Between the
Lines
The premise begins with another early morning in the life of
a white collar worker, Allan. Set in the 1950s, Allan waits before the crack of
dawn to catch the bus to work. The following notions prevalent in the Cold War
era are addressed throughout the story:
·
Waiting/Loneliness –
resulting from the events of the bombing of Hiroshima, western society in
particular became increasingly unsettled with the possible reciprocate reaction
of such an event. With growing concerns for the USSR developing their own
nuclear weapons, society felt anxious at such ominous thoughts, with the notion
of waiting for such an event to happen again being a terrifying possibility. Loneliness
also became apparent through societies increased apprehension and subsequent
isolation, at such aforementioned ideas. Examples of these idea inherent in
this story include:
-
“waiting” at the bus shelter. Lonely and cold
environment adds emphasis.
·
Media’s
role – the media also had a significant impact on how the general
populace felt about such events that occurred during the Cold War. For example,
newspapers written in western society would have uplifted intentions made by US
and diminished the ideals of the USSR. Examples of this in ‘Between the Lines’
include:
-
“portentous events” happening in the far east. Media
implies a threatening situation.
·
Political
tensions – whilst not all of society would have been self-aware of
the specifics of how the USA and the USSR were increasingly hostile with each
other, some members of society would have been holders of such knowledge. As
the communist regime began to spread throughout the world, fear would have
precipitated as capitalist precepts began being challenged. Thus politics
during this time were of significant importance and had a significant impact on
the people involved. Examples of this notion is represented in the story
through:
-
“’falling domino’ principle” describes the situation
in which communism is most certainly growing.
-
“consequences of the loss are just incalculable to the
free world” presents a tone of fear.
·
Upheaval of
ideologies – as different paradigms and ideologies surfaced through the
challenging of old archetypes, the importance and questioning of such new and
old paradigms came about. Society would not have had a full understanding of
these ideas, yet would have been able to make comparisons about how society has
changed and what new concepts have been introduced. Allan contemplates this
notion through the story, examples include:
-
“Surely a totalitarian rule will not pervade the
entire South-East Asia” which presents an idea that capitalist rulings may
crumble under the ever growing spread of communism.
-
“what if humanity destroys itself first?” presents an
idea that Christian prophecy may be invalid if science is capable of ending the
world before the return of Christ.
·
Human
fragility – as technology regarding ‘weapons of mass destruction’ has
advanced so rapidly, the idea that we have almost perfected killing ourselves
and each other has introduced the idea that it would not be difficult to
destroy the human race. This notion is explored in the story through:
-
“the bus driver … to a better place” evokes the idea
that death can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
·
Hope – the idea
that the future is brighter remained ever-present on the minds of optimists
during the Cold War era, with Allan being akin to this kind of nature. Hope is
presented in the novel through:
-
“fleeting moment of peace” where hope comes about only
momentarily
-
“waiting … for a bus to [take him] away” presents the
idea that soon he will be free of his predicament
Hope in
Hiroshima?
The setting of the story takes place immediately after the
atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Here, Lorna finds herself battered but
alive, and attempts to find answers and hope after first-hand experiencing the
horrific devastation brought about by the bomb. The following notions prevalent
in the Cold War era are addressed throughout the story:
·
Hopelessness – resultant
of how futile human life has become and how quickly it can be destroyed, a
sense of hopelessness emanated during the Cold War era as people began to doubt
whether their lives would return to normal, as well as how powerless they were
to regain such control. This idea is brought about during the actual
experiences of Lorna after the destruction of the bomb on Hiroshima, with examples
including:
-
“homes destroyed” and “remnants of a burning city”
create an evocative picture of the absolute devastation that has happened all
around her
-
“shikata ga nai”, a common Japanese phrase which
translates to “it cannot be helped”. This idea of nothing to be done further
extends on the already severe hopelessness of her situation
-
“Lorna’s tears flowed again” as she came about the
realisation that there was just so much pain and suffering around her, she
could do nothing with the little strength she had herself.
·
Suffering
of mankind - society became increasingly inhumane during the Cold War
era as events such as the holocaust and the atomic bombs on Japan had created a
new sense of how evil and destructive was mankind? The story conveys such thoughts
through Lorna’s personal experiences, including:
-
“Tasukete! Tasukete!”, the Japanese word for help was
used to produce an image of suffering and hopelessness
-
“her arms were raw, red and mangled” paints an
haunting image of how dreadfully some of the victims had suffered or were still
suffering
·
Hope -
throughout Cold War society, the prevalence of the suffering of mankind
generated a need for hope and a need for something to possible save them. Hope
is comingled during ‘Hope in Hiroshima?” through Lorna’s struggle to survive,
with examples including:
-
“spiritual home”
is the place that Lorna tries to get too, the “beacon of hope” that may
offer her some “consolation” in these dark times.
-
“turned her back on the altar” after she finds no
deliverance or immediate answers in such a place. Absent hope after she had
been optimistic for so long.
-
“Red Cross Hospital”, the place that would offer her
healing for her wounds and the possibility of answers, after the church had
failed her.
·
Questioning
of religion - as new ideas sprouted forth to compensate for the lack of
religions validity, including science and the importance of intelligence,
religion lost some of its strength as a source of absolute truth. This has been
explored by Lorna in her thoughts, throughout the story:
-
“Where are you?” in our time of need Lorna asks,
seeking a response of any kind as she searches for something to place her faith
into. The questioning of whether God exists in all of this, does God have any
power to stop this or save people from such an event.
-
“turned her back on the altar” completes her
transformation from someone with faith, into someone absent it. She then places
her allegiance with the hospital, a place where science could offer her
answers.
Traffic
Lights
A dissimilar family attempts to make its way through the
city, in hope of reaching St Matthews church, for a promising message about hope
and dealing with life. The traffic jam ahead is long and unwavering, precipitating
an atmosphere of waiting and subsequent conservations to distract against such
foreboding feelings.
·
Waiting – as mentioned in the reflection for ‘Between
the Lines’, society became increasingly apprehensive after devastating events,
including the bombing of Hiroshima. Western society in particular became increasingly
unsettled with the possible counter reaction of such an event. Growing concerns
over the USSR developing their own nuclear weapons brought about this notion of
waiting for such an event to happen, which has been effectively explored in
‘Traffic Lights’ through:
-
“pensively tapping at the steering wheel” shows how
people expressed their frustration at having to wait
-
“the collective travellers … waiting” illustrates how
society is in the same view of waiting to go, to move
-
“Are we there yet?”, an example of Max’s subsequent feelings
causes him to whine and become irritated
-
“surely soon enough”, shows that society has no
definite hold on whether what time something may happen
·
Futility of life – the value of human life also
lessened with events like the nuclear bombing of Japan causing so much death
and destruction. Society has since adopted this view of human life losing its
significance, along with how easy death can come to us all, in the blink of an
eye. This is explore through:
-
“nothing to be done”, illustrates how society has no
control over the situation they are in
-
“casualties expected to exceed 260” shows how easily
death can happen to anyone. The reference to the Korean Air Lines disaster in
1983, validates the above statement of how quickly and tragically life can be
cut short.
·
Death imagery – Violet’s comments are few and brief,
yet challenge her father’s comments in a distinctive way, relating to
atrocities of mankind. These constant reminders made by Violet highlight how the
world can never forget what has happened in the past. The quotes include:
-
“toot toot train to Treblinka” and “Himmler’s hands”
both relate to the significance of the Holocaust as a devastating event
-
“flowers … in Hiroshima” relates to the spontaneous rejuvenation
of plants after the nuclear bomb, as a disastrous event in mankind’s record
-
“no turning back” relates to how society cannot go
back to being innocent, the scars against mankind will never heal
·
Economic paradigms – capitalist and communist doctrines
differed quite significantly and had different views on how money should be
spent per capita. Capitalist paradigms were added to ‘Traffic Lights’ through:
-
“inner city avenues that were home to the richest,
greediest and wealthiest of people” elucidates the notion that capitalist
society allows for the accumulation of money and greed, contrary to communist
thinking.
·
Christian allegory/Hope – as religion lost its
prevalence in society as science offered new ideas, people too began to
question the significance of how valid Christianity was. Yet the church still
remains as a symbol of hope for repentance of sins. References to the bible
include:
-
“lost sheep”, refers to the parable of the lost sheep
and the significance of one’s redemption. Also links to society’s new doubt in
faith, describing them as “lost".
-
“good to see the old place” relates to how mankind has
turned away from God, yet it is still possible to turn back to God
Characters
Max – a
talkative, young boy whose curiosity for knowledge exceeds his depth of
understanding. He is the life of the family and connects them all together. Has
little knowledge of the conceptual state that the world is in.
Adam – A
friendly, pre-teen boy whose peaceful and comforting attitude stems from his
desire for everything to be right in the world. Has little knowledge of the
current state of society, which is hidden from him by his parents.
Violet – a
solitary, depressed teen girl who has just realised the detrimental worldwide
effect of the cold war, and the aftermath of the war in general, and how it will
have an effect on her life. Relevance of name correlates the dark colour with
her bleak attitude to life.
Dad – The man
of the household, who decides to take the family on a road trip to an church,
hopes for enlightenment as to how he should continue his life in a contented
way. Acts as leader and head of the family.
Mummy – stressed
in her day to day life at home. Content to escape the house yet still depressed
at state of the world. Quiet in the car, but sighs at Violets remarks, implying
her hidden distress at the terrible events that have happened around the world.
