A Kestrel For A Knave

This part of the novel focuses on Billy’s school life as emblematic of the systemic oppression he faces. Billy attends an all-boys school in which teachers and administrators assume that each boy will leave school in his mid-teens and head directly into the mine. Their purpose in the meantime is not to teach the boys how to think, but to show them how to obey. The teachers actively resent the students and dole out corporal punishment eagerly. Mr. Crossley is introduced taking attendance, a rote, perfunctory task. Billy makes a joke, and Crossley is so disengaged from the pupils under his care that he automatically checks the name Billy jokingly called out as present before realizing Billy’s intent. In assembly, Principal Gryce bitterly criticizes his pupils as he gets them to perform hymns and read biblical passages. He is quick to anger and even punishes a boy for coughing too much. School is not a nurturing place; educating children comes a distant second to instilling obedience in them with harsh punishment. Gryce typifies this attitude the most—he doesn’t bother to hide his contempt for the boys, going on a long, meandering rant against their entire generation. He clearly doesn’t see any point in enriching the lives of the children in his care. He is so eager to punish them that he strikes a boy who was sent with a message for him from another teacher alongside the boys who were explicitly there to be punished. All of this reinforces a similar message presented by the unhelpful librarian in an earlier passage, as apathetic adults and barriers to good education will keep many of these boys trapped in poverty and exploitation, illustrating The Difficulty of Escaping Class Oppression.

Billy faces equally bad treatment from his fellow pupils. MacDowall in particular makes a point of mocking Billy’s mother’s reputation and questioning his brother’s parentage. It is strongly implied that Jud is Billy’s half-brother, and Billy is so insecure about this that he is willing to fight MacDowall over the accusation. Steeped in the patriarchal and misogynistic culture of the town, Billy finds the idea of his mother’s sexual agency upsetting and emasculating to him personally. Billy and MacDowall are experiencing very similar oppression from the world around them, but instead of bonding in solidarity, they take what opportunities they can to feel powerful over one another using different systems of oppression, like sexism. MacDowall is much bigger than Billy and provokes him so he can enjoy physically dominating him. It is also revealed that Billy used to hang around with MacDowall before he started training Kes and that MacDowall resents Billy for leaving his clique. While this is another example of how when Billy steps out of line, he faces punishment, it also shows that MacDowall’s understanding of masculinity will not allow him to simply communicate to Billy why this hurt his feelings. Instead, he takes to bullying him, illustrating The Dangers of Equating Vulnerability With Weakness.

In Mr. Farthing, Billy finds a glimmer of how things should be in the school. He is an empathetic and passionate teacher who works hard to engage the pupils in his classes. When he sees Billy growing distracted, he doesn’t dismiss or beat him; he instead forces him to engage. This is when Billy reveals his interest in Kes. Given the chance to talk about something he cares about, Billy transforms. Rather than being treated as an irritant or disruption, he becomes an impressive, knowledgeable figure who holds Mr. Farthing and the other boys enthralled with his passion for falconry. This is the first clear example of how Kes unlocks Billy’s potential. For as long as he is speaking about Kes, Billy becomes so much more than the ignored and bullied child he has been. However, as soon as he stops, the old order reasserts itself, and he ends up in a physical scuffle with MacDowall. Mr. Farthing doesn’t forget what he has seen in Billy, comes to his rescue, and treats him with a great deal of sympathy. This prompts Billy to vent about his troubles, the first time he’s been given an opportunity to do this. This relationship offers Billy a more positive male role model, someone who shows that masculinity can be nurturing rather than bullying and authoritarian. As their dynamic evolves, so will Billy’s self-expression.

A flashback offers further insight into Billy’s potential and further evidence of Nature as an Escape. Billy gently and patiently trains Kes to be comfortable perching on his wrist. He does this in stages, coaxing him with slivers of meat. Once he’s accustomed to this, he slowly expands the boundaries of the exercise until Kes is fully comfortable perched on Billy’s wrist. In school, Billy struggles to stay awake and maintain concentration, yet in this act, he displays a formidable focus, building a relationship with a wild animal built on mutual trust and care rather than authority and punishment, mirroring Billy’s relationship with Mr. Farthing. Billy is clearly an intelligent, talented boy, but the world he lives in doesn’t value these qualities in him.