In Robert Swindells’ novel, Stone Cold (1993), hopelessness is expressed in the character relationships and being ignored from society. As a result of Link being removed from his old life, he begins to feel excluded and that he will never be able to get out of the state that he is homeless. On the other hand, Shelter tries to feel like useful part of society in a bid to add hope and meaning to his life. Although the army did isolate him and kicked him out, he is still doing his duty by cleaning up the streets and creating real men. Swindells demonstrates that hopelessness can be noticed.
As readers, we have to feel empathetic for Swindells’ main character Link. He goes through knowing he is a social outcast and in fact a non person is really extraordinary. “After a bit you start to think of yourself as a different creature – a creature that lives beside ordinary people but isn’t one of them.” The author used this exquisite metaphor to show how the character felt in a different perspective. How he had to lie on his bruises, listening. Trying to warm his feet. Then he has to curl up on his side but his hip hurts, so you stretch out on your back so his feet stay cold and the concrete hurts his heels. And then after all of that, he has to try fall asleep. Link then realises that “To all intents and purposes you belong to a separate species,” The Author uses sibilance here in this quote to manifest emphasis.
When the author creates the stage for when Link arrives in Camden for the first time, Swindells’ character Link is shown as naive and making a few crucial mistakes that can no longer repair. He then further elaborates this more when his character Link quotes this metaphor “You’re on the old downward spiral,” When Link says the words old and spiral it makes it seem as if Link has had more mistakes before he was even homeless. As a result of this, it makes the readers feel some type of sympathy for Link. This further adds on to the fact that once you make at least one tiny crucial mistake. There will never be any turning back.
Swindells’ novel portrays a sense of hopelessness with in many sickening terms and events. Link realises that him being with Gail was like “For the first time in months i wasn’t some sort of freak.”This simile was used to elaborate that Link was very hopeless because he did not have any point of lif until h met Gail. But Link does go on to highlight the fact that “It was the start of a brilliant time for me and it is a good job we can not see into the future.” And Swindells’ expressed a wonderful timing of sense of foreboding to keep the reader wondering what will happen next.
