The Christmas tree (Romance)

the Christmas tree is a Romance of Michel Bataille appeared in 1967.

Laurent Ségur and his son, Pascal, complete their Vacances in Corsica. The woman of Laurent, in other words the mother of Pascal, died because of an accident a few years before. Having discovered a split with the Polynesian purity at the time of their road towards the South, in their superb car also being used as housing so much it was improved, they settle there, they launch their boat. Whereas they were on water, a plane containing a load Atomique explodes close to them. Of return from holidays, father and wire make medical examinations to see whether no consequence of the explosion is perceived. The tests are resulted positive. His/her son left to a camp wolf cubs, Laurent notices whereas as of the return of Pascal, this one has a bluish mark with the temple. He then makes pass to his son other examinations whose results are this time alarming: Pascal has nothing any more but three months to live. His/her father then decides to spend these three months in their Château of Hérode, in Auvergne. Then in the castle an existence out of the time for the father and the condemned child starts and which knows it, thus escaping from the rate/rhythm and the constraints from reality. When the castle is unoccupied, it is a friend of Laurent, fore-mentioned Verdun, which is occupied some. This friend helped much Laurent at the time of these three months, in particular to go to conceal a couple of Loup S for Pascal, impassioned by these animals which resemble to them so much.

They then live fabulous experiments, incomparable moments between father and wire, and sometimes with Verdun, and each day it is a new adventure which awaits them, each day it is a Trésor to be sought…

Christmas approach, Christmas and the Magic of this festival, preparations and gifts… The Christmas day before, Laurent goes away and goes downtown to telephone. It calls Victoire, the woman with whom it had spent one extraordinary weekend during the camp wolf cubs of Pascal, a few weeks before, and with which it had had a Love affair. He proposes to him to come to pass Christmas with his son and itself. When it returns, it intends the wolves to howl, it discovers the Sapin around whose the gifts intended for Pascal are already unpacked, it seeks his son, and finds it lying close to the wolves, those howling. He died. Close to the fir tree an envelope intended for Laurent is and coming from his son. On the envelope, he is written Good luck.

Comments

It is about a Romance , therefore of a narrative text.

For the Narrator, it is about a Focalization intern, indeed, the history is written with the 1st person of the singular. She is told by one of the two main characters of the history, Laurent Ségur. The narrator is thus called, for this account, homodiegetic because it is present as character in the history which it tells. What is rather particular in this account, it is that with one or two recoveries, the narrator changes and it is then the opinion, the thoughts and descriptions of the second main character, Pascal, that one can read. The author employs a simultaneous narration here; indeed, the narrator is contemporary with the course of the facts.

On the level of the narrative rate/rhythm, it is very regular but there are some pauses to explain or describe; indeed, the narrator likes to describe with many details and comments, of opinion. Moreover, there are some idles, i.e. the author is delayed lengthily over a short period of time.

The interest of work is also marked by many lessons of Morale for the man and each one among us.

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