Lloyd Jones’ Mister Pip: An Analysis

How does Jones show what the effects of what are on the children of Bougainville in the novel as a whole The children of Bougainville are severely affected by the war; most of these ways are negative. There are two main different types of affection, the first is physical e. g. deaths and possessions being burnt, the next psychological e. g. all hope being destroyed and the ignorance of some of the children. The first effect is all the deaths. The Red skins prevented all the medicines getting to lots of the babies so they died of malaria. came down with malaria” “There was nothing to be done” This shows that the children are being affected by the deaths of the babies because it kills the younger children, but it also has an effect on the older children because they have to go through the trauma of seeing these babies dead and also witnessing the parents break down due to these deaths. The Redskins also traumatise these children just by arriving “we were left with our fear” This shows the lasting effect the Red skins have on the children.

This also portrays their innocence because it shows that these things really have a damaging effect on them when it may not do on older people. This innocence is also portrayed through “conflict a few of us kids really understood” This shows that the children are getting caught up in something they are completely innocent to. This war confuses the children which also can cause the loss of lives due to the naivety.

This is shown with the character of Daniel while he was told to go up into the jungle “He went without complaint, swinging his arms at his side” First this shows that he did not quite understand what was going on, that these people were bad people to deal with. The fact that he went “without complaint” indicates that for “beaten his classmates to the answer” he thought he may be getting rewarded not quite punished in the way he did. The innocence of the character is also shown through the fact that he was unaware. The “swinging his arms at his side” insinuates the vulnerability if Daniel.

It shows that he has not been told fully about this war and his simply mind is protected from such impurities. This innocence and vulnerability which are generally normal traits for children result in him losing his life. This also leaves the other children without a friend or family member, so this war also has an indirect effect on them causing them to lose people who are close to them Daniel is a key character in reflecting this. The effects of War on children in Bougainville are catastrophic, these children are hidden from it so when they are confronted by this conflict they do not know what to do and are generally damaged from it. s