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Respecting and trusting young people

To be as brave as James Bond

I know this has nothing to do with our course - or does it? Any way, I just want to share this article with you from today's Aftonbladet...

 

Silverfin – simply good old entertainment?

Charlie Higson deserves credit for making Silverfin (2005) appealing to readers and Bond fans of all ages. Placed in 1933, this hero narrative where thirteen year young Bond saves the world in a straightforward heroic quest, is full of action and ingredients such as suspense, a bold villain, elaborate plans for world domination, technology, life and death situations, violence, capture and escape, supporting friends from different backgrounds, a monster with good intentions, a detective, a mad scientist/professor, a housekeeper, plenty of cliffhangers, and a classic plot ending, leaving me as a reader satisfied. Just as the books and the films with Adult Bond, first written during the cold war of the 1950s, Silverfin has a healthy dose of good humour and self distance. A Bond experience is to suspend your knowledge of the real world and go along for the ride. It is fiction, our hero is more than capable, even at this young age, and the reader knows he lives on in sequel books. The aim is to entertain, revive nostalgia of a lost time, sell books and make money.  

Higson’s Bond is a round character and a modern boy, who preferably eats multicultural food, speaks several languages, runs, swims and who learns to dive, drive and fish. His stamina stops him from giving up. His character gradually develops, as he turns tougher and challenges his abilities. But he also learns of the importance of his family (aunt, uncle, dead parents) and heritage. Dealing with uncle Max’s dying and death, he starts taking his footsteps to become a spy and work for MI6 and also to drive his Aston Martin. Though deprecatory and feeling intimidated by Wilder at first, he watches her from a distance and learns that her strengths is needed by him in his pursuit to destroy the lab. Getting out he doesn’t walk away, but returns and trusts George, who in spite of fear eventually takes side against his father. Red Kelly is a good guy though he has a background of stealing, so Bond realizes not to judge people by first impression or from their background. Most of the side characters are round characters with many qualities and many develop throughout the story.

Silverfin is full of intertextuality and is flirting vividly with the clichés of the genre and British Literature for Children and Youths. The most obvious flirtation is to Rowlings’s Harry Potter books. The initial setting in Eton with details of school life (the school year, the school itself, school activities, teachers,  lessons,  sport days) make/s that pretty inevitable. Later in the remote Scottish moors our hero is supported by Wilder and Red and form a literary trio (just as Harry has Hermione and Ron). But in the climax they stand back and instead George steps in (just as Harry has different helpers in the different books). Lord Hellebore (as Lord Voldemort) is the villain, who marks James with a scar. Not to mention the last chapter, there James wakes up in his bed after passing out and hardly survived saving the world. The voice in James’s head while diving out through the underwater tunnel, coming from the dying uncle Max (and not father as in Harry’s case), the eels (and the basilisk), the castle by a lake and its surrounding landscape, just as the importance of water and breathing under water are other resemblances.   

Planting seeds to future happenings Higson follows the Bond formula. In an interview he said he “tried all along to make them proper books, as engrossing and serious as any adult books. I wanted to create a quality product with a long shelf life. I wanted depth. I wanted to have the readers lose themselves in this world. I don’t patronise the kids and I try to put in as many Bondian elements as I am able without it becoming cheesy. … as much an adventure for the reader as it is for Bond … I have tried to follow Fleming’s rules as much as possible. Do proper research, create a convincing background, write about things you are passionate about, create a believable world with authentic detail and that gives you the leeway to go off into more fantastic areas without losing the reader”.  SilverFin begins with a similar opening to Casino Royale. Fleming writes "The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning". Higson writes "The smell and noise and confusion of a hallway full of schoolboys can be quite awful at twenty past seven in the morning". At the circus the announcer presents "The Mighty Donovan", who is Donovan "Red" Grant's father, referenced in From Russia, with Love. While hunting Lord Hellebore tells George he is a true Red Indian. This reference of Fleming's World War II experiences, also appears in Casino Royale.

The women in the story are few, but they are strong and independent characters with modern values. (Aunt Charmian drives an identical Bentley to one Bond drives in Casino Royale and in subsequent books). The US edition of the book was edited to remove descriptions that were considered too racy for young readers eg a description of  Wilder 's legs during a tussle with Bond. In aspect of gender students could write back the story and change gender of the hero, or find differences from the book of how women were regarded at the time and how it was changing even then. Teaching students how to think, instead of what to think.

In my opinion the class, gender and moral values of Eton are very much a cultural reproduction of what part of the British society stands for. Where else but Eton could Bond have attended school? After all "No other school can claim to have sent forth such a cohort of distinguished figures to make their mark on the world"(Nevill). Tony Little, the present Head Master of Eton College writes at their website “Our primary aim is to encourage each Etonian to be a self-confident, inquiring, tolerant, positive young man, a well-rounded character with an independent mind, an individual who respects the differences of others. By the time he leaves the school, we want each boy to have that true sense of self-worth which will enable him to stand up for himself and for a purpose greater than himself, and, in doing so, to be of value to society”. (retrieved 20121015).

I simply like clever good old entertainment! / Helena

Not even James Bond would make it without family and friends.

Even though James Bond, already in SilverFin, is an amazing character himself he wouldn’t become this great spy if it wasn’t for family and friends.

At a very young age he loses his parents in a tragic accident. His mother seems to be the one he was closest to while his father was a bit more absent, not being able to settle down. It’s like it’s just the way it’s supposed to be that his mother is taking care of him while his father is doing what he likes, going off on adventures, being a man.

When the parents are tragically killed in the accident Aunt Charmian (James’ father’s sister) is the one who steps in to take care of him, even though there is an Uncle Max (James’ father’s brother). Once again it is the woman who takes care of the child. Luckily Aunt Charmian is a caring woman, who really loves James. But she is also a woman who can take care of herself. She lives on her own, drives a car and doesn’t depend upon anyone else. When James later on gets into trouble at Lord Hellebore’s castle, Aunt Charmian is there to pick him up and bring him home. She is certainly a woman of actions, a modern woman and not one of these soft ladies that you might think would fit into the story at this time. She shows James that women can.

Later in the book James gets to spend more time with his Uncle Max, who unfortunately is dying at this point. You can tell that they are very fond of each other and they would both have enjoyed having more time together. But Uncle Max takes the opportunity to teach James to drive a car, “the car”, and tells him about his life as a spy during the war. How he managed to escape and survive. To never give up and to see and seize the opportunity. To be a “real” man. And of course all this come in handy when James is trapped at Lord Hellebore’s.

Red Kelly, who he first meets at the train station, is a boy with quite the opposite life compared to James. But in spite of that they both learn from each other and have to look after each other. The one wouldn’t manage without the other in the case with SilverFin. You get the feeling that they would like to keep in touch, but at the same time it’s like they both know that that won’t happen.

Wilder Lawless is a girl that will not be dismissed. She, as well as Aunt Charmian, is quite capable of taking care of herself. When James first saw her, at the circus, it was her eyes that caught him. When she later on wants to help out at Lord Hellebore’s she won’t listen to James talk about she being a girl, danger and so on. She is also involved in helping James when he is being chased by Lord Hellebore. Yet another capable woman.

So as you can see they all helped James to survive his first adventure. He wouldn’t have made it without any of them.

Silverfin - a new James Bond?

The new Bond film premiers this weekend so James Bond is a character you meet everyday on posters, commercial and on TV. The question is - can you take this character change him to suit for young adults, as in Silverfin?

The original Bond is a womanizing man with hardly any feelings and of course with a license to kill. If you focus on the earlier films this is even more accentuated for example he has many women, all portrayed as sex objects, not that intelligent. In the more recent Bond movies he is a bit more sensitive and there are less women and they help him more with his task. But in the end he is always the hero that rescues the day.

Is he any different as young Bond in Silverfin? Here we meet a younger Bond. He is bit nicer and a bit more emotional. Of course he is the hero, but he doesn’t always win everything – for example in the cup. In the story you learn a bit about his past and you realize that what has happened to his parents will affect him in the future.

He is nice to the ones who are in need of help or being bullied by others. He is scared of Lord Hellebore even though he stands up to him when he hits him. He tries to avoid confrontations for example with Greg, but in the end you can see that he has evolved. When they try to scare him he is no longer afraid.

The women hardly exist in young Bond’s life. There are two small characters – Wilder Lawless and Aunt Charmian, in some way strong and independent women but very anonymous. Compared to other Bond stories the women actually rescue him. But of course first after he has become the hero, the hero that rescues the world.  

Has Bond really changed? -  I some ways – yes, but in some ways – not. The author has modernised him as a person to be more sensitive. The women help to rescue him not just the other way around. But we still don’t get to know the women at all. On the other hand we don’t really get to know anyone except for James Bond.

This is the first story in a series. I believe that this is just the beginning that lay the ground to young James Bond’s coming perfection. In Silverfin he becomes a great runner, he learns how to fight and he is injected with something that makes him into a super solider. In some ways Ian Fleming’s James Bond is not far away.

Maria Forsberg

Silverfin vs "Ondskan"

Silverfin as well as "Ondskan" by Jan Guillou are examples of stories about young males need for dominance.  In both novels the main characters, James and Erik, have many similarities, as do their context - the expensive upper class boy schools. The hierarchy demands for submissive actions. Winning over someone higher up in the hierarchy means trouble. But neither James nor Erik can hold their talents back ( for example in sports where they both excel).

Both novels; women are not portrayed the same way as men. They are only referred to when it comes to their relationship to the main male characters, i. e. the  prolonging of  the presentation of the male perspective.

The Bechdel test decides whether the media is gender neutral or not and  is made with the cinematic medium in mind, but can easily be applied in literature as well. It is used to raise the gender perspective in a simple yet very effective way.
The Bechdel test consists in three criterias:

1.      It has to have at least two (named) women in it.

2.      They talk to each other.

3.      The conversation does not involve men.

Both Silverfin and “Ondskan” fail the test. Hence none of them would be a good choice in a classroom with both boys and girls.

I think “Ondskan” is a better choice in a gender perspective since it questions the macho norm and shows examples of emotional and philosophical values.  Individuals lower in hierarchy are focused upon and their suffering due to subordination is obvious.

In contrast, Silverfin projects the glamourous side of reaching the top of the pyramidial structure. Loosers are out of interest, winners take it all.

Ian Fleming versus Charles Higson

Ian Fleming versus Charles Higson

I’ve focused on the similar parts between Ian Fleming’s and Charles Higson’s James Bond. By knowing a lot about the adult James Bond I have found and noticed some parallels.

Silverfin is written in three parts. In the beginning there is a prologue where you can follow a young boy who wants to go fishing at Loch Silverfin. He founds a big fence, he dig under it and run towards the water.  There an eel-like man saves him. The prologue is really a cliff-hanger… what’s happen to the boy? In Ian Fleming’s books James Bond always has a mission. Here you have Higson’s coming mission to young Mr. Bond.

The first part we can follow James Bond’s start at Eton College. He doesn’t know much about the world outside. James Bond is a handsome, gently and honest boy who arrives to Eton. What about his entrance at Eton:

-What’s your name boy?

-Bond, James Bond.

Does it sound familiar? There he meets George Hellebore, son to Lord Hellebore who had worked together with James’ father during the war. Lord Hellebore and his son, embodies the image of Americans. They are white, strong, well-educated and have gleaming white teeth. James has problems with George and his friends, he can’t put any trust in them and they are not honest. In Ian Fleming’s books there are always some villains James Bond has to fight against. Who are they and can some of them be civilized? Higson’s character must of course do the same…to fight against enemies.

In part two James Bond has Easter break and travels to Scotland by train. There he gets to know “Red” Kelly who is cousin to Alfie, the missing boy from the prologue. At the station, his aunt Charmain is picking up him and they go for visiting Uncle Max. His aunt seems to be a modern woman by her behaving in the novel. Uncle Max teaches young Bond how to drive a car. Can we say here starts Mr. Bond’s fascination of cars? What car are aunt Charmain and Uncle Max driving? What a coincidence! The same as in Ian Fleming’s books: a Bentley and a Bamford & Martin (later Aston Martin). Wilder Lawless (what a name of a girl) comes like a riding heroine on her horse called Martini (shaken not stirred, Mr. Bond’s favorite drink) There’s always some woman who is giving Mr. Bond a helping hand.

Finally part three James and Red are trying to get into to the castle. This part has a lot of action. Lord Hellebore tries to kill them and finally ended this part with a fight between him and his eel-like brother. Both of them are killed-mission closed.

Margery Hourihan points out the details in hero stories often are the same. Nothing has changes through the years. Why is it so? Perhaps it’s time to start analyzing this genre much more, or as Margery Horihan writes in her article: “it’s time to tell knew stories and read the old ones differently.”