Chapter Questions- 5

1. How has this chapter been written and structured to build the tension and suspense leading up to Tom Leyton's appearance?

Ths chapter has been written to build up the tension and suspense leading up to Tom Leyton's appearance by Joseph thinking constantly about Tom and how his own life could almost 'not go on' until the meeting with Tom was over. With all the gossip and rumors he had heard about Tom, the tension was greater as everyone, in particular Mrs Mossop had implied that Tom was 'evil'. I get the impression that Joseph thinks or wants to prove to Mrs Mossop that Tom Leyton is not 'evil'.

2. What impression does Tom Leyton gain from his first meeting with Tom Leyton? What does he notice about his appearance, his eyes and his voice?

The impressions that Joseph gets from his first meeting with Tom Leyton is that he is quite odd, tall and silent. He will always remember Tom's eyes from the first meeting; they were colourless, did not sparkle with life and were green with flecks of gold. He wore loose, dark clothing and had large hands, solid forearms, a reddish face, sandy hair and a beard. His voice seemed flat, emotionless and vague.

3. Why do you think Joseph offers to return to the Leyton's? Why do you think he seems to be 'drawn towards the shadowy figure of Tom Leyton?

I think Joseph offers to return to the Leyton's partly because he didn't want to disappoint Caroline and partly because he wanted to see if the silkworms would actually hatch. I think Joseph seems to be 'drawn to the shadowy figure of Tom Leyton' because of the face he was so vague, reluctant to see Joseph and is a man of not many words. Joseph wants to discover Tom's past and why he was acting so strangely.

4. Why does Joseph find his sketches of Tom Leyton unsatisfactory? Why is his memory of his art teacher Mr De Groot significant?

Joseph finds his sketches of Tom Leyton so unsatisfactory because when he looked at the images his searched for some answers but found none. He saw his sketches as 'little more than lines on a page- shapes without substance'. His memory of his art teacher Mr De Groot was significant as he had said that 'in order to paint what you see, you must truly see what you paint'. Meaning that the artist who sees the tree will paint the tree but the artist who has sat under the tree, smelt the flowers, listened to the sounds around the tree and crushed the trees leaves, will truly paint the tree.