A Kestrel for a
Knave
By Barry Hines
A Kestrel for a Knave
• Reasons for studying a novel.
– You can learn a great deal about life
from reading novels. After all, you only
experience a fraction of what society
has to offer in your own lifetime.
– Novels give us an insight into other
aspects of life.
– Novelists create characters different
from ourselves, then show us how these
characters interact with one another
and their communities.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• Through reading a book, we can
enlarge our understanding of other
patterns of behaviour.
• In this novel, the focus is on
deprivation suffered by people
whose lives have little or no purpose.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• Approaching a text. You are not expected
to memorise facts.
• You will be asked to discuss issues to show
your independent understanding of
incidents and conflicts in the novel.
• You must base your opinions on what you
read in the text.
• One issue in the text is a criticism of the
school system, this is something you are
familiar with, but you must remember to
use the evidence in the text to back up
your arguments.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• The title. The quotation from ‘The
Boke of St Albans’ tells us about the
proper hunting bird for each rank in
a court. The final listing is ‘a Kestrel
for a Knave’.
• A knave has two meanings, the first
is a serving boy at court, the second
is dishonest person. When reading
remember that Billy is connected to
the meaning of a thief and someone
who holds a low position in society.
A Kestrel for a Knave
Character study
Billy
Jud
Mother
School
Kes
Mr Gryce
Mr Sugden
Mr Farthing
Mr Crossley
A Kestrel for a Knave
• The setting. The social setting of this
novel is Britain in the late fifties/early
sixties. During this period many people
wrote about social emptiness.
• Barry Hines is concerned about council
estates and schools that had been built too
large for any real interpersonal
relationships to develop.
• There are three main settings that you
will need to focus on, you should look for
comparisons and contrasts and to consider
the effect they have on Billy.
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A Kestrel for a Knave
• Structure. This novel starts on a
winter’s morning, then it reveals events
from the previous summer, before
returning to the present day with its
variety of incidents leading to the
dramatic conclusion late that night.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• Structure. The structure follows an ordinary
school day in Billy’s life, what is important is the
way in which the kestrel is mentioned throughout
the text.
• We learn how Kes is found and trained and her
important role in Billy’s life.
• Our final image is of Kes as the avenger, stooping
to her prey at Billy’s command.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• Plot. ‘A Kestrel for a Knave’ has no formal
chapters but you will need to keep track
of the events as they unfold, and see how
incidents are linked.
• You will soon see there is often cause and
effect relationship between incidents.
Understanding the plot is more than just
knowing what happens.
• You need to be able to discuss the
connections, an example of this is when
Jud asks Billy to put his bet on for him at
the start of the day.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• Themes. These are the ideas that
the text deals with. As you read, the
themes will reveal themselves.
Some of the themes that are dealt
with are,
–
–
–
–
Family relationships,
Poverty,
Education,
Weaknesses and hidden strengths.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• Style. This is how the writer
communicates his ideas to us. You need to
be sensitive to the use of imagery, direct
speech, interior monologues (thoughts).
• In this novel, a third person omniscient
(all knowing) narrator tells the story. The
focus is mainly on the protagonist (central
character).
• The narrator reveals Billy’s thoughts
through memory sequences. Images of
sight, sound, touch and smell are used
extensively to communicate Billy’s
response to his surroundings.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• The Kestrel. The way in
which Billy captures and
trains the bird is significant
as it shows his confidence,
dedicated interest and
intelligence.
• Through the hawk he begins
to learn about himself.
• Mr Farthing recognises Billy’s
potential and he makes the
connection between Billy
and the wild bird specific
when Billy relates his
experience to the rest of the
class.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• The death of the kestrel. At the end of the
novel Billy breaks out of his imaginary
sequence.
• We see him returning to the harsh reality of
having to live without freedom, powerless in
the harshness of his world.
• In burying his hawk he buries any chance of
escaping the limitations of his life.
• He returns to an empty house, and he brings
us back to the destructive emptiness of the
start of the novel.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• The Family. Firstly we must consider
the role of the family in establishing
fundamental education.
• It is in the family that a child learns
the difference between right or
wrong; how to live in harmony with
others; where to get acceptance,
support, understanding and love.
• This novel opens on a family scene,
which immediately shows a
dysfunctional family.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• Types of abuse that Billy suffers.
– Physical – both Jud and Mrs Casper
attack Billy.
– Verbal – threats are a normal part of his
daily interaction.
– Emotional – no warmth is shown to Billy,
even after the loss of his hawk.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• Mr Gryce. He is a
typical cruel
headmaster, who is in
control of a large
school. Most of the
boys are unwilling
learners.
• He has a bullying
nature, he often slaps
heads and regularly
canes the boys for
breaking his rules.
• Barry Hines is showing
us that when a man
has absolute power
there is a danger that
his bullying behaviour
goes unchecked.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• Mr Crossley. He
concentrates on the most
meticulous details of
school administration and
he overlooks the needs of
his pupils. He allows
Billy’s classmates to poke
fun at him and is sarcastic
to Billy as well.
• Mr Sugden. He is a
caricature of the sports
teacher. He is more
concerned about his own
appearance. He enjoys
basking in his own glory
and adores flattery. He
abuses his power and
betrays the role of
educator as he does not
possess an understanding
of fair play.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• Mr Farthing. He is a typically good teacher. He
takes note of the boys in his class, he always asks
them to share their own experiences. He does
not allow interruptions or mockery. He sees the
true potential that Billy possesses.
A Kestrel for a Knave
• The Pit. Billy’s employment
prospects are narrow, he will
probably follow Jud ‘down t’pit’.
• Deep coal mining has long been
associated with exploitation of the
work force. Coal mining created
communities dependent on the pit,
with a culture of their own. Sons
followed fathers down the pit as a
matter of course, and the closure of
the pit posed a huge economic threat
to the community.
• The production of coal has gradually
declined since 1957, many coal
mining areas still suffer from severe
deprivation and unemployment.