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Sunset Song Notes - Harvest

The start of harvest is set at the standing stones, where Chris takes notice of the strong
wind blowing - which we later discover is down to the trees being removed during the war
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She calls for Ewan, and although we assume it is her husband she is calling for, we later
discover it is actually her son, young Ewan Travendale
...


At the start of Chris’ flashback, Ewan takes her down from the moor where she had
finished off last chapter and calls for a doctor to come visit
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He reacts calmly just like expected and sees it as a natural thing to occur in a
normal way of life
...
She feels a sense of
pride as she gradually adjusts herself for adapting to the pregnancy (“she took pleasure in
being herself”)
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As Chris is relaxing with Ewan in the sun, she thinks of how perfect it is
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However, there is a sense of impending doom due to the Scottish nature of
expecting bad things to happen when everything seems to be going good
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(“but it wasn’t in the nature of
things it would last”)
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(“the crops and the earth in his
bones and blood”)
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There is gossip spreading through Blaewearie of Chris becoming pregnant before the
married which is frowned upon
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Ewan wants to defend Chris from the gossipers but she stays above the gossip like usual
and tells him to “let them think”
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This is mentioned as it is a complete polar
opposite from when he returns from basic army training as a changed man
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Chris and Ewan don’t care about the war, knowing it currently has nothing to do with them
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Neither of them have any interest whatsoever
and don’t understand the significance
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(“there were aye dafe devils fighting about
something or other”)
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Despite the horrific pain, Chris is not
crying or screaming (“women screamed, she wouldn’t”) but wills herself to keep standing
up as it is the best way to keep the pain minimal
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She is feeling rather pessimistically realistic as she thinks of how she could easily die will
giving birth to her new child: but this does not make her scared
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A baby boy called Ewan Travendale is born to the two newlyweds, and Chris feels very
strong and powerful after giving birth to him
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(“warm as a cat” “kitten” “lapping”)
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After a very short
recovery, Chris continues with her life
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The war is getting closer to them in stages
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Stage 2 - Chae enlists
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He is a man with no principles and
changes what he is based on depending on what side suits the congregation
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(“God was sending the germans for a curse and a plague on the world
because of its sins” vs
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Chae is very pro war as he believes it will even out the classes and bring equality
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They are both prepared to die for their principles, and are well thoughtout and justified
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Even educated Chris doesn’t think much of the war
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Long Rob sees straight through Gibbon and knows exactly what he is doing
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Gibbon causes trouble for the miller (similar to what he did to Will) as he starts to tell the
townspeople that Long Rob is wrong for being a conciencous objector
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Long
Rob is attacked and chased home because of this
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(“their feet deep laired in the
wet clay ground, brown and great” “they glimmered to her eyes as though they hd ceased
to be there”)
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There is also more death foreshadowing, comparing them to ghosts
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When Chae visits from the war, young Ewan instantly recognises him as being a good
person and runs straight to him
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However, when Ewan
returns from basic training, young Ewan feels the change in him straight away and
becomes scared of his father - breaking their previously close bond
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He understands there
will be no shelter from the wind and the soil will become unable to grow anything and
knows its all over
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This is the beginning of the end
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This symbolises he must die at war
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The only trees left in the town is the yews by the church, as they are symbolic of
corruption
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After the trees have all been cut down, it starts to have an effect on everyone
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(“into their bones the war had eaten” strong cancer image showing that the was has gotten very close and has started effected
the town to the point where its almost eating them alive)
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Old Pooty goes mad from the war, thinking soldiers are haunting him
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Long Rob shows another act of true heroism when he gets tortured because he won’t
leave his principles behind
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Ewan takes little notice of his son, and we start to notice a change in him
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This
sudden change in unprepared for and can be used to criticise Grassic Gibbon
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She sees a future for Scotland despite the extinction of the crofting way of
life, but accepts the end and embraces the future of the country
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Rob returns from his torture, and he returns in a motorcar, symbolic as the victor of
civilisation returns in a symbol of civilisation
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He is truly heroic and a man of his principles, willing to die for
them and not change them
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He has changed too however
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Ewan returns from basic training and he has changed drastically - a flaw in the
characterisation of Ewan
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(“it lingered at the back of her mind, dark, like a black
cat creeping at the back of her mind”)
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His sleep is now loud and unruly - much
different from his silent sleeping
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He is late and drunk coming home, another change in his personality
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(“what a bloody place”)
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He sees her as a
“tink” and ignores his young son that he had been infatuated with before he left
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(“young Ewan held back”)
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(“I don’t like him, he’s a tink that soldier!”)
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He is rough and harsh and when he gets a reaction he drops her
on to the floor
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Caledonian Antisyzygy - “hating him home, wanting him home”
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Suddenly, Chris decides she wants nothing to do with this new Ewan
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She doesn’t make his breakfast, and Ewan gets angry
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(“and
he saw her look and swore at her, but was frightened for all that”, “smiled again, cold and
secure and serene”)
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She mourns the death of the old
Ewan after he leaves
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(“so hurt and dazed, she turned to the land”, “it was wild and a tyrant, but it was
not cruel”)
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Long Rob comes and him and Chris become close over the days
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Chris represents Scotland
and Long Rob represents the old way of life
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It is far too melodramatic and over romanticised
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Chris has no shame
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Long Rob joins the army having won his battle
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Ewan dies, and does not accept his death for months
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She does not
believe he is dead until Chae comes back to speak to her
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” Chris realises that Ewan
came back to himself and realised the war had nothing to do with him, and that he was on
his way back to her and their son
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(“it was just
daft to be there
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He knew he would never get home
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As he is about to die, he remembers Chris singing at their wedding - Flowers of the Forest
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(“went into
the heart that was his forever”)

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