Treacle Walker Essay Questions

What is the impact of slang, riddles, wordplay, and other languages such as obsolete Scottish and regional British vernacular or Latin within the text? How do these formal choices impact the reader's experience and relationship to the text?

Treacle Walker's speech is riddled with various plays on words and takes many words from other languages. Although it is theoretically possible to look every one of these words up and try to understand their precise meaning, it is also impractical to do so and continue reading smoothly. What Garner pushes the reader to do is to let go of their expectations—to let go of trying to understand every single detail, and instead, read the novel and Treacle Walker's speech as not-always-logical, accepting its absurdity. Much like Joe, who frequently cannot understand what Treacle Walker means, the reader parallels him in his confusion and must learn to accept the unknown. If the reader does choose to look up the references, they will also learn that the novel explores the various facets of British identity, especially details that may be lost on readers unfamiliar with Britain's history.

The novel's epigraph is a quote from physicist Carlo Rovelli: "Time is ignorance." How does this quote relate to Treacle Walker's central themes?

Treacle Walker expresses frustration with the passage of time and mirrors the central message behind Rovelli's quote when he states that the present is always in the past: that the second we become aware of time passing, it has passed us by. His observation emphasizes how potentially distracting time, and an awareness of it, can be from the present. If we spend all of our time noticing time, we will never be able to exist in the present. We will not be able to understand the world around us and instead will remain ignorant of it because we continue to exist in the passing moment. At the end, Treacle Walker repeats this frustration, stating that he wishes to no longer "hear the beat of Time" so that he can be free. To be free of time will allow him to live totally in the moment.

Joe's parents never make an appearance in the novel. Is this absence important? How does it impact the overall novel?

Joe's parents' absence is never explained, which complicates the novel's investment in establishing a realist setting. It would be unrealistic for a child Joe's age to live alone, and yet, his living situation is barely explained outside of the fact that he lives in a house near Big Meadow and watches a train go by every day. Although there are other scenes that appear realistic, such as when Joe visits the optometrist, the fact that his parents are absent makes the novel seem more like an allegory or folktale, where parents are often absent or unexplained. A magical realist story such as this one forces us to suspend our beliefs about what reality should be, and the fact that Joe appears to live alone is just one of the elements. It also means that Treacle Walker becomes more of a helper figure for Joe, since Joe appears to have no other guidance.

Treacle Walker is one of Alan Garner's shortest books. How does its length impact its content? How does it impact the reader? What kind of assumptions might the reader have to make, given the sparse detail?

By stripping away extra details from Treacle Walker, Garner allows the reader to face its themes and ambiguity without distractions like an overly complicated plot or additional characters. Instead, each moment of dialogue is important and worth considering, since there's little else to help the reader reach a deeper understanding of the text. Additionally, the short form mimics fables or folktales, which tend to be shorter.

What are some of the folklore elements depicted in Treacle Walker? How do these elements depart from typical folklore tropes, and how do they replicate them?

All of the characters in Treacle Walker mirror a character type from folklore and mythology. Although Joe may not seem like it, many of his character traits and his storyline replicate the typical "hero's journey" story. He undertakes journeys away from his home, faces obstacles, and undergoes a transformation. Alongside Joe, Treacle Walker is similar to the "helper" figure in folklore; he assists Joe on his journey and gives him advice, even though Joe may initially not understand this advice and even resists it. He also is similar to the "dispatcher" figure, who gives the hero his quest. Treacle Walker relays Joe's quest when he gives him the magical objects and pushes him to see alternate realities. Thin Amren could also be interpreted as a helper figure, since he helps Joe understand the "glamourie."