Lecture Notes on "The Telegram" by Ian Crichton Smith

Key Quotes and Analysis

1. Bird Simile for Character Contrast

• Quote: "They were like two birds one a fat domestic bird perhaps the other more aquiline more gaunt or to be precise more like a buzzard."
• Analysis:
  • Bird Simile: Highlights contrast between the two women.
  • Domestic Bird: Suggests the fat woman is a native, comfortable in the village.
  • Aquiline/Buzzard: Implies the thin woman is vigilant and perhaps looks down on others.

2. War as a Plague

• Quote: "It came on them as a strange plague taking their sons away and then killing them meaninglessly randomly."
• Analysis:
  • Simile: War compared to a plague, emphasizing fear and death.
  • Themes: Loss and destructiveness of war.
  • Word Choice: "Meaningless" underlines war's futility.

3. Telegram as a Missile

• Quote: "People began to think of the telegram as a strange missile pointed at them from abroad."
• Analysis:
  • Imagery: Telegram likened to a missile, showing its devastating impact.
  • Effect: Causes irreversible damage to families.

4. Weapon Imagery

• Quote: "A weapon that left desolation just like any other weapon."
• Analysis:
  • Extends missile imagery, emphasizes war's destructive effects.

5. Humorous Village Incident

• Quote: "The fat woman's cow used to eat the thin woman's washing."
• Analysis:
  • Highlights minor dramas in small rural communities.
  • Introduces humor contrasting with wartime setting.

6. Village Description

• Quote: "This was a bare village with little colour and therefore the yellow was both strange and unnatural."
• Analysis:
  • Setting: Sparse, dull village, makes the yellow telegram stand out.
  • Word Choice: "Strange and unnatural" emphasize the telegram's significance.

7. Shared Fear

• Quote: "They were both frightened for he could be coming to their house."
• Analysis:
  • Word Choice: "Frightened" shows communal fear of war's impact.

8. Animalistic Fear

• Quote: "They looked at each other wildly. It must be one of them surely."
• Analysis:
  • Sentence Structure: Emphasizes shock and terror.
  • Word Choice: "Wildly" suggests primal fear.

9. The Elder's Role

• Quote: "He didn't mix with people and he always carried the bible into the pulpit for the minister."
• Analysis:
  • Highlights church's importance, elder's insularity.
  • Irony in elder's son's death despite service to God.

10. Compassionate Gesture

• Quote: "She felt the arm of the thin woman around her shoulders the thin arm and it was like first love."
• Analysis:
  • Imagery: Compassion likened to first love.
  • Momentary relief from tension, shows change in relationship.

11. Poignant Moment

• Quote: "So unexpected so strange so much a gift."
• Analysis:
  • Power of Three: Highlights key incident.
  • Gift Imagery: Emphasizes relationship change.

12. Sacrifices and Epiphany

• Quote: "She saw the years of discipline she remembered how thin and unfed and pale the thin woman had always looked."
• Analysis:
  • Polysyndeton: Accentuates sacrifices.
  • Character transformation through epiphany.

13. Village Gossip

• Quote: "People had said she was weak and useless."
• Analysis:
  • Theme: Prejudice and gossip in village life.

14. Relief in Religion

• Quote: "Miracle of miracles."
• Analysis:
  • Repetition: Highlights relief and gratitude.
  • Theme: Role of religion and miracles in village.

15. Elder's Trauma

• Quote: "His walk through the village was somnambulistic."
• Analysis:
  • Imagery: Dazed, sleepwalking state reflects trauma.

16. Emotional Climax

• Quote: "The telegram was crushed in his fingers and so sweaty that they could hardly make out the writing."
• Analysis:
  • Word Choice: "Crushed" and "sweaty" convey intense emotional trauma.

Conclusion

• Summary of the destructiveness of war on individuals and communities.
• Use of language and imagery to convey themes of loss, sacrifice, and communal fear.

End of lecture notes.