Scarecrow
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
(Difference between revisions)
| Revision as of 09:38, 24 August 2011 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Current revision Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| + | A '''scarecrow''' is, essentially, a [[decoy]], though traditionally, a human figure (or [[mannequin]]) dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage [[bird]]s such as [[crow]]s or [[sparrow]]s from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops. | ||
| - | '''''One Hand Clapping''''' is a 1961 work by [[Anthony Burgess]] published originally under the [[pseudonym]] Joseph Kell. | + | ==See also== |
| - | + | *[[Bird scarer]] | |
| - | The novel was intended as an indictment of what Burgess saw as the degradation of contemporary Western education and culture. | + | *[[Kuebiko]] |
| - | + | *[[Klopotec]] | |
| - | Burgess deliberately toned down his trademark love of vocabulary for the novel, which among other things lampoons the British television host [[Hughie Green]]. The entire [[constricted vocabulary|vocabulary]] in ''One Hand Clapping'' amounts to approximately 800 words. | + | *[[Kostroma (tradition)]] |
| - | + | *[[Henohenomoheji]] | |
| - | [[Francis Coppola]] has acquired the movie rights. | + | *[[Sōzu]] |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==Title== | + | |
| - | The line, "[[Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?]]" is a traditional [[Zen]] [[koan]], and the novel takes its title from this. Burgess justified the title as follows: "The clasped hands of marriage have been reduced [by the novel's end] to a single hand. Yet it claps." | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==Plot== | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Howard has an unusual talent: he has a [[photographic memory]]. He uses his talent to enter, and win, a mega-money TV quiz show. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | He then discloses another gift: he is [[clairvoyant]] and can predict racing results. He gambles his winnings on race horses and the couple become extremely wealthy and travel the world, staying in luxury hotels. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | On their return, however, Howard, disgusted by the corruption of the world they have seen - and troubled by prophetic glimpses of a coming decline in civilisation - declares that they must commit [[suicide]] together by [[barbiturates]]. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Janet resists, killing Howard with a coal hammer. His corpse is placed in a field and becomes a [[scarecrow]] to be devoured by birds. Janet flees with the remainder of their money, to begin a new life abroad. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==Characters== | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | '''Janet Shirley''' - The narrator and point of view through which the reader sees the novel. She introduces herself as "Janet Shirley, ''née'' Barnes ... just gone twenty-three." Burgess portrays her voice using a spartan vocabulary. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | '''Howard Shirley''' - Aged 27 and the husband of Janet. At the novel's opening, he is working at a used car dealership. He is an average man living an average life in Britain. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Current revision
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
A scarecrow is, essentially, a decoy, though traditionally, a human figure (or mannequin) dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.
[edit]
See also
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Scarecrow" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
