Sunset Song: A Critical Explication

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'Sunset Song' Critical Essay

Choose a novel or short story in which a conflict between two of the main characters is central to the story.

Explain how the conflict arises and go on to discuss in detail how the writer uses it to explore an important theme.

'Sunset Song' by Lewis Grassic Gibbon is set in a place called Kinraddie, in Kincardineshire, in the first part of the twentieth century, leading up to the first world war. The main character in the novel is a young woman named Chris Guthrie. She has relationships with many other important characters, but it is both John Guthrie and Ewan Tavendale who cause the most conflict with Chris.

Throughout the novel, we are made aware of Chris' strong independance and enthusiasm towards both the land and her education. This is the first sign of conflict; an internal conflict that takes place inside Chris' head as she tries to distinguish herself from 'the English Chris' and 'the Scottish Chris': 'two Chrisses there were that fought for her heart and tormented her.' This is further mentioned in the conflict between English and Scot...

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