Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken

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Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken” (Frank Herbert, 1965). Bruce Chatwin’s On the Black Hill, is ‘a work of great dramatic intensity’. The novel spans the majority of the twentieth century, a period of immense social, economic and political change, and clearly chronicles the conflict between modernisation and tradition that occurs during this period. Throughout the closely intertwined lives of Lewis and Benjamin Jones, this conflict is apparent, and a sense of the immensity of the changes which are taking place is conveyed. It is difficult to judge whether Chatwin endorses the traditional or modernising aspects of the world he presents in On the Black Hill. However, while evaluating Chatwin’s stance on the subject of change, we must keep in mind that the twins live their life blocked off from the world, virtually unchanged, and as a result, something is always missing in their lives. Something inside them is always ‘asleep’ and they, especially Lewis, feel an emptiness to their life. In order to evaluate whether the novel is written in the interests of endorsing either modernisation or tradition, we must examine the degree to which Lewis and Benjamin’s refusal to progress with the rest of the world affects their lives, as well as the various changes in social distinctions, gender discrimination, social practices and even technology that take place throughout the period that the novel spans.One of the most important social changes that occurred in the novel is the way in which social distinctions dissipate as the book proceeds. Chatwin deeply explores the traditional, discriminatory distinctions that existed in the class structure of Britain at the beginning of the century (especially the way in which the English are ‘higher’ than the Welsh) and the way in which they altered over the century. This aspect of the modern world, where social distinctions are less severe, appears to be one that Chatwin endorses. This is explored most notably in the relationship between Mary and Amos. Before the twentieth century, there was great animosity between the Welsh and the English, due to the Welsh resentment of England’s power over Wales. It was previously unthinkable for an English woman, especially the daughter of a Reverend such as Mary, to marry a Welshman. Clearly, from the moment of their meeting, the differences in the class, culture and education of Mary and Amos is amplified. During the church hymn, Amos’ voice is described as a ‘baritone murmuring round the nape of her neck’ while Mary’s voice is described as a ‘clear, quavering soprano’, emphasising that Mary’s voice is trained and educated while Amos’ is not. In a similar effect, Mary is described as having ‘long, white, tapering fingers’ while Amos has ‘red hands’, implying the fact that Amos is used to manual labour, while Mary has no need for it as she has servants. When Amos and Mary attempt to talk to one another, they feel that ‘nothing would come of this meeting and their two accents would never make one whole voice’. Quite obviously, at the beginning of the twentieth century, due to traditional distinctions, it was almost impossible for a Welshman and an
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English woman to be together. However, as the century (and thus the novel) progresses, such social constraints begin to fade, a change which Chatwin seems to endorse.Despite the constraints of their respective classes, Mary and Amos are able to transcend these social distinctions and be married. This is the point at which there is great conflict between the traditional mistrust between the Welsh and the English, and the newly emerging relationship between Mary and Amos. For example, ‘their neighbours, of whom most were chapel-folk, whose mistrust for English went back centuries, were suspicious of Mary’. However, Mary ‘soon won them ...

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