Analysis of Act 1 of 'Vernon God Little'

everybody who Vernon dislikes because he’s the character we’re closest too, and by reading through his perspective we are in a sense manipulated by him. We aren’t told anything about the other characters so we have to learn from Vernon’s voice which originates from the way he interprets others’ actions. It seems that Vernon’s struggle for identity stems from the inability for him to voice his thoughts and feelings within his community.   Throughout Act 1, Pierre uses the imagery of an extended metaphor of knives to convey the backstabbing and continual deep wounds that Doris inflicts on Vernon (through lack of support, embarrassment etc). ‘It’s like she planted a knife in my back when I was born’ implies that since the day he was born, his own mother has been inadequate and out to hurt him. The ‘knife’ is further described as ‘a fucken skewer these days, with all the shit that’s been added on’ suggesting the hurt has built up and just keeps getting worse for Vernon. Doris does not play the typical, expected motherly and nurturing role – she only adds the knives. As a reader I feel that the relationship between Vernon and his mother is very weak and distant – Vernon foresaw that Doris would not come and collect him from the police station. ‘I knew she wouldn’t, that’s how smart I am’. This shows that Doris is very predictable – Vernon’s put up with her inadequate behaviour for so long it’s become normal. Vernon also finds his mother very irritating, ‘every fucken noise she makes she just gives it a turn’ suggests that she’s always hassling and being overprotective of Vernon, continually pushing the knife in his back deeper in. An extended metaphor of food also occurs, ‘feel the blade chop and dice’, which conveys that when his mother asked how he was, it’s the same old nonsense he’s used too – superficial and oblivious to the danger Vernon is in.   Vernon feels very intimidated by Vaine Gurie, the person in charge of investigating the case. ‘Gurie lowers her bone to stare at me’ implies that Vaine has supremacy over Vernon. Vernon is unable to plead himself innocent – the system is corrupt since the masses of Guries in Martirio have domination and present opinions as facts, resulting in Vernon being guilty before innocent. She relentlessly questions Vernon and tries to catch him out, ‘you said you were in math’, which shows Vaine isn’t really giving him a chance and he has no way of talking back. Vaine picks Vernon apart like her barbeque ribs from Bar-b-chew barn, turning to Vernon once she had disposed of them, ‘now i’m the fucken meat’. This has connotations of Vernon being her prey, and how she’s hungry to make sure he goes down irrelevant of whether she has evidence or not. It shows a premonition of the continuous accusations which will follow, in her struggle to deem Vernon guilty throughout the book. This results in Vernon feeling like a scapegoat for a crime he hasn’t even committed – he has been victimised and betrayed. As a reader I sympathise with Vernon because he has been placed in an impossible situation – those who should be protecting and defending him are doing nothing more than assuming his guilt. I also feel apprehensive for Vernon because I’m concerned about what will happen next for him.   The structure of the book is comprised of Acts (like a play). These create a very visual journey of Vernon, and in his life being played out as a film or play, it reinforces the fact that nothing in his life is real or here to stay. Act 1 is an exposition where we are given an explanation of Vernon’s situation, for example where he was at the time of the incident and why. Both past and present tense is used in Act 1, simply to differentiate between. Past tense is used when describing the tragic accident since if it were written in present tense; it would be as if those who died were still alive. Pierre also makes use of flashbacks to before the incident. ‘That morning crowds on my mind’ shows Vernon can’t stop replaying the fateful day, ‘a headwind worries our bikes on the way to school’ shows something was going to go wrong. The use of flashbacks partially shows the chain of events and helps Vernon to explain himself to a reader who is in the unknown and feeling confused.   As a reader I get this idea that Vernon is unhappy with his life. He constantly repeats ‘what kind of fucken life is this?’ which repeatedly questions how awful his life is. The rhetorical question is aimed at us as a reader to think about it. We are left marginally in the dark in correspondence to the tragic incident that supposedly occurred to lead to Vernon’s arrest. Only hints are given, such as ‘school – don’t even fucken mention it’, and ‘sheriff’s office’, and so we can only make inferences from what Vernon says. This implies that he is in custody, and that his school has something to do with it. Vernon has been fingerprinted (already guilty with no evidence), and he describes it as ‘this ink would survive Armageddon’. This hyperbolic portrayal of the ‘so called’ evidence pinning him down to this crime would survive the end of the world – this reinforces the idea of continual accusation.   The title of the act, ‘Shit Happens’ has implications of something having gone wrong, of which we go on to find out in Act 2. Vernon describes his town as ‘it’s hot as hell in Martirio’, which has a double meaning. Firstly Vernon is stating his dissatisfaction within his society, but the reference to hell also plays in with his constant references to the ‘cross’, in his feeling that he’s going to be crucified. Pierre makes use of pathetic fallacy, ‘a jungle of clouds’, which suggests Martirio as being dense, overbearing, wild, and oppressive. Pierre juxtaposes the ‘hot’ with the ‘papers on the porch icy with the news’, the oxymoron conveying that bad news is present. The minor sentence and word ‘Fate’ is continually repeated by Vernon. This sentence structure creates impact, and the word suggests he was doomed from the start and he can do nothing to change the course of destiny. It implies that he’s being swept along by everybody being incompetent and its pointless him trying to fight his corner because what’s happening and what’s set to happen is beyond his control.   The characters in Martirio are presented as types who are trivial and stupid – not one person in Vernon’s town can be open to both sides of a story, nor can they read below the surface of situations which arise. I believe that the society of Martirio is conceited and vain – they are more concerned with themselves and their latest possessions, such as the ‘fridge’, than they are with the atrocities that have occurred in the community.