Danielle Malinen

“The Wasp Factory” By Iain Banks

Statement of Intent:

This study will examine how the story’s twists ensure that your interest is held until the end, and how this leads to a deeper appreciation of the text as a whole, by discussing the writer’s use of structure, characterisation and theme.

“The Wasp Factory” By Iain Banks is a gripping and unforgettable story, written in first person narrative and told from the perspective of sixteen year old Frank Cauldhame. The story is set over twelve days and each day is dealt with in separate chapters. There are many twists in the novel including the major twist at the end which ensures the readers interest is held until the end.

Throughout the book Banks deliberately leaves key points out so as the reader is left wondering things about Frank and it does not all come together until the end. For example in the novel Frank is always referring to an accident he had when he was a child, but the reader doesn’t find out until midway through the book. Then we find out that Frank had is genitals bitten off by a dog, earlier on in the novel he says: “I hate having to sit down in the toilet all the time. With my unfortunate disability I usually have to, as though I was a bloody woman, but I hate it. Sometimes in the Cauldhame Arms I stand up at the urinal, but most of it ends up running down my hands or legs.” Banks often leaves it to the readers imagination to come up with a scenario for what the problem may be, by dropping subtile hints thoughout the novel. He does this to keep the reader engaged in the novel and urging them to read on to find out the truth.

After reading the novel, all of the pieces of the puzzle come together, when the reader finally finds out the major twist in the novel. That Frank is actually a girl and his father used her for a scientific experiment to prove that people can swap genders. Which is a huge shock because at the start of the novel Frank makes it clear to the reader his hatred towards women, which is extremely ironic as he turns out to be one. The structure of the novel is an important part of ensuring the reader is kept in the dark. Throughout the novel Frank receives phonecalls from his brother Eric who has escaped from a mental hospital. Every phonecall ends leaving the reader hanging, you never find out too much information in these calls: “Hello, Eric. Where are you?’ ‘Here! Where are you?’ ‘Here.’ ‘If we’re both here, why are we bothering with the phone?’ ‘Tell me where you are before your money runs out.’ ‘But if you’re here you must know. Don’t you know where you are?’ He started to giggle.” But they encourage the reader to read on hoping they will find out something important in the next call.

The character Frank leads the reader to believe different things and also manages to hide certain things from the reader, such as the accident with the dog. The character of Frank contributes majorly to the shocking ending of the book, as throughout he is seen as a strong and powerful boy, who will not let anything stand in his way. But at the end the reader sees a more vunerable side to him after he is emotionally distraught by finding out he is actually a girl. Frank has two sides to his personality, he can be eloquent: “I told her she might get a chance, though of course I would have the ultimate control” yet on the other hand he can be rather juvenile: “I built a big kite”. Frank’s father is the least developed character in the novel and you form an opinion on him based on what Frank chooses to tell the reader about him. Banks makes the character of Eric to seem insane, but the reader is unaware as to why that is. Firstly Banks tells the reader about all of the horrible things Eric has done such as burn and eat dogs, he does this to grab the readers attention and to make them want to read on to find out why Eric is the way he is. Banks perhaps portrays Eric as insane to drift the readers mind off of Frank, so as they will not guess the twist at the end.

There are many different themes in the novel, such as identity, cruelty, secrets and the relationship between father and son. Frank portrays his father as a dishonest and ambiguous man. Banks creates their relationship as being one which is very deceptive, especially on Frank’s fathers behalf, which is one of Banks’ central themes. At the end when we find out Frank is a girl Banks forces the reader to form new sentiments about Frank. The reader only knows what Frank tells them, so we don’t know the secrets his father has been keeping from him. The reader is always aware that his father is keeping a secret but want to read on to find out what it is. Frank’s identity is crucial in the novel, as it is the major thing that is being pin pointed in the book. Initially the reader believes he is a boy then later find out he’s a girl, this is a turning point for the narrator as he has to redefine himself as a woman.

To conclude, the fact that Banks has kept the reader in the dark throughout the novel, makes it more enjoyable and contributes to my appreciation of the text because at the end when you find out that Frank is actually a girl, you realise that there have been many hints thrown to you throughout the novel but you were just to blind to see it. Banks often reveals many twists in the book, so you as the reader are not expecting anything outrageous as the main character turning out to be a girl.


By Danielle Malinen 5G1