Growing Up: Joyce Cary

Joyce Cary (1888-1957) was born in Londonderry. (You may think of Joyce as a fem
inine personal name, but in this case it is a man's name.) He studied art in Edi
nburgh and Paris before reading law at Oxford University. Joyce Cary was a Red C
ross orderly in two Balkan wars and served with a Nigerian regiment in World War
I. In 1920 he returned to England, settling in Oxford, where he lived for the r
est of his life.
Cary published many novels (beginning with Aissa Saved in 1932) and stories. He
is perhaps best known for the character Gulley Jimson, a painter, who appears in
a trilogy: Herself Surprised (1941), To Be a Pilgrim (1942) and The Horse's Mou
th(1944). The Horse's Mouth was made into a feature film (1958) as was the 1939
novel Mister Johnson (filmed in 1990). Growing Up is one of five short stories i
n the posthumous collection Spring Song, from 1960.
What happens in Growing Up?
The story is very simple in outline. A man comes home from work for the weekend.
He plays with his daughters, who attack him. In the struggle their pet bitch* b
ites him. The girls tend to his wound, and he goes out to his club for some male
company. Beneath this simple narrative, lots of other things are happening.
*A note about bitch. In the UK today, "bitch" is considered a taboo word, as it
is used insultingly of women to suggest ideas of male dominance and "ownership"
of sexually available women. Fifty years ago it was also used insultingly, but w
ith a different sense - then a "bitch" was a bad-tempered or wilful woman. (And
in between, as in the 1984 film, The Bitch, starring Joan Collins, it suggested
both independence and promiscuity.) But for a writer born in the 19th century, i
t has no such overtones - it is just the usual noun for a female of the dog spec
ies. (We can still see "bitch" used in this way in advertisements placed by dog-
breeders.)
The themes of this story
Like several of the authors, Joyce Cary chooses a title that suggests one of the
themes of the story - that of growing up. This appears to refer mostly to the t
wo sisters, Kate and Jenny. Later we see that it may also apply in a way to thei
r father, Robert, who has been able to play with them for years, but now sees a
time when he will be cut off from them, good only for paying the bills. The auth
or makes this idea clear in the last sentence of the story.
Another theme might be nature - and this story looks at nature in human, animal
and vegetable terms. We see
the way the garden grows wild,
the way the bitch, Snort, plays and
the way the girls act
In all three cases there is a contrast between ideas of cultivated and civilized
nature and nature in the wild or untamed - a contrast that appears clearly as t
he girls go from a ferocious attack on Robert, to acting as nursemaids, and tend
ing to his wound. (Which of these is the real nature of the girls? A trick quest
ion - their nature includes both of these.)
A last theme might be that of self-consciousness - especially Robert's concerns
about his vanishing dignity and the meaning of his life, as his children become
independent.
The characters in the story
Robert
We see the story through Robert's eyes, and have access to his thoughts. He seem
s very different from his sensible wife (who does act like a grown up). He is ve
ry close to his daughters who have missed greeting him on his return home only o
nce in several years. The fact that he recalls this incident so clearly shows th
e importance for him of their concern.
When the girls attack him, Robert has no means to defend himself. Here are two p
ossible reasons.
He is not able to control his daughters by force of personality.
He wishes not to use physical force for fear of harming them.
Do you agree with either reason? Can you think of any others?
What else can we say about Robert? The picture is a little ambiguous.
For example we cannot say whether Robert is realistic or not.
On the one hand we learn that he has "lost most of his illusions" and knows that
children are "honest".
But he also wants to share in his daughters' world.
When he looks for some comfort he does not turn to his wife, but to male society
- even though he sees it as boring.
Jenny and Kate
The girls in the story are Jenny (twelve) and Kate (a year older). They appear s
ometimes as individuals, but also as a pair who act together. Here are some of t
he things they do.
Individually
Jenny reads a book and asks her father to lift her onto a wall.
Kate plays on a swing.
Jenny is alarmed by the wound whereas Kate still laughs when she sees it.
Together they
attack the bitch (Snort)
fight their father
tend his wounds
Can you add to either of these lists?
We read that they adore each other "and one always came to the other's help". (W
e cannot be sure if this is information from the writer to the reader, or what R
obert is thinking. It could be either.)
The girls have some contradictory feelings. We see that growing up does not mean
becoming more sensible or like real adults. The girls' excitability and wildnes
s makes them in some ways less responsible than when they were younger. We see t
his contrast in the way they speak to their father. Look at what they call him:
"Paleface" and "Paleface Robbie" or "Daddy". What does each of these names tell
you about the girls' feelings at the time? They know that "paleface" is a name u
sed in Western films by "Red Indians" (the old name for Native Americans) - and
they are here suggesting that they are savage, like the stereotyped view of the
"Red Indians" in the cinema.
We can see this contrast in some other "before" and "after" comments.
Before they attack Robert, the girls chant: "Kill him - scalp him. Torture him".
After they have attacked him, Jenny says, "We've got to wash your bite" while Ka
te, who fetches the water for the washing, says, "Daddy - sit down - how dare yo
u get up?"
Other characters
The story also shows us Robert's wife and her friend, Jane. Unlike the girls, th
ese two adult women seem far removed from Robert's concerns and outlook. There i
s no hint of a close personal relationship. It seems (to Robert or the reader?)
that they see themselves as responsible - they "run the world", while children (
of all ages) amuse themselves.
"Old Wilkins" does not appear directly - but his description may serve as a grim
warning of what Robert may be fated to become, as he retreats into the security
of his club - it is safe but utterly boring. Yet it passes the time.
Joyce Cary's technique
The narrative viewpoint
This story is presented through Robert's eyes, but not in his voice - so we can
never be sure that what we read is always exactly what is in his mind. We see hi
s ideas mostly directly but this is not the case for the girls
Language
The story has lots of interesting kinds of language use. In an exam, you may hav
e limited time in which to comment on this. Here are a few examples. You may lik
e to select those you understand and agree with, and arrange them into order, as
a revision aid.
Word choices
Sometimes these are surprising. When we read that Jenny is reading we learn that
she does it furiously. (Line 33). Can you see why this is both odd and yet quit
e appropriate?
Elsewhere Joyce Cary uses clichés or stereotyped words. Do you think he does this
knowingly? Does he wholly agree with the ideas that these phrases normally sugge
st? For example, Robert imagines himself as an old buffer (line 149) and thinks
of Wilkins (line 158) as a crashing bore.
Simile
What effects does the writer archive with similes? Here are a few examples, for
you to comment on:
a bamboo likened to a spear (line 71)
a garden rake compared to a lance (line 89)
the girls' bones compared to birds' legs line 95)