The image of the town of Wall
The novel is abundant in images that serve the purpose of placing a reader in the atmosphere of the town with long history. The town of Wall is a place with six hundred years behind. It stands “on a high jut of granite amidst a small forest woodland. The houses of Wall are square and old, built of grey stone, with dark slate roofs and high chimneys”. The image of the houses provides the message that the place is rather dull, and no bright colors are observed, beside it might be concluded that the place is overpopulated as “taking advantage of every inch of space on the rock, the houses lean into each other, are built one upon the next, with here and there a bush or tree growing out of the side of a building”. The image of the town of Wall is the introductory one into the world of its inhabitants.
Dunstan Thorn
Dunstan Thorn’s description is given for a better visualization of the character. He is “eighteen, and not a romantic”. Such a presentation of the facts sounds ironic, and assumes that Dunstan is not like everyone else, as a common idea that young people are romantic does not work on him. “He had nut-brown hair, and nut-brown eyes, and nut-brown freckles” – the used parallel construction acquires a negative perception of Dunstan appearance, and further statement that “he dreamed of leaving the village of Wall and all its unpredictable charm, and going to London, or Edinburgh, or Dublin” proves that he is not happy here. Only dreams of a better life can “illuminate his face from within”. The image of Dunstan provides an insight into his character.
The fair
The image of the fair is introduced by statement that “it was chilly that April, with the awkward changeability of English spring”. The weather and nature felt that something was about to happen.
The gap in the wall
The image of the gap in the wall is one of the central images of the story. Its contradictory appearance produces a feeling of mystery and secrecy. “Through the gap in the wall can be seen a large green meadow; beyond the meadow, a stream; and beyond the stream there are trees. From time to time shapes and figures can be seen, amongst the trees, in the distance. Huge shapes and odd shapes and small, glimmering things which flash and glitter and are gone”. But Although it is perfectly good meadow-land, “none of the villagers has ever grazed animals on the meadow on the other side of the wall. Nor have they used it for growing crops”. The image of the gap shows that there is something wrong with it anyway, and the fact that it is guarded all the time adds mystical meaning.
