Job #1
“And now he became conscious of a new disturbance. Striking through the thought of his dear ones was a sound which he could neither ignore nor understand, a sharp, distinct, metallic percussion like the stroke of a blacksmiths hammer upon the anvil; it had the same ringing quality. He wondered what it was, and whether immeasurably distant or near by-it seemed both. It’s recurrence was regular, but as slow as the rolling of a death knell. He awaited each new stroke with impatience and-he knew not why-apprehension. The intervals of silence grew progressively longer; the delays became maddening. With their greater infrequency the sounds increased in strength and sharpness. They hurt his ear like the thrust of a knife; he feared he would shriek. What he heard was the ticking of his watch.” (Chapter I)
I thought this passage was a bit strange.. thoughts? It seems a little weird to put it in this story because it’s like.. you expect this sound to be something..idk other than what it turns out to be. I thought it was interesting that the author put emphasis on this. Maybe it’s to symbolize the time that Peyton was standing above the river Is much less than it felt to him..? I’d love to hear what you all think of it!!:)
Interesting Idea, Claire. It does seem odd that the author would write a hefty paragraph focusing on the sounds of Peyton Farquhar's watch, which you would think would be an insignificant and unimportant part of the story. I do agree with your theory that time seemed to slow down for Farquhar when he was standing above the river, but there might be more to it as well. I think the author put this paragraph here to symbolize that the silence was so great that even the tiny ticking of his watch seemed loud and horrible as "the stroke of a blacksmith's hammer upon the anvil" to Farquhar. In addition, the ticking of the watch symbolizes the passing of time, which was as painful as "the thrust of a knife" to Farquhar, because he was aware of his fate.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have heard that in an intense situation, you become aware of things you normally ignored- like the ticking of a watch. I think that the description of the "blacksmith's hammer upon the anvil" was probably symbolism for future destruction.
DeleteIn every story I've read about people in combat situations (and I've read quite a few-for example, the autobiographies of Generals Norman Schwarzkopf and Tommy Franks [top US Generals in the 1991 Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom, respectively.]), they all say that time seems to slow down. I think it's just a part of war.
ReplyDeleteClarification-They all say that time seems to slow down during combat.
DeleteOh that's what I've heard too. I wonder why? I wonder what happens psychologically to the person. Maybe the person just realizes that they may die, so they take in everything happening at the moment and really analyze it.
DeleteGreat discussion! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteHello Claire! I think it's great you selected this excerpt from the book. It is definitely one that stands out because it is an entire paragraph dedicated to the ticking of a watch. In my opinion, I think that the author was trying to stress that time was different to Farquhar at that moment. Because the author stressed that it seemed really loud, maybe it was just extra quiet on the bridge, so he could hear his watch moving. I mean it is like waiting to die, and I would suspect that anyone would be completely silent. It is kind of like when you are in a high stress environment and it seems like your heart is beating so loud. It really isn't physically beating louder, it is just that you are quiet so you perceive it to be louder than it actually is. So yes, I agree with Braden and Joshua. Again I think it is a weird time situation. The author seems to like slowing time in the book, or speeding it up based on the situation. What do you guys think the symbolism was in this situation?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't necessarily say that it's symbolism, but rather an accurate depiction of a soldier's perception of how time passes in war.
DeleteI agree with Braden. In any line-or-death situation, not just war, time does appear to slow down. Also, especially in Chapter II and sort of in Chapter III, it appears that Peyton Farquhar's life flashes before his eyes. Although the events of Chapter III really aren't memories, the memory of his wife and home is where Farquhar's dream gets its material from.
ReplyDeleteIt seems odd that everything that would cause his death (stream, fort, soldiers) had DISTRACTED him. Since he is trying to figure out how to stay alive, I would expect him to think about how to get away.
ReplyDeleteThat's true Mercy. I would be thinking about escaping also. But maybe he just thought that he was trapped and had no option of escape. Maybe that led to him really thinking about his watch!
DeleteThat's a valid point, Elsah, and that would explain why Peyton Farquhar got so distracted by his watch. But why then in the next paragraph does he think about ways to escape? It appears that by this point in the story Farquhar hasn't given up all hope of escaping.
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