Summary Of Massacre Of The Geese

At first their killing was quite calm because the birds themselves were quiet and slow to leave their eggs. The hissing, flapping geese that had quickly understood the purpose of a human delegation armed with sticks on that spring day when father was the hunter had been reduced by the observances of parenthood to docile innocents. It was not hard to lift a stick and break a goose’s back when the victim simply sat and made threats and patterns with its head. But once the men had finished with the outskirts of the flock, the absent males alarmed by the keenings of their mates - flew in from their browsings and their uppings on the shore to stand and honk beside their nests. Some were brought down by darts before they had a chance to reach their
By writing that the humans have “shown [their] purpose of a human delegation”, the reader receives a feeling of the sense of power that the humans embody. Crace’s language when talking about the humans opposes that of the geese. Although the language of the author shows them as innocent and simple animals, the expressions used for the humans show them to be hostile and intimidating. The harsh wordings of the massacre of the geese create an alarming image. The humans did not find it “hard to lift a stick and break a goose’s back”. There is no description of the human’s emotion towards the killings, leaving the reader to analyze the primitive actions of the humans. Their “wooden shafts” and “darts” create an explicit image of war. Additionally, the “strong and swift” movements that the humans wield imply that savagery, barbarism, and inhumanity are all that the human society knows. Crace deliberately uses words and phrases like “finished with the outskirts” and “victims” to imply that the humans are simply acting out a mundane task that is rational and essential to everyday life. He concentrates the reader’s focus on the lack of empathy from the humans. On one hand, this shows that the humans do not care about the killing- this is normal sport for them. However, on the other hand, they also show how Crace has managed to dehumanize humans, and humanize the