'The Shadow Catcher'

Paper Summary:

In this article the writer looks at Andrzej Szczypiorski's book "The Shadow Catcher". The writer discusses that this book provides a very revealing and unusually frank insight to history, sexuality and Polish-Jewish relations. The writer describes that "The Shadow Catcher" takes the reader to the cloudless summer of 1939, when Krzys, a sensitive boy of 15, sets off to the countryside for a holiday. The writer maintains that the conversation, the symbols, the imagery and the context of the novel are very clear that this is the story of a young man who is slowly, but surely, growing up. The writer concludes that the provocative musing, whether in the child's mind, dialogue, or situation, provides plenty of evidence that the kid, though still a teenager is fast maturing because of his experiences.

From the Paper:

"The darkness is a symbol of his aloofness; the freaked out teenagers often try to be aloof and dream of things, cut off from the reality of the world. They build a cocoon of their own as a defense mechanism.
His physical description is also indicative of his being just on the threshold of maturity. He is described as having a rather high forehead topped by a thick, dark shock of hair. "When he was younger he had liked to tangle his ink-stained fingers in it", shows that he is growing up, but the memory of "tangling ink-stained fingers" is too recent to be ignored.
The treatment by parents is always indicative of maturity. Where the parents are too solicitous, and too protective, the children, even if they desire to be, are not independent and naturally do not fully mature. The protagonist's mother almost smothers him with protective attitude."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Szczypiorski, Andrzej. The Shadow Catcher. New York: Grove Press, 1997.

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