What will you be doing over the Easter break? >>

Spiesy stuff

Hi,
Just wondered who's studying Michael Frayn's "Spies" and what you think of it.

EDIT: This thread has some extremely strong posts amongst the pages you will no doubt find yourself getting lost in.It has been of great use to me throughout the year and hope it will be of some use to you also.

Here are some essential links for guidance:
www.study-spies.co.nr
http://home.barton.ac.uk/curriculum/...nmaterials.htm
http://thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Spies_by_Michael_Frayn

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Ywiss

rach06ao

Helllo...I'm new to this =)

And, also new-ish to spies. Been studying it for about a month, read it over the summer and really enjoyed it on a fairly superficial levl, the way you do when you're reading and appreciating a book and not tearing it to pieces in a lesson...
Anyways, so now there's questions on it to answer, 18 to be precise. Done 17, and the one I'm left with I feel really silly about because it's confused me and should be simple?
So HELP!!!!!
How can I explain the time loss in chapter four, y'know the bits where Mrs Hayward appears to skip back and forth in time. I realise she obviously doesn't, but what IS going on?
I read all the posts and no-ones asked this question so I assume it's really obvious, and I'm having a thick moment...
Help much appreciated.
Love, me xxx

She's not actually skipping backwards and forwards in time - she goes out of Auntie Dee's house and down to the end of the road. The boys follow her - and assume she's gone towards the shops. Instead she goes to the railway tunnel. So the boys run in the opposite direction from her towards the shops, while she makes her way back to Auntie Dee's. When the boys return, they see her coming out of Auntie Dee's as if she'd never left in the first place. So Stephen thinks that they've gone back in time or something.

Hope that makes it clearer :smile:

Reply 2

general_store

if you look at chapter 6, it's told almost soley from the perspective of the child narrator and he uses short sentences. Together they add tension and the reader follows the adventure as it happens-v.fast pace. The reader can get more involved in it. Child narrator views relationships in different ways: stephen as a boy sees keith as almost godly, old stephen although he is still grateful to him, realises he feared him and was, and is controlled by the fear. use of child narrator allowed frayn to draw out the idea of opinion changing with experience, hindsight,age etc.
i dont know lol, this is probably all wrong, just my opinion.
good luck with that x

Reply 3

DebC79

Thought people had written they'd got their exam in five days etc around this time last year. One thread had people panicking around 25th May making me think the exam was 26th May. I thought it was new to AQA this Jan so I didn't look at AQA publications. The free downloads take me to Jun 2005 exam and mark schemes so I've got an idea of what type of questions are asked albeit on different novels. I've never been on a site like this before and I'm really impressed! As another post elsewhere suggested, studying from home you often miss ideas that bounce around in a class. This thread gives me that sense of discussion and ideas evolving.

One thing that did occur to me while reading about BB's purse being a symbol of her femininity - Stephen describes the texture in such detail and notices the popper is closed (just as girls are a closed/unknown subject for him?) and its shininess offends him (p96) and then I was struck by his sensuality when he describes the "fine golden hairs on the brown skin of her legs" catching the evening light (p99). It's almost as if he's moving from seeing her as a schoolgirl ("girlishly self-satisfied") to seeing her more clearly - her dress is no longer a school dress, she talks "softly" and her hair brushes his shoulder (p100). Obviously these feelings are not sustained because growing up is a process and his feelings fluctuate. Is this too detailed? You could end up reading something into everything! :smile:

Reply 4

DebC79

Yes - wow! I'd not really twigged that one 'cos I'd been so hung up on BB's discovering the truth without knowing it's the truth on the previous page (p 154) - "perhaps Mrs H's got a boyfriend...and Keith's Daddy found out... won't let her set foot outside the house".

I sort of agree with Mel's post - we are looking for connections and details that Frayn might not have deliberately put in but isn't all literature like this? It was largely written to be enjoyed but that enjoyment can take place on several different levels - a simple story line or one where you look for significance behind the author's intention. At GCSE for example you study a poem and "deconstruct" it looking for meaning and trying to work out why the poet used a particular word and what effect that word has. This is not to say the poet wrote it for this reason, just that to gain deeper or "better" enjoyment, it's worth studying closer. And that's what A level lit helps you do - or should!

I'm really enjoying looking for links and threads through the novel and it has led to a deeper enjoyment. So now I'm looking at the geranium thing - at the risk of annoying previous valued posters!! I read elsewhere that it's really complex because he's trying to explain what it is to understand. Somehow, the fact that the people living there now have geraniums in a tub is appropriate. But how is it that we understand that? This is possibly what Stephen is trying to come to terms with - understanding is complex - he has the general story now he has pieced it all together but the understanding behind it may never come - as he says at the end "Whatever I secretly knew, and whenever I knew it...it was something that must never be known" (p234). :smile:

Reply 5

DebC79

angeliese

...can you help me with the themes of bullying and power, how does he present them throughout the book? thanx :biggrin:

Chapter 2 gives a lot of info about the nature of the relationship between Sptephen and Keith and the fact that Stephen feels inferior. As she points out we're also given references to Stephen being bullied in school.
So Stephen's view of his lowly status in the world is important as even later he makes references to BB's "mocking" smile and her comments that his face is "squidgy" irritate him.
Until chapter 8 (possibly where we see Stephen maturing more clearly?) we see Stephen trying to keep on the right side of Keith - to remain his "disciple" and to maintain Keith's position as "the officer corps in our two-man army". Even in chapter 6 he has the sock as a gift for the Keith-god to "lay at his feet". As Keith's influence wanes and BB's and Mrs H's become stronger, so I think that Stephen's own power changes. At the end of chapter 7 Mrs H says "Thank you Stephen,"... humbly and BB moves in chapter 8 from giving Stephen a "specially significant glance" (p158) to asking him "humbly" how he smokes (p166). By the next page young Stephen feels he's almost there... "I'm on the verge of understanding mysteries that have been closed to me". You could explore how Stephen becomes more powerful as he grows in maturity.
On the other hand there's Mr H's bullying of his wife (the scarf to hide the proof) and Keith as well as his keeping her "a prisoner" before you even explore his menacing smile, language and whistling.
Then there's the whole power relationship within the photographs - the sisters - Auntie Dee "looking up at (Mrs H), trusting but very slightly apprehensive", and the outsider of the threesome - Mr H.
How he presents the themes is what I'd find more difficult 'cos I'm a bit too new to A level to know what's expected here but I hope I've given you some ideas to help you start looking at the themes.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 6

DebC79

LoveIsLikeAButterfly

I'm supposed to be writing about Michael Frayns style at the moment...

Have you been given any pointers? It seems really difficult to me!
Obviously he's a modern novelist so he uses a style which is relatively new ... a fragmented storyline and using a dual narrator (See when the narrator introduces his child-self on p6) for example ... and this makes the reader work quite hard to put it all together. But it also allows us to feel empathy for the young Stephen and to share his experiences as we too do not know what the outcome will be. This use of an unreliable narrator would seem to be key when discussing his style.
Frayn's style also tries to capture that wartime era with his descriptions of the period. Indeed his descriptions are very vivid in terms of his appeal to the senses.
Another point that might be relevant is the chapter endings - many of them seem to be cliff hangers which seems a deliberately dramatic technique to hold the readers' interest and keep them reading.
Don't know if this is any use as I'm still a bit story-bound and haven't got onto the "hard stuff" yet!

Reply 7

Ywiss

Lizzi2006

Heya! Just wondered if anyone could help me.. Im in the middle of writting an essay on how Micheal Frayn presents Mr Hayward within the novel and im totaly stuck... Dosent help that i dont have my copy of the book either 8-).. but any help at all would be much appreciated! xx

One thing which you must mention is that Mr Hayward is presented to us solely through Stephen's eyes. This means that our perceptions of his character are biased by Stephen's attitudes and feelings towards him. He is terrifying to Stephen, and therefore he is terrifying to us. You should mention this in any character essay!

I'll give a more detailed answer later (when I'm not so stressed :eek:

) but I'm sure others on here will be able to fill in.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 8

Ywiss

ChocolateCherry

As for geraniums, does anyone want to give a clear explanation of why they seem so reknowned, I'll have to look out for them when I re-read because I hadn't picked up on them before!

Haha, well, *rubs hands eagerly*, how could I resist?

The notorious geraniums scene is basically Frayn's big delving into philosophy (he's very interested in philosophy; his latest book's like one massive geraniums scene), as he considers what is knowing, and what is the nature of knowing. How can we be sure of anything? How, for example, can we be sure that a bunch of geraniums are, really, geraniums? There's no way really to know. It's a great bit because it relates to one of the main themes of the novel - uncertainty. Stephen's uncertainty about the man in the barns, his incomprehension regarding the relationship between Keith's parents, the confused bit at the end of Chapter Ten where it's not clear what's actually happened - this all relates to the geraniums scene. The duality of Stephen's beliefs (e.g. his adoration and fear of Keith, his feeling that everything has changed and everything has stayed the same, his feeling drawn in two directions) relates to this uncertainty, and how we can never quite be sure about what we know. And is it possible for Stephen to "un-know" his terrible knowledge about Uncle Peter? He wants everything to be "in the past. Forever", but it comes back to haunt him, even as an old man. The geraniums scene therefore sums up the main point of the novel - what is knowing, and what is not knowing?

Ta-da! :biggrin:

Reply 9

Ywiss

ChocolateCherry

Wey, fresh spies thread. Right guys, if anyone has any juicy essay titles designed for peeps who've studied the whole book rather than the first few chapters I would really appreciate it, just need to do some revision for january retakes, get the hang of writing on spies again.

Good Jonacristal suggestions, as always :biggrin:

But you mustn't forget characters! I wrote about a character (Keith's mother) in mine, so it does happen...
How does Frayn present Uncle Peter in the novel, and what is the importance of this?
Same for Keith, Keith's mother, Stephen, possible Barbara Berrill(?)
How does Frayn present women in Spies and what is their importance?
To what extent is Stephen/Keith/Keith's mother the main character in the novel?
How does the first/last chapter contribute to the effectiveness of the novel?
How does Frayn present the theme of spies and spying in the novel?
How does Frayn present uncertainty in the novel?
What is the importance of setting in Spies?

Reply 10

-Adam-

Hey guys, just registered here.

Just finished an essay on 'How does Frayn portray Stephan in Spies'.

So far I have been given 4 essays in the past 4 weeks:

1) How does Frayn portray Stephan in Spies
2) In what wys do you find Frayn's use of differing perspectives effective in the first 5 chapters?
3) Explore Frayn's presentation of settings and locations in the novel.
4) How does Michael Frayn present the relationship between Stephan and Keith in the novel.

Reply 11

DebC79

Truthless

'IT IS WHAT IS NOT SAID IN CHAPTER 9 THAT IS PARTICULARLY FRIGHTENING

Sorry - I missed this one as we went over to a new page! Hope I'm not too late to help out. I find this fascinating as Frayn uses this idea of what is NOT said all the way through the novel 'cos Stephen is often unable to SAY things but we know he wants to say something. At other times he as narrator confuses us 'cos he tells us he said something but then tells us that perhaps he didn't actually SAY it after all!
Anyway - with chapter 9 the most obvious is that Mrs H doesn't actually ASK Stephen to take the basket to the man. Stephen as narrator implies that much was not said but much was understood between them.

She doesn't "specify where the damp was" but Stephen remembers the "underground chamber, beneath the elders".
She "says" she "would have liked to send him something hot" but Stephen remembers the episode with the thermos
She asks him if he knows where he has to go and whether she had "just imagined it" - again Stephen does not say anything - but the episode of the banging on the roof is hanging between them.

All the way through he is screaming that the man is German but never says it. This is ironic because we guess that Mrs H is thinking that S knows who it is that he's helping and therefore knows about Mrs H's adultery yet it is never SAID.

Note too that Stephen hardly speaks in these pages. He even tells her his intention to take the basket by merely taking the basket out of her hand p181

The "quarrel" between BB and Stephen is also resolved without words - they smoke together(p184) and shetakes that as a signal that she can look in the basket. In order to look inside the envelope, she kisses him, straddles him and takes the envelope off him - again she doesn't ask to look at the letter, he doesn't tell her she shouldn't - until it's too late and she slits the envelope open and takes the letter out.

The next bit with Keith's dad is a masterpiece in what is NOT said. Keith's dad who is earlier described as never saying much talks a lot to S who says nothing. Finally it is one word "Please" which makes Stephen give in and he hands over the basket. Then when Mrs H tries to take the basket, Mr H is his most menacing - "Keith's father silently moves it out of her reach ..."
pp190-3 is also significant as Stephen won't say anything to his family about what has happened yet he is clearly distressed at events.
Hope this gives you some ideas to focus on.

Reply 12

bruisepristine

cocopops

Consider the importance and presentation of Keith's mother in the novel Spies.

My first essay on Spies. Don't even know where to begin. Any help please xx

She's obviously very unhappy in her marriage, hence the affair. Also she's much younger than Mr Hayward, and he's obviously very dominant and controlling. She's presented as the perfect woman/mother at the start - shown by the quotes in (I think) chapter 2 about her 'reclining on the sofa'. Stephen describes her very differently to how he sees his own mother. He sees her as glamourous, and he sees the whole family as perfect. This changes, though, when her flaws become apparent. I.e. the crying, her beginning to address Stephen directly as opposed to only through Keith, her recognising him as her equal etc. and asking him for help. By the end it's pretty fair to say she's a broken woman. Mr Hayward barely lets her leave the house, she constantly wears a scarf to conceal marks of abuse, she's fallen out with Dee, she rarely gets to see Peter and so can't take him food. It could also be argued that Stephen has a bit of a crush on her, for example when he talks about her 'bosoms' etc. or in one of the later chapters (I forget which) when she comes into the den with the basket, and he's going on about how much more beautiful she looks etc. She certainly evokes more mature feelings in him, which relates to the idea that the book is sort of a rites of passage novel, showing Stephen's progression into adulthood.

Hope that helps.

Reply 13

-Adam-

I think everyone here is going to need tips on how to remember quotes.

About this time last year, my school hired a team called "LearningPerformace". Basically it was a 'performer' who taught us how to remember things easily for exams. I just found my booklet and shall type out some things for you all to enjoy:

First Letter Triggers

Take the first letter of each sentance, turn it into a word, and make it into an imaginative sentance. The first letter triggers the original word and hey presto!

Story making

A good one. Get the quotes you are wanting to memorise, start to write a silly story and add the quotes in at certain places. Then because the story is silly, you have more chance of being able to remember it!

Around the house

This takes some practice. Again, you do a story (sort of) but this time, you do it like this:
I got up out of bed and put my slippers on, my slippers had the words "Its over he said, for ever". I then walked over to my draw, pulled it open and the words "The game's finally over" popped out! So I walk downstairs and open the fridge and get some milk. Pour the milk out into a cup and "How can I ever begin to expain 'She just can't'" pops out with it.
As silly as this may seem it's actually very helpful if you can get use to it.

Now all these methods are very good, but it doesn't mean to say they are for all of you. Some of you may prefer to just learn them with the 'Around the house' technique and others just normally. Others sometimes prefer to make a little song? I'm not saying these will help all of you, we all are different! But if you can get into the habbit of one of them, they are VERY useful.

Reply 14

ChocolateCherry

Have emailed this to student-in-distress, but in case there was anything in here that could be of use to anyone else:

You said you were finding it hard to get into the novel and to be fair the title you've been given won't be a great help for that, just so you know, i found thta essays on memory, the portrayal of particular characters etc most interested me. So hang on for the good essays.

As for the importance of setting, the best example i can think to include would be the tunnel. Hopefully you've read the whole book (you may be surprised how many people don't). The whole portrayal of this seems to reflect birth (its actually rather horrific if you read the passages on it from that perspective), but it has a symbolic effect, whenever stephen or mrs hayward goes through the tunnel something happens to change their perspective on events, bit rusty so afraid can't think of particular examples.

Then theres the contrast between stephen and keiths rooms, this shows us stephens perception of the rooms and the differences, this reflects on his perception of the contrast between their families.

Also, in the street the plants outside each house are symbolic of their owners.
Could also discuss the way the novel is told with a dual narrator, the effect this has, with some set in the past and some in the present, but thats cheating a bit i think...

The layout of the shed/workshop with the vice when mr hayward is talking to stephen, frayns use of particular objects. The same could be applied to their hallway, the underlying sinister feeling created.

Theres more but i'm afraid i ought to go and get on with my own essays now! Good luck, hope thats all helpful.

Reply 15

Ywiss

Same here, just adding a few more ideas to help anyone else with the same/similar essay title:

Here's a few things to get you thinking:
- What is it that first reminds the narrator of his childhood memories? It's "liguster", or privet. Privet is probably the most important aspect of the setting in the novel - you should devote at least a paragraph to the incidences of privet in the plot - look at where the privet is mentioned (usually at points of high tension) and suggest why it's mentioned.

- Look at the different parts of their neighbourhood and their importance to Stephen as a child. Think about the Close (e.g. Keith's house and the comparison with Stephen's house, and the lookout), the Lanes (including the Barns and the dwelling of the "tramp"), and give special emphasis to the bridge (including the slime). Why does Stephen remember all of these places in such high detail? Because they mean a lot to him (i.e. they have great importance), as they are part of his intense and traumatic experiences such as Uncle Peter's death, his discoveries about girls and his encounters with Keith's father. If I were you, I would divide this section up into four parts: Keith's house and Stephen's house, the lookout, the Lanes and the railway bridge.

- Finally, you'll also need to look at the larger setting - that of the war. It is set in war-time, and this is prevalent throughout the novel - look at the link betwen germs and Germans, the fact that Keith's fatehr was in the war, the thing about the Berrill children running wild while their father is away.

- Also you must remember to highlight the fact that Stephen feels torn in two directions - he feels an urge to be at home and an urge to be far away at the same time - Heimweh and Fernweh. This is caused by his family's experiences as refugees - the fact that they have had to move so often, and the thing which is pulling him apart. It is also highlighted by the two main settings in the novel - the narrator's home, which we presume is in Germany (look at the sandy gardens and the scent of the pines) and the narrator's childhood home, which was in England.

I hope this gives you a few ideas - remember the setting does not just mean the physical characteristics of the backdrop - it also means the sights, smells and context of the time in which the novel is set.

Reply 16

ChocolateCherry

I have a strong feeling BB's been discussed already, certainly shes mentioned a lot on these pages so have a read through all the spies forums, if you scan for her name it really won't take that long and its well worth it anyway if you haven't already. Otherwise, heres what i could think of off the top of my head:
Look at her influence on Stephen, the way she makes him feel and how that develops.
She often guesses at things that Stephen is trying to work out or can't see, or refuses to say, talk about what this shows us about Stephen.
You could also discuss Lamorna, the way Stephen grapples with this idea is provoked by BB.
At the beg of the novel she irritates Stephen, but this lessens and he begins to appreciate her attention...shows us Stephens development.
BB reveals another strand in the ideas behind 'privet' in that she reveals their secret hidign place is not very secret or hidden.
Have to say is a tough question, i bet we get it now, hmmm...
Anyway hope thats given you some ideas, theres many more but I have to rush off, good luck :smile:

Reply 17

ChocolateCherry

You lot all really need to start doing you're own homework! Ok thats a bit harsh, i find it really difficult getting started on essays too....

Mr and Mrs Hayward:
Well, theres a stark contrast between the two, you could structure the essay as a comparison of their seemingly converse portrayals.
Mrs Hayward at first is described as an almost perfect being, Stephen clearly admires her, everything she seems to do is right. As the novel continues her imperfections are revealed.
Frayn seems to use her to convey ideas about huamn nature, with a suggestion that those who appear most perfect infact are concealing the most imperfections. He also reveals the way in whcih adults admired as heros when children (uncle peter and mrs hayward are both certainly highly regarded by stephen) are human, and so have faults.
The way Mrs Hayward covers up the cuts on her neck with a cravat reflects the way in which so many things are covered up in the novel. Doers anyone have any interesting theories on what all the covering up is about? I had ideas...but can't quite remember them....
As for Mr Hayward he is a very disturbing and sinister character. His need for control, order and attention to detail as far as presentation is concerned is very interesting. He speaks rarely which means his few words have more effect, and when he says please to stephen, it is all the more powerful. A lot of his presentation seems to be about power, for example when he talks to stephen, it is infact stephen who has the most power, but he relinquishes it to Mr Hayward. Perhaps because it sems so innapropriate for him to have the power? Maybe Frayn is showing us the way in which Stephen is trying to maintain his childhood in giving the power to the adults...Not sure how to analyse this at the moment, being a bit lazy really, but it gives you something to talk about.

Hope thats ok Jadeyh99

The barns, the lanes and the close. Thats an interesting question. They're landmarks in Stephens journey to and from Uncle Peter, perhaps in a similar way they are symbolic/ reflective of other journeys portrayed in the novel? But that could be an absolute load of rubbish. I'm really sorry, can't be much help on that question, need to re read first, but thanks for drawing it to my attention sleepyheather.

Have fun with the essays :smile:

, hope was kinda helpful...

Reply 18

LoveIsLikeAButterfly

The moon is more likey to be attached to Mrs. H monthly cycle, that her periods are in time of the moon, hence what the x's in her diary are for-also explains the exclamation marks (when she is late/early) Showing Stephens innocence and lack of understanding.If that helps the original poster which I could not find sorry! Not as 'deep' as most expected it to be lol.
x
x

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 19

Ywiss

abdleb

guys everyone is just coming on here giving questions for other members and right now looks like theres abouot 8 people still waiting for replies. its not easy for the main members to give advice to everyone try and put input aswell and give in ideas that you may have in mind. it would help everyone.

Agreed!

abdleb

just wanted to say if anyone gets a question about keith and father similarities -- pge 54 second paragraph --

the narrator says "enourmous fingernail" whilst talking about keith. . . fingernails are attached to the fingers and fingers attached to the hand. in this novel the hands is what causes pain (keiths dad hitting him and killing germans) . . . so its comparing keith to his dad maybe. . does anyone agree ? :s-smilie:

its also stated many times that keith has an "ironic smile" and the same is said about ted his father."grimly ironic smile".

I agree totally with the ironic smile references, definitely. I'm finding the other one slightly tenuous...you may be reading a little too much into it there; I mean, Stephen doesn't go on and on about Keith's fingernails, does he? But I'm keeping an open mind, if anyone wants to disagree!