Home: "Home"

Home: “Home”

Overview

  • “Home” is a profound short story written by Iain Crichton Smith.
  • It delves into the intricate aspects of personal identity, homecoming, and mental breakdowns, as the protagonist grapples with his home’s transformation.

Setting

  • The tale unfolds in Scotland, specifically a small Hebridean island community where the protagonist was born and raised.
  • This particular location establishes a groundwork for the themes of transformation and alienation.

Characters

  • The primary character is Murdo – a man who returns to his birthplace after a prolonged absence, only to feel estranged in the familiar scenario.
  • Murdo’s mother and other islanders are secondary characters that highlight Murdo’s evolving perspective towards the notion of ‘home’.

Themes

  • Identity: The story questions whether a person’s identity is tied to where they’re from or the experiences they’ve gone through.
  • Transformation and Change: Murdo returns to a home that has undergone drastic changes, hinting at the inevitability of transformation.
  • Alienation and Belonging: The protagonist feels a deep sense of displacement, questioning his sense of belonging to the very place he once called home.

Symbolism and Imagery

  • Home: As the titular reference, ‘home’ symbolises both a physical location and metaphysical emotion bound with nostalgia and identity chaos.
  • Insanity: The unraveling of Murdo’s sanity symbolises his struggles to reconcile with the changing face of his homeland.
  • The Island: Mirroring the shifting state of Murdo’s mind, the changing island signifies the diminishing line between the past and the present.

Writing Style

  • In “Home,” Smith’s narrative is introspective and psychological, effectively striking the delicate balance between internal turmoil and external reality.
  • He employs a range of literary tools such as the stream of consciousness, indirect speech, and descriptive imagery to instil his stories with depth and evoke visceral emotions in the reader.
  • The juxtaposition of past and present, nostalgia and reality, further enhance the story’s thematic richness.

Conclusion

  • “Home” is a haunting narrative exploring the profound complexities of identity and belonging amid rapid transformation.
  • Through an artful fusion of introspective narrative style and profound symbolism, Smith reveals the unsettling reality of estrangement in ‘homecoming’ and the psychological toll it can take on an individual.