English essay

• The Telegram


  A short story by Iain Crichton Smith
• Opening paragraph

  • Set on an island in the Scottish Hebrides during World War Two
  • Focuses on two women - one fat and one thin - who await the delivery of a telegram by a church elder, believing that its contents will announce the death of one of their sons
  • Explores the themes of the harsh reality of island life and the destructive impact of war, particularly on parents
• Fat woman


  The more interesting of the two women
• Fat woman


  • Introduced in the opening paragraph
  • Contrasted with the thin woman throughout the story
  • Described as a "fat domestic bird" while the thin woman is described as "like a buzzard"
  • Comfortable in her environment, slightly lazy and gets all she needs from the island
  • Prides herself on being "native"
  • Very gossipy and passes critical judgment on many islanders
  • Lacks compassion and is a rather spiteful character
  • Resentful of the thin woman's aspirations and education
  • Capable of real and deep emotion, especially the love for her son
• Thin woman


  • An "incomer" who has only lived in the village for thirty years
  • Doesn't engage in gossip like the fat woman
  • Sends her son to university, which the fat woman is angry about
• Fat woman experiences empathy

  • When the thin woman puts an arm around her as she panics, described as "like first love"
  • Realizes how difficult the thin woman's life has been and feels a wave of guilt
• The fat woman's sympathy and appreciation for the thin woman doesn't survive the point when the danger has passed
• The story ends leaving the reader perhaps a little disappointed that the fat woman doesn't say anything nice to the thin woman, even though she wanted to
• The story suggests that the fat woman's experiences may change her and along with her the island life