Character Development In Mr Jed Parry.

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Chapter 20

Summary

        A second letter from Jed Parry to Joe handed to him in person when Joe returns from the Logan residence. The letter reveals that Jed has been reading Joe’s published articles and he goes on to express his views on what he has read. Consequently he then recites most of his philosophies on religion, science, Joe’s career and Joe himself. He briefly digresses on a school trip to Switzerland that he attended and finally Jed emphasises his hatred of being ‘ignored’.

Character Development

In this chapter we learn a lot about Mr Jed Parry and our perception of him may well change by the end. Parry’s mood and reasoning behind the letter have changed somewhat from previous writing and he now appears to have adopted a new found hatred for Joe from reading his articles and the phrase ‘I hated you’ appears often. He is also becoming gradually more frightening and is now continuously implying threats, some physical some not. There is what he said to Joe in the previous chapter and now little phrases that seem to empower Parry like ‘you must never…’ and ‘take a swing at me – if you dare’, (p138) the last statement almost taunting Joe. The most frightening statement of all, however, has to be a section of the letter where he tells Joe of the morning cap ride to his apartment. He says: ‘I wanted to hurt you. Perhaps even more than that. Something more, and God will forgive me…’ (p.136). This is stereotypical psycho stuff the first real notion that Parry maybe crazy enough kill Joe and even go against the religion he loves so much.

        Jed has never really complemented Joe or highlighted things about him he loves, but here he really lays on the insults both about his views and career. He says things like: ‘I hated you, Joe for your arrogance’, likens Joes ideas to ‘dirty washing’ (p.137), his employers to ‘fools’(p.133), according to Jed his readers ‘have had their day polluted’ by Joe’s articles (p133) and referring to scientific theory he says, ‘you’re a cheerleader for it, an adman hired to talk up other people’s stuff’ (p.137). What Parry is saying belittles Joe into nothing, his career, his life, his purpose for being alive is being sneered at by this man. However Parry’s rantings about Joe are occasionally quite perceptive, Joe does indeed come across sometimes to be ignorant and definitely arrogant, but Parry also identifies one of Joe’s larger character flaws, ‘your little cage of reason’ (p.133), ‘…the traps of your logic.’(p.135) This is referring to Joes blindness beyond the explainable, which is noticeable from the start of the novel. Joe’s judgement is often clouded by his scientific brain and is one of the reasons he does not understand Parry until he is able to give his behaviour a label (De Clerambaults).

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        After reading this chapter we get a clearer picture then ever before of Jed Parry, beginning to understand him a bit more and making certain assumptions about his personality. He does come across as a very intelligent man (most literary loons are, Hannibal Lecter, Jack the Ripper etc.) it is only that he is so intensely religious that we may over look this. This intelligence is projected in the way McEwan writes Parry’s letters giving them a poetic style, clever use of simile (‘the little footstampings of a tired infant’ p.136), good construction of argument and Parry’s philosophy on science, ...

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