The Ogre Day 1 - "Signs"

Question 5: “All is sign”

The word “sign” is mentioned many times within this first section of the novel. Each time the word appears, it is as though Tournier urges readers to take notice, delve beneath surface image:

· “All is sign. But only a piercing light or shriek will penetrate our blunted sight and hearing. Ever since my years of initiation at St. Christopher’s, I’ve always been aware of hieroglyphs written across my path and a confused murmur of words in my ear,” (p. 5).

· “His [Nestor’s] life’s rhythm was the trilogy ingestion-digestion-defecation, and these three operations were surround by general respect. But this was only Nestor’s visible face. His hidden face, which only I suspected, was signs, the deciphering of signs. This was the main business in his life- this and the absolute despotism he wielded over all of St. Christopher’s,” (p. 20-21).

· “From the prie-dieu you could see, standing out distinctly against the white wall, a garish picture of Christ wearing the crown of thorns and being struck in the face by a soldier. The reading of signs – the great business of my life – was still so unknown to me that I didn’t think of making the obvious parallel. Now I know that any human face, however vile, becomes the face of Christ when it is struck,”(p. 26).

· “But one day Christopher saw the king making the sign of the cross over his face after someone had spoken of the Devil in his presence. When Christopher asked why he did this, the king replied, “Whenever I hear the Devil spoken of, I use this sign lest he obtain power over me and harm me,”(p. 39).

· “A playground is an enclosed space that allows enough play for play – a blank page for games to be written on like signs that have to be deciphered. But the density of the atmosphere is inversely proportional to the space that encloses it. If the walls closed in, the writing would be more crowded together. Would it be more legible? We might just arrive at the phenomenon of condensation. But of what? Perhaps aquarium, or better still the dormitories, might give the answer,”(p. 43-44).

Abel has named himself and Nestor to be of the business of “deciphering signs.” Both Abel and Nestor are socially outcast, “monsters” because of their inadequate physical beauty and appearance. However, Nestor has power despite his social inadequacy; this power is ascertained through “papers” which are commonly linked with “signs.” Papers in The Ogre, enhanced my understanding of the significance of “signs,” and why it was Nestor & Abel’s job to decipher them. The human soul is made of papers, according to Abel, and the society without papers (his story of the man who burned down all the papers in government offices) is completely animalistic. Many people think that “possessing” paper is the most important thing in life, but Nestor understands that “It isn’t the paper itself that matters, it’s what’s written on it and who wrote it,”(p 20). This connects back to deciphering “signs."

(A) In the first quote, sign is represented in the form of sensory experience (to hear & see) and also as hieroglyphic symbols.

*Boys at the school were constantly tattooing each other, Abel’s “AT” tattoo leads to his torturous punishment

*To hear & see only provide superficial understanding, we cannot rely on these senses to decipher “signs” that help us follow our destiny and better understand ourselves & society.

(B) In the second, Nestor’s true nature is revealed as a decipher of signs, this is only revealed to Abel.

*Abel & Nestor are both “monsters/ogres” outcast from society because of their ugliness; society is superficial and lacks a deep understanding of true nature.

*Abel is akin to Nestor in his ability to decipher the “hidden face” that lies beyond the “visible face.”

*Despite social disregard, Nestor and Abel possess truth & reason = power.

© The third & fourth quotes address religion; represented in the sign of the cross and the face of Christ (all people assume this face when they are hit).

*Idea that many people are religious for the purpose of image; if the king really believed in the ultimate power of God as the basis of his life, he would not be afraid at the mention of the devil.

*Signs are deceptive, false fronts

*Signs can give the illusion of power, even when there is no real substance.

(D) The final quote address the conflicting atmospheres of the carefree playground which is like a blank page for signs to be written on vs. the constricting hierarchy of St. Christopher’s,

*Free will, joy, childhood imagination are the “papers” (substance) of life and truth. The manifestation of cultural ideals are here.

*Children in playground are impressionable, blank slates, before they succumb to the relentless forces of society & hierarchy that limit these “papers” so critical in life.