Spies Bildungsroman Analysis

The novel Spies bildungsroman published in 2002 by the the British author Michael Frayn. The novel is based on the fictional story of a Second-World-War imaginary-espionage carried out by two boys, one of which is Stephen, the protagonist of the novel. As the story begins Stephen is portrayed as an old man whose sense of smell provokes vague memories of his childhood. In an attempt to solidify his memories, he travels to his childhood home in a suburban area of London and in a nostalgic manner unravels the character he was as a child. Throughout the novel Stephen is portrayed quite variedly.

At the beginning of the second chapter, when the reader first encounters Stephen he is revealed as common, as well as being uninteresting. “Everything …show more content…
A lack of maturity is revealed in this extract. Stephen uses this phrase as a simile between himself and Keith, who is the “hero“, since children are more opted to compare objects as they try to decipher what they do not understand, a lack of maturity is presented in Stephen. Frayn further reveals a lack of maturity as Stephen calls himself a “local squire“ and “sword bearer“, since both are fictional characters as well as inferior, imagination is revealed, since children are generally more likely to have a fertile imagination a child-like character is revealed. The fact that the “squire“ is local interprets a theme of war, because Keith’s mother is supposedly German and Stephen and Keith are British and thus local. The reader also infers from the same phrases, that Stephen sees himself as inferior toward Keith, as both a “local squire“ and “sword bearer“ were inferior roles in the middle ages. It becomes apparent throughout the book that Stephen is yearning to become this, which further implies a lack of maturity, since children are often yearn for what is impossible. The reader’s is likely to feel a sense of endearment toward the text or possibly