Tracking a Text: Spies by Michael Frayn 1: Chapter One: pages 3 – 6 The narrator (Stephen) is disturbed by the smell of a certain shrub every June. It triggers his memory and makes him think of the past. Particularly‚ he thinks of Keith and Keith’s mother. He remembers Keith’s mother‚ her eyes sparkling and her laughter. Then he remembers her crying and he not knowing what to do. He remembers that the whole thing started with six words spoken by Keith. He resolves to go back
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When he and Barbara have a cigarette‚ Stephen says that he feels “…a kind of soaring sensation…as if I’m no longer bound by the rules and restrictions of childhood” Explore the ways Frayn presents Stephen’s changing understanding of the adult world. At first Frayn shows Stephen of finding it difficult that to believe that the adults that are around him were once children too. This is naïve of Stephen. He sees his brother going through the process of growing up but he does not realise that he
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appropriate is the title of the novel? There are many different themes through out Michael Frayn’s novel ‘Spies’ but the theme of spying is the most important. All characters in the novel participate in some sort of spying and can be seen as a kind of ‘spy’. The theme of spying was first introduced by two of the main characters Stephen and Keith when Keith came up with the scenario of‚ “my mother is a German spy.” These were the words “that set everything off”. Certainly there is a clear hierarchy
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Analyse how Frayn presents relationship between Stephen and adults in Spies Word Count: 1‚718 In the novel ‘Spies’ Frayn explores the relationship between Stephen and adults. Stephen comes to the realisation of the harsh adult world‚ for example Frayn demonstrates that adults manipulate children to their advantage and that a child’s view is very naïve as they are protected from the adult world. This is because adults use facades to protect children and as Stephen matures he develops awareness for
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How is the character of Mrs Hayward developed throughout the opening 3 chapter of Frayn’s ‘Spies’? Mrs Hayward is a contradictory character who is established through Stephen’s fragmented memory to be both a character of smiling perfection and a broken woman‚ sitting in the dust weeping. She is both the embodiment of a perfect British wartime wife and a character of suspicion; a spy‚ a traitor‚ the epitome of deceit and the focus of two young boys’ overzealous imagination. When the reader
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A child’s world is shaped by their parent’s reality. Jordan Djuric The birth of Prince George into the Royal family has created question on how a family who have rarely any privacy‚ could raise a child as normal as possible. The family could not even name George without approval from many others. But it brings up the question of‚ what is a “normal” upbringing anyway? If a normal upbringing is one which consists of two average paid parents‚ who live in a middle class suburban home‚ where they
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We grow through exploring multiple realities Its 9pm on a Sunday and I can feel the first of the rain as its droplets catch on my outstretched palms. There’s something very humbling about the rain. It’s one of nature’s great forces‚ and completely escapes our control. When the rain comes‚ it doesn’t account for petty human drama‚ politics and cultural divisions. I ponder this thought as I round the bend and turn down the next street. The rain is a reminder that above all else‚ we are at the whim
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We were down at the beach house – all 8 of us‚ nestled in a little cove off Bay Road. We’d worked hard to secure this respite after the final exams. John had repainted the local church a hideous green‚ Peter had mowed all of the lawns in Hamilton and I’d experienced the wealth of insults that come with manning a Coles cash register. Ah‚ freedom tasted so good. Not just in the figurative sense‚ but in the literal one too. There was a small fish and chippery hidden behind the beach’s shower block
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forced to create alternative realities The brain is a crucible: a melting pot of intersecting ingredients that forges a reality that is deceptively the same‚ but often vastly different for each individual. That reality is a construct is a fashionable term these days; it means that we tend to see reality from a particular frame of reference. There is always a context‚ whether it be political‚ social or cultural. For those who are unable to construct a satisfactory reality‚ it is then that they are forced
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Explore the ways in which Frayn presents the character of Keith in Spies. Frayn presents the character of Keith in Spies through the protagonist Stephen’s recollection of their childhood adventures as best friends. Keith is shown as aware and confident in his knowledge and status‚ with an imagination so seemingly limitless to the point of violence. Despite this‚ Frayn evokes sympathy from the reader by portraying Keith for what he truly is: a young boy who uses the spying game as a means of
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