The Green Isle of the Great Deep
Encyclopedia
The Green Isle of the Great Deep is a 1944 dystopian novel by Neil M. Gunn
. Whilst the book features two protagonists from his previous novel, Young Art and Old Hector
, Gunn transports the characters into an allegory about totalitarianism and the nature of freedom and legend.http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?1116
They awake in the an alternative Highland universe called the Green Isle. This place is beautiful and fertile but although the land is abundant and the trees ripe with fruit, no one is allowed to touch the fruit and those that eat it fall ill. However, the advent of Art in the island, who proceeds to eat the fruit and then become a fugitive, causes a ripple effect which steadily causes the strict social hierarchy who live at the Seat on the Rock to slowly crumble and for God
to awake. Hector demands an audience with God.http://www.harenet.co.uk/nmg/works/forewords/greenisle.html
Another principal character is Mary, who possesses an elixir which allows her and her husband, Robert, to eat the fruit of the trees.http://www.harenet.co.uk/nmg/works/forewords/greenisle.html
In Hector's dialogue with God, two major themes are explored; the concept of knowledge without wisdom leading to a separation of the intellect from the spirit resulting in cruelty; and the concept of the requirement for some form of effective governance tempered by prudence.
Gunn was a Scottish nationalist and believed in small nations "being humanity's last bulwark for personal expression against impersonal tyranny."http://www.harenet.co.uk/nmg/works/forewords/greenisle.html
Neil M. Gunn
Neil Miller Gunn was a prolific novelist, critic, and dramatist who emerged as one of the leading lights of the Scottish Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s...
. Whilst the book features two protagonists from his previous novel, Young Art and Old Hector
Young Art and Old Hector
Young Art and Old Hector is a novel by Neil M. Gunn. It concerns itself with an 8-year-old boy "Young Art" growing up in the Scottish Highland community of Clachdrum and in episodic form, catalogues a series of adventures and occurrences in his life, often connected with his mentor figure "Old...
, Gunn transports the characters into an allegory about totalitarianism and the nature of freedom and legend.http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?1116
Plot
Young Art and Old Hector are sitting in the kitchen, whilst the characters from the previous book discuss the atrocities occurring in mainland Europe. They then embark on a poaching trip to the Hazel Pool, a location which had great import in their previous adventure. Hector regales Art with tales of the Celtic Otherworld, the eponymous "Green Isle of the Great Deep" and of the supreme legend of the nuts of knowledge falling into the pool of life and being swallowed by the salmon of wisdom. However, both Art and Hector get into difficulty in the Pool and both seemingly drown in the deep waters.They awake in the an alternative Highland universe called the Green Isle. This place is beautiful and fertile but although the land is abundant and the trees ripe with fruit, no one is allowed to touch the fruit and those that eat it fall ill. However, the advent of Art in the island, who proceeds to eat the fruit and then become a fugitive, causes a ripple effect which steadily causes the strict social hierarchy who live at the Seat on the Rock to slowly crumble and for God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
to awake. Hector demands an audience with God.http://www.harenet.co.uk/nmg/works/forewords/greenisle.html
Another principal character is Mary, who possesses an elixir which allows her and her husband, Robert, to eat the fruit of the trees.http://www.harenet.co.uk/nmg/works/forewords/greenisle.html
Themes
Whilst the adventure that allows Gunn to ponder the question of how God could allow the Nazis to inflict their atrocities and subdue a people into doing their bidding http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/neil-m-gunn/green-isle-of-great-deep.htm the story can also reflect the situation in the Highlands concerning the landlords having feudal control of the land and therefore a great deal of control over their tenants' lives.In Hector's dialogue with God, two major themes are explored; the concept of knowledge without wisdom leading to a separation of the intellect from the spirit resulting in cruelty; and the concept of the requirement for some form of effective governance tempered by prudence.
Gunn was a Scottish nationalist and believed in small nations "being humanity's last bulwark for personal expression against impersonal tyranny."http://www.harenet.co.uk/nmg/works/forewords/greenisle.html