Innledning
The journey from adolescence to adulthood has always been a significant milestone in human history. In ancient times, a boy's transition to manhood was marked by a ritual that required him to hunt and kill an animal to demonstrate his maturity.
Today, even in our modern society, this ritual is still being observed, albeit with some modifications. For example, a father taking his son out for a fishing or hunting trip can be seen as a modern-day version of this ancient tradition.
As the boy emulates his father's every move and takes his advice, he is essentially preparing himself for manhood by learning from his father's experience.
If he successfully catches a fish or hunts an animal, he proves his maturity to his father. The novel Wild Duck also touches upon this topic, but with a unique feminine perspective brought to it by Romesh Gunesekera.
Utdrag
Perhaps we can view the father's actions as a manifestation of the cycle of violence and inherited trauma.
The gift of the gun not only symbolizes the father's ignorance of the gun's history and its potential harm, but it also perpetuates a cycle of violence and destruction that has plagued their society for generations.
The son, innocent and unaware, inherits the burden of this history and feels compelled to act out in ways that reflect the gun's violent past.
It is a tragic reminder of how the actions of one generation can have a profound impact on the next, and how difficult it can be to break free from the cycle of violence and trauma.
Earlier, the father and his son were on a hunting trip waiting for the teal to fly by. On page 4, the father missed the teal as he fired several shots at them and concluded that they were flying too high.
Despite this, the son was still determined to shoot them and unlike his father, he managed to hit one of the teal.
The boy's success in hitting the leader of the formation, with the gun formerly belonging to a dictator, carries a deeper symbolism. It represents a rebellion against the oppressive rule of the past and the boy's desire to break free from it.
By shooting down the leader, the boy not only displays his hunting skills but also his disapproval of the gun's previous owner and all that he represented. The gun, once a tool of oppression, has now become a symbol of resistance in the hands of the boy.
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