Fall Of Giants

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2010

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-11

Chapters 12-19

Chapters 20-28

Chapters 29-42

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Aristocratic Privilege and Arrogance

Billy pulls the young Micky Pope from the fire in the pit and cries over his dead body. This moment is intentionally juxtaposed with Fitz’s internal monologue: He angrily reflects that “men died all the time,” and wonders “why did a pit disaster have to happen just when he was entertaining the king?” (69) Similarly, Fitz feels irritated that in the “grimy hovels” of the coal miners, there is talk of “republicanism, atheism, and revolt” (30). He is condescending to the working-class and unsympathetic to their struggles, struggles that seem worlds away from his aristocratic life. Fitz had “done nothing to earn his huge income,” and yet believes that “clearly God intended the Fitzherberts to rule over their fellow men” (29).

Bea was also raised in aristocratic privilege. In Russia, she was taught to treat lower classes with patronizing scorn. Her grandfather taught her (in relation to servants and peasants) that “if you do not slap them or flog them […] for carelessness or laziness, they will eventually commit larger sins” (33). Bea’s family’s cruelty is juxtaposed with Grigori’s horror at watching his father die at the gallows. The indifferent, confident arrogance of these aristocratic characters foreshadows the respective social uprisings and reform coming from angry working-class citizens, which will diminish aristocratic power.

Clothing

Clothes serve to illustrate the social status of characters. Fitz wears “traveling clothes” between Wales and England and then changes into “a suit of soft brown tweed” (31). Before dinner, every day a bell alerts Fitz and his family they are to change into formal dinner wear. The extravagance of these many outfits helps to characterize Fitz as a man who “cherished traditions” above all else and who yearns for a “simpler era” when all people respected traditional social hierarchies (30). At the dinner Fitz hosts for the king and queen, the men dress in white tie and tails, and the women wear low-cut gowns and tiaras. At this event, Ethel and the other household staff wear starched, neat uniforms to indicate their status as the help.

Similarly to Fitz, Lady Maud always wears beautiful clothing. Unlike Fitz’s traditional tweed though, Maud is always dressed in the latest fashions. Her daring sense of fashion helps to characterize Maud as a modern and forward-thinking woman despite her aristocratic origins.

On the other hand, Billy has only two shirts: one he wears on Sunday, and the other he wears for the rest of the week. His simple wardrobe characterizes his family as working-class. The whole of Aberowen wears “cheap clothes that quickly become shapeless and worn” (74). Similarly, Grigori and Katerina wear simple and well-used clothing, signifying their working-class status. When Lev moves to America and marries into the wealthy Vyalov family, he is thrilled to see his feet in “silk socks and shiny black shoes” (695). He tells Grigori with excitement that he has “five suits” (905). His beautiful and plentiful clothes denote his newfound wealth and status.

Needless Death and Murder

The needless deaths of characters serve to criticize unjust or unsafe systems. Through these deaths, Follett harnesses readers’ outrage and sympathy toward misused groups. When there is an explosion at the Aberowen mine, lives are lost due to the deception and greed of management. Perceval Jones cut costs by leaving lockers, which were supposed to contain ventilation masks, empty. He also did not install reversible ventilation, meaning that smoke and fire was blown at men attempting to rescue others. Billy weeps as he presents Pat Pope with his dead son. This anecdote makes readers sympathetic to the miners rather than the wealthy owners and managers of Celtic Minerals.

After the Battle of the Somme, Owen Bevin is shot dead for desertion. Bevin was only 16 years old; his doctor encouraged him to lie about his age: “he said […] you’re tall for your age, you might be eighteen by tomorrow […] and he gave me a wink […] so I knew I had to lie” (489). At the Battle of the Somme, Bevin was “shaking and sobbing” (490). Billy tries to advocate on his behalf before the group is sent into battle, but Fitz is unmoved. Bevin slips away before the battle begins and is sentenced to death for desertion. The disgust of the soldiers who are assigned to shoot the young boy is evident: They clearly “aimed to miss” because Bevin is bleeding but still alive after the firing squad finishes (502). The officer in charge fires two shots into his head to kill him. Amid so much tragic death, Bevin’s death is depicted as needless and tragic and criticizes the systems that sent young boys to die in terrifying circumstances.

The tragic death of Grigori and Lev’s parents positions readers to feel sympathetic to peasants and workers who rise up in protest of the tyrannical rule of the tsar and the aristocracy. Aristocratic characters, such as Fitz, Bea, and Andrei, feel outraged and shocked at the revolutionary actions of the masses; Fitz characterizes them as “thieves and murderers” (811). However, the actions of the rebelling masses are justified by the personal tragedies of working-class characters, who serve to symbolize the mistreatment of all of Russia’s peasants and workers. Grigori watches as his father is strangled, listening to the screams of his mother and young brother. Later, his mother’s face is turned to “a mass of unrecognizable pulp” when she is shot by tsarist soldiers at a peaceful demonstration (113).