Tyres

By Adam Thorpe
(2000)

Mike S and Brandon S

Biography
Adam Thorpe
•Adam was born in Paris in 1956
•He grew up in India, Cameroon and England, however now lives in France.
•It is said that his works are often inspired by the different surroundings that
he has lived in.
•His writing is often based about war or in times of war, particularly World War 2.
• He wrote
•In 1998 a novel called “Pieces of light”, a story based on the second world war.
•In 2001 a novel about a young boy wishing to write about WW1 and
its aftermath effects
•In 2005 a novel set in a German museum during WW2
•Similarly he bases some of his stories on tales of his own family, such as his
Grandmother who escapes from the Germans to quietly and peacefully die under
a tree in England

See here for more info on Adam:

http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth95
 Themes
The determination/pride for your work
and it’s potential to consume lives.
• “One must never fall short of
the highest standards”
• “If you fall short- ‘cutting corners’
and grow sloppy- and give a man
an inner tube that you believe
yourself is passable you might
send that man to his death”.
Both the Father and son believe
that their job is of upmost
importance and take it very
seriously. However the son does
sometimes slack off-
“If I let my attention wander , or felt
too lazy to triple check pressure.”
Love/ human relationships and
the danger of.
• “I was in love if there is such
a thing”
• “I was left gazing after her”
He often brings her up and describes
her vividly compared to his
father and other characters.
She is the cause of distraction to his
work.
• Someone who, if suddenly no
longer there, can leave a hole in
your heart, and a feeling of
doom until the moment he or
she
reappears.”
 Themes
Showing his care for her.
 Themes
Rebellion against oppression Death and its aftermath
(Resistance)/ price paid for
freedom
He describes the moment when the
Basically, the girl is the price paid car crashes as-
by the boy.
• “The beginning of winter”
Through his act of rebellion, he kills
Using “Winter” to effectively explain
what he wished to protect in
how he feels, and how sad he is.
the first place.
• “No sons”- “staying unmarried”
• “I leave fresh flowers every year”
Showing that he is unable to let go his
• Replacing them with plastic
loss.
flowers, “To be honest, no one
knows the difference, shooting past
as they do these days”
 Character
Father
• The father is a symbol of hard
work and determination.
• He is a role model to his son in the
way that he shows him how to
take pride in his work.
Son (Narrator)
• The son is a symbol of the slipping
standards of workers today. He is
described to be “lazy” at times and
is distracted easily by the girl.
• He is also a symbol of how
men destroy the things they
love.
 Character
Cécile
• She symbolizes desire,
temptation and is a distraction to
the young boy.
• Although she does not say much
in the story, she is very important
in terms of the plot.
German officer
• He is a figure head of the
German forces.
• He is described as “looming” and
has a threatening feel about
him.
• He symbolizes the oppression
of the German forces.
• “The enemy”
 Language Techniques
The son metaphorically compares things to his work with tyres.
Son: “As if someone had taken a pump to my mouth and overdone the pedal”
This shows his genuine care about his work and that it is all he knows.

Son: “For me though, it was the beginning of winter, not the end”.
The use of winter, as mentioned before, is a metaphor for his feelings of sadness and
loneliness. It is also used to create imagery, to show that his world is now ‘cold’.
These techniques are used to create sympathy for the character and try help us
connect with him further.

Father: “I will be the old fellow who stands watching the world go by and getting in
your hair, and proving, at 90, what a damn good grip I still have at the expense of
your clients knuckles”
“Watching the world” is used because the tyre business is basically the world to
them as it is all that they care about and know so well.
This line is repeated almost exactly at the end of the story because it actually
happens. This shows the strong will and determination of the father
 Structure
Chronological order.
Starts at his birth and ends when he is an old man.
At the end, the story jumps into the future. This is used to show that the pain
of his loss still effects him years after the accident.
It also shows his care for her “I leave fresh flowers every year”.

Cyclic structure.
The son starts helping his father in the tyre yard at a young age, “I started
helping my father as soon as I could stand upright, just as he helped his
father.” and then later at the end, shows the son working with the father
getting in his way and watching him, as the son did when he was young.
This shows a role switch which is used to show that the father cannot let go of the
job as it is all he knows, and shows that the son should be happy to have his
dream job, but isn't because of his lost love.