This brings me on to my next topic which is the distinctive themes of this text. We find a certain clash between the typical beauty of the country side and the hidden beauty of a glass manufacturing industry. When Oscar first enters the factory he fails to notice any attractiveness to it whatsoever. For him, something beautiful is quite typical (nature, countryside) and it has to be something safe. When he enters this building he is only concerned about his safety and fallows his first impressions. However, after learning more about the making of glass he changed his mind and realizes the hidden beauty that can be found in such a dirty place.
There is also a clash between the upper-class and poverty. It is quite typical of a rich man to enter a factory such as this one and begin to compare it with the “Café Lux in Regent Street”. Again Oscar fallows his first impressions and ignores the time and skill that it takes to make glass. And yet, as in the previous clash, after gaining the knowledge of the art of glass making (and after considering Lucinda’s childhood, not to mention his future job) he begins to appreciate the glory of this industry.
The tone is this passage is that of disbelieving astonishment. At first Oscar saw glass making as just another job or industry. However he becomes increasingly amazed at the fact that something so beautiful is made by someone so grotesque and unclean. This tone is illustrated by the author when he uses the name “Sir Piss-and-Wind” for the man who blows the glass. For every time something negative is said by Oscar, later on something positive is said. This shows a tone of amazement, and is used to explain Oscar’s changes in opinion.
Imagery is used throughout the passage to illustrate colours that have connections with certain processes in the industry. One example of this is the imagery of the colours present in the course of making glass. The author defined this procedure using such colours as white, red, gold and yellow. In one section, Carey conveys Oscar perception of metal as being “tin or silver or gold”. This imagery shows the reader what first insights might be made when the word ‘metal’ is put into context. Another example of imagery is when the glass is being blown by ‘Sir Piss-and-Wind’. Whilst he is doing this, the narrator portrays him as a somewhat of a dirty and gross person turning into a “drum major”, a “Trumpeter” and even a “bagpipe master”. This creates a nicer and more pleasing image of the glass blower.
There is some use of metaphors during this passage, some easy to see and some that I am sure I did not even notice. One of the easiest ones to describe is “Oscar felt he had opened a door into her life. The author used this metaphor to show the reader how a man could open a door to a factory as if he were entering another person’s life. Carey conveys this at the part when Lucinda is showing Oscar what is done in a glass factory.
To sum up this commentary, Peter Carey is suggesting how one should not see life through first impressions. In this case, beauty is not as typical and obvious as some people might think. In some instances it has to be found in order to be appreciated, even if it means going to the last place you would ever imagine finding beauty. This means that in order for the world’s most unusual beauties to be admired, time, patience, enthusiasm and some imagination will be required.