1. The Cone Gatherers Calum
A need to know powerpoint for the N5 and Higher Textual Analysis paper

2. Calum the innocent
He is completely at home in the forest: he is described as being high in a “homely tree” and as “indigenous as a squirrel or bird”
“homely” suggests that he belongs in the forest, spurned by people as clumsy and deformed on the ground Calum finds his face in nature
“indigenous” suggests that he belongs there, is in his natural environment (and also suggests that he does not naturally belong elsewhere).
“chaffinches fluttered around him” – connotations of St Francis of Assisi (patron saint of birds), intensifies Calum’s saint like innocence, his gentleness and forms a contrast with Duror’s evil nature.

3. Calum’s symbolism
“He (Neil) knew what Calum represented, pity so meek”
Calum is a symbol for gentleness, innocence and purity of spirit, the Christ-like person (links to Jesus’s saying ‘blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth’)
Creates commonality with other symbols in the novel
“On the misshapen hump of his body sat a face so beautiful and guileless to be a diabolical joke” : it is ironic that true innocence should sit trapped in a deformed body. “diabolical joke” suggests a trick of the devil – the reader should feel great compassion for someone who is so beautiful on the inside yet so misshapen on the outside
“his face with its hellish beauty” continues this idea, the oxymoron drawing attention to the juxtaposition in Calum between being beautiful on the inside but generating disgust on the outside.

4. Duror’s hatred
In contrast to Calum’s innocence comes Duror’s hatred of the hunchback: “an icy sweat of hatred” suggests Duror’s coldness and powerful dislike, what he hates is Calum’s imperfection: “feeble-minded hunchback” and Calum’s closeness to nature “grovelling over the rabbit”. This provokes Duror to come up with the Deer drive and foreshadows Calum’s response to the horror of it.
“tried to comfort it” suggests that Calum wanted to protect the animal and ease its pain, this again shows his empathy with nature. He holds the beast as it dies “its mortal agony” and the “blood” foreshadows the end of the novel.
Don’t forget that foreshadowing is the basis of commonality – this is how you can link one point with another.

5. Duror’s insight
“For many years his life had been stunted, misshapen, obscene and hideous and this misbegotten creature was its personification.” This suggests that Duror came to realise that Calum represented on the outside what Duror was like on the inside.
“obscene” suggests something vile and shocking this shows how rotten to the core Duror had become, “hideous” suggests an element of horror – this evil is truly frightening and powerful (make link to conclusion – and to the origins “since childhood ….”)

6. Calum’s death
“infinite desolation” suggests that Duror killed Calum when all goodness and hope had left him”
“dangling from the tree” suggests a crucifixion like scene (links to Calum’s innocence and saint-like-ness)
“torment” suggests that the scene was truly horrific which shows its powerful impact upon LRC

7. Calum’s legacy (hope)
“as she wept pity and purified hope and joy welled up in her heart”
The slaughter of the innocent has not been pointless, just as the blood of Jesus is said to purify mankind from its sins so too the blood of Calum cleansed out the evil manifested in Duror
“purified” suggests that some evil has been removed this shows the powerful impact of Calum’s death