51 pages • 1 hour read
Jackie KayTrumpet
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Poetic Exposition
Jackie Kay, the former Makar, or national poet of Scotland, utilizes a distinctly lyrical style in her expository writing. Rather than directly saying something has taken place, she allows the reader to assume certain details and events by subtle suggestions. She does this in particular when describing the romantic exchanges between Joss and Millie, in which their actions are never explicitly spelled out. Through poetic descriptions, Kay hopes to elicit an emotional response from readers. For example, Millie compares her memory of Joss to photos of him: “I can see his lips. His lips pursed when he played the trumpet. His lips open to talk. Him leaning over me, kissing me softly with his lips. All over my face. His dark full lips” (100).
Kay also frequently employs listing for emphasis. When talking about the greats of jazz, among whom Joss stands, she never provides just one example. Kay describes a crowd of fans encouraging Joss to continue playing after he finishes a song—“Stomping, stamping, hooting, whistling, cheering” (134). Here, she uses alliteration, near rhymes, and a transition from feet to the head to illustrate the audience literally rising up.
The Shifting Narrator
Trumpet constantly shifts between multiple first-person narrators and a third-person omniscient narrator. The story shifts from the mourning of a new widow, beset by intrusive reporters, to the enraged, profane voice of her betrayed son. This literary device allows readers to grasp the different characters’ emotions and thoughts. When Sophie takes over the narrative, readers may find her rationalizations off-putting, despite her keen insights into British culture and human nature.
In some chapters, Kay takes on a third-person omniscient voice, allowing her to move back and forth in time from when Joss was 11-year-old Josephine to his funeral. She does this without sacrificing the narrative tension of Millie weathering obnoxious reporters, or Colman struggling with his participation in Sophie’s book project. The use of first-person narrators allows readers to experience the characters’ pure emotions, while the third-person chapters offer additional observations.
England to Scotland, the Shifting Setting
Trapped in London, the site of Joss’s greatest accomplishments and persistent paparazzi, Millie finds no peace of mind. She believes Joss is unable to die in the maelstrom of the urban setting, his spirit lingering while looking for serenity. Colman also perceives London as problematic. He can’t find a career that suits him (as he enjoys the anonymity of working as a helmeted courier) and hates his overpriced apartment. For Sophie, London is perfect: The tabloid ethos saturates the city and, whenever troubled by depression, she goes shopping for the latest fashions.
When Millie escapes to the seaside village of Torr, Scotland, reflection and healing finally become possible. The denizens of Torr have known Millie and her family since her childhood. To them, Joss was merely her husband, not a public figure. For Colman, going to Glasgow allows him to consider the gravity of his book project. In a sleepy retirement community, Colman’s grandmother Edith welcomes him—and Colman ultimately decides to stop helping Sophie. Scotland is not so kind to Sophie, who expends a great deal of money on the book project, only to have Colman desert her. Kay, a native of Glasgow, portrays London as a bustling, unhappy place and Scotland, particularly Torr, as a peaceful place of renewal.
