One of the ways in which Iain Crichton Smith projects his themes is through his use of setting in time. The story takes place in World War Two, after the sinking of the Bismarck. The young men of the community have been sent to fight in the war, mainly in the navy. This causes suffering in the area because, “many of its young men had been killed” even though the community is far from the front line.
The setting in place is also an important factor in the story. It is set in a small crofting community of perhaps twelve or so houses in the north west Highlands or one of the Hebrides. The people of the community earn a bare living in harsh conditions. They are superstitious, but at the same time religious and they have little or no contact with the outside world so gossiping is a major part of their lives. However, this isolated community suffers. Their young men and children are being killed in a war they know nothing about. All its people can do is wait for a telegram with the news of their loved one’s death. This waiting for something that may never happen causes them to live with the fear and pain of losing a loved one. They “think of the telegram as a missile pointed at then from abroad,” causing pain and suffering for which they know no reason.
Iain Crichton Smith also uses plot development to help portray his themes. His themes are magnified as the elder progresses through the crofting village, drawing ever closer to the two increasingly fearful women. When the elder was first sighted both women became immediately frightened because he may have been coming to one of their houses with news of the death of one of their sons. As the elder progressed past Bessie’s house, this meant that Roddy was safe. The fat woman, “had hoped that the elder would have turned in at Bessie’s house.” She didn’t dislike Bessie or Roddy, she had just wanted her family to be safe. The elder continued along the road. He passed the Smith’s, Tommy was safe. The women’s emotions changed, they felt the need to apologise for past differences and make things right. The elder drew ever nearer. He made his way past the Stewarts, “the women looked at each other wildly.” They now blamed the elder for what was going on, “He’s proud of what he’s doing.” One more house before the fat woman’s. The elder walked past it. The fat woman was convinced that it was her son. She became irrational, then something unexpected happened, “ She felt the arm of the thin woman around her shoulders.” This was a moment of closeness, of comfort, when the fat woman needed it most. The elder didn’t turn in. “’He has passed your house,’ said the thin woman.” The fat woman had wanted to rejoice in some way, but restrained herself. There was now only the thin woman’s house left and the fat woman couldn’t celebrate in front of the thin woman. It would have been wrong. Instead for the first time she had actually understood why the thin woman was the way she was and what she had undergone throughout the years, “it was as if she had an extra vision.” The elder walked passed the thin woman’s house. The moment of closeness had past. All the women now felt was puzzlement.
Character comparison is another way in which Smith’s themes are projected. The fat woman and the thin woman are complete opposites. Their difference in size is a constant reminder of that. They’re different in many other ways. The fat woman is popular, a big money spender and gossipy. Whereas the thin woman is unpopular, saves her money and is reserved. Although complete opposites, they share similarities. They both have sons at war and both are fearful for their sons’ lives. These few similarities they have in common are important in helping us to understand the major theme of the story. That anyone, no matter where or who they are can be caught up in war and made to suffer.
The final aspect of the story which I am going to look at is the surprise ending. At the end of the story the telegram is not for the women, but for the elder himself. This is effective, because it emphasises the theme that war affects everyone caught up in it. I didn’t expect the telegram to be for the elder, because he seemed as if he was the ‘bad’ character who brought the pain, rather than being the one to suffer, but he was made to suffer because he too became caught up in war.
In conclusion, I thought that Iain Crichton Smith’s use of setting, plot development, character comparison and surprise ending made me more aware of many aspects of war which I had previously never thought of - such as the effect of a far away war has on families who can only wait fearfully for news of their loved ones and how those suffering in this way can only be comforted by those who truly understand their suffering, having gone through it themselves.