Summary of KES :: essays research papers

KES Kes is a story of knowledge, of love and not just about a boy and his hawk, It shows the life of a boy from a poor family, and his struggle to get through his teenage years, a story of a boys life which was planned before he was even born. It all starts with a boy named Billy Casper, Billy is the central character in the play and some may say that he is no angel but is he really a villain? He may have nearly knocked Mr Porter of his ladder and he hits Jud when he’s drunk but all of his wrongdoings are never unprovoked, like when Jud steals Billy’s food and pushes him out the way whenever he’s in a hurry. Billy is bullied in school because of his size, as he is a lot smaller than all the other children, he is mistreated by his mother by his fellow peers and by his teachers, but not all his teachers, Mr Farthing is probably the only person that Billy trusts to be around Kes because, he understands, he understands that Billy isn’t the sharpest tool in the box and that his bird is the only thing that set’s him apart from all the other children in his school. Where many would have just given up trying to tame the bird, Billy has exceeded he is now confident enough to give a speech in front of the whole class because in his mind he is one thing that all the other boys aren’t, he is unique. The story is set in a run down Yorkshire mining town where the best job you can get is ending up down dingy old, dark shaft mining. Billy’s family is broken. Jud, mum and Billy constantly bicker and bully each other. Billy realises that most of his problems come from home and the fact that no one supports him, everything started to go wrong for Billy when his dad left and all we hear about him is that â€Å" He ere a wrong en †. There is no one to provide support for Billy –the only person who does is Mr Farthing. Billy loves Kes and she becomes part of his family. It is doubly cruel that Kes is killed by Jud, who should know how much the bird meant to Billy. Family life then is not always happy, but it’s possible to survive, yet it affects people’s behaviour and attitudes.