Responsibility in Harvest Anonymous 12th Grade

In Crace’s novel, Harvest, the eventual downfall of the villagers could be attributed to a number of factors. Arguably, Crace may suggest, through his foregrounding of the villagers’ cruelty, prejudice and errors, their responsibility in their own downfall. However, the novel is an allegory for wider changes, which extend beyond the villagers’ personal errors, such as the intrusive forces of capitalism and, what Crace may suggest to be, the inevitable usurpation of civilized society, as symbolized by Mr. Quill, over primitive society. Therefore, to determine whether Crace intends to present the villagers as responsible in, rather than just contributing to, their own downfall, it is necessary to investigate each of these possible factors.

Crace emphasizes both the erred cruelty of the villagers towards the three newcomers and the declining population of the village; thereby, it could be argued, demonstrating the villager’s responsibility in their own downfall (as they reject what is needed: more people). Crace employs violent and animalistic imagery to describe the villagers, for example “the beating could begin” and “the funguses that seek to feed on us”, in which the alliterative plosives emphasize their aggression. Crace...