RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PURPOSE & TECHNIQUE

IDENTIFY WHAT YOU CONSIDER TO BE THE AUTHOR’S MAIN PURPOSE IN PRODUCING EACH OF THESE TEXTS YOU HAVE STUDIED AND EXPLORE IN DEPTH, ONE OR TWO MAIN TECHNIQUES USED TO ACHIEVE THIS PURPOSE.

In ‘The Silk’ by Joy Cowley and ‘Miss Brill’ by Katherine Mansfield, the authors’ main purpose in producing these texts is to highlight the difficulties of old age and its effects on the elderly. ‘Miss Brill’ is about an aged woman who creates a delusional world of her own- a fantasy world where she interacts with her thoughts. ‘The Silk’ is about an elderly married couple who are scared of losing each other through death, but are assured that their spiritual love will be eternal after their physical love is gone. There are various techniques used in both stories which achieve the purpose of reflecting the idea of old age and create an impending sense of doom. The main technique used is how the texts are written in a way that we can feel what the characters are feeling.

The main purpose in ‘Miss Brill’ is to show how old people feel excluded and worthless in society. A quote that shows this is, “Why does she come here at all- who wants her?” This quote referred to Miss Brill by a young girl, gives us the idea of how the old are viewed as useless. The elderly are not respected and acknowledged by society. A quote that illustrates this is, “Because of that stupid old thing at the end there.” This quote explains how abusive the attitude of younger people is towards the old.

The main technique used to achieve the central idea is the creation of Miss Brill’s reality by displaying her inner dialogue. It helps us to feel the isolation of her world. She is lonely and miserable and we know this by how she creates a character and personality for her fur. A quote which demonstrates this is, “Dear little thing”. This shows how she communicates with it because she is in desperate need of someone to talk to. Another quote to show how she creates a personality for her fur is, “‘What has been happening to me?’ said those little eyes”. This shows how she makes her tatty old fur come to life, all in her delusional world. This also links to her creation of an alternative reality so she doesn’t have to face how lonely her life is. Another example that reflects this technique is how she thinks she acts a role in a play. A quote that highlights this is, “They were acting. Even she had a part and came every Sunday”. This signifies how she doesn’t want to face the harsh reality that she doesn’t have a role in this community. Instead, she believes she is important and that everyone else believes that too.

The main purpose in ‘The Silk’ is to depict how painful it is for old couples to separate, especially by death, and how reassuring and hopeful spiritual belief in eternal life is. Mr and Mrs Blackie’s eternal love in this story is represented by the silk. An important quote that illustrates the main idea is, “Together they felt the pain as the blades met cleanly”. The blades in this quote serve as a metaphor for death, in reference to Mr Blackie’s death. Cutting the silk represents them being separated physically, and how painful it feels. It also represents their paradise of love, which is the pattern on the silk being torn apart. However, they are both hopeful that their everlasting love will continue in the spirit realm. A quote that symbolises this is, “…he was waving…he was beckoning to her”. This is significant because it reflects how Mr Blackie was saying goodbye to his wife after his death, and at the same time inviting her to join him in the spirit world where they can be together, forever.

A main technique used to show the message in ‘The Silk’ is the references to death and dying. A quote referring to this is, “neither spoke of it”. This reveals how the couples don’t want to talk about Mr Blackie’s death because of the harsh thought of leaving each other after a very long period of time together. This quote also creates a morbid mood and the sense of imminent doom. The most common technique is the use of symbols that represent vital elements of the story. The silk which is the central symbol in this text represents the reformation of their physical love into spiritual and eternal love. An example is when Mrs Blackie sews a laying-out pyjamas out of the silk. A quote that shows this is, “They were changing it, rearranging the pattern of fifty-odd years to form something new and unfamiliar”. These words symbolises how the couple are looking forward to their new and undying love together. Another quote is, “The silk was real”. The silk being real indicates how their reformed spiritual love is real and everlasting. Lastly, a technique used is the references to the spirit realm. A quote is, “It was a man and he was standing with one arm outstretched on the highest span between two islands”. This signifies Mr Blackie on his way to the spirit world and the forthcoming reunion with his wife, Mrs Blackie.

In conclusion, “Miss Brill” is an example of how the elderly in society are regarded as unimportant and are discarded by younger generation. “The Silk” demonstrates how impending death is a source of anxiety for elderly couples that have created a strong bond through the years of being together. However, the assurance of eternal life in the spirit world is comforting even though the physical bond is broken. These stories are a call to society about how the aged should be treated with respect and equality as they also have feelings and opinions that are important to them. This therefore will improve their state of mind and will allow them to feel involved, welcomed and important in society.