2. Neil’s background
Neil and his brother, Calum were conscientious objectors during WW2. They worked for the Runcie-
Campbells on an estate in the highlands of Scotland gathering cone so the woods can be replenished after
the war.
Neil suffers from rheumatism which limits his ability to climb trees.
Neil, being the older of the two has felt a certain responsibility to look after Calum after their mum died
when they were young.
Neil sacrificed his own chance at happiness, a career at sea and a family in order to look after his disabled
and mentally disturbed brother. He recognises Calum’s goodness and child like innocence and does all he
can to protect him.
Neil has strong views on social class, equality and the guarding of his brother which inevitably leads to
Calum’s death.
3. Neil’s personality
Neil is a very humble man whose passion and determination for saving him and his brother from an unfair life
sometimes gets the better of him. The realistic, sensible side of Neil is shown when he says to Calum,
“...sometimes we’ve got to choose between two things, neither of them in our liking.”
He is often very sensible, reminding his brother that a war is taken place when he says, “ there’s no sense in being
sorry for trees when there are more men than trees being struck down. You can make use of a tree, but what use
is a dead man?”
He often comes across as being stubborn or ignorant when he says things like, “she can’t order us about” or when
he yelled, “go and tell the lady that we’re free men, we’re not at her beck and call.” However, he always acts this
way because of his determination to look after Calum and be treated better.
Neil is extremely kind to Calum as on several occasions, he says to him, “keep being yourself. You're better than
all of us.” and, “you’re better than any of them...You’re better and wiser than any of them.”
After the deer drive he was described as being bitter and rebellious. However, this is understandable because of
the way his and his brother were being treated.
4. Neil and Calum’s relationship
Neil and Calum have a very strong brotherly bond, it is made even stronger seen as they only have each other whilst working in the
wood. Neil and Calum rely on each other very much, being the only ones in the wood they would keep each other company. Neil,
wanting to protect Calum, ‘would sometimes glance across to call out: “Careful”...’ (pg 2) Neil clearly looks out for his brother and feels
responsible to keep him safe.
Neil, again trying to protect his brother and stand up for him against Duror’s demand for them to take part in the deer drive, questions
him and says, ‘if my brother is excused deer drives in the forest why should he be made to take part in one here?’ (pg 71)
Neil is not as confident at climbing trees as Calum is so he often relies on his brother to help him out. ‘Alone, Neil would have been in
trouble; he was as dependant on his brother as if he was blind...’ (pg 6) We are shown that both brothers are in as much need of each
other than the other.
Neil seem to be the only one who really understands Calum and is sometimes found to be infuriated by his childlike demeanor. When
Calum says that maybe Duror was going to shoot them, Neil says to him, “if you can’t talk sense Calum, don’t talk at all.” (pg 68)
When Neil says, “you’re a child, Calum. Though you’re past thirty, you’re still a child; and you’ll always be a child. But I’m a man, and
I’ve got the intelligence and pride of a man.” he recognises that Calum is just as a child is and seems to be a bit annoyed that Calum
is not as mature and responsible as he is. (pg 99)
We find out that Neil never got married because he wanted to look after his brother. It shows he feels highly responsible for Calum as
although he had the chance for happiness he choose to give it up for the sake of his brother.
5. Neil and social class
Neil has strong views on the class system and will not allow himself or Calum to be treated unequally by the upper
classes.
Looking at the summer house Neil said, “ this is where we should be quartered, even if we are just laborers. It’s
war time, isn't it? Didn’t somebody say on the wireless that in war time everybody’s equal? If it wasn’t for the war,
do you think I’d have agreed to come and do this job, at my age?” (pg 154) Neil shows how strongly he feels about
equality, especially as he believes that him and his brother deserve it.
Mr tulloch had said they were to keep out of the way, they were to provoke nobody, they were to be like insects,
not bees or ants which could sting and bite, but like tiny flies which could do no harm. (pg 98) The fact that Neil, a
lower class than Lady Runcie-Campbell is to make no contact with the upper class infuriates him as he disagrees
with the whole class concept.
Neil, ‘often paused...and gazed at the great house with a calm yet bitter intentness and anticipation, as if, having
put a spell on it, he was waiting for it to change.’ (pg 2) Neil hates the idea of the upper class living a grand lifestyle
while him and his brother are living in a hut.
6. Neil and social class
Neil, pointing out that their lives are of no human quality, asks Calum, “But why shouldn’t we be called monkeys?
Don’t we spend most of our lives in trees? And don’t we live in a box fit for monkeys?” (pg 4)
Neil shows his hate for the class structure and how it somehow makes it acceptable for his and his brother to be
treated so badly. He says, “we’re human beings just like them” (pg 3) Implying that they deserve to be living a better
life and not be looked down on.
Neil could not lift his head after betraying himself for being ashamed of Calum. ‘A lifetime of frightened
submissiveness held it down.’ (pg 157) Neil shows that all his life he has been ‘the lower class’ and been seen as not
as important or worth as others. It also shows his lack of control over the social system in which he lives in.
Neil clearly feels as though the upper class do not respect him and his brother. People look down on him and Calum
which Neil is very aware of and this brings him to feel much hatred towards certain upper class characters, such as
Lady Runcie-Campbell. However, the reason his brother died was because Neil could not treat the upper class with
respect, even though this is understandable it did lead to a traumatic consequence.
The fact that Neil and his brother were thrown out of the summer house, back into the storm simply because Lady
Runcie-Campbell did not think they were worthy of staying there shows that conflict between social class’ at this time
was huge.
7. Neil’s relationship with Lady Runcie-Campbell
Lady Runcie-Campbell is, in Neil’s eyes to blame for the way him and his brother live. Neil strongly dislikes her
for not allowing them to stay in the beach hut and for looking down on him as someone who is not worthy of her
respect.
Neil explains to Callum, “She prefers them(the deer)to us...just talking to us would make her grue.” He suggests
that she finds more pleasure with animals than with making any contact with the brothers. He is very aware of
this and even laughed at the thought of how ridiculous this concept it. Just because they’re a different class than
she is does not mean that it is acceptable for her to treat them badly.
Lady Runcie-Campbell says “warn them to keep out of my way” (pg 96) She clearly does not approve of the
brothers and when Neil finds this out he develops a deep hatred for her and what she stands for. LRC clearly find
it acceptable to deem herself as better than them as she is upper class and wants to make no contact with them
whatsoever.
Showing his anger towards her he says to Calum, “who does the lady think she is, that she orders us about like
dogs? But if we were dogs, she’d treat us better than she does. Aren’t the kennels at the big house bigger than
our ut?” Neil believes that she treats them inhumanely and actually would give them better standards of living if
they were dogs.
8. Neil’s relationship with Lady Runcie-Campbell
Neil disapproves of how she is treating him and his brother and he argues, “Haven't we got the right to keep
ourselves alive? Is the lady like the rain, and the thunder and lightning, that we should be forced to flee from
he as well? (pg 153)
‘Afterwards, in walking to the hut, he had burst out in passionate denunciation of the lady and what she
stood for,’ (pg 98) Neil is obviously very angry that she sees herself as being above them.
Neil thinks that she is very unreasonable and would definitely never treat them with sympathy or care about
them. He explains to Calum, “You can’t even have an accident and fall from this tree, because the lady
would hear about it and she’d be annoyed; she;d be annoyed because you’d broken your neck and spilled
your blood on her land” (pg 99)
He is resentful towards Lady Runcie-Campbell and believes she prefers her animals them. This is largely
because the accommodation she has provided for him and Calum is appalling, especially when compared to
her luxurious home. However, Neil is unaware that it was Duror who prevented Lady Runcie-Campbell from
offering them the beach hut.
“We could have perished in the storm for all she cared. Was that not murder? (pg 173) Neil feels as though,
because Lady Runcie-Campbell is in a higher class than he is she can get away with almost anything where
as him and his brother seem to never be able to do anything right.
9. Neil’s character
Fears
When Calum became frightened of Duror, ‘Neil’s own fears suddenly increased. He became angry.’ (pg 67) The fact that Neil suddenly
becomes angry would suggest that it was because he disliked the fact that Duror was frightening Calum. Neil also fears the betrayal of Mr
Tulloch and is afraid that his brother could ruin what Mr Tulloch has given them. He says to Calum “Do you want to ruin us just because of a
rabbit?...where will the likes of us ever find anybody as good and fair as Mr Tulloch’s been?” As well as this, Neil worried about his brother a
lot. He knew that Calum would be lost without him and was worried about how he would survive with him not protecting him. Neil strives to
care for Calum and shows how determined he is to do so when he explains to Mr Tulloch that, “the dog was to be saved from the storm but
not by brother.” It makes Neil angry to think that people think it is acceptable to treat his brother so badly which leads him to worry about his
ability to look after himself.
Calum’s Death
His brother’s death gives Neil freedom from having to protect Calum but also removes the reason for his existence. Neil will have to learn
how to treat other people in a more sympathetic and respectful way, even those upper classes he despised.
When Calum is worried about Dror shooting them, Neil says, “ why should he shoot at us? Do you think he takes us for crows? Whether he
likes us or not, we’re men, and you can’t shoot men as if they were crows.” (pg 68) This forecasts to Chapter 16 when Duror actually does
shoot Calum as if he was a crow.
I think Neil would be a similar character to Duror is it wasn’t for Calum. Neil is lonely and easily gets angry just like Duror. Calum shows Neil
a lot of innocence and simplicity which Duror doesn’t get the chance to experience. Calum has sweetened Neil with his goodness and now
that Calum is out of his life, I think Neil will be lost without him and over time become a very similar character to Duror.
10. Symbolic significance to the novel
Neil’s character is very important to this novel as he develops other characters such as Calum and Lady Runcie-Campbell.
He also develops themes throughout the novel, one being sacrifice. The fact that Neil has given up the chance of having a
happy life to care for his brother develops this theme further. Another major theme is social class. This is shows through
Neil’s character is the way that he hates the class structure and what it means for him and his brother. Neil is also the one
who brings the idea of the innocent being sacrificed into the novel when he questions Mr Tulloch about the way his brother is
treated. Neil also adds to the theme of conflict because he feels internal conflict about his place in society, his role in the war
and the awareness he has about the fact he has dedicated his life to be Calum’s guardian. Neil’s strong beliefs about social
class inevitably end in the death of Calum and put Roderick in danger.
