Treacle Walker Lesson Plan

How does Garner establish the disruptive nature of Treacle Walker's arrival into Joe's life?

The novel begins by establishing Joe’s routine—a necessary introduction, since much of its ensuing action is based upon the disruption of this routine, and all that this disruption can trigger for Joe’s consideration of his life. On a day-to-day basis, Joe’s world is surprisingly repetitive; he reads his comics, lives in his small house, and looks out onto the small road running past him.

Treacle Walker disrupts this routine, immediately establishing himself as a character who interrupts Joe’s quotidian patterns. The novel capitalizes upon visual and auditory imagery in order...