‘Stone Cold’ Revision Notes
TEXT DETAILS:
‘Stone Cold’
Robert Swindells
Novel
THEME & PURPOSE:
Issue of homelessness – vulnerability, injustice, prejudiced attitudes, treatment, their plight
Swindells is suggesting that we shouldn’t judge people who are homeless and he is trying to make us understand the difficulties they face and sympathise with them.
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE:
Dual narratives of Link and Shelter juxtaposed = put side by side/run in parallel
Creates a contrast between the two voices – Link’s journey and difficulties he has to face (sympathise with him) – Shelter’s cold, cruel narrative runs in parallel creating a sense of the ominous threat overshadowing Link’s story. He preys upon the homeless as they are vulnerable/an easy target – his attitudes are an extreme example of the wider people’s attitudes to the homeless.
Narratives cross over – details in narratives shadow each other/create links between them. Link’s difficulties getting jobs/treatment by public:Shelter’s attitude that homeless people are ‘dossers’, lazy, don’t want jobs. People going missing in Link’s narrative:Shelter’s murders.
Through this, Swindells highlights to the reader the unfair and prejudiced/ill-informed attitudes people have (don’t match the reality) and also how vulnerable the homeless really are (they can go missing and no one cares, not even the police) – this creates sympathy for the homeless and makes us reconsider our own attitudes.
Narratives meetin Daily Routine Orders 8 (and Link’s narrative immediately prior to this) – allows reader access to two contrasting perspectives and shows how Shelter’s attitude is coloured by his prejudice. The incident is just an innocent, insignificant passing moment for Link and Ginger but for Shelter it stirs up a hatred and need for revenge = creates sense of threat (Link and Ginger are now targets and will be hunted down). Again shows how vulnerable the homeless are to people’s prejudiced attitudes.
After this incident, the reader is waiting for the two narratives to merge again when Shelter will carry out his threat (creates tension and a sense of inevitability – Ginger and Link are vulnerable because they are unaware of the threat which the reader now knows is present). Ginger goes missing and Daily Routine Orders 11 confirms that Shelter is to blame. This causes Link to try and find him which leads to the climax of the novel when Link and Shelter meet.
SETTING:
Setting of winteradds to sense of vulnerability/exposure/injustice. Winter = cold, harsh, associated with death. Swindells chooses this time of year to emphasise and intensify the difficulties faced by the homeless. Descriptions focus on weather and being unable to get away from it.
Christmasis referenced to again create a contrast between a time of year associated with indulgence, excess and spending money with the lives of the homeless who have nothing. People rush about getting shopping and trying to get out of the cold and give even less thought to the homeless people they pass. Irony that is it supposed to be a time of giving but people are more selfish than ever.
Setting of Londonagain intensifies the sense of the homeless being vulnerable and invisible/lost/insignificant. London is the capital city and largest city in Britain = vastness of city makes individual homeless people seem small and insignificant; easily lost/forgotten. Big city is presented as harsh and cruel; everybody is only interested in their own welfare and situation. Examples = landlord who exploits Link because he has power to – makes up own rules about rent because he can/says rent is ‘negoshable’ but it’s not, lures in and misspelling suggests inferiority of intellect/unofficial nature of rental but still has power. DSS only interested in technicalities of how Link became homeless not humanity of situation. Again, seems cruel and harsh when we know whole story. Highlights Link’s honesty and naivety – just wants help but no one is interested. Encounter with homeless man who takes his doorway and watch – violent and aggressive. Again shows Link’s naivety and vulnerability. A lot of people around but no one would risk getting involved to help.
Setting of Bradfordis where Link is from and contrasts with harsh cruelty of London. BUT Link is forced to move away and seek anonymity of London to avoid embarrassment of facing the judgemental attitudes of people he knows.
CHARACTERISATION:
Link – Presented as ordinary young man with ordinary background. Swindells does this to show that anyone could fall victim to homelessness and dispel some of the myths/prejudices about homelessness and what is to blame. Link’s journey to homelessness is not extraordinary and is presented in a matter-of-fact way (he seems very honest and doesn’t actively seek sympathy).
Family – ‘Mr and Mrs X’ suggests idea that he could be anyone. Dad ran away with receptionist when he was 14 – out of his control, mucked up school work for a while but still secured some qualifications (5 GCSEs = miracle due to home situation). Mother’s new partner, Vince, likes his drink, makes him feel uncomfortable, arguments, causes sister, Carol, to move out – unsettles family life and makes Link feel uncomfortable (locks out, living off his money, slapping around head.)
Tries to find work in Bradford and in London – faces difficulties as there is no Government money for school leavers and no training places. Vicious circle: jobs want experience but can’t get experience; goes to interviews but looks scruffy as living on street.
Circumstances combine and cause Link to end up on the street – just trying to survive like anyone else. Swindells allows us insight into background to make us sympathise with Link and understand that fairly common problems lead to him being on the street (family breakdown, unavailability of work, no one to help)
Nickname emphasises anonymity – create new identity to distance from old life. Homelessness forces people to become someone different: harden, learn quickly, protect themselves, not trust anyone. ‘Link’ suggests idea of connection (we are allowed to see link between old life and how he ended up on the street – general public don’t see this link, just prejudge on what they see of a homeless person). Also suggests desire in Link to still retain connection to who he was before – creates sympathy. Homeless people are still human and ‘linked’ to ordinary people – Swindells uses his character to show us this ‘link’. Link is the connection between many of the characters – the murder victims and Gail (the public). Could also be linked at the end to the idea of the missing link between society and the homeless – exploited and treated like sub-humans (treated worse than a murderer).
Shelter–Swindells creates Shelter as a stark contrast to Link and emphasises his cruel and calculating nature. He represents an ever present threat to the homeless and exploits their vulnerabilities in his aim to rid the streets of what he considers to be vermin. His extreme views and actions are used by Swindells to emphasise people’s prejudiced attitudes and at the same time show how vulnerable the homeless are.
Shelter’s name is ironic as is suggests protection and comfort which is the opposite of what he provides. However, it reflects his exploitative nature and how he uses the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the homeless against them – luring them in by seemingly offering them what they need. By calling himself Shelter, Swindells also suggests the character’s cruel and callous nature as he gets pleasure and amusement out of others’ suffering. He also sees the murders as performing a much needed service and putting the homeless out of their misery.
Shelter’s was a sergeant-major in thearmy but he was discharged on medical grounds. He views this as part of a ‘plot’ and is determined to rid the country of the ‘garbage’. He believes in National Service and begins recruiting his own army of homeless people he murders. It is clear from his attitudes and actions that he has been affected by his experiences and has strong beliefs which do not reflect the reality presented in Link’s narrative.
Having an army background makes Shelter an efficient killer and he is very calculating in how he goes about planning out his crimes. He buys a cat and clothes to make him seem approachable and kindly. In reality he despises cats and Swindells uses the details within his narrative to show how appearances can be deceiving (just as people wouldn’t guess that Shelter is a serial killer, Swindells is suggesting we don’t know anything about the individuals who live on the streets).
Shelter commits the murders by using the vulnerabilities of the homeless against them: he offers shelter, food, money and, with Ginger, he uses his friendship with Link against him. Swindells does this again to show how vulnerable and desperate the homeless are and how this puts them in danger. Shelter also knows that no one will miss the people he kills as they are ‘anonymous’ and if they do, the police will just think they’ve moved on. This again creates sympathy for the homeless and makes us reassess our attitudes.
Gingerprovides companionship for Link, which is something most homeless people don’t have. They still maintain some distance by using nicknames and not always telling each other where they are going – showing that it is very difficult to fully trust/rely on someone in this situation (again creating sympathy). Ginger teaches Link essential skills for surviving on the streets: how and where to beg, not being open about the money/possessions you have, where to go for food/shelter. Swindells uses this to show how difficult things are and also to show how invaluable Ginger is and how lucky Link is to have found him.
Link gets jealous of Ginger’s other friends and feels distanced from them – this shows his immaturity and total reliance on Ginger. When Ginger goes missing, Swindells intensifies Link’s isolation and vulnerabilityas he questions his trust in Ginger and makes him seem even more exposed. He feels that getting close to someone has made things worse which suggests being homeless is a very lonely and isolating experience. When he goes missing, we are again shown people’s attitudes and lack of care for the homeless – it is only because Link perseveres and looks for answers that a murderer is caught.
Gailcomes into the narrative immediately after Ginger’s disappearance. Although Link tells himself he will never get this close to again, he immediately befriends Gail and takes on the role of passing on his knowledge of the streets to her. This shows the strong desire for companionship and how lonely and difficult living on the streets is. Swindells also uses Gail to highlight an overlooked difficulty of being homeless which is finding someone to have a relationship with.
Gail behaves in a secretive manner at times and Link again gets jealous – the reader is also kept in the dark as to Gail’s true motives so we share Link’s perspective and see how difficult it is to trust someone. At the end, when we discover Gail isreally a reporter, we are again shown how vulnerable the homeless are to exploitation. Gail uses Link’s need for companionship to get a story about the homeless without really considering him as an individual and his difficulties. This again creates sympathy for Link and other homeless people as we see how isolated they are and how selfish the general public can be.
PLOT EVENTS/DETAILS:
Swindells shows us the various difficulties facing the homeless through the events of Link’s narrative: going to the toilet, finding and keeping somewhere to sleep, getting money, getting food, how some people can’t face begging so pick up scraps from cafes, keeping possessions, finding shelter out of harsh weather conditions, what it’s like sleeping on concrete floors, having to walk around all day, constantly being moved on, attitudes of the public (treatment), attitudes of café owners (outstaying welcome), knowing who to trust etc. Various incidents highlight these problems and Swindells uses them to show the vicious cycle of homelessness and how even the most basic things are a challenge. They also show people’s attitudes to the homeless and generate sympathy in the reader.
Captain Hook’s boats are also used by Swindells to show how vulnerable the homeless are to exploitation and how they are treated as lesser human beings – although the boats provide shelter, the conditions are cramped, filthy and unhygienic. Captain Hook charges the homeless and could potentially make a fortune every night. Although what he is doing would be illegal and go against fire and health & hygiene regulations, nobody cares because he is getting homeless people off the streets and out of sight. This suggests that people (and the Government) see the homeless as less worthy and they are at the mercy of people like Captain Hook.
The end is used by Swindells to clearly show the injustice suffered by the homeless. In pursuing Ginger’s disappearance (because nobody else will), Link is left at the mercy of Shelter. Shelter’s insanity is shown at the end but he had everyone else fooled, again showing how appearances can be deceptive. Even the Liverpudlian, who previously robbed and threatened Link, is there showing that, despite the links between the characters, each one was isolated and as vulnerable as each other because of being homeless and anonymous.
The novel ends with a clear statement of Swindells message than the homeless are vulnerable and suffer injustice as a result of people’s prejudices and society’s uncaring and selfish attitudes: after finding out Gail is the reporter Louise, she offers him money which he takes (again showing her exploiting his desperate situation in order to alleviate her guilt) and then Shelter is taken away to prison – where he will receive food and shelter (irony again of name – he will be protected) despite being a murderer – whereas Link, the victim, will go back to the streets to fend for himself. Swindells creates irony in the ending to emphasise the injustice of society in our ‘free country’.
QUOTATIONS (you need to memorise 5 or 6 for essays):
‘I never forget a face, and our next meeting will prove far more amusing for me than for them’ (Shelter ominous threat – Narrative crossover)
“We were a family you know – as happy as most, till Dad ran off with a receptionist in 1991, when I was fourteen”.(Link’s Background)
“You’re going to find yourself living among hard, violent people, some of whom are deranged. You’re going to be at risk every minute, day and night… There’s nowhere you can run to, because nobody cares.” (London Setting)
“You’re so cold, so frightened and it hurts so much that you end up praying for morning even though you’re dog-tired, even though tomorrow is certain to be every bit as grim as yesterday”.(Setting – Winter/London)
“I was now one of them now – poised at the top of that downward spiral”.(Link Homelessness)
“I’m invisible, see? One of the invisible people. Right now I’m sitting in a doorway watching the passers-by. They’re afraid I want something they’ve got, and they’re right.”(Link Homelessness)
“I was dead green see? A babe in arms”.(Link Homelessness)
“but I can clean up the garbage, can’t I?… By golly I will”.(Shelter’s Attitude)
“I should’ve known it was being with Ginger that was making things easy for me, but I didn’t. Not until this day I’m going to tell you about. The day Ginger vanished.”(Role of Ginger)
“Gail was in tears by now, and so was I. It ended with her shoving a wad of banknotes in my hand.” (End – Gail exploitation)
“Yeah but like – justice was done, right? Was it, though? Shelter gets life, which means he gets a roof, a bed and three square meals a day. I don’t”.(Theme/Message – Injustice)