Hawksmoor

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Hawksmoor - There are many puzzling features in this novel - Discuss

three in detail, looking at the way they are communicated.

'Hawksmoor' as a novel is on the whole, puzzling. As it is a detective

story, Peter Ackroyd uses different techniques of involving the reader

in his plot so that even if the beginning is not fully understood, we

have to go on reading it just to see what happens next. These

different features, for example, the juxtaposition of the time periods

between the chapters; the post-modernistic aspects of Ackroyd's

writing; and the conflicts between reality and fiction all make the

novel puzzling.

Time in this novel is very confused, with two time periods (the modern

day and the eighteenth century) being juxtaposed in alternate chapters

throughout the novel. The theme of time is continued on this premise

and there are many references to time by the characters themselves.

For example at one point, Nicolas Dyer says:

"..how do we conclude what time is our own."

Nicolas Hawksmoor also asks:

" 'Well, Walter, what do you make of that timing?'

'It's impossible, sir.'

'Nothing is impossible. The impossible does not exist'"

Not only are there direct referrals to time, like this but also there

are tenuous links and suggestions to it as a dominant theme. For

example, Hawksmoor is looking for the zero meridian when he is in

Greenwich and there are many others. The changes in time are

highlighted by the interesting use of language for the chapters

narrated by Nick Dyer. Many spellings are different from modern

English, for example, corpse is spelt 'corse'. Ackroyd also uses

capital letters for nouns in these chapters. The eighteenth century

writing is a constant reminder to the reader of which time period is

being read about and is particularly prominent when the chapter and

therefore the time period changes. Furthermore, it means that the

reader has to concentrate more and because of the different formation

of sentences it is difficult for the reader to follow at times, which

is consistent with the detective story theme. Ackroyd wants the reader

to be actively involved in the plot and they need to pick up on any

small threads that he drops.

As the novel progresses, there is an increasing confusion with time,

so much so that at points it seems barley present. Ackroyd highlights

this with the abundance of flashbacks that both the main characters

have and because of this the time is changing not only between the

chapters but also within them. Dyer has many flashbacks to his past

and they often come without warning or relevance to what was

previously talked about.

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