ON CHESIL BEACH - IAN MCEWAN

Second chapter's analysis

We had  just considered the first chapter of McEwan's novel.

Now we are going to  analyze the second one  discovering  the same structural elements : : Narrator; protagonists; characterization; setting; setting's function  time references and messages.

The chapter is divided in four parts. Every part contains different information from general to particular .

The first one  gives us a piece of information about Edward and Florence's life in London  before their meeting, he attended University college and she attended Royal College of Music. Moreover it gives us some clues about different style of life  between the two lovers, especially approach with the other sex.

The second one begins with a panoramic of Edward: the reader receives clues about the relationship between Edward and his mother. After that McEwan goes deeply on the relationship between  the two future lovers: the difficult lunchtime meeting, the first sensation in front of the future lover and the first approach.

The third part,  like the previous one, begins with a  panoramic on Florence: clues about her social status, her privileges, her relation with her mother, a professors of philosophy ; her father a business man and her sister. Afterwards the intelligent reader picks up  the different Florence's feeling at home and at rehearsal. A flashback transfers  the reader many weeks later , the reader can be in front of for the first time to the couple. Moreover there is the first dialogue between the lovers thought which  the reader can extrapolate signs  of their problems and their incapacity to speak each other.

The last part creates another flashback on Edward's childhoods in order to portray his relationship with his father and his mother. Particularly the careful reader catches  the problem of the family division: her mother brain damages and the falsehoods. Than McEwan portray  the boy's feelings when his father reveals him his mother problem. But who read is  caught  by a  change between Edward's relationship with his mother.

Now I want to focus my attention on the narrator. Obviously, like in the first chapter, there is a third person omniscient narrator. I understood this through some affirmation at the beginning of the chapter: "How did they meet, and why were these lovers in a modern age so timid and innocent?", " Then their childhoods  and school years  were over.." " There were so many at university in those days", he gives us information about the background " The Pill was a rumour in the newspaper, a ridiculous promise, another of those  tall tales about America", "Social change never proceeds at an even pace."  He gives also judgement on the protagonists and transmits protagonist's feelings " It was as though the young woman had entered a  convent", " Her college years felt like freedom to her" , "In more realistic moods, Edward thought he should find a proper job.", "It was still a vertiginous experience for them, to look for a minute on end into the eyes of another adult, without embarrassment."

At least I have noticed that there is a shift of the point of view, as a matter of fact, narrator sometimes speaks from Edward or Florence's point of view, as examples ;" There was no  ambiguity- to have sex with any one of these girls, you would to marry her", "In an abstract, conventional way he found nurses ..." "He was not his mother" ,"She constantly reminded herself how much she loved her family".

I have also noticed that thought narrator's judgement and thought McEwan ‘s techniques   the two lover are distanciated  not only physically, but also psychologically : " Their hours together were not always easy to arrange, and all the more precious", " Her problems with Edward were already present in those first few seconds, in their first exchange of looks", "Edward was working at various temporary jobs, she was giving all her time to the quartet".

After that I focus my attention  on the protagonist. In this chapter McEwan presents not only Edward and Florence, but also lovers' relatives .

At first narrator reveals indirectly Edward's mother strange behaviours : "watching him steadily", "Half an hour later, she might be back at the window, starting him again", "his father instructed her never to interrupt her son's studies", "She was a ghostly figure, a gaunt and gentle sprite with tousled brown hair... absorbed in her hobbies and projects ...fumbling her way through the same simple piano pieces", "She never washed or brush, or emptied the greenish water from the jam jars...." At the chapter's end it was revealed that she was" brain damage". Through Edward's mother's description the narrator gives us indirectly Lionel, Edward's father, description: he was a professional man "Lionel  was a headmaster of primary school",  he takes care  of his house and his family al instead of his wife :" He would be in the kitchen, preparing the tea and clearing up  breakfast " he was a cultured man "whit homework piling up- for all his mildness, Lionel was a tyrant  on this matter" he isn't religious " Lionel had no religious belief" he is a reserved man" he deliberately  excluded himself from of public engagement".

So Edward's family has a "problem" his mother illness that crate a situation of falsehood.

After the  description of Edward's family's situation, the poet uses the same principles  in order to portray Florence's family situation.

While Edward hasn't a dialogue with his mother, Florence hasn't a dialogue with her mother caused by their bed relationship. As a matter of fact Violet, Florence's mother, is cold towards her daughter: "Was intolerant of Florence's regular practice routines ","She had never kissed or embraced Florence, even when she was small", she doesn't approve Florence job  "Her mother's disapproval of her career and hostility to music", she is a professor "having a philosopher for a mother".

As far as  her father is concerned, she portrays him like something dreadful and distant from her: " she found him physically repellent," he was a businessman " and her father had just the sort of opinions you may expect from a businessman". Florence and her father seem to have a good relation as a matter of fact "He used to take her out with him , and several times, when she was twelve or thirteen", but the intelligent reader can understand the situation isn't the same because she said" They never talked about those trips. He never asked her again, and she was glad."

The Florence's family's division is caused by difficult relation between relatives and daughter. Summarizing the lovers are joined by the similar family situation. So I should think that their relationship begins in order to evade these situation. I think that this is the first motive of their marriage. Analyzing the characterization of Edward and Florence I'm going to discover the other motive that excite two young people to the marriage even if they have different expectation, different  abilities, different interests.

WORK IN PROGRESS