Theme: Change

Theme: Change

Overview

  • The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil presents change as a central theme, with its examination of the Highland society’s transformation over time.
  • The alterations experienced by the community extend from the social to the economic, political, and even to their physical environment.

Social and Economic Change

  • The play reveals the transition from an agricultural society to an industrialised one, bringing both benefits and challenges.
  • It sheds light on the shift from cottage industries to larger, mechanised industries, causing drastic changes to livelihoods and lifestyles.
  • The industrial revolution marks a key turning point, causing loss of jobs, creating class disparity, and escalating exploitation.

Political Change

  • The changes in ownership of land from clans to wealthy landlords and later corporation depict the shift of power and control.
  • Significantly, the Clearances represent a monumental political change, leading to displacement, loss of identity, and cultural erosion.
  • It also explores the dynamic transition of the Highlands from self-governance to being under dominating entities, reflecting political control and manipulation.

Environmental Change

  • The transition from barren land to the discovery of oil in the North Sea underscores noticeable environmental changes.
  • This discovery and the subsequent oil boom brought about industrialisation, pollution, and destruction of the natural landscape.

Effects of Change on the Community

  • The changes have multifaceted impacts on the Highland community, ranging from economic hardship to loss of cultural identity.
  • The forced mass migration during the Highland Clearances is a defining catalyst, leading to loss of homes, community disruption, and a sense of alienation.
  • Additionally, changes lead to the erosion of traditional Highland culture, as new industries and external influences dilute cultural practices and languages.

Change as a Driver of Conflict

  • Change also generates conflict and tension within the community, particularly between the locals and external forces (landlords, corporations).
  • The community’s resistance against displacement, exploitation, and cultural alienation demonstrates conflict between the old and the new, tradition and progress.

Change as Inevitable

  • Despite the magnitude of change and subsequent challenges, the play portrays change as inevitable in the natural and societal progression.
  • The resilience of the Highland community in adjusting to these shifts underscores the strength of human adaptability in the face of change.

Role of Change in the Narrative

  • Change serves as a compelling narrative device, driving the plot, shaping character development, and creating dramatic tension.
  • It also provides a unique lens for analysing the social, political, and economic realities of the Highland society.