‘Fearless’by

Janice Galloway

Revision

Setting

• Set in the West Coast of Scotland during the 1950’s.

• Set during a time when women were treated unfairly and men did nothing to stop it.

• Not told a specific village as sexism existed in more than just one place.

• “I never had access to their private thoughts voiced in private places, the bookies, the barbers, the pub”

• “The hard, volatile maleness of the whole West Coast Legend”

Things to remember when analysing

• “I never had access to their private thoughts voiced in private places, the bookies, the barbers, the pub”

• “The hard, volatile maleness of the whole West Coast Legend”

• Repetition of ‘private’

• Use of a list to show the amount of places women weren’t allowed to go – which would be strange now.

• Word choice of ‘hard and ‘volatile’

• ‘West Coast’ to highlight not set in just one village.

Character

• The character of Fearless is portrayed as an angry, bitter man. He resents the outside world and particularly dislikes women.

• He is a very sexist character but ultimately shown to be a coward in the end (as all sexist people are suggested to be).

• “Pebble-glass eyes”

• “The thing about Fearless was that he lived in a state of permanent anger”

• “Greengray sleeves dripped over permanent fists so just a row of yellow knuckles, like stained teeth, showed beneath the cuffs”

• “Pebble-glass eyes”

• “The thing about Fearless was that he lived in a state of permanent anger”

• “Greengray sleeves dripped over permanent fists so just a row of yellow knuckles, like stained teeth, showed beneath the cuffs”

• Metaphor showing how hard and emotionless Fearless was.

• Word choice of ‘permanent anger’

• Word choice of ‘permanent fists’

• Use of the simile to demonstrate his unhygienic nature and hardness of his fists, like teeth.

Theme

• The theme of the short story is sexism.

• This is best shown through the actions of the men and women in the story.

• “I don’t remember men doing anything much at all”

• “His wife left him. It was our fault really”

• “I don’t remember men doing anything much at all”

• “His wife left him. It was our fault really”

• Men ignored the actions of Fearless because they were either also sexist or felt scared of Fearless as well.

• Women at the time blamed themselves for the actions of Fearless.

Narrator

• The narrator is Janice Galloway as a child which is an unusual narrative stance.

• Galloway as a child is the only one to stand up to Fearless when he attacks her and her mother.

• The end of the story shows the opinions of an adult Galloway who still despises sexism and still stands up against it.

• “All I saw was a flash of white sock with my foot attached, swinging out and battering into his shin”

• “The outrage is still strong, and I kick like a mule”

• “All I saw was a flash of white sock with my foot attached, swinging out and battering into his shin”

• “The outrage is still strong, and I kick like a mule”

• Word choice of “flash” to highlight the quickness of her actions which were not premeditated.

• Word choice of “white sock” to show that she was a young, innocent girl.

• Word choice of “battering” to emphasise the force in which she kicked him.

• Use of the simile to show she will continue to stand up to sexism, not literally kicking it anymore but metaphorically.

Things to remember!

• The quotes shown here are just a small selection and you should use the quotations you are most familiar with and the ones which will fit into the essay question the best.

• Remember to not just retell the plot of ‘Fearless’ but to fully analyse and answer the question set.