‘Fearless’
by
Janice Galloway
Revision
Setting
• Set in the West Coast of Scotland
during the 1950’s.
• Set during a time when women
were treated unfairly and men did
nothing to stop it.
• Not told a specific village as sexism
existed in more than just one place.
• “I never had access to their private
thoughts voiced in private places,
the bookies, the barbers, the pub”
• “The hard, volatile maleness of the
whole West Coast Legend”
Things to remember when analysing
• “I never had access to their private
thoughts voiced in private places,
the bookies, the barbers, the pub”
• “The hard, volatile maleness of the
whole West Coast Legend”
• Repetition of ‘private’
• Use of a list to show the amount
of places women weren’t allowed to
go – which would be strange now.
• Word choice of ‘hard and ‘volatile’
• ‘West Coast’ to highlight not set in
just one village.
Character
• The character of Fearless is
portrayed as an angry, bitter man.
He resents the outside world and
particularly dislikes women.
• He is a very sexist character but
ultimately shown to be a coward in
the end (as all sexist people are
suggested to be).
• “Pebble-glass eyes”
• “The thing about Fearless was that
he lived in a state of permanent
anger”
• “Greengray sleeves dripped over
permanent fists so just a row of
yellow knuckles, like stained teeth,
showed beneath the cuffs”
• “Pebble-glass eyes”
• “The thing about Fearless was that
he lived in a state of permanent
anger”
• “Greengray sleeves dripped over
permanent fists so just a row of
yellow knuckles, like stained teeth,
showed beneath the cuffs”
• Metaphor showing how hard and
emotionless Fearless was.
• Word choice of ‘permanent anger’
• Word choice of ‘permanent fists’
• Use of the simile to demonstrate
his unhygienic nature and hardness
of his fists, like teeth.
Theme
• The theme of the short story is
sexism.
• This is best shown through the
actions of the men and women in
the story.
• “I don’t remember men doing
anything much at all”
• “His wife left him. It was our fault
really”
• “I don’t remember men doing
anything much at all”
• “His wife left him. It was our fault
really”
• Men ignored the actions of Fearless
because they were either also sexist
or felt scared of Fearless as well.
• Women at the time blamed
themselves for the actions of
Fearless.
Narrator
• The narrator is Janice Galloway as a
child which is an unusual narrative
stance.
• Galloway as a child is the only one to
stand up to Fearless when he attacks
her and her mother.
• The end of the story shows the
opinions of an adult Galloway who
still despises sexism and still stands up
against it.
• “All I saw was a flash of white sock
with my foot attached, swinging out
and battering into his shin”
• “The outrage is still strong, and I kick
like a mule”
• “All I saw was a flash of white sock with
my foot attached, swinging out and
battering into his shin”
• “The outrage is still strong, and I kick like
a mule”
• Word choice of “flash” to highlight the
quickness of her actions which were not
premeditated.
• Word choice of “white sock” to show that
she was a young, innocent girl.
• Word choice of “battering” to emphasise
the force in which she kicked him.
• Use of the simile to show she will
continue to stand up to sexism, not
literally kicking it anymore but
metaphorically.
Things to remember!
• The quotes shown here are just a small selection and you should use the
quotations you are most familiar with and the ones which will fit into the
essay question the best.
• Remember to not just retell the plot of ‘Fearless’ but to fully analyse and
answer the question set.