What is the significance of Axl’s interaction with the woman on the boat? Why do you think Beatrice’s memory is so greatly affected during this scene? What does this part of their journey reveal about their relationship?Ĩ. Discuss this scene, and the grotesque descriptions within it. Beatrice and Axl have a horrifying experience while trying to ford a river. Why do you think each character sees different things during their trek? Do you think the brutality described in this scene is imagined?ħ. Gawain leads Beatrice, Axl, and Edwin through an underground tunnel from the monastery that they had believed to be a place of refuge. Several characters are described as “warriors.” What values or traits are intrinsic to this label? How does honor factor into a warrior’s conduct?Ħ.
How does the mist cause distrust between people? At what points do we see doubt creep into Axl and Beatrice’s relationship? Their relationships with other characters?ĥ. Discuss the themes of trust and deception throughout The Buried Giant. How does his mother’s voice act as a protective force? How much of his recollection of his mother do you think is accurate versus fabricated?Ĥ. How does Edwin’s memory of his mother change throughout the novel? Discuss the incident in which he is stuck in the barn. At what other points in the novel is human behavior described as animalistic?ģ. When Beatrice and Axl visit the Saxon village, Ivor apologizes for the fact that his community set on them like “crazed wolves” (59). How did you interpret the woman’s odd behavior? How does this meeting with the boatman echo throughout the novel?Ģ. Discuss the significance of this interaction. In Chapter Two, Axl and Beatrice have an uncomfortable encounter with a boatman and an old woman. With unforgettable characters and a pace that rivets, The Buried Giant is sure to resonate as a classic for years to come. What they end up discovering along the way, though, leads them in surprising directions that will forever alter the fabric of their relationship-as well as the history of their embattled homeland.Īt once both brutal and affecting, Ishiguro’s novel is a fresh take on the hero’s journey. With the help of a brash yet determined knight and a mysterious young boy, they travel across lands familiar and strange, ever closer to learning their son’s fate. As they contend with the physical hardships of their journey, they also encounter danger from a variety of mystical elements: ogres, demons, and an ever-present fog that makes memory elusive. The novel centers around an elderly couple, Beatrice and Axl, who set out on an epic journey through war-torn lands in hopes of finding their son.
From one of the most preeminent writers of our times comes The Buried Giant, an extraordinary new novel that poses powerful questions about love, loss, and mortality.
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