The Reservoir Analysis

The narrative of Janet Frame has a binary perspective, that of children and parents. The narrator's gender is not disclosed, but from the hint of the dress code, she is a young explorative girl who wants to understand the world around her. The reader concludes that the narrator is a young girl because, at some point, she expresses concern about the dangers of the barbed wire. After all, it can tear her skirts. Similarly, the genders of the narrator's friends are not disclosed, but looking at their games of imitating wives, the reader assumes that most of them are girls.

The novel is full of curiosity curious because the narrator and her friends have many unanswered questions about nature and the environment around them. Parents always remind their children of the dangers of going past particular points such as the reservoir and other places. However, the children are not given any explanation for why they should not go to particular places, which increases their curiosity and the desire to break the rules and explore for themselves to discover what is hidden from them. The village adults always remind the children of the significance of obeying orders because the consequences of disobedience are calamitous. The narrator is disgusted when she learns that children are compared to animals because both must follow the instructions of the adults to survive. According to the narrator, it is disrespectful for children to be compared to animals.

One of the places that the children are strictly restricted from visiting is the reservoir. The reader learns that the novel is set in the mid-20th century because the reservoir is new and has advanced technology in water treatment. These new developments in water treatment are advancing to rural areas. Paradoxically, the parents in the narrator's village are scared of this new technology, and they warn their children never to get closer to the reservoir because they do not know how it works. Consequently, the parents’ oddity about the reservoir is not different from that of the children. However, the difference is that children want to discover for themselves. One of the parents' gauss is that the reservoir is too deep, and their children can drown if they go closer.

Frame shows the children’s innocence and inquisitiveness when the narrator and her friends decide the break rules and explores the reservoir. The children carefully follow the creek, which leads them to the reservoir, and they are shocked to learn its perceived dangers are a fantasy from their parents. Instead, the children are happy to see how the water treatment takes place. The children do not see any dangers; instead, the place is cool and safe. When the children get back, they do not tell their parents about their exploration, but they now know that the reservoir is not a dangerous place. Consequently, the narrator and her friends are willing to take risks to explore nature and the world around them, and they can only do that when they go against their parents' orders.