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Craville Studies >>
English Advanced >>
Nicholas Temelcoff Character Analysis
Nicholas Temelcoff Character Analysis
Description:
· “Half-gloved
hands”
· “He
is burly on the ground”
· Is
a spinner. “He links everyone”
· Is
introduced in general terms.
· The
“man in the air”
· The
“speck against the horizon”
Traits:
· Is
obviously selfless, as he catches the nun who falls off the bridge
despite “knowing his rope would not hold them both.”
· “a
daredevil”
· “He
is solitary”
· “free
falling like a dead star”
Background:
Nicholas was 25 years
old when the war in the Balkans begun. After his village was burned
he left with three friends on horseback. They rode to Trikala where
they jumped on a train bound for Athens.
In Greece they bribed
a boat captain to carry them to Trieste before jumping on another
train to take them to France.
They then got on
board the boat, Le Haure, and came to Canada.
Quotes that give
insight into his beliefs, morals and attitudes:
· “He
is happiest at daily chores.”
· “He
knows his position in the air as if he is mercury slipping across a
map.”
· “For
Nicholas, language is much more difficult than what he does in
space.”
· “The
verge of sleep was always terrifying for Nicholas.”
· “breaking
down syllables and walking around them…picking up one he fancies for
a moment, the replacing it with another.”
· It
was the “spell of language” that brought him to Canada.
· “Nicholas
Temelcoff never looks back.”
· He
is isolated due to his lack of language. No power, no light, no
knowledge.
· The
people he worked with on the bridge barely knew him. This once again
shows his solitary nature.
· “He
releases the catch on the pulley and slides free of the bridge.”
Role in the Novel:
He is a worker on the
bridge who swings on the pulley system, flying around attaching
bolts, rivets and screws that others dare not. He earns $1 an hour
and $1.25 at night. He catches the nun (Alice Gull), saving her life
when she falls off the bridge in the dead of night.
One year later,
Nicholas opens a bakery with the money he has earned. He calls it
the Geranium Bakery.
Whilst working as a
baker, Nicholas acts as a guardian to Alice’s daughter, Hana.
He works with Patrick
to help find Alice and calms Patrick following Alice’s death.
Impact:
Temelcoff realises
his place in history. He realises that he will have to pass down his
story himself. He realises official history will not remember him.
· “Patricks
gift, that arrow into the past, shows him the wealth in himself, how
he has been sewn into history.”
· “Each
person had their moment when they assumed the skins of wild animals,
when they took responsibility for the story.”
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