This document provides a detailed summary and analysis of the settings in the novel "Catch Us If You Can" by Catherine MacPhail. It discusses several important locations in the story, including the main characters' flat, the playground, Castle Street children's home, Rachnadar hospital, and various towns they pass through on their journey. It analyzes how each setting symbolizes different themes and impacts the plot. It also summarizes the roles of friends, authorities, and one antagonist character in the story.

1. LYDIA CHAIYEE XUAN 2014
An Analysis on the Settings of a Novel: Catch Us If You Can
The comedy fiction novel written by Catherine MacPhail entitled Catch Us If You Can is
made up of a journey tale of a grandson named Rory McIntosh bringing along his granda on an
escape. The purpose of the escape is due to community’s concern that serves not right for the
both of them who do not want to be separated from one another. Being one old and one young,
they are incapable of taking care of themselves, not to mention then each other. Hence, ditching
the community’s help is their alternative to be able to live together happily.
Settings of a literature are important because they define when, where and who are
involved. For this novella, the place setting especially, plays an important role since this is a
story about journey. At the beginning of the story, Rory, a teenage boy and his unfit granda live
in a flat without any other family member. Rory’s routine is to travel to and fro from school to
home, passing by the bakery during lunchtime to ensure that his granda is not hungry alone. He
is responsible of finding food for him. Occasionally, Rory goes to the playground to meet his
best friend, Darren Fisher to discuss problems faced. Up to this stage, MacPhail has introduced a
few important places that are symbols in uncovering the themes. The flat that both Rory and his
granda stay is a symbol of peace. It is a place that both of them spend time together without
interference from anyone else. However, when MacPhail writes the flat is being burnt down due
to granda’s carelessness, it signifies that their peace is gone. Also, the playground is an irony
symbol because to Rory, that is a place for him to pour out his problems to Darren. Instead of a
place to play as the name suggest ‘playground’, it is a place that buries all his problems at this
early age.
The development of the story starts when granda has set a fire on their own flat
unintentionally. He is suffocated due to inhaling excessive burning smoke thus being sent to the
hospital for rescue and warded in a general hospital. Consequently, Rory is brought to the
children’s home at Castle Street by a social worker named Val Jessup. This is the place that Rory
detests and afraid of. It is a place that caters children with no family support and requires help
from the community and social worker. Based on the description of MacPhail, the Castle Street
is “an old Victorian villa that had been converted into children’s home just after the war: Grey,
dead stone, crow-step gables and even a turret – it looked just the kind of place wizards and
warlocks would live in”. The name ‘Castle Place’ appears in another book’s title, ‘The Castle

2. LYDIA CHAIYEE XUAN 2014
Street Kids and The Good Neighbor Book’ written by C. C. Morrison Jr. (2012). Similarly, this
book is about children living in the Castle Street, a tall tower like the lonely castle Rapunzel
stays in. Nevertheless, the name ‘Castle Street’ is unreal on the real map and can be merely a
made-up place by MacPhail. Oxymoron is used in creating the name. Castle is meant for the rich
to stay in the olden days whereas the street is for poor people to build their shelter. By
understanding the origin of the name, it is contrasting with the reality that MacPhail writes this
place belongs to the helpless and financially unstable children.
After a few days of being warded, granda is brought to the Rachnadar hospital for further
medication treatment without alerting Rory first. The Rachnadar is a place that granda used to
describe before he enters there personally, a place that is “the local old people’s hospital”. When
granda is aware of where he is being transferred to, he gets agitated and claims it “is where they
put old folk that nobody wants”. In fact, to Rory and his granda, both Rachnadar and Castle
Street are their “nightmare”. It evokes curiosity of the reader of all names, why MacPhail has
selected a name that sounds very much like an Indian name. Once again, this place does not exist
in real on the map. It is possible that the origin of the name ignites from MacPhail’s research that
there is an increasing number of old folks in India throughout the years when the novel is written,
in year 2004. In 2001 census has shown that the elderly population of India accounted for 77
million; in 1961 originally 24 million and increased to 43 million in 1981 and to 57 million in
1991 (Sebastian, 2011). With the increasing number of old folks outburst in India during that
time, it is possible for MacPhail to link to the idea that there will be a place that some of these
elderly need to be placed in. After all, it is not possible that all the youngster are filial to their old
parents.
After the caravan’s stop, Rory and granda together with the Sammy’s family reach Forfar
to get a shelter at Sammy’s brother, Bernie’s place. Instead of moving forward to the north,
which is a remote area that is unsuitable for granda to survive in, Sammy decides to drive them
towards the south to Dundee. Then from there, they should take a train from Dundee to Glasgo
where they could seek help from Ruby’s cousin. Ruby advises them to sit separately in different
carriages so that people will not identify them as the missing grandpa and grandson. However,
Rory chooses to get down at one station before Glasgow because he suspected them being
spotted. Hence, they leave the train at Perth, the place where they encounter Sprout Breath’s

3. LYDIA CHAIYEE XUAN 2014
threaten. This is also the place where granda adopts negative behaviors such as hitting people,
stealing car and even have the thought of shoplifting women’s clothes as disguise.
With the stolen car, granda drives down the city, unknowingly towards the direction of
Liverpool until the car is out of petrol. At the petrol station, they meet the benevolent Rab who
offers to help them to escape with his girlfriend, Annie’s help by fetching them to the Borders.
From there, Rory and granda board into Annie’s car to head south towards England, which
means nearer and in the same direction towards Liverpool. She intends to send them to her
cousin, Norma who lives at Lake District. They stay in a “lovely remote cottage”. The scenery is
mesmerizing and life seems peaceful until Norma decides to call the police after seeing granda’s
health turning worse. With no alternative to choose from, Rory and granda continue their “Great
Escape” towards no specific location, anywhere except Liverpool, since granda has already
found out Rory’s initial plan of finding his father to be responsible of this matter.
It is an irony of how this family comes together in the end living in Liverpool. At the
beginning, Rory and granda refuse to go to Liverpool to call for help from their only family
member Jef McIntosh, who is Rory’s father and granda’s son. However, they still end up being
in Liverpool after going through the adventurous journey which is full of hurdles. Perhaps, this is
just the way how MacPhail is trying to instill the moral value that no matter what, family still
will unite together as one.
In this novel, the society setting consists of a few categories: friends, missionary
community, supernatural representative and the Castle Street teenagers. Friends who support
Rory’s decision are Darren, Tyrone, Zara, Nicola Sammy, Ruby, Bernie, Rab and Annie. They
provide help in terms of transportation and lodging. It will be rather impossible for Rory to bring
granda to travel that far without the help of these people. Whether they are teenagers or adults,
they are considered as Rory and granda’s truthful friends, the type of dependable friends which
can be described using, ‘friends in need are friends in deed’.
The plot of the story is driven by the missionary community as well, who appear to be
antagonists. The McIntosh family doctor, Dr. Nicol with a kind intention offers “to get you
(granda) a home help”, an idea which is immediately rejected by granda. Next, the social worker,
Val Jessup who is assigned to take over this case also thinks it is the best way to send both the

4. LYDIA CHAIYEE XUAN 2014
young and the old to places where they are believed to be taken better care of instead of living on
their own in their flat. The nurses, Nurse Long and Nurse Maureen do their job dedicatedly,
trying to help the ill granda. Their intention is similar to the rest of them, trying to make granda
stay there, a place where granda pleaded to leave badly. The police officers are of course
working together with the social worker and media, trying to capture Rory and granda back to
the ‘prison’ which they thought is good for them. Nevertheless, Mrs. Foley, Rory’s teacher in
school even develops the thought of adopting Rory as a method of solving Rory’s problem.
These people obviously carry a kind intention in their doings but unfortunately, it is not what
Rory and his granda are after for. To them, the only peace and bliss are “to be away from the
world, away from everything” who try to separate them. They care only the surface physical
needs without considering their emotional care. MacPhail probably wants to show another moral
value that sometimes what you think is good for people may not be perceived exactly the same
way. This is because everybody seeks for different pleasure in life. There is no wrong or right to
judge about.
At the Perth train station, the man whom granda attacks from the back with a lemonade
bottle is a boy whom Rory names as Sprout Breath. He is the exact antagonist besides the
indirectly known antagonist missionary community. Instead of helping, he wants to threaten
Rory to report him to the authority to gain fame. Based on the analysis of how MacPhail
interprets different role of the characters, it could be extremely possible that the Sprout Breath
character is an exposure of the world’s ugly side, whereby there will be people who will not help
but bring only devastation. However, based on the count of kind versus evil characters, MacPhail
still sides the fact that good will always defeat wickedness.
Interestingly, MacPhail has included the supernatural representative in this story too.
Rory names the representative “Big Man”. The first time talking to him is when he prays so that
granda will “wake up” while he is extremely worried over granda’s health in the hospital. It is
noticeable in a few parts of the story whereby Rory seeks help from God. His faith starts to grow
when his first prayer is answered indirectly. By inserting the element of belief in God in this
tough journey of a young boy, MacPhail may be trying to shine some light in his life, letting him
know that when nobody can be depended on, there is always God who looks after you from a
place you cannot see. It is a good moral value being inserted via the social setting by MacPhail.

5. LYDIA CHAIYEE XUAN 2014
Contrastingly, to oppose the positive belief in God, MacPhail also includes the superstitious
fortune prediction by Ruby. It turns out exactly true. However, this does not affect Rory’s
continuous prayer to God whenever he faces any difficulty.
The Castle Street teenagers are only active characters during certain part of the plot.
However, they are important to be acknowledged because they represent the ‘helpless and being
manipulated’ entity in a community. Their situations differ from Rory’s, whereby Rory has
developed a strong bond between him and his granda. Hence, Rory cannot accept the new life
like the teenagers living in Castle Street, thinking that everything is good when it is all provided.
MacPhail may be wants to disclose that there are two different types of people in this world: one
who accepts things the way it is and one who opposes to gain what they really want to have. In
this case, the Castle Street teenagers and Rory are just two different entities who fit well as
symbols to reveal that idea. It is true that is how it is in the reality. Some people just feel
contented when they do not have to work hard because they just enjoy in the ‘stress-free zone’.
Rory used to wonder “how could they (Castle Street teenagers) seem so happy here (Castle
Street)?” However, the introduction of the character Tess is particularly special as she is a
teenager who is rude, selfish, aggressive and bad tempered. She is doing all these to gain extra
attention from the crowd because of her loneliness. Her act is a form of repulsion of the norm but
in a wrong way. Therefore, she is stuck in the same condition but with her problem unsolved,
unlike Rory who seeks for another alternative to gain his freedom and companionship.
In the aspect of time setting, this story sets during the summer season. It is the warm
weather season suitable for swimming and vacations (Redd, 2012). Summer is defined
figuratively as a time of light, joviality, expression and wholehearted action (Venefica, n.d.).
MacPhail has chosen this season as the time setting with reasons. Based on the interpretation of
the season, it is opposing the encounter of Rory and his granda at the beginning. They are
exhausted running and escaping from people who try to separate them. Due to the warm weather,
they are surely to sweat a lot throughout the journey. However, in the process of escape, they
meet different kind hearted people who attempt to help them in their adventure. These kind souls
are like sun penetrating into their dark lives at that time. At the end of the whole absurd journey,
Rory and granda have found their true home with Jef and settle down to enjoy a good summer.

6. LYDIA CHAIYEE XUAN 2014
Perhaps in MacPhail’s point of view, the summer that Rory and granda undergo that year is a
unique and unforgettable life turning point.
There are specific moments in the story which are significant to be analyzed to
understand the literature better. On the “worst day” of Rory’s, he gets bullied by Tess and
receives the confirmation that granda has admitted into the Rachnadar hospital. To him, it is like
having two bombs falling onto his territory on the same time, causing him to feel shattered and
hopeless completely. From that point onwards, Rory has made up his mind to create the master
plan of “The Great Escape” with his granda when he is ready.
When he stays at the Castle Street during the time when granda is admitted into the ward,
he experiences a “strange, fitful sleep” that causes him to wake up at odd hours of “2 a.m., 3.10,
4.15”. He is actually suffering from insomnia due to excessive worry on his granda’s health and
wellbeing in Rachnadar. Soon, this worry leads him to develop the idea of fleeing the place since
that is the only alternative for them to be together.
Rory uses three days to plan “The Great Escape”. He allows only success and no failure
for his plan. From the time needed for Rory to execute his plan, it is clear that he has thought
about it from A to Z thoroughly, to ensure it is zero failure. This also shows his determination in
going against the people around who are constantly influencing him with their words and deeds.
However, he is persistent with his own belief. Three days are long enough for one to think and
decide a major decision like Rory’s.
This story is also written with a lot of usage of flashbacks. Through the application of
flashback on granda’s character, MacPhail links the characteristics of granda being old, forgetful
and fantasy minded. For example, granda loves to link women that he comes across to with
another female artist, like how he compares Val Jessup to Grace Kelly, a beautiful film star who
turns into a princess. Though granda disclaims both their appearances are similar, he still insists
that both of them have fair hair. From this incident, it shows that granda is old, fantasies a lot,
talks ridiculously at times and feels proud of his younger days.
All in all, the comprehension of the overall novel’s settings is vital to help readers to
understand better the whole plot. Each setting carries a specific function to the development of
the story and should not be taken lightly.

7. LYDIA CHAIYEE XUAN 2014

8. LYDIA CHAIYEE XUAN 2014
References
Morrison, Jr. C. C. (2012). The Castle Street Kids and The Good Neighbor Book. Retrieved from
http://www.amazon.com/Castle-Street-Kids-Good-Neighbor/dp/1475147937
Redd, N. T. (2012). Summer: The warmest season. Retrieved from
http://www.livescience.com/24592-summer.html
Sebastian, M. (2011). A comparative study to assess the wellbeing and level of satisfaction of the
elderly residing in old age home vs family setting at Madivalla in Bangalore. (Master’s
thesis, Ambigara Chowdaiah College of Nursing, Hegdenagar, Bangalore). Retrieved
from http://www.rguhs.ac.in/cdc/onlinecdc/uploads/05_N201_31557.doc
Venefica, A. (n.d.). Symbolic meaning of seasons. Retrieved from http://www.whats-your-
sign.com/symbolic-meaning-of-seasons.html