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22. Corkers
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Boy, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Authority and Hypocrisy
Beauty and Imagination
Growing Up
English Nationalism
Summary
Analysis
Repton observes the tradition of “fagging,” a pejoratively named practice in which the older boys force the younger boys to do their bidding (often in demeaning and cruel ways). Within this system, Roald reports to a 17-year-old boy named Carleton who nitpicks his mistakes, even looking for tiny patches of dust in his study after Roald has cleaned it to try and catch him out. During Roald’s first term, a Boazer named Wilberforce singles Roald out and demands that he warm his toilet seat for him in the cold winter. Roald complies, and Wilberforce is pleased with the job Roald has done, commenting that his bottom is particularly warm. Wilberforce makes seat-warming a regular duty for Roald, and Roald uses the time to read.
Repton’s system of hierarchy and discipline adheres to strict and old-fashioned traditions that pit the boys against one another. While the name of this practice now has associations with a homophobic slur, “fagging” in English public schools was not overtly associated with sexuality or sexual activity—rather, the name comes from English slang for difficult work. Roald’s work is indeed difficult, and the tasks he completes for Carleton and Wilberforce are typically petty in nature. This underlines the idea that, like canings, the purpose of “fagging” lies more in humiliation and control than it does with genuine productivity or education.
Themes
