Tyres Adam Thorpe (1956-)

The narrative of Tyres is set against the tension of German-occupied France during the Second World War, where relationships are strained, little can be openly communicated and suspicion is rife. The brutality of war suddenly intervenes in the middle of the story with the killing of the suspected members of the French Resistance movement (the Maquis) and the villagers forced to view the bodies, their ‘guts…literally looped and dripping almost to the floor’, before the hanging of the ringleader nicknamed Petit Ours from the village bridge. Set against this is the gradually developing love affair between the young 17 year old lad learning to maintain vehicles in his father’s garage and the girl who cycles past each day. The young man’s narration leads the reader gradually to his final act of involvement with the Resistance against the Germans and its effects; ill-luck seems to be the cause of guilt, and the final revelation of the age of the narrator, 44, shows how long that guilt and fidelity has lasted. In this story, Thorpe sets ordinariness such as working on cars, changing tyres, a developing relationship against extraordinariness: the Second World War and German occupation, to create a small poignant story of war.

Questions:

1 pp396/397. Sum up his boyhood thoughts, opinions and feelings.

Conclusion – the narrator is proud of his family business, optimistic and looks up to his father, he states that his ‘father could roll the tyres like I once saw in a circus that came to the village” – father is his role model. “My father would tell me when I was old enough how one must never fall short of the highest standards” – looks up to his father / respect. Average boy / working for his dad in the family business, since he was a baby – his mother died when he was young –“my mother’s were on her deathbed, in the room smelling of camphor and candles”.. Business passes down through the family, “that sign was painted in 1942, when I was seventeen. I was very proud”.

2 What attitude does the father, Monsieur Andre Paulhan, have towards the Germans, the Resistance and to his son’s (Raoul) involvement in the war and resistance? “The odd thing is, he hated the Germans – they had, after all, given him his limp in ‘17”. “And the itch would come back with heat” – doing business – past hate coming back. “He served then and pretended he didn’t know”… “Came with the war, when the road traffic died away to near silence, and everyone went hungry”. Germans not only brought warfare, but also lack of supply and hunger during 1940’s – context. “My skin is from my mother’s side, my mother had red hair, which claimed was from German mercenaries … what rubbish people talk!” – hatred of Germans, shameful to be one – denial / guilt. “Those bastards are back in Berlin” (father) “things became more and more difficult” “Germans never respected our hours”. Historical context – Germany /France, rival countries – WW1 and WW2.

3 Describe his first meeting and emotions with the young girl when Raoul was 14/15 in 1940 and three years later at 17/18. P399/400 Raoul’s meeting was one of love at first sight. Their first meeting was a very typical awkward, teenager-like experience, “and (both being shy, I suppose)”, it is made clear to us here that both of them are quite new to the dating game. There is a contrast between the first and the second meetings. The second being where he made his initial breakthrough, ‘making her laugh’. This relates to the overall theme of contrasts of significance, as even in such a war-torn time people can find love.

4 How do these lines reflect the Raoul’s feelings at the end of the story: “Someone who, if suddenly no longer there, can leave a hole in your heart, and a feeling of doom until the moment he or she reappears.” She never reappears, therefore, he never marries as he still has “a feeling of doom until the moment …she reappears”. He can still not get over her. Feeling guilt as he had played a part in her death, therefore he stays “unmarried”. The fact that he stays “unmarried” shows the depth of feeling he felt for the girl, his first love, leaving “fresh flowers every year, on the anniversary”. First person subjective point of view. Rebellious / Tragedy / conflict / regret. Themes of guilt, love, patriotism. “I tried – I still try – to explain her presence”, he feels guilt over what happens and without any closure he cannot let it go. “I leave fresh flowers every year on the anniversary”..”staying unmarried”.

5 p401 How involved in the Resistance does Raoul think that the young girl and his father are? What does the threat: “Try a nail or two” imply about the father?

“it never occurred to me that she might be working for the other side: that possibility might have been suggested by my feigned ignorance, but that was an automatic reflex.”

6 p402 What does Raoul do to bring the girl closer to him? How does his father react? On the surface, the boy/Raoul, pours cement and earth into the pot hole, in order to catch the girls’ attention. This nearly back fires as the girl makes a comment about the law, “you’ve no right to do that”, “Les Allemands …..” But this was a joke! “She giggled…” However, his father is suspicious of their relationship –“eyed me suspiciously” but doesn’t care as he has a lot on his mind – French Resistance approaching him “felt cornered”. Overall, this was a start of Raoul’s relationship with the girl by becoming more intimate. Evidence = “wipe that bloody grin off your face”. Hints to the father’s wife, not being alive anymore. Historical context – many men/women became widowers /widows due to the war. The pot hole (used by Raoul to meet Cecile) was caused by the war, but ironically ends up being the thing that ends their relationship. The war both started and ended their love.

7 Describe Andre’s feelings about religion and about the Petain government. P403 and elsewhere. “My father disliked Catholics with a two hundred year old force, flowing in his veins”, Andre hates Catholics and is against the Jews being killed by the Germans. “He had no time for Petain”. “He put all his eggs in the basket of progress” He is more progressive, a Protestant and is tolerant of Jews, he “didn’t even mind” the Jews.

8 Finally the romance with Cecile Viala is in the open with Raoul’s familyp403/404 How would you describe their feelings for each other? Raoul and Cecile are in love with each other and they are very innocent and shy, having admired each other from afar for many years, but never really doing anything about it until now. He “was happy to be teased” about her because he really likes her showing no sense of embarrassment… even after admiring each other for three years, he finally makes his “first secret assignation” with the one he “adored” make him feel “giddy” and even a “little sick”. Their romance makes their own lives better and happier, despite the German occupation in France. Raoul wants to protect and “warn Cecile” against the ‘German armoured cars” that he possibly couldn’t fight against. It is shown that it is true love, as he notices every little detail of their relationship when her hand moved “in his light hold, like a little rabbit” which made him think he was “about to explode”. This is reinforced by how he stayed faithful to her his whole life “staying unmarried”. Overall, their relationship was very innocent and meant a lot to him, as it helped him escape the horrors of WW2 which is why he hung onto this love for the rest of his life.

9 p405 What has prompted Raoul to sabotage the Gestapo officer’s inner tube? Raoul sabotaged Gestapo officer’s inner tube knowing he was a German. Also, early in the story Raoul heard that the major thanked the German “for keeping public order and so forth” by killing Frenchmen. Raoul had seen the dead men and realised that one of them was his age, this triggered Raoul to sabotage the German Gestapo officer’s inner tyre tube. Tyres are regularly personified throughout the story, therefore when Raoul sabotages Gestapo officer’s inner tube he and the readers are prepared for the resultant killing of a person/ soul – it is expected that the burst tyre will kill the German, but it is by contrast, highly shocking and unexpected for Cecile to also be the victim. 10 What is the faint hope Raoul has for Cecile as she accepts the ride in the car? Raoul’s faint hope was that Cecile was foced into the German’s vehicle, this way it wouldn’t be his fault for her death. Raoul explains ‘a kind of terrible chill, that made [his] heart slow’, when he witnesses Cecile ‘in conversation with the officer’, because his tyres are in a dangerous state.

11 The story ends with a reluctant mood to shift with the times. Explain how this is true. Because the love of his life was taken from him, he loses all passion for a job he loved, despite the boom in business. Context – so much destroyed by the Germans that people are stuck reminiscing about what they’ve lost rather than moving on. Effects of the war. In the beginning his father also has scars from WW1 (foreshadowing), war left him permanently scarred, emotionally both in love and what he saw and experienced. Never goes back to ‘being rosy’ as it was supposedly at the beginning. Still loves Cecile Stays at the tyre shop –doesn’t move away or on. Mood is sombre / reluctant to move on as he still likes Cecile. Continues to place flowers on the road for her, even though the terrible scorch marks have been long washed away by the rain (metaphor for time eroding away at the pain of the experience – narrators refusal to forget. He stays in the past even though time moves on around him. Ironically, he feels closer to Cecile now than in the beginning. Doesn’t care about the job anymore “something went out of the job when it all went tubeless, to my mind” – metaphor extended from the beginning of the story. Business is much better than at the beginning of the story.