“The log has gone away.” This simple exclamation from Lok is exposed, thus grounding his run to a halt and expressing that something is wrong. His use of monosyllabic words suggests a limited vocabulary and a primitive nature. At once, the log has become personified; Lok believes it has a life of it’s own and he cannot draw a conclusion as to why it would be gone. This log is not only a bridge across water for the community – its disappearance is a symbol of bad things yet to come. When Fa too realises that the Log is gone she looks ‘accusingly’ at Lok, as though she blames him. “She did not need to speak” implies that the Neanderthals have a special, perhaps telepathic bond that allows them to communicate with each other without words. This is repeated when Lok ‘saw that she understood’.
As the people discuss the problem of the log, Mal is introduced, ‘coming slowly and coughing’, suggesting frailty. His ‘white hair’ and the way he moves suggest old age – and with age comes wisdom. He announces, “I have a picture”, and by the silent response of the group it can be concluded that he is the leader. Yet Mal appears to have trouble ‘confining the images that flickered there’. The word ‘flickered’ suggests uncertainty and reflects on a fire that is dying. This can be not only related to Mal’s death later in the book, but to the disintegration of the entire group. Mal has a recollection of a past experience, and begins to describe this, showing his inability to distinguish between thought and memory. He commands the people to find a new tree to replace the old one, only to receive the response “I do not see this picture”, showing a lack of understanding from the others, who cannot accept or acknowledge change. Though he may be the wisest of the people, Mal’s restricted vocabulary is also portrayed in his imperative orders “Wait. Ha there. Fa there. Nil too. Lok!”
There is a tremendous example of the Neanderthals working together as a team in this chapter when they have to cross the river on the new bridge. The procedure is described as ‘delicate and difficult’, suggesting how unstable the log was for them to walk over, and showing the group’s unease around water. However, Lok’s senseless attitude remains constant as he ‘babbled happily’, with ‘words coming out at random’. The description of Ha’s attempt over the river is effective, as a climax is created by use of long sentences broken into shorter phrases with commas. This reaches an optimum as he makes it safely to the other side, and ‘the sun chose this moment to reappear so that the whole world seemed to share their pleasure’. This is another fantastic use of personification, as the people think of the sun and the world being alive and having feelings too, showing their close relation to nature. It becomes apparent that the old woman is also a highly respected member of the tribe, as when Mal speaks to her, he does so ‘gently’, and refers to her as ‘she’, suggesting importance of a great significance. Until Mal’s crossing, this had been a momentous occasion with everyone making it across safely. However, when he crosses he loses his footing and ends up in the water ‘grinning painfully’. This is a paradox, as he is not enjoying the water but it is possible that the Neanderthals cannot distinguish between a grin and a face crumpled in discomfort. When the people ‘shared his shivers’, it shows the community sharing his pain, and working together as a group to sustain comfort and warmth for the old man, conveying the love and respect they have for one another.
Another problem that is introduced in chapter one is the group’s hunger and desperation for food. The Neanderthals are migrating towards their summer quarters, and Lok’s main interest is to keep everybody happy, as he shouts, “I have a picture of Lok finding a tree with ears that grow thickly”, referring to fungi that the people can eat. Lok cannot determine that this is only a vision he has seen. His generosity is displayed as he offers berries to Liku, even though ‘the food reminded him of his own hunger’. He has a vision of ‘wicked meat’, suggesting a ravenous hunger, which is of great comparison to his gentle nature-loving character. When they reach recognisable land, Lok is overcome with joy as he realises that with this location, it means more food, and his happiness is displayed as he says “we shall find food and we shall make love”. This reinforces the communal bond that the tribe share. When finally, the group reach the summer quarters, the old woman speaks for the first time, announcing “the fire is awake again”, marking the beginning of summer and the end of a journey.
Lok’s happiness is soon thwarted as he has a vision of the old woman making fire on the island. His confusion over the situation causes him to fall over the edge of the cliff, so that the people have to save him. Fa’s simple questioning of “why?” causes Lok to explain what he believes that he has seen. He has indeed seen smoke from a fire on the island, but he doesn’t understand that it could be someone other than the old woman. A “complete incomprehension” from the rest of the group lets us know not only that the old woman has an individual role of guarding the fire – referred to as “it” - but that the Neanderthals believe there is nobody but them in the world. This is a significant point in the novel as it warns the reader that there are others on the island; there are “new people”.
The continuation of the novel shows the elimination of the Neanderthals by the “New People”. It follows Lok and Fa’s desperate attempts to retrieve Liku and the new one, and in doing so, Lok discovers ‘like’, and is able to establish an ‘inner’ and an ‘outer Lok’. He is able to relate things that he had previously never noticed, such as the ‘ears’ on the tree being the fungi that he eats. This shows that despite his limitations, his character is sympathetically developed. However, Fa is still one step ahead of him, and manages to make a logical connection before he does; the “new people” have eaten Liku. In a bid to protect Lok from what she knows will break his heart, Fa discourages him from saving Liku. However it is when Fa too has succumbed to the homosapiens, and Lok is alone, that he is able to conclude what has happened, and dies alone of a broken heart.
The first chapter of the novel provides an excellent opening for many reasons. It is well structured; the duration of the chapter shows the community’s journey from one destination to another, and in doing so they have to encounter the problems of the disappearance of the log, the hunger which is eating away at each of them, and the first sighting of the “new people”. A climax is also created when the people cross the river and Mal ends up in trouble. The chapter gives a strong indication of the closeness of the group, and in doing so conveys the themes of love and purity. There are many symbolic signs in chapter one that shows that this community of pre-historic people are very close emotionally. The people refer to snow-capped mountains as “ice woman” which suggest a religious belief towards them. A complete trust in Mal’s judgement is conveyed when Mal has ‘taken them into the mountains too early’, yet the thought didn’t even occur to the people. The people also have a great respect for a female god, who they have christened ‘Oa’. This ‘Oa’ represents the mother of nature, and so shows respect for the female body and the beginning of life.
The development of Lok relates back to the first chapter because it is the start of the novel that reveals his true character. His care for the other members of the tribe, and his will to please are revealed by his child-like nature and his attempts to bring laughter to the people, in doing such things as exaggerating his jump over the river and pretending to talk to grubs in a rock for a comic effect. His honest love and respect for nature are conveyed in the first chapter and are symbolised by such actions as ‘patting the dead tree affectionately’. These pure qualities remain in him throughout the novel, so much so that he refuses to believe that things are wrong and cannot accept when they are. To him, he has just as much ‘incomprehension’ for his people disappearing as he has for that very first time that he noticed smoke from the island. This is why it is justifiable to say that overall, Lok represents innocence. He doesn’t know evil; and this is what is portrayed in the first chapter.
