The Exercise by Bernard MacLaverty
About the author:
• Born Belfast 1942
• Worked as a medical laboratory technician for
10 years
• Studied English at Queen’s University, Belfast
• Moved to Glasgow, Scotland 1975
• Taught English
• Writer-in-residence at various universities
• Writer of short stories, novels, screenplays,
libretti.
The Exercise by Bernard MacLaverty
Plot Structure
• Kevin gets help from his father, who is hurrying to get ready for
work, with Latin homework.
• Waldo chooses Kevin to read out in class his answers to Latin
homework to be corrected.
• All Kevin’s answers turn out to be wrong.
• Waldo mocks Kevin’s father and his occupation as barman when
Kevin lets slip that father helped him with homework.
• Waldo canes Kevin as punishment for getting homework all wrong.
(Climax of plot.)
• Waldo apologises to Kevin for having ridiculed his father.
• Kevin goes to meet his father off the bus home from work.
• His father asks about Latin homework and Kevin hesitates to reply.
• Kevin lies and tells father all went well. (Turning point.)
• Father is pleased and admits he has worried about it since it was
done so hurriedly.
• Kevin happy he has spared father from feeling guilty and lost pride
in academic ability.
The Exercise by Bernard MacLaverty
Setting
• Mid 20th century, 1950s / 60s approximately, mostly in Kevin’s home
and at Kevin’s school.
• No central heating, one warm room where all family together to keep
cosy, typical of the time: “a good shovel of coal for that fire”, “they
sat in the warm kitchen”, “cold lino of the bathroom floor”.
• Close, affectionate family atmosphere: “Kevin’s father joined him in
his work, helping him”, “Often his wife took a hand out of him”, “The
three boys shouted and danced around” when told dad has night off
work.
• Catholic boys’ grammar school: Waldo wears “soutane”, “hard
Roman collar”, showing he is priest as well as teacher; “they said
the Hail Mary in Latin”.
• Very strict school: “The palm upward gesture brought the class to its
feet”, “a thin yellow cane”, “it was four for anyone who lied about his
answer”.
The Exercise by Bernard MacLaverty
Characters
Kevin
• Clever: “had started grammar school”; studying Latin.
• Conscientious: does his homework, “trying to get help”,
wants to do it correctly.
• Close relationship with father: “loved to smell his pyjama
jacket and the shirts”, “standing on the arm of the chair
to get the slippers down from the cupboard”, “he would
go down to meet his father coming home from work”,
“slipped his hand into the warmth of his father’s overcoat
pocket”.
• Nervous of Waldo: “his finger trembling under the place
in the book”, “Kevin hesitated, stammering”.
The Exercise by Bernard MacLaverty
Characters
Kevin’s Father
• Academically able: despite fact he “never got the
chance” to pursue education when young himself;
mother says “he’d be teaching or something now instead
of serving behind a bar”; “doing the exercises out of the
text books on his own”.
• Loving father: children “shouted and danced around”
when told he has evening off work; “Before their
bedtime he would read the younger ones a story”; “gave
Kevin money for sweets”; helps Kevin with his
homework; “leaned forward to kiss Kevin”.
The Exercise by Bernard MacLaverty
Characters
Waldo
• Catholic priest: wears “soutane, narrow and tight fitting at the
shoulders, sweeping down like a bell to the floor”; “hard, white
Roman collar”; pupils address him as “Father”.
• Neat and tidy in both appearance and habits: “gleaming buttons”;
lifts a dirty jotter with “the corner of one leaf between his finger and
thumb”; writes on the blackboard in “geometric columns…defined by
exact, invisible margins” then “would set the chalk down and rub the
used thumb and finger together”.
• Snob: favours professional and business people’s children – “You’re
not Dr John’s son, are you?”; “Or anything to do with the milk
people?”
• Intimidating to pupils: “In his presence nobody talked”; closes
classroom door “with a crash” and “cracked his books down with an
explosion”; “with a flourish produced a thin yellow cane, whipping it
back and forth, testing it”. No one makes eye contact with him, afraid
to be noticed: “all eyes looked down”. Lets pupils carry on getting
things wrong while he “remained impassive”.
• Sarcastic and mocking: “And where does your father teach Latin?”;
“your brilliant father”; “After all, I have taught you some Latin”.
The Exercise by Bernard MacLaverty
Theme
Truth and Lies
• Story explores whether lying is sometimes justifiable.
• Kevin tells truth to Waldo that father helped with Latin
homework and is punished for it –ironic, since
particularly in strict Catholic school, lying would be
considered a sin and truth something to be encouraged
and rewarded instead of punished.
• Kevin lies to father that Latin was fine and is rewarded
by father feeling relieved because he “was a bit worried
about it” and has not hurt father’s pride in academic
ability nor made him feel guilty as might be if knew that
Kevin had been caned for his wrong answers.
• Kevin “laughed and slipped his hand into the warmth of
his father’s overcoat pocket, deep to the elbow”. Story
ends showing happiness and closeness of Kevin’s
relationship with father intact, which would not be case if
he had told truth; author inviting reader to decide
whether lying sometimes justifiable, therefore.
The Exercise by Bernard
MacLaverty
• High point
of plot structure:
Answers to questions on Prose
should refer to the text and to
such relevant features as
characterisation, setting,
language, key incident(s),
climax, turning point, plot,
structure, narrative technique,
theme, ideas, description.
• Relevant – relating to what
question specifies.
• How author creates character,
eg: description, use of
dialogue, etc.
• Consider what effect setting
has on content of story.
• Important events in the story.
•
•
•
•
when Waldo canes Kevin.
Decisive moment on which
subsequent events depend:
Kevin hesitating while
considering whether tell truth
or lie to father.
Plan of events in story.
This story is in three parts:
at home doing Latin; in
school and incident with
Waldo; bus stop scene with
father.
Truth and lies – whether
lying is sometimes
justifiable.