How does Barry Hines create sympathy for Billy Casper in 'A Kestrel for a knave'?

Authors Avatar

How does Barry Hines create sympathy for Billy Casper in ‘A Kestrel for a knave’?

Kes is a novel written by Barry Hines set in Sheffield, south Yorkshire, in the 1960’s.

The story describes two different places that really contrast each other.

The first place is where Billy lives all the houses are council houses, the whole area is run down and deprived of luxuries such as central heating.  The contrasting place is called Firs Hill where all the houses are big, clean and very posh with lots of luxuries like hot running water.  I suppose we already feel sorry for Billy because of the disadvantaged area he lives in.

Kes raises a lot of 1960’s issues for example, Billy has no father, his mother goes out most nights and always returns home with a new man, making us feel sorry for Billy as he’s no one to look up to.

Another issue is that of the education system which lets Billy down badly. He attends a boy’s secondary modern where he suffers draconian punishment such as thrashes from a cane or lashes from a belt. Billy will have to leave school when he is 15; his only choice of employment will be to work down the mine (pit) with his brother Jud who’s a bully. Billy hates the thought of having to work down the mine, which creates sympathy as he’s forced into a no hope situation.

The first incident I have chosen is Sugden P.E lesson (pg. 87-108) I have chosen this because when you compare Billy to a bully like Sugden, it shows how pitiful Billy really is. In this part of the novel Hines has managed to create sympathy for Billy by showing how weak and vulnerable Billy’s character is.

Billy has to tell Sugden he’s forgotten his P.E kit and Sugden makes him wear a pair of shorts which are massive, the class roars with laughter and even Billy has to smile. The only person not amused was Sugden. This part emphasises on the hard strict character Sugden is and makes Billy look like a complete wimp.

The class then goes onto the field and football teams are picked. Billy is last to be selected which shows he has no friends. You feel sorry because he’s the loner of the class, not only does he get picked last, but he is made to go in goal, this appears to be a regular thing as Billy states “I’m fed up o’ goin’ in goal. I go in every week.”  

In this same incident a dog wonders on to the pitch. Sugden, bringing out his bulling character, resorts to violence and tells the boy’s “Go and fetch half a dozen cricket bats from the games store,” Billy sticks up for the dog saying “It’ll not hurt you.” And manages to lead the animal off the field without getting hurt. This shows a caring side to Billy and how he relates to animals.

Join now!

The end of lesson bell sounds but the match carries on. Time is being expressed in this part of the story maybe to show how slowly it is passing and to create tension as to who’s going to win the game. Eventually it’s all over and the boy’s race inside to the showers.  Sugden watches Billy as he changes and blocks off his exit because he didn’t have a shower. Billy denies not having one and comes up with the excuse of having a cold but can’t produce a sealed letter from a legal guardian to prove it. At ...

This is a preview of the whole essay