The themes of loyalty
and childhood innocence appear again in “The End of the Party”, but in a
different light. At first glance, the story seems to be a typical “face your
fears” narrative, it does not sound like the usual Graham Greene story at all.
There are no references of WWII or a broken world, just Francis Morton’s phobia
of the dark, a common fear among children.
But the ending has Graham Greene written all over it; not only because
of Francis’ death but because it gives the story an entirely new meaning. The
death came as a shock to me; I was expecting Francis to overcome his fear and
perhaps a pair of wet pants. I decided to reread the story and discovered
imagery of death on practically every page. Francis even mentions his own
death twice! “’I dreamed that I was dead,’” (29) he remarks when he first wakes up and, later, tries to excuse himself from the party all together saying, “’Perhaps
I shall die’” (30).
Greene does not want us
to foresee Francis’ death because he equates us with the adults of the story.
We ignore all the clues and images, deeming them childish and silly. Greene
anticipated that we would dismiss Francis’ fear as folly because we have lost
touch with our childhood innocence. We no longer feel the real, intense emotion,
in this case terror, which would have overwhelmed us at a young age. Greene
never forgot how truly horrified children can get when it comes to trivial fears
like darkness. Francis’ mother, not understanding the extremity of the problem,
constantly reminds him: “You know there’s nothing to be afraid of in the dark”(32).
On the other side of
the spectrum we have Peter, Francis’ twin brother, who feels obliged to serve
as a guardian and guide. He is one of the most loyal companions we have read about so far. Peter relates to Francis’ problems with ease because
they physically look the same and they think very similarly. Thus, by simply
looking at his mirror image, Peter can see the terror in Francis’ eyes as he
thinks about their birthday party. Peter understands Francis’ fear of the dark
and helps him in every way possible to avoid playing hide and seek. He makes
excuses for Francis, ranging from sickness to discarding the game from the
program completely. Peter speaks with the adults, but they are simply unable to see past
the idea that the phobia is not a big deal. They are unaware of the severity of
Francis’ fright and pay no attention to his pleas. So while I want to yell at
the grown-ups for not listening to Francis, I feel it would be hypocritical as
I too did not realize the extent of his trauma.
Question: What
significance do the avian references hold for the story?
2 comments:
As we’ve seen, the theme of childhood versus adulthood is a common theme in several of Greene’s short stories. In “The End of the Party” however, Greene does not explicitly highlight childhood innocence as much childhood experience. As we grow up and mature, we tend to outgrow “childish” fears and exaggerations. There is nothing wrong with not overcoming them, but most of us do defeat them. Included among these fears is the fear of the dark. It is difficult to recall the feeling of helplessness – we are so accustomed to some form of independence and knowledge. In the story however, Greene gives gravity to Francis’ “childish” fear. Ironically, the adults, whom children assume know everything, are ignorant of that gravity. Of course, he doesn’t help (or know how to) by expressing his true fear to them. Thus the adults ignorantly employ the usual “there’s nothing to be afraid of” to Francis (32). It is not entirely the forgotten innocence of the adult figures that prevents them from understanding Francis’ problem. Their experience in overcoming obstacles while growing up leads them to misinterpret the overwhelming terror the dark brings Francis. Of course, we should not neglect the fact that Francis cannot express why his fear is so substantial to the adults; they cannot stop what they don’t know about. Yet, the inability to understand and relate and the loss of childhood experience creates something to be afraid of when the lights go back o
In "The End of the Party," Greene illustrates a very powerful metaphor for a loss of innocence and overcoming of fear. Throughout the story, we see several examples of childhood fears. Francis' extreme fear of the dark is the main focus, but he also appears to possess a shy -almost shameful- demeanor around girls. When faced with the thought of Mabel and Joyce, Francis thinks, "Their sex humiliated him, as they watched him fumble with his egg..." (30). While these fears are entirely within Francis'' own thoughts, it is not solely his burden.
The fact that Greene made Francis and Peter twins is no accident. The boys are continuously depicted as mirror images, even when Francis' fear appears to distinguish him from his brother. Peter, however, shares more than just looks with Francis,, but also bears his fear of the dark with him. The sharing of fears is revealed in Peters thoughts: "He knew that it was his brother's fear and not his own that he experienced" (35). Greene's metaphor finally comes to light in the final paragraph. Upon realizing that his brother was dead, Peter subsequently comprehends that "his brother's fear went on and on..." (36). Although Francis has died, his fear lives on in his brother. Death is a part of life and frequently occurs as people mature in age. Peter, through his brother's death, loses out on the innocence and whimsy of childhood, and beholds an event that no boy his age should ever witness. Through Greene's comparisons of the similarities of the two boys, we can come to see them as essentially one person. Therefore, we behold the death of the childish part of this one person, represented by Francis. Greene's ultimate message is that although people mature and lose the innocence of childhood, their fears and apprehensions still remain. Fear is something that must be conquered by more than just maturation, but rather by embracing your fears and coming to terms with the fact that there is nothing to be afraid of.
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