The signs you refer to actually appear in Chapter 2, and
not just in the kitchen, but in the big room in the Storm's house. Note how important
these "truths" are to this community, that such signs are displayed in the key living
areas. This is how David describes his house:
The nearest approach to decoration was a number
of wooden panels with sayings, mostly from Repentances, artistically burnt into them.
The one of the left of the fireplace read: ONLY THE IMAGE OF GOD IS MAN. The one on the
right: KEEP PURE THE STOCK OF THE LORD. On the opposite wall two more said: BLESSED IS
THE NORM, and IN PURITY OUR SALVATION. The largest was the one on the back wall, hung to
face the door which led to the yard. It reminded everyone who came in: WATCH THOU FOR
THE MUTANT!
David goes on to
comment that even before he could read these statements were engraved on his memory - in
fact, they might even have been used to teach him how to read. It shows how his
community were so fanatical on preserving the "stock of the Lord" and how much they
feared any form of mutation or difference.
Of course, it is
key to note that this description comes after David's discovery of Sophie and her
"deformity". The end of Chapter 1 narrates David's difficulties in understanding the
"law" of his world as expressed through these signs, and ends with his questioning the
value of such an approach. Of course, David as yet does not identify himself as a
"Mutant", for he and the others do not have any visible signs of mutation, but
eventually, when their secret is discovered, they are labelled as a new form of mutant,
and all the more dangerous because of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment