THE STOAT
Q. To what extent does the narrative/ course of human events explore the key symbol used in the story?
The modern prose, ‘The Stoat’ written by the celebrated 20th century writer, John McGahem is a fable which serves as an allegory for life. The story explores the themes of fragmentation and isolation through characters who have a practical outlook and are at bleak circumstances in their lives. The journey of these detached characters is intertwined with picturesque descriptions about the landscape of rural Ireland. McGahem frames the story in a loop as he conveys the message to the readers by using a synopsis based on the animalistic and predatory outlook of nature. The story revolves around the parallel drawn between the happenings of the human world and is compared to the animal world to show that the motives of men is no indifferent from the selfish pursuits of vicious animals. The story begins with a dramatic suspense as graphic descriptions are provided about a violent episode where the stoat pursuing the injured rabbit. This gory encounter of the stoat and the rabbit is ramified and the lessons of selfish hunt and predator instinct serve as an allegory to the course of events in the story. This central symbol pervades the readers consciousness as the story progresses. It highlights the character’s motives, the reason behind their endeavours and the nature of human beings in general. The suspense and tension which keeps pulsating throughout the story, comparisons of the animals to characters and bringing the actions of humans to the animal world to teach a moral lesson explores the key symbol of the story to a great extent.
McGahem uses various narrative techniques and literary devices to explore the central symbol along with the plot development. ’The Stoat’ revolves around the selfish pursuit of the father and the critics provided by the son about the father’s actions. The protagonist is a young, medical student who is an exemplar of a modern individual away from community who shares his critical opinions about the father’s comical actions. The story revolves around their fragmented relationship and unravels emotions which were buried. This stems from an autobiographical element as the author went down the same path in his early days. McGahem uses a series of flashbacks prolepsis and description to evoke suspense throughout the story. He opts a varied path of writing about the student and the father. When he talks about the student, he provides opinions, comments on the father’s actions and ambitions. However, when he talks about the father, he throws light on his selfish character.
The story progresses with the unnamed narrator who comments and provides essential details on character reflections, setting and plot. It begins with a preface of a violent episode where the bloodthirsty stoat is hunting for the rabbit. McGahem provides a series of gory details and gripping descriptions about this hunt to draw attention from the readers. He uses an animalistic, exaggerated description about the dying rabbit and subtly foreshadows the same in the human world. This preface introduces us to the central symbol of the story which the course of events revolves around. The prose explores this key symbol through comparisons of the journeys of characters and their endeavours to the animal world. The tone of the story is set to be solemn as the themes of loneliness, brooding loss and selfishness are explored. Although, the story throws light on vivid descriptions on the rural landscape, it also talks about the motives of both animals and humans. Thus, the symbol is used to compare both the motives and reveal that nature is no indifferent to man.
The key symbol of the stoat and the rabbit is majorly explored through the behaviour of the characters and their actions. McGahem compares all the characters to the stoat at various points of the story as the plot develops. After the violent episode, it immediately switches to the relationship between the father and the son. The father is portrayed as selfish old aged man, who seeks for companionship in his monotonous routine. He is a mundane, common place man who is stubborn with his own ideas and wishes. The readers can understand that the father is narcissistic and thinks the whole world revolves around him from the phrase ‘the country is on fire with curiosity’ about his marriage. He sets high and strict standards for a bride and disrespects women by calling them ‘battle axes’ and ‘need a government grant to do them up’.
We see that McGahem compares the father’s selfish and predatory motives to the stoat’s animalistic behaviour. The father is hunting for a bride, just like the stoat. However, in the end both of them have a sense of unfulfillment as the prey is snatched away from them. In the case of the father, he flees away in haste as soon as he hears that his prospect had a heart attack and he did not want to marry a dead weight. This leaves the readers in unease and shame, however allows us to ponder over the similarities between the stoat and the father. He is the stoat who hunts for rabbits (woman) and kills of the relationship. The absurd actions of the father who is desperate for marriage allows us to compare him with the stoat. This character allows us to explore the central symbol.
Although it is stereotyped for the men to chase after women, Miss McCabe chases after the father in this story. From the lines ‘she would come even if a cow’s head were in question’ shows that she is the stoat pursuing the father (rabbit). We can see that this story revolves around human displacement where each of the characters fail to fit into any of the relationships provided to them as they are selfish and want more. None of the worlds they create are meaningful and provide content to the characters.
Along with the characters of the father and the prospect, McGahem also portrays the rabbit as the son who is wanted by the father and the uncle. The ‘long grey hair’ of the uncle is compared to the ‘long grey body’ of the stoat. This hints that the uncle resembles the stoat’s selfish pursuit as he seeks for the boy to stay with him in the lines ‘You’ll be able to spend much more time here. I’d like that’. However, the father also seeks to reconnect with the son and fix their fragmented relationship. He keeps demanding the approval of the son at every step of the way in his marriage. In the flashback provided by McGahem, from the lines ‘fear and foreboding’ we can see that a hierarchical relationship was established between the two and only fear existed. This enacts that the father was the stoat intimidating the son who was the rabbit. However, it gradually transformed to the point where the son sees the father’s actions as an embarrassment. The father has a sense of unfulfillment when he lost his prospect and when he felt ‘brutally severed’ when the son did not connect with him about the death of the mother. This unfulfillment resembles the stoat when it lost its prey to the son. We can see that father wants to reconcile with the son, but fails to do so. Just like the stoat failed to seize the rabbit.
McGahem also allows the readers to view the son as the stoat due to his personality. The protagonist keeps a public facade of politeness and cultivated outlook but within him an animalism instinct in him lurks around. The loss of his mother and a childhood shaped him into this pessimistic, wild and sarcastic character. He is an exemplar of a modern individual who has dissociated themselves from the community and has given up on the idea of home. Thus, is constantly looked to be chased by the father just like the rabbit and stoat. Hence, we can see that the author explores the central symbol and connects it to the story through the characters.
McGahem explores the central symbol in the story by intertwining it to the plot development. The symbol reminds the readers about the sheer ruthlessness of life and how we all have the animalise trait that lurks around. He continuously reiterates that the same kind of logic at the animal world is seen at the human actions through the symbol. He proves this logic with the course of events happening in the story which makes the use of the symbol highly effective. The denouement of the story is the father running away in haste from the prospect. This connects to the preface and reveals the animalistic nature of human beings. It is also revealed through the semi-comic take on marriage. The author explores the central symbol through the desperate measures the father goes for marriage. The way he interviews ‘nurses, housekeepers, doctor, a policewoman’ and so many reveals the selfish interest that resembles the stoat. We can also see that he reads arbitrates as a hobby and can talk about barbaric practices with ease. This shows how comfortable he is with death and deceased. Since, the introduction and conclusion is the hunt between the stoat and the rabbit, we can see that it greatly links with the plot progression.
‘The Stoat’ explores the existential problem in finding a meaning for life through the young protagonist. His beliefs are influenced by the practical uncle and the comical actions of the father. We can see that the characters strive to connect and strike strike a relationship with the others but fail to do so. The loss of a lovely childhood has a made the protagonist a sarcastic, pessimistic individual. All these adds to the solemn negativity in this atmosphere. This negativity and characteristics is explored through the symbol. It shows us that nature is indifferent to man which adds to the solemnity of the story. The continuous trail of emotions left by the characters which lead to the moral of the story. Since the story serves as a fable, the message is conveyed with the comparisons between the actions of the humans and animals. In the end, we find that there is no difference. The preface intertwines with the thought process of the narrator. The line “They were all running” shows the realisation that they are all rabbits and stoats. Everyone has rejected everyone from the father not wanting to get trapped in a marriage to son having wrong influences like uncle who thinks marriage is procreation. They were running to get hunted or to hunt, thus becoming a restless modern man. The course of events of the story reveals the behaviour of various characters, their actions and their ulterior motives. This is compared to the animalistic nature of the stoat hunting the rabbit. Thus, allows McGahem to explore the key symbol to a great extent.
prepIGCSE 