A Breach of Security
question
What do you think Susan Hill's message or main theme was with this book?
Vicky
(last edited
Nov 06, 2015 10:40AM
)
Nov 06, 2015 10:40AM
I've not read any others of the Simon Serrailer series, so when I picked up this book for free on Audible (I still don't know why it was free) I listened to it as a completely independent story and so I am discussing it on it's own merits. Also I don't remember any of the characters' names so I'll have to refer to them with epithets.
I feel I've come to a breakthrough regarding Susan Hill's aims with a couple of the characters and the theme in the past couple of days, so I'll explain what I'm thinking here.
SPOILERS
As I listened to it, and for some time afterwards, I was really confused as to why we had the inner monologue at the beginning by the Police Woman. She seemed a minor character, not much mentioned past the point where she got her medal, and I wondered for ages, "Why did she get a monologue? Why did Susan Hill pay so much attention to her? What's her thematic role?" I was, I'll admit, somewhat worried, because her monologue expressed homophobic views based on what her pastor had said, and later in the text she is rewarded by getting a medal.
An author can write character's who's views they disagree with, but how the reader can tell whether the author agrees or not is what happens to the character. If a character expresses an opinion to the reader and is later rewarded, it can be concluded that the author wants the reader to connect the opinion and the reward.
So this worried me, because I was afraid that Susan Hill was subtly promoting homophobic opinions. But then I realised - the Police Woman does not actually express this opinion, it's an entirely internal monologue, and it is her external actions that are rewarded because they are what are seen by the other characters in this story.
And this is the crux of it. External actions and internal opinions. If and how you act on your feelings.
The Police Woman gets a medal for arresting one of the guys assaulting a gay man at the pride parade, sustaining minor injuries in the process. She, as a character, is rewarded for acting to save someone's life, even though the person she was attempting to save was gay and expressing it in a way that ran very contrary to her beliefs (she says she doesn't want gay people to have equal rights and think that they shouldn't have a pride parade where children might see).
Her foil is the Secretary. We never learn the Secretary's feelings on gay people but that's not the important bit. Susan Hill isn't making a point about gay rights. Instead we learn that the Secretary is grieving for her dead brother who died in the Army, and that she acts on these feelings in a way that kills 23 people. She is the foil to the Police Woman because she has sympathetic feelings/opinions (she is angry at the Army for her brother's death and wants closure) but acts in an unsympathetic way (she is the keypoint in setting up the bombing at the Army's parade that kills 23 people). The Police Woman has unsympathetic feelings/opinions (I hope I'm right in assuming homophobia is unsympathetic! I recall her using the word "disgusting" regarding gay people once) but acts in a very sympathetic way (performs her duty well, putting herself in physical danger to arrest a guy performing homphobic acts). She is rewarded, and the Secretary is punished. The person who acted to save a life is rewarded and the person who acted to take lives is punished.
And this shows that Susan Hill's aim with this story was to say that regardless of your opinions, whether they are sympathetic or unsympathetic, you should always act to save lives.
I feel I've come to a breakthrough regarding Susan Hill's aims with a couple of the characters and the theme in the past couple of days, so I'll explain what I'm thinking here.
SPOILERS
As I listened to it, and for some time afterwards, I was really confused as to why we had the inner monologue at the beginning by the Police Woman. She seemed a minor character, not much mentioned past the point where she got her medal, and I wondered for ages, "Why did she get a monologue? Why did Susan Hill pay so much attention to her? What's her thematic role?" I was, I'll admit, somewhat worried, because her monologue expressed homophobic views based on what her pastor had said, and later in the text she is rewarded by getting a medal.
An author can write character's who's views they disagree with, but how the reader can tell whether the author agrees or not is what happens to the character. If a character expresses an opinion to the reader and is later rewarded, it can be concluded that the author wants the reader to connect the opinion and the reward.
So this worried me, because I was afraid that Susan Hill was subtly promoting homophobic opinions. But then I realised - the Police Woman does not actually express this opinion, it's an entirely internal monologue, and it is her external actions that are rewarded because they are what are seen by the other characters in this story.
And this is the crux of it. External actions and internal opinions. If and how you act on your feelings.
The Police Woman gets a medal for arresting one of the guys assaulting a gay man at the pride parade, sustaining minor injuries in the process. She, as a character, is rewarded for acting to save someone's life, even though the person she was attempting to save was gay and expressing it in a way that ran very contrary to her beliefs (she says she doesn't want gay people to have equal rights and think that they shouldn't have a pride parade where children might see).
Her foil is the Secretary. We never learn the Secretary's feelings on gay people but that's not the important bit. Susan Hill isn't making a point about gay rights. Instead we learn that the Secretary is grieving for her dead brother who died in the Army, and that she acts on these feelings in a way that kills 23 people. She is the foil to the Police Woman because she has sympathetic feelings/opinions (she is angry at the Army for her brother's death and wants closure) but acts in an unsympathetic way (she is the keypoint in setting up the bombing at the Army's parade that kills 23 people). The Police Woman has unsympathetic feelings/opinions (I hope I'm right in assuming homophobia is unsympathetic! I recall her using the word "disgusting" regarding gay people once) but acts in a very sympathetic way (performs her duty well, putting herself in physical danger to arrest a guy performing homphobic acts). She is rewarded, and the Secretary is punished. The person who acted to save a life is rewarded and the person who acted to take lives is punished.
And this shows that Susan Hill's aim with this story was to say that regardless of your opinions, whether they are sympathetic or unsympathetic, you should always act to save lives.
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I also listened to this audible quite some time ago. I could not remember much of it until I read your post. Now I do remember it and your take on it does seem quite accurate from what you bring to mind. Nice job!
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