A Fly In the Ointment - Pritchett

Father/ Son:

Symbolism: The Fly

Father/son relationship

Harold is described as middle aged, balding and shabby.

How is his father contrasted?

• "vigorous", "impish smile", "disingenuous", "gregarious", "extravagant", "uncontrollable".
• He is dressed elegantly, in an expensive suit. Why is this significant?
• How does this support our understanding of his character?

How would we characterise their relationship?

Let's look at their interaction:

• The father mockingly refers to his son as "Professor". Why ?
• The father mocks his son's balding hair. How does this EMASCULATE him?
• The father tolerates only his own version of events: "Listen to me a moment. I want you to get this idea..his warm voice, going dead and rancorous..."
• The father is described as having two faces - describe these faces: "...the outer face like a soft, warm, careless daub of innocent sealing wax, and inside it, as if thumbed by a seal, was a much smaller one, babyish, shrewd, scared and hard..."

What does the fly represent?

• To work this out, consider:
• What does the father do when he hears the fly?
• At what point does this happen in the story?
• Look at what they were talking about before the fly appeared.
• Look at what the father says about the fly. (repetition)

Setting:

A Fly In the Ointment - Pritchett

Themes:

"It was the dead hour of November" - what does that tell us about the type of story we are about to read?

The clouds are described as "mud coloured", the new buildings are described as "newtomb stones" - how does this add to the TONE/MOOD of the story?

There are "beggars" and "unemployed men" "dribbling" along the desert of public buildings..."

- How does the writing use language to convey meaning?

Appearance and reality:

• The father appears to be an elegant businessman. His appearance is contrasted to his son's: " The father was well-dressed in an excellent, navy suit...the sunburn showed through the clipped white hair of his head and he had the simple, trim, open-air look of a snow man. The son beside him, was round shouldered and shabby, a keen, but anxious fellow in need of a haircut and going bald."
• Why has the writer set up this distinction in appearance between the two characters?
• The father insists that he has learnt a valuable lesson: "I've done with money."
• How is this exposed as a lie?
• What is the writer saying about appearance and reality?

Father/son relationship:

• so much is "unsaid."
• fraught = tense, filled with highly charged tension.
• The father is said to "despise" his son. (p.113) But he calls him "old chap" - a term of endearance. What do we make of this?
• The son "listens patiently" to his father, but also feels irritation which he tries to hide in a smile: "...smiling to hide his irritation..."
• What does this say about their relationship?
• How does the father react when the son expresses his worry for his father's financial situation? (p.114)