The book “The wasp Factory” by Iain banks is a book that explores the varying levels of mental stability the characters posses which can be shaped by their past experience to a large extent. Francis Cauldhame or also known as Frank, is a sixteen year old male lives isolated in a small town in Scotland with his father. When he was young, his family’s old dog “Old Saul” bit off his penis and testicals. That was a traumatising event for Frank and is one of the main reasons for his instability. His brother, Eric Cauldhame and his father, Angus Cauldhame have experienced various traumatic events that has led to their instability as well.
Firstly, I will explore the past events experienced by Frank Cauldhame that has led to his current mentality. The Frank that we are introduced in the novel is apathetic and cares little for the life of others. He has a strong sense of masculinity and despises women. Frank believes that the women are a weaker sex and always needs to be protected by the strong and dominant male. This is a rather ironic trait of him as he is actually a she due to “his” father feeding her testosterone to make her a male. Frank kills animals and collects their heads to put on his sacrificial poles, creates mini wars between Mussels and Dead Flies and has an invention he dubs as “The Wasp Factory”.
…show more content…
It is all based around the face of the old clock which used to hang over the door of the Royal Bank of Scotland in Porteneil. (Banks,