The Cone Gatherers
Encyclopedia
The Cone Gatherers is a novel by the Scottish
writer Robin Jenkins, first published in 1955.
The background to the novel comes from Jenkins' own wartime experience as a conscientious objector
doing forestry work.
) and Neil, are working in the forest of a Scottish country house during five autumn days (Thursday to Monday) in 1943, gathering cones that will replenish the forest which is to be cut down for the war effort. The harmony of their life together is shadowed by the obsessive hatred of Duror, the gamekeeper
, who since childhood has disliked anything he finds "mis-shapen".
Lady Runcie-Campbell, the aristocratic landowner, dislikes having the two brothers on the estate, and tries to avoid communicating with them. She is embarrassed by her son, Roderick, who is friendly and welcoming to the brothers.
The obsession Duror has for the brothers grows stronger, leading to the climax, when Lady Runcie-Campbell discovers Calum hanging dead from a tree, having been shot by Duror, who subsequently shoots himself.
's Of Mice and Men
due to the similarities in theme, plot and characters, although the novel grew directly out of Jenkins' personal experiences in the Second World War.
The novel is often used in Scottish secondary schools, where it is sometimes taught as part of the Higher
English curriculum.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
writer Robin Jenkins, first published in 1955.
The background to the novel comes from Jenkins' own wartime experience as a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
doing forestry work.
Plot summary
Two brothers, Calum (a simple-minded hunchbackHunchback
Hunchback may refer to one of the following.*A derogatory term for a person who has severe kyphosis*The Hunchback of Notre Dame*Hunchback , an arcade and computer game from the 1980s*The Hunchback, a 1914 film featuring Lillian Gish...
) and Neil, are working in the forest of a Scottish country house during five autumn days (Thursday to Monday) in 1943, gathering cones that will replenish the forest which is to be cut down for the war effort. The harmony of their life together is shadowed by the obsessive hatred of Duror, the gamekeeper
Gamekeeper
A gamekeeper is a person who manages an area of countryside to make sure there is enough game for shooting, or fish for angling, and who actively manages areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland for the benefit of game birds, deer, fish and wildlife in general.Typically, a gamekeeper is...
, who since childhood has disliked anything he finds "mis-shapen".
Lady Runcie-Campbell, the aristocratic landowner, dislikes having the two brothers on the estate, and tries to avoid communicating with them. She is embarrassed by her son, Roderick, who is friendly and welcoming to the brothers.
The obsession Duror has for the brothers grows stronger, leading to the climax, when Lady Runcie-Campbell discovers Calum hanging dead from a tree, having been shot by Duror, who subsequently shoots himself.
Major themes
The novel covers several themes, perhaps the most obvious being sacrifice; Neil's sacrifice for his brother, the sacrifice of the forest being cut down, and the ultimate sacrifice of Calum himself. There is close examination of good and evil, intertwined with Neil's jealousy and hatred for the Lady Runcie-Campbell and her family, and in turn Lady Runcie-Campbell's jealousy and hatred for the two brothers working on the estate. Her turmoil between trying to appear to be Christian, and upholding her aristocratic background recurs throughout the novel. Another theme is class structure - Lady Runcie-Campbell believes she is above the lower subjects, Duror himself enjoys the small luxurys he is given because of his higher job of game keeper but Neil hates the class structure: "we're human beings just like them". This carries on throughout the book and at the end we can see that Lady Runcie Campbell may even have been able to stop the death of Calum. Yet another theme is nature. Calum himself is extremely close to nature - he does not feel close to the human world, but in nature he seems to coexist with it: "it was a good tree [...] with rests among its topmost branches as comfortable as chairs."Symbolism
The novel is filled with heavy symbolism, including some of the following:- The woods, representing the Garden of EdenGarden of EdenThe Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
. While the outside world is filled with the death and destruction of the ongoing war, the woods are filled with life and colour. - Calum, embodying innocence and purity.
- Duror, embodying darkness, and a parallel for the serpent in the Garden of Eden
- Roderick, demonstrating social equality
- Lady Runcie-Campbell & Neil, both epitomising their polarised views of the social class division
Significance
The Cone Gatherers is inevitably compared to John SteinbeckJohn Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
's Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men is a novella written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression in California, USA....
due to the similarities in theme, plot and characters, although the novel grew directly out of Jenkins' personal experiences in the Second World War.
The novel is often used in Scottish secondary schools, where it is sometimes taught as part of the Higher
Higher (Scottish)
In Scotland the Higher is one of the national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. It superseded the old Higher Grade on the Scottish Certificate of Education...
English curriculum.