1. Cone Gatherers presentation-
I have chosen to do the topic of the innocent always being sacrificed and made to suffer.
The idea of the innocent always being sacrificed goes hand in hand with the idea of bad things
happening to good people. The way I see it is that the innocent are always at the mercy of those in
power; whether those in power are controlling them with money, weapons or politics, the innocent
will always be on the side which is not holding the metaphorical gun to your head.
In the novel there are two characters that I believe fall into the idea of the innocent always being
sacrificed. These are Roderick and Calum. They are both characters who are innocent in their own
way, and have had to sacrifice something to stay so. Also, the general theme of war is a perfect
example of the innocent being sacrificed.
We first see Roderick’s innocence in the scenes at the end of chapter 7 and beginning of chapter 8.
In these scenes it is shown how differently he and his mother view Social Class. He is conceived as a
very naïve character through his mother’s eyes. In the scenes he greets the cone gatherers as friends
and goes on to suggest to his mother that they give them a lift. He is completely ignorant of why
people such has himself do not mix with people like the cone gatherers. He says ‘human beings are
more important than dogs’. He does not look at people as lower class or upper class, but as humans.
Even though this should be the correct way of seeing the world, it does show his naivety. In the
novel Roderick does not sacrifice anything physical but I feel as if he sacrificed his Mother treating
him well in order to stick up for the Cone Gatherers, a seemingly innocent act. His mother treats him
as if he is to be pitied and isn’t very bright when in fact he should be treated a caring and forward
thinking person. Is it ok for Roderick to have to sacrifice a bond with his mother in order to have an
open mind?
Calum is the most innocent character in the book, and the one who sacrifices the most. Even though
throughout the book he is given the most reasons to be spiteful, he is the exact opposite. His
innocence protects him from this. Along with being hunch backed, he is said to have the mind of a
child – he means no harm to anyone. One of the first times we see Calum’s personality in the novel
is when he is trying to save a rabbits life and getting overly emotional about It in the process. Calum
is not just innocent in the sense of ‘innocent and guilty’ but also innocent to the feelings of those
around him. He does not build an anger the way Neil does when they are being treated unfairly –
whether that be through Durors hatred of Calum or the social class issues between them and Lady
Runcie Campbell. He is not emotionally affected by this, he is only emotionally affected by the harm
of others. This is why the idea of the innocent always being sacrificed is most applicable to Calum
because throughout the book Calum never hurts anyone else, it is only him who is hurt. In the end
Calum is subject to the ultimate sacrifice in order for Durors evil to end, is it worth it?
As I said at the beginning, the innocent are at the mercy of those in power. That is exactly what War
is. War is the perfect symbol of the innocent being sacrificed. Our army is not made up of criminals
and ‘bad’ people but made up of everyday civilians and I’m also sure that the Nazi army was made
up of the same type of people, but I am especially sure that those caught in the crossfire are
definitely a symbol of innocent people. Yet, all of these groups of people are made to put their lives
on the line, and for what?
Nature in general is a very innocent symbol throughout the book. The forest at the beginning is a
place of sanctuary for both Duror and Calum but with the accumulation of both the li es made up
about Calum and Duror’s suicide and murder of Calum, the forest is stripped of its innocence. Also,
2. the deer drive is an example of the innocent being sacrificed as the deer are killed for sport, and
then when Duror so savagely kills that Deer all of their innocence is sacrificed for evil.
This leads me onto my last idea – The greater good. I have left this to the end as a reflection almost,
because I think it puts a different perspective on things. This is an idea that I can’t decide for myself
if it is right or not. In some cases, such as the trees, it seems to make complete sense. Then with the
war, if all those people hadn’t died, then where would we be today? But then you remember that
each was a human being who deserved a life just as much as we do. Then Calum, his death resulted
in Duror killing himself, which eradicated some evil from the world but is it really worth it when such
an innocent soul has been taken along with it? I don’t think the greater good can really be good if
along the way it has destroyed people’s lives. Can the end always justify the means? I do not believe
that the innocent HAVE to be sacrificed as Mr Tulloch implies in this quote. I just believe that they
are and there is nothing that can change about that until everyone is equal.
