How does the introduction to The Eye of the Serpent prepare the reader for the rest of the novel?

How does the introduction to ‘The Eye of the Serpent’ prepare the reader for the rest of the novel?

Philip Caveney prepares the reader for the rest of the novel, ‘The Eye of the Serpent’, with a striking and sensational prologue. ‘The Eye of the Serpent’ is the first novel in the Alec Devlin series written by Philip Caveney, a famous author who released his first novel ‘The Sins of Rachel Ellis’ in 1978. I chose to read ‘The Eye of the Serpent’ because it links to the Ancient Egyptians and Egyptology which I am greatly interested in. I was drawn to ‘The Eye of the Serpent’ because I greatly enjoyed reading Caveney’s other children’s series: Sebastian Darke. I was attracted to the novel because the title gives a spooky and suspicious sense of atmosphere and because the front cover illustrates the terrifying eye of the serpent, great Egyptian monuments and various eye- catching landscapes. The series is based in the 1920s and are based on wild and terrifying adventures. In this essay, I am going to be explaining anything confusing or puzzling that crop up in the prologue and how this may affect the reader’s sense of curiosity. Unlike most other novels, ‘The Eye of the Serpent’, begins with the discovery of an Egyptian tomb which has been waiting to be discovered for over three thousand years.

Firstly, the writer prepares the reader for the novel through the title itself. The title ‘The Eye of the Serpent’ immediately gives a clue that the book will involve a serpent and suggests that it will be a crucial influence on the plot of the novel. Like Philip Caveney’s other novels, there is always an adventure in the novel and it leaves readers wondering, what adventure is there that includes serpents. Serpent is a synonym for and snakes are limbless scaly reptiles which are found in hot parts of the world. This suggests that the novel’s setting will be somewhere hot. In Egyptology, the eye of the serpent represents a Wadjet Eye which is the eye of Horus. This suggests that the setting will be Egypt and this links to the last point as Egypt is a very hot country. As a result, the title suggests that the ‘The Eye of the Serpent’ will involve discovering the eye of the serpent or Wadjet Eye and will take place in Egypt. The title draws me to the book because I cannot immediately cipher what the book will be about and because the title sounds quite mysterious and spooky. A small portion of the front cover shows a holographic serpent with its mouth opening and closing. This shows that the serpent is certainly involved in the plot of the novel and may be horrific. The front cover also shows the landscape of Egypt and the great pyramids and statues, this confirms that the setting certainly is in Egypt. Therefore, the title and front cover does prepare the reader for the rest of the novel, but has been cleverly constructed so that it does not give away too much information, and leaving readers debating over the plot. This causes readers to feel curious and consequently draws readers in to read the book.

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The opening sentence appeals to our sense of sight and causes readers to feel curious. The opening sentence reads: “With a growing sense of anticipation Sir William Devlin stood at the top of the long flight of stone steps and gazed down at the massive doors set deep into the sand below him”. The sentence introduces a character, Sir William Devlin, and this causes reader to question, who is Sir William Devlin? Why does he have a regal title? His name suggests that he is important and wealthy and leaves readers curious about him. The second part of the sentence involves the character (with a growing sense of anticipation) standing at the top of a long flight of stone steps gazing down at the massive doors set deep into the sand below him. From the sentence I understand that Sir William Devlin is expecting something through those doors which are deep into the sand. This leaves readers in suspense because they would want to know what Sir William Devlin is expecting to find though those massive doors. Could it be the Eye of the Serpent? The sentence states that the stone steps and doors are deep into the sand; this confirms that the setting is Egypt because Egypt is mostly sand and desert. From the title, front cover, and opening sentence, I have worked out that Sir William Devlin has found the entrance to an Egyptian tomb which may contain the Eye of the Serpent. I have worked this out because the setting is in Egypt and in Egypt there are many underground tombs especially in the Valley of the Kings, and they start with a long flight of stone steps which lead to doors which are the entrance to the tomb and this is all below the sand. Furthermore another question arises and that is which tomb has Sir William Devlin discovered.

The introduction to the novel is a prologue therefore Philip Caveney does not introduce many of the main characters until the 1st chapter, however two characters are introduced. Caveney introduces Sir William Devlin, an archaeologist, who is depicted to be important and wealthy because of his regal status. This is because he has many men involved in the archaeological dig. Readers visualise Sir William Devlin to be a strong and powerful figure but is also depicted as a patient and slow character doing things in chronicle order and never rushing towards things. The second character is Tom Hinton; he is another archaeologist working beside Sir William Devlin. In the prologue, Tom is depicted as Sir William Devlin’s young assistant and has been working with him for his whole life. Readers visualise Tom as a young and impatient character who, unlike Sir William Devlin, is always rushing and could not conceal his excitement when discovering the tomb. Both characters link to the rest of the novel because Tom apparently dies at the end of the prologue and Sir William falls unconscious and is immediately rushed to hospital. It is up to Alec Devlin, a character introduced in chapter one, to solve the mysterious things that happened shortly after the discovery of the tomb. Readers should feel frightened after the mysterious incidents that happened at the end of the prologue. Caveney was correct in leaving out many of the main characters because the prologue was there to leave readers in suspense and to created background information for the novel, preparing the reader.

Philip Caveney explains the setting in great detail in the prologue and is always using visual hooks to describe the setting and the surroundings which make the prologue very effective. Set in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, the prologue gives a highlight to the content of the novel, indicating that it is going to involve some sort of mystery. The Valley of the Kings is the resting place of a huge number of Egyptian Pharaohs and the prologue provides detail for a new tomb that has been recently discovered by Sir William Devlin. “The workmen had finished unearthing the steps weeks earlier and, in removing the piles of rubble heaped at the base of the huge gates, had revealed the seals bearing the name of Akhenaten” The sentence appeals to our sense of sight as well as our sense of curiosity. Readers want to know: What is in the tomb of Akhenaten? Is there a mysterious curse about to be awoken and how does a serpent link to this curse? At first, the setting created a calm atmosphere intriguing readers because they would expect something sudden and upsetting to occur but towards the end, readers begin to feel frightened when the tomb unleashes a dark and spooky atmosphere. Caveney has cleverly built up setting in the prologue in order to create background knowledge and to leave readers in suspense.

In certain parts of the prologue, readers will feel confused. Immediately introducing the archaeologist, William Devlin, the prologue bemuses readers causing them to wonder and question. However, Devlin is known as “sir” in the first line giving him importance. This word opens up possibilities for readers. Readers give importance to Sir William and they wonder if he is in charge of an archaeological dig. The book starts with an adventure from the very beginning and so confusion is built up through this. When Tom appeared “sick” after entering the tomb, readers were left in a state of confusion. This is considered effective because it creates suspense for readers, making them want to read on. As the setting is always well- described, readers understand the plot even though there is some confusion. The reader did this intently because it triggers readers’ imagination. Confusion is considered effective in the prologue because the author has time to pick up on topics which are only needed briefly and then build up on them when they are needed later on in the novel, creating suspense, preparing readers for the rest of the novel.

The last sentence of the prologue is powerful, concluding the prologue efficiently: “The Breast pocket of Tom’s shirt had been torn open and there, lying against his ruined chest, was the serpent’s eye, gazing steadfastly up at Sir William as he lost consciousness”. “Ruined chest” justifies that Tom is extremely weak and readers wonder if he dies, creating suspense. It also gives readers a vivid image of the scene in the last however the image is somewhat incomplete. Readers will find it difficult to picture Tom as the curse seems immensely horrific. We are drawn to end phrase, “as he lost consciousness” because it denotes that the “terrifying scene” is important as well as emphasising the ordeal. The eye of the serpent on Tom’s chest relates to the title of the novel however we do not know what the significance of the eye is or why it is on Tom’s chest. The sentence ends abruptly, asking readers many questions. They want to know: Is Tom dead? What happens to Sir William and why is there a serpent’s eye on Tom’s chest? Readers feel sorry for Tom because he is innocent and didn’t deserve to suffer from a “curse” and therefore, they hope he survives. Due to the cliff- hanger ending, readers have time to reflect over the chapter and assume what is going to happen next. The last sentence evokes readers’ sense of curiosity and is successful at preparing readers for the rest of the novel.

To conclude, the opening to “The Eye of the Serpent” prepares readers for the rest of the novel by introducing adventure, sorrow and suspense using excellent techniques. The writer used a number of hooks to keep readers interested and aware. By this, readers are enabled to create a full image of the plot in the prologue. In the opening, readers are immediately drawn into the world of burial chambers, curses and tombs starting with an intriguing first sentence. The two characters introduced express a great deal of emotion to give readers a detailed image of what the characters’ personalities are like. On the whole, the prologue leaves you in suspense, generating an urge for you to read on. The prologue is fairly complicated, providing background knowledge for readers. I have deeply enjoyed the novel so far and I can say that readers will continue to feel a sense of excitement as they progress through the novel.

By Dharmesh V Tailor 9T 01/02/09