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The Cone Gathers is a novel by Scottish writer Robin Jenkins, first published in 1955.
Calum and Neil are Cone Gatherers who work in the forest of a Scottish estate during the Autumn of 1943, gathering cones that will replenish the forest. They incur the wrath of Duror, the groundskeeper, who is especially repulsed by Calum's hunched back. Their only friend is Roderick Campbell, son of the aristocratic landowner, while his mother Lady Runcie-Campbell dislikes the brothers and avoids communicating with them.
The story has heavy elements of Religion, Class and the concept of Good and evil. It is a common book for the Scottish higher curriculum.
Contains examples of:[]
- Alternate Character Interpretation: Is Duror really evil or is he going insane and preforming The Last Dance with Calum and Neil?
- Batman Gambit: The deer drive is this as well as Duror's rumour.
- Driven to Suicide: Duror
- Fatal Flaw: Calum is a hunchback, not deadly in itself, but it is when he meets Duror.
- Morality Pet: Tulloch to Lady Runcie Cambell.
- Noodle Incident: Duror and the naked doll.
- Redemption Equals Death: Duror feels it is.
- Second Hand Storytelling: The Noodle Incident with the doll becomes this when Duror tells his lie to Lady Runcie-Cambell.
- Start of Darkness: Duror at the start of the novel,he gets progressivly worse.
- Tragic Villain: Duror
- Moral Event Horizon
- Ironic Echo
- Tragic Irony: Tons of it.
- Ugly Cute
- Death by Disfigurement: Calum in an interesting version. He's always been disfigured, but it's his good looks on his face which ultimately spells doom for him.
- Complete Monster: Duror supported the Nazis, killed a disabled cat when he was a child and kills Calum.