Arthur and George by Julian Barnes Critcal Analysis. This extract recounts the experiences of a young boy named George. He is the main character, and the passage focuses on his perspective of the world.

George’s character is conveyed in simple diction in the passage, which mirrors and continues to emphasise his age and naivety. George is a young boy, who is obedient to his parents and very timid. His mother disciplines him and tells him what he is “not allowed to” do such as “shout[ing]”, “run[ing]” and “soiling [him]self”. The things he is not allowed to do are written in a form of a list, as if he is remembering them. This emphasises the notion of how “everything ought to be” his mother compels on him.

George is suspicious of the world beyond what he is familiar with. When his father returns from beyond the Vicarage wall, he speaks of people who are “old, and sick, and poor” and children who are “liars”, and that builds a view that there are “unexpected noise and unexpected happenings” that lead him to the notion of distrust in the world beyond what is known to him.

In the passage, the reader is presented with the Christian faith. In the first lines of the passage, George starts to mourn his late uncle but his mother tells him that “excessive weeping is unchristian”. Moreover, later in the passage we find out that both his parents have affiliations with the church. His father writes and preaches sermons and his mother teaches Sunday school at the Vicarage (church).

The passage is very literal and there is a lack of metaphors and imaginary that may depict a notion that has to be taken into further analysis. Having a very neutral tone this extract describes the life of a young boy growing up. Through the third person limited perspective and simple diction, we are able to view his world in his own terms and try to understand and live his experiences.