Alastair

Higher EnglishWay To Go'
By Alan Spence

Alan Spence's novel, 'Way To Go', is an account of Neil McGraw's life, the main character in this novel. It is written in first person narrative in a biographical format. Throughout the novel, Spence uses techniques such as dialogue and charaterisation that allow the reader to understand Neil's changes and why he does so. These techniques used by Spence also make the reader grow to know and like this character.
The dialogue used in this novel is mainly Scottish slang with a lot of swearing. From the beginning of the book, this sets the scene and helps the reader understand the rough, environment that Neil is growing up in, in the large Scottish city of Glasgow. Although the theme of the book is death, this novel is very humerous as we soon learn Neil is a very funny character which is demonstrated in the dialogue he uses. The characterisation used is very clever as throughout the novel Spence refers to how much time has passed which makes the reader look for changes in Neil's character. Also there are a few key events that shape and mature Neil.

A lot of this novel is written using dialogue which helps the reader understand what the characters are really like. It also helps you to understand their feelings and their beliefs. At the beginning of the novel, it is clear that Neil is scared of his father who would often punish him by locking him in the coffin filled basement. His father ran an undertaking business that Neil insisted he would never join. This, along with the fact Neil's father blamed him for the death of his mother, who died giving birth to him, made this father - son relationship far from the norm. In an argument with his father after Neil had laughed at a time when his father was working, his father said, "You think death's a big joke? You think it's a laughing matter?" This was followed by a snigger of laughter from Neil which enraged his father."Right!" said his father before smacking him. This was in his father's eyes a justifiable reason to lock him down in the basement. This is a typical example of Neil's relationship with his father. At this point in the novel it is clear to see Neil's immaturity which you may expect of a school boy. Neil was obviously treated unfairly by his father which is probably why he found it difficult to socialise with people his own age. Also growing up without a mother figure is far from ideal.
When Neil finally accumulates enough courage to stand up to his father and escape from his life in Glasgow, he joins up with a group of hippies who seem to have a massive effect on his personality. Here, he becomes far more relaxed and easy going. He no longer had his father watching and punishing him. Humour is used throughout this novel and we see more signs of Neil's personality as the book unfolds. After having unprotected sex with a girl, she said, "Oh fuck!."
"Afraid we did," said Neil who goes on to tell the reader,'And inside I was punching the air in triumph, taking a lap of honour.' But then came the thought of pregnancy and disease, "I'm clean, and I'm on the pill," she said. Neil's thought: 'Yes! Wave to the main stand.' Throughout the novel dialogue is constantly interrupted by Neil's thoughts and feelings that add to the reader's like for the character.
After a few decades of travelling, experiencing different cultures on his way, Neil returns to Glasgow with his Indian wife when his father dies. Here he reaquaintes himself with some old friends and the reader really begins to notice a change in Neil. At this point he has matured and has finally found out who he really is. Despite being far more sensible, Neil hasn't lost his sense of humour which is clear to see. At a biker's funeral where their way of a good send off was to 'direct a stream of piss onto the grave.' Neil suggested to his friend and coligue," Time for a sharp exit?"
To which Des replied, "Be tears before bedtime if you ask me." This was a typical laugh between these two friends who although were never short of jokes aimed at each other, were all good at heart.
Towards the end of the novel you see a side to Neil that you certainly havn't seen before, and that is his pride for the business that he took over following his father's death. He rebuilt and reshaped the business and was adament he would never sell when a large company tried to buy the business. Neil told the company representative,"There's no point in wasting your time. I'm not interested. I've no intention of giving up our independance, being taken over by you or anybody else.....What a tosser!"

There was a few key incidents that played an important part in Neil's life that influenced his way of life. The first of which is when his father found him in one of the coffins in the basement having sex with a girl he had met. This was the final straw for Neil before heading for London. He probably felt he no longer had any relationship with his father and that nothing was keeping him in Glasgow. It turned out to be good for Neil as even though he lived with a very poor, rough standard of living in London, he was free to be who he wanted to be.
Leaving London was an important step for Neil as he never had anything going for him and was taking advantage of people's generousity. He was unemployed and unemployable and lived in a rough area where he often used illegal drugs. Not only did leaving mean he had to stand on his own two feet, it also meant he learned about different cultures which was to later come in handy.
The most important stage in Neil's life was returning to Glasgow to bury his father. He was facing up to his past that he would probably rather have forgotten about. This turned out to be a very positive move for him because he ran a successful business with the people he loved.

Neil,it would seem, never originally wanted to take over his father's business because he feared he would turn into his father. However when he does eventually take over, he shows how original his ideas are and how different he is to his father. He introduces themed funerals, something his old fashioned, steriotypically Scottish, father would never dream of. Also the fact he changed the company slogan from "Rest Assured" to "Way To Go" again symbolises his individuality.