The Cone Gatherers
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Three critical scenes are dramatised to highlight their importance to the tragic ending of the novel. The deer hunt illustrates Calum’s sensitivity to the suffering of animals and Duror’s unhinged rage. The beech hut scene reveals the challenge to social order which the cone gatherers present to Lady Runcie Campbell. The final scene when the cone gatherers refuse to help Roderick, who is stuck up a tree, acts as a catalyst to the tragic ending: Duror’s murder of Calum and his own suicide.
Before watching the clip, explore plot and its functions, and ask students to define it. Ask them to draw a flow chart and list the key events. Students should use arrows to indicate not just the order in which things happen but also where one event motivates or causes another. Then watch the clip and encourage students to compare their notes with the clip’s summary. Do they think the clip summarises the events well? Challenge them to consider their personal interpretations of each plotline and write a short essay showing their assessment. Students could also be asked: “How does a visual interpretation of the novel (use the clip as the example) affect the images they had previously imagined?” Encourage group discussion.
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