45 pages • 1 hour read
A Kestrel For A Knave
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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide features discussion of child abuse, bullying, and animal cruelty and/or death.
Kes
Kes, Billy’s trained kestrel, is a central symbol in A Kestrel for a Knave. He is a symbol of engagement with nature and the potential for a different life for Billy. When Billy first encounters the kestrels in the wild, he is out in the countryside, totally engrossed in the wilderness. He is alone, as his friends were meant to come with him but failed to get out of bed. That Billy alone wakes early enough to see the kestrels signifies that his passion for nature and wildlife is unique. Billy’s inherent fascination with nature changes his attitude and causes others to see him differently. When a farmer spots him on his land, his anger at Billy quickly calms when he sees the earnest fascination with which Billy regards the birds.
In school, Billy is a bullied, disregarded student deemed to have no hope for a better life. Even the most sympathetic teacher, Mr. Farthing, is exasperated with him. However, when Billy shares his passion for falconry with the class, everyone pays rapt attention, and Mr. Farthing expresses admiration of Billy’s knowledge. When Billy talks about Kes and the beauty of kestrels, he becomes far more articulate than he has ever been in school. Being around Kes, his own small piece of the natural world, enables Billy to embody his better attributes rather than falling into routines of misbehavior that are normalized for him. Kes causes him to be more reliable, thoughtful, and caring.
Not everyone encourages these changes, though. Billy’s more sensitive personality makes him a target of ridicule for his brother Jud, his classmates, and even many of his teachers. Kes represents a life of freedom and discovery, but the class structures within which Billy exists exclude him from this life. People like Jud resent Billy for aspiring to a life that isn’t accessible to them. Jud knows that Kes represents hope and individuality for Billy, which is why he kills him to get revenge on Billy in the novel’s climax. While mourning Kes’s death, Billy envisions himself as a heroic figure flying Kes for a large crowd, imagining the pride and joy he’d feel in this circumstance. This fantasy encapsulates what Kes meant to Billy and the purpose she served in the narrative: She was a path to self-respect and a new life for Billy. Without her, he has no choice but to return home and accept the fate his brother has already grown used to.
The Pit
The coal mine, colloquially called “the pit,” is a central part of life in the fictional Yorkshire town in A Kestrel for a Knave. It serves as a symbol for the lack of opportunity in Billy’s life. At the opening of the book, Jud resents having to wake up before dawn to go down the pit. He takes his frustration out on Billy, reminding him that in a few weeks, Billy will be joining him. Boys in Billy’s position are often referred to as “pit fodder,” dismissing the boys’ potential to have ambitions or exist outside of the world of manual labor. When Jud sees Billy reading a book on falconry, he is genuinely baffled, not seeing the value in expanding his horizons beyond the routine of working in the pit, going to the pub, and betting on horses.
When Billy is sent to a career consultation in school, the pit hangs over the entire conversation. When the consultant brings it up, Billy rejects it vociferously, twice. The consultant brushes him off after this, criticizing his composure and handing him a pamphlet called “Leaving School.” The cover depicts a boy who looks nothing like Billy, one clearly from the middle class and dressed for a job inaccessible to Billy. The counselor’s dismissive attitude reminds Billy that the aspirational fantasies depicted in this pamphlet are not for him. The pit is thus reinforced over and again as a metaphor for the extinction of dreams.
School
Billy’s all-boys’ school is a major setting in A Kestrel for a Knave. The school practices a model of education that is far more interested in instilling obedience than in teaching critical thought. Boys are abused for stepping out of line—one boy even receives corporal punishment for coughing too much. It’s an environment where teachers bully students and discourage them from pursuing any interests other than working in the mine, showing how education can often reinforce class structures. This is a type of schooling specifically given to boys from working-class families who are viewed as unfit for anything but the most punishing physical labor. Their poor education and apathetic teachers limit their opportunities for personal development, leaving them vulnerable to capitalist exploitation.
Billy’s struggles in school. He has a lot of trouble staying awake due to his difficult home life, and he is also unable to afford physical education supplies due to his poverty at home. He is punished for both of these issues instead of being offered sympathy or help. Mr. Farthing does what he can in trying to force Billy and other students to engage with the lessons, but it’s hard to combat the overwhelming amount of harshness, discouragement, and control exerted over the boys by the other adults. The events portrayed in the novel are set close to when Billy is expected to leave school, and the teachers and adults in the book don’t treat this like a life milestone, but as a perfunctory event, similar to a product coming out the far end of a production line. This shows how, ultimately, education can often serve to reinforce class structures and keep working-class individuals from pursuing better lives.
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