Higher Prose Sunset Song Revision

This document provides an overview of the key ideas, events and themes related to Lewis Grassic Gibbons Sunset Song !t is not a definitive guide and you should use the notes to assist you in forming an overall impression of the te"t KEY THEMES / CENTRAL CONCERNS # The death of a way of living $ change in Scottish farming society % The e"periences of growing up and reaching maturity as a woman & 'hris Guthrie ( The e"perience of dealing with difficulties and change in life WAR ) !mportant both for what it does to people and also for its effect on the main themes LO E O! THE LAN" ) *bviously these are closely related to the main theme POL#T#CS ) +lthough Gibbon does not seem to come down firmly on one side, he obviously approves of the various forms of socialism portrayed in the novel, -ohn Guthries anger at middle class characters, Strachans ideas, Long .obs ideas, the ploughmans union etc M$TA%#L#TY & The sense that nothing human endures, that it is only the land which survives

Ch'(ter
Unfurrowed Field (Prelude) Ploughing

Chris / Kinr'))ie
Sets scene & history of /inraddie 0ow 'hris 1Guthries2 came to /inraddie$3lawearie 'hris desire for education -eans 4eath 'hris becomes a woman & housewife role and se"uality -ohn Guthries illness and death 'hris marries 5wan & pregnancy +rgument with 5wan & 6ndermines his masculinity 'hris 7 5wan run the farm 5wan 18unior2 is born 5wan goes to war & returns and is a changed man & brute 5wan is killed & 'hris reaction :emorial to the fallen 1including 5wan2 'hris marries .ev 'ol;uhoun

Wor*)
Social change, class structure, change of land use !ncreased access to education for women 'hange in world order *L4 !45+S are being abandoned 3uild up to the war & increased progression towards industrialisation of farming The Great 9ar & /inraddies men go to war Long .ob ob8ects !mpact of war on the land and community & loss of trees 'lear e"amples of the change in use of the land and increased si<e of farms $ reliance on livestock and technology

Drilling

Seedtime

Harvest

Unfurrowed Field (Epilude)

The following section includes specific ;uotes from each chapter which link to the key themes 17 sub categories2 of the te"t There are more e"amples but those listed are powerful$memorable ;uotes
Ch'(ter / P*ot event P*oughing -ohns mistreatment of 9ill 'hris education in 5cht & choices +uote !f ! ever hear you take your makers name in vain=!ll lib 1castrate2 you 'hris and her reading and schooling, two 'hrisses there were that fought for her heart What has father to do with it? 9ill stared= Don t !ou "now?# one was right dou$e and studious and the other% laughed at the anti$s of the tea$hers%and minded Ke, The-e.s/ -ohn acts as a powerful, controlling influence in the family 0ints towards importance of religion 'hris loves the land and community but feels she would like to progress as a woman and become educated 'hris youth and ignorance is displayed & she will change later 'hris choices reflect the choice that women had to make &

'hris ignorance of reality of life & birth of twins Two 'hrisses

4eath of -ean Guthrie

&lawearie%till she was si$" to 'e home again# (other 'elow would 'e needing her help%)he! were $r!ing her name%it sounded li"e the lowing of $alves that had lost their mother#

"ri**ing 5nd of education for 'hris 'hriss growing awareness of her se"uality and fear of her father

>oull be leaving the college now=educations dirt and youre better clear of it 5vent with tink in the barn she didnt dare sleep=she heard -ohn Guthrie get out of bed=a beast that sniffed and planned and smelled=she held her breath, near sick with fright it was hardly a week before his own rage struck down -ohn Guthrie half paralysed *ou re m! flesh and 'lood+ , $an do with !ou what , will+ $ome to me -hris# Sleep+ she $ould sleep as she $hose now+ often and long%(! father s dead# .h father+ , didn t /0.W%she minded then%all the fine things of him%he d never rested wor"ing and $having for them+ onl! 1od had 'eaten him%# 2he too" her $lose to him+ and the! were one flesh+ one and together2 living off my meal and my milk, you 0ighland pauperA She took pleasure in being herself=cooking and baking and running to the parks with the piece for 5wan 0ed grown sick of it all, folk laughing and sneering at him for a coward like a beast at a trough, strange swaying figure, beast)like mauling Ba man to love her, not such a boy as the 5wan that had beenB

commitment to the family and farming or a more self)serving desire for a career 9omen leaving tradition behind The first e"ample of loss that 'hris faces She is already being identified as the mother figure and her choices in life will now be restricted 'hris is now e"pected to conform to the traditional female role There is a suggestion that 'hris has become aware of her se"uality & a woman, not a girl & this brings some e"citement but also fears 'hris freedom is further restricted by the need for her to care for -ohn 6ltimately she will appreciate her father and will have control of the farm The unspoken idea of incest is suggested and shows -ohns e"pectations of power$control 'hris is now in sole control & strong woman & new choices in life Gibbon highlights with the death of -ohn comes the death of the traditional Scottish man who would do anything to provide for his family 'hris has matured into a woman and it seems she is meant to be with 5wan 'hris still feels in charge of the farm but this undermines 5wan ) Link to him leaving for warC Dositive relationship contrasts with later behaviour of 5wan

9ill leaves home and -ohns anger results in his stroke and death

See)&Ti-e ?urther revelations of -ohns desires 'hris reaction to -ohns death -ohns funeral

'hris 7 5wan :arry

'hris 7 5wan@s confrontation

3irth of young 5wan

5wan goes to war

There is a sense that 5wan feels the need to be a true man The brutalising impact 9+. has on humans ) men 'hris has matured se"ually and in her view of what she values in a man !mpact of war on family$community !t is not their concern but their lives are hugely influenced by the

5wan@s treatment of 'hris when he returns on leave 'hris has se" with Long .ob

4eath of 5wan ) Sadness, regret & 'hris

B9hat have they to do with my 5wan, what was the /ing to him, what their damned

5wans love for 'hris & his desertion

countryB hed made her that promise that hed never fail her=hed to try to win to her side again, to see her again !n the sunset of an age= they went ;uiet and brave from the lands they loved=though seldom of that love might they speak 'hris Tavendale alone never shed a tear=theyd the last of the light with them up there= maybe they didnt need it=you can do without the day if youve a lamp ;uiet)lighted in your heart

events 5ven though 5wan knows he has no chance of getting to 'hris he feels he must try 0e belongs at 3lawearie Earious e"amples of changes to community and farming life Grassic Gibbon suggests impact of the war and modernisation of farming on the community 5mphasis of the strength and maturity of 'hris despite the torment she has faced There is a sense that life is uncertain 36T 'hris always has hope

E(i*u)e The $n0urro1e) !ie*) 9ar memorial ) 5mphasis on the end of an era with the loss of 3lawearies men Strength of 'hris as a character