A Kestrel For A Knave

A Kestrel for a Knave opens with an epigraph from The Book of Saint Albans. This medieval manuscript describes the feudal hierarchy of the time by comparing each social class to a bird of prey. Kestrels are for knaves: the smallest bird of prey for the lowest class. A knave in medieval society was a person of low social status, often a boy servant, and the group were stereotyped as being dishonest and unscrupulous—so much so that the word later came to signify a dishonest person regardless of class. This epigraph foreshadows The Difficulty of Escaping Class Oppression for protagonist Billy. In the book’s opening scene, Billy wakes in a cold and bare room with his older brother, Jud. Their poverty is shown by the lack of curtains on their window, the temperature of the house, and the fact that Billy and Jud must share a bed despite Jud’s full-time employment. The working class employed in the coal mining industry were often highly exploited, with their precarious position and lack of upward mobility leveraged against them to keep their pay low and their working conditions dire.

When Billy grows anxious about Jud not getting out of bed after his alarm, Jud shows his irritation by striking Billy and ripping the covers off the bed. Jud is much larger than Billy and frequently harms him physically. He is also a breadwinner in the family, which shields him from pushback from their mother. Billy is physically diminutive and still a schoolboy; he has no leverage or power himself and is deeply vulnerable to the whims of Jud and nearly any other adult he encounters throughout the narrative. Billy’s physical vulnerability and emotional sensitivity frequently makes him a target of abuse from Jud and even from teachers and school administrators, evidence of The Dangers of Equating Vulnerability With Weakness. Denied choices due to their working-class status, men like Jud exorcise their feelings of powerlessness by lashing out at anyone they see as weak. Despite the oppression that boys and men like Billy and Jud face, the lives of working-class women are even more circumscribed. Billy’s mother’s romantic life deviates from the restrictive norms of her community, making her and her sons the targets of misogynistic mocking from others. Toxic masculinity and strict gender roles make the classism every character here experiences even more difficult to navigate.

Billy faces yet more classism from his employer. He uses his paper route as an opportunity to enjoy the things he can’t afford at home, stealing chocolate and orange juice and reading an issue of The Dandy before delivering it. The Dandy is a popular weekly comic book in the UK and would have been a prized possession in that era. He briefly catches a glimpse of the inside of a more middle-class home and is surprised and envious at the comfortable furnishings. His acts of petty theft are presented sympathetically, as his only means to enjoy some of the pleasures that might be taken for granted by many others not in his position. However, such actions reinforce The Difficulty of Escaping Class Oppression: Whatever pleasure Billy finds in his life, he must steal, but by doing so, he confirms the classist prejudices that others hold against him.

Billy returns home and goes directly to the converted garden shed that houses Kes, his kestrel. A flashback tells the story of how he found the bird, revealing his love of nature and adding depth and sensitivity that contrasts with the version of masculinity he feels forced to embody—one characterized by performative stoicism and casual violence. He moves easily through the countryside, identifying nests and even treating fledgling birds he comes across with care. This shift in Billy’s persona illustrates the power of Nature as an Escape: Even the language Hines uses to describe the scene is richer and more poetic, as if Billy’s consciousness undergoes an awakening when he leaves town and enters the countryside. This transformation is visible to others: The farmer warms up to Billy when Billy expresses his fascination with the kestrels; this kindness makes Billy feel motivated to learn more about birds, in contrast to demotivation he feels when being shamed or mocked at home. The flashback continues with Billy returns to town, and the limitations placed on his life come back into full force, demonstrating The Difficulty of Escaping Class Oppression. He goes to the library and is barred from checking out books because his absent father cannot sign a membership card. To nurture his new fascination, he must steal a book. As with the candy and orange juice, he can’t enjoy even small pleasures or hobbies without being forced to steal. 

When Jud catches Billy reading a book about falconry, the interaction between the brothers demonstrates The Dangers of Equating Vulnerability With Weakness. Billy is earnest and open in his interest, becoming vulnerable by dropping the false persona of masculine toughness and the desire to blend in. Jud sees this as an opportunity to bully Billy while his defenses are down. To Jud, the idea of investing energy and time into caring for a creature that doesn’t perform labor or provide food is ridiculous, and he cruelly dismisses it.

Later, when Jud arrives home black-out drunk, Billy flies into a rage at him, going as far as to strike him. After all of the mistreatment Billy has suffered in just one day, his violence is framed as an almost automatic reaction to the violent culture that surrounds him. Seeking the escape that nature offers him, the flashback ends as Billy then flees back to the countryside farm, where he takes Kes from the nest. Just as Billy often feels out of place in his surroundings, never comfortable and rarely liked or seen by others, he can now have a friend nearby in Kes, who is also now somewhere she doesn’t belong.