Notes

Throughout the book spies Michael Frays mentions Mr. Hayward infrequently, and is portrayed as unpleasant by being describes as sinister, controlling and by controlling through fear.

Michael Frayn portrays Mr. Haywards character as sinister many times in the book. On example of when Mr. Hayward comes across as sinister is when he calls both Stephen and Keith “Old Bean”, Mr. Hayward uses such affectionate words however the way in which he uses them is ironic and unpleasant. Furthermore, the use of “Old Bean” makes Mr. Hayward seem daunting because, in fact “Old Bean” is a code word between Mr. Hayward and Keith and is used when Keith is about to be caned. This shows that not only Keith but also Stephen could be in trouble with Mr. Hayward.

Another way in which Michael Frayn presents Mr. Hayward as unpleasant is by referring to Stephen more as “Old Chap” this implies that Stephen is not as important to him in comparison to Keith. Furthermore, the tone that Mr. Hayward uses when he has dialogue in the book hints the sense of irony to the reader, this is because the reader has a clear picture of Mr. Haywards character and is fully aware of the way he treats others. This is because Mr. Hayward thinks of himself as better than the people he surrounds himself with so when he is talking to others he sounds ironic when he treats them affectionately.

Moreover, Mr. Hayward is presented as unpleasant because as a punishment when Keith does anything wrong, he canes him. Stephens father would never cane Stephen if he did anything wrong he would talk to Stephen and make him understand what he did wrong. Additionally, Mr. Hayward never shows emotion throughout the book, as a result Michael Frayn dehumanises Mr. Hayward. In addition, Mr. Hayward is only powerful because the way he rules is by inflicting fear into anyone that is against him, this makes Mr. Hayward extremely unpleasant. Some examples of Mr. Hayward ruling by fear are: The caning of Keith when he has done something wrong, and, when Mr. Hayward slices Mrs. Haywards throat with the bayonet. The slicing of Mrs. Haywards throat is a motif because it a reoccurring event in the book.