently the boy is parted from his father, as his father believes he will receive a better quality of education. Compass and torch is about a father and son who go on an expedition after 4 months of separation. Both stories portray strong emotions of love, hate and guilt which reflect on the father son relationships in a negative light.
At the start of compass and torch the author describes the setting of the moorland. ‘beyond the gate…bleached end-of-summer grass, bruised here and there…’ this is symbolism that suggests that the bond between father and son has been damaged from their separation. The word bleached implies that there is nothing left of the relationship; the separation from his son has washed away what he had with him. The word bruised portrays a strong feeling of hurt, showing that both characters feel that the relationship has become painful. The repetition of the ‘b’ sound used for adjectives makes the sentence sound heavy; the length of the sentence also has a similar affect. The onomatopoeia of the ‘b’ sound can be interpreted as the relationship coming to an end, but the father is struggling on doing all he can to keep what he has with his son.
A comparable technique of symbolism is used at the start of Anil. ‘…there were many holes in the ceiling.’ This suggests anil’s relationship with his father has been broken, as his dad has an aggressive attitude. It shows that there relationship needs to be repaired from the fathers anger that has slowly made him and his son drift apart. The word ‘many’ emphasises that not just one aspect of their relationship has deteriorated but several.
In ‘Anil’ the writer describes the strong emotions of the boy by using descriptive language. ‘Anil nodded again, tears spilling’. The specific word ‘spilling’ implies that Anil’s tears are uncontrollable; he can’t hold them back anymore. It shows his crying is not an intentional action, but an action that can’t be helped as Anil is full of emotion. ‘Spilling’ is a verb in the present tense, showing the action is happing now. Also this suggests his crying could be a reoccurring event in the future.
Find a comparable quote to ‘tears spilling’
In compass and torch the author uses…. To conclude the final feelings the dad has about his relationship with his son. ‘It isn’t long before the man, already expert in blanking out pain, falls asleep too’. This implies that the father has reluctantly accepted the fact that there’s nothing more he can do to amend their relationship. The father in this quote is described as ‘the man’, showing not only the distance between him and his son, but the distance he has from us as a reader. We can deduce from this that the boy slightly fells that his father is an unapproachable character. ‘…expert in blanking out pain’ shows that the father has become capable
