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Jim asked this question about Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (George Smiley, #5; Karla Trilogy, #1):
What is the evidence in this novel (never mind the film adaptations) that Jim Prideaux shoots Bill Haydon? ChatGPT says Russians shot Haydon. But that's wrong as even Smiley says the Russians want their agents alive. The only evidence is Prideaux is seen to have a gun, and the very last paragraphs return the story to Prideaux and again his gun is mentioned. But how did Prideaux know about Haydon? Did Smiley tell him?
Claire Louise Jim breaks an owls neck at the start of the novel. Much further in when he’s telling Smiley about how it all went down with Testify, he mentions that …moreJim breaks an owls neck at the start of the novel. Much further in when he’s telling Smiley about how it all went down with Testify, he mentions that he wishes he’d broken the fiat drivers neck. These two mentions suggest it might be Jim ‘handwriting’ to kill that way. Haydon is found with a broken neck. Jim knows where he is likely because he’s trailed Smiley as he did when Smiley went to the safe house. After Smiley visits Jim at the school there’s a few mentions of Peter or George being followed by someone that could meet Jim description, mainly specific references to a crooked back/stooped walk or similar. This suggests to be that Jim was carrying out surveillance while the school thought he was looking after his sick mother.
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Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
by John Le Carré
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