Tommy and Kathy: Introduction
What do we notice about the way Tommy is introduced?
Tommy's temper tantrum
- 'with a shrug' - Kathy is controlled by the people watching from the windows, and therefore she does not want to show any real concern for Tommy publicly. This foreshadows how she will later give in to peer pressure again and not ask Tommy out.
- 'Mad animal' Tommy is referred to as an animal by Ruth
and another student compares him initially to an urinating dog, 'like a dog doing a pee',
Tommy is one of the only students in the school who is open with his emotions, and yet he is dismissed by the students as an animal.
- Mud on T-shirt - he is dirty, shameful, like a child who can't clean himself up...vulnerable, loss of control
- We can sense that Kathy is attracted to Tommy but she feels compelled to hide this
- Tommy accidentally hits Kathy.....and even though she knows it isn't intentional, she still responds in exactly the same way as the other girls, in horror, 'It didn't hurt at all, but I let out a gasp...'
- Tommy could be seen as the most human in this scene, because he is in touch with his emotions, and responding to the difficulties of being at Hailsham whereas the other children actually behave like a pack of animals, uniting themselves against those who are weak.
Tommy's temper tantrum
- 'with a shrug' - Kathy is controlled by the people watching from the windows, and therefore she does not want to show any real concern for Tommy publicly. This foreshadows how she will later give in to peer pressure again and not ask Tommy out.
- 'Mad animal' Tommy is referred to as an animal by Ruth
and another student compares him initially to an urinating dog, 'like a dog doing a pee',
Tommy is one of the only students in the school who is open with his emotions, and yet he is dismissed by the students as an animal.
- Mud on T-shirt - he is dirty, shameful, like a child who can't clean himself up...vulnerable, loss of control
- We can sense that Kathy is attracted to Tommy but she feels compelled to hide this
- Tommy accidentally hits Kathy.....and even though she knows it isn't intentional, she still responds in exactly the same way as the other girls, in horror, 'It didn't hurt at all, but I let out a gasp...'
- Tommy could be seen as the most human in this scene, because he is in touch with his emotions, and responding to the difficulties of being at Hailsham whereas the other children actually behave like a pack of animals, uniting themselves against those who are weak.
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