MDMD: Future strangers

[Paul Nightingale]

Ch4 marks Cherrycoke's appearance as a character in the narrative he
relates; he refers to himself in the third person. His introduction is
unannounced; as other characters do, he speaks; that is to say, they are
their own narrators. When the scene cuts to 'the present' Cherrycoke's
description of the battle - for the benefit of the twins - can only be
impressionistic. This is how it sounded to him "well below". The chapter has
prepared us for this by confining the reader to the sounds of speech.
Compare this to the way action is described in Ch3. Cherrycoke is absent; so
his account has been given to him by Mason and Dixon. The origins of their
relationship/history is therefore beyond recovery. Cherrycoke observes: "He
[Dixon] will be the first to catch the average Eye, often causing future
strangers to remember them as Dixon and Mason". Is, in fact, Cherrycoke
himself one of these "future strangers": someone who has yet to be unknown?
Such unknowns have first to be known to be unknown; they are recognisable by
their absence (eg Mason's Wig).

Cherrycoke's invisibility, as a narrator, is 'guaranteed' by his presence as
a character; yet his role as a narrator necessarily dictates the form the
narrative takes. Again reminiscent of the camera. We know it's there; we
ignore it.