T Y R E S

BY ADAM THORPE

Summary

• 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 from the village bridge. Set against this is the gradually developing love affair between the young 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 shows how long that guilt and fidelity has lasted.

• In this story, Thorpe sets ordinariness – 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.

Maquis

• The Maquis ( French pronunciation: [maki]) were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France 's Service du travail obligatoire (STO) to provide forced labour for Germany. In an effort to escape capture and deportation to Germany, what had started as a loose groups of individuals became increasingly organised; initially fighting only to remain free, these bands eventually became active resistance groups.

• • Most maquisards operated in the mountainous areas of Brittany and southern France, especially in the Alps and in Limousin. They relied on guerrilla tactics to harass the Milice and German occupation troops. The Maquis also aided the escape of downed Allied airmen, Jews and others pursued by the Vichy and German authorities. Maquisards usually relied on some degree of sympathy or cooperation from the local populace. In March 1944, the German Army began a terror campaign throughout France. This included reprisals against civilians living in areas where the French Resistance was active. The Maquisards were later to take their revenge in the

épuration sauvage

that took place after the war's end.

Most of the Maquis cells — like the Maquis du Limousin or the Maquis du Vercors- took names after the area they were operating in. The size of these cells varied from tens to thousands of men and women.

• • • • • • • • • • •

VOCABULARY

CURE –French rural priest MAS- old farm house MAQUIS – thicket or bush FILS –sons GENDAREMERIE – French Police BONJOUR –good day BONSOIR –good evening LES ALLEMAND SONT CORRECTS –The Germans are correct.

Mairie –mayor Conseil Municipal –Municipal Council Patois –regional dialect

Questions:

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

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?

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 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.” 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?

6 p402 What does Raoul do to bring the girl closer to him? How does his father react?

7 Describe Andre’s feelings about religion and about the Petain government. P403 and elsewhere.

8 Finally the romance with Cecile Viala is in the open with Raoul’s family [p403/404 ] How would you describe their feelings for each other?

9 p405 What has prompted Raoul to sabotage the Gestapo officer’s inner tube?

10 What is the faint hope Raoul has for Cecile as she accepts the ride in the car?

11 The story ends with a reluctant mood to shift with the times. Explain how this is true.

Extension

Wider reading

This story comes from Adam

Shifts

. His novel

Ulverton

Thorpe’s short story collection is a collection of very different narratives which piece together the long history of an English village.

Compare with

To Da-duh, In Memoriam The Moving Finger

By Paule Marshall by Edith Wharton

The Taste of Watermelon

by Borden Deal

Online

Biographical information and a review of Adam at: Thorpe’s work http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth95