The Body Snatcher Essay Example

The Body Snatcher Essay Example The Body Snatcher Essay The Body Snatcher Essay A gruesome story about Fettes and Macfarlane dissecting dead bodies at a medical university. Fettes is troubled when he realises the bodies have been murdered, he tells Macfarlane about what he thinks but Macfarlane pays no attention. Fettes is pushed to follow his career and neglects his conscience. Gray is introduced in to the story and seems to have control over Macfarlane; Gray embarrasses him and makes him pay for the bill. Later that night a new body is brought to them and it appears to be Grey. Fettes is suspicious that Macfarlane had killed him and is not sure what to do. Again he doesnt act and follows his career. Fettes and Macfarlane dig up a dead body in the graveyard. On their way back they realise the body had changed to someone elses. They then checked the bodys face and it some how was the body of Gray. In the opening paragraph the reader is introduced to Fettes and the undertaker, the landlord. We are told that Fettes is a drunken Scotchman and a man of education, he drinks five glasses of rum a night. This makes the reader wonder why Fettes drinks so much. We have the impression that he may be depressed. People still believe in the sanctity of and the content of the book does still tend to shock the reader. The book seems to tell the reader that crime and gangsters are the same thing because without crime you dont have gangsters and vice versa. The story is set in Edinburgh in 1828. NARRATIVE Every night in four friends (Fettes, the undertaker, the Landlord and the narrator) meet in the George to drink and talk. Fettes is an old drunken Scotsman but he is known to be clever. In his past he was a doctor and some people address him as one. He has a shadowed past and doesnt easily give in to a bribe. As the story progresses it starts to show that Fettes had a bad past. He knew Macfarlane in the past. Dr Macfarlane is shocked when he sees Fettes. Fettes studied medicine in his young days. The narrator is the one who finds out about Fettes past and tells it to the readers. Fettes was very clever in school and the teachers noted this he acted and behaved mature and was a good example for all the other students. He got lodged by Mr K in a room above the dissecting room his task was to open the door for body deliverers and pay them for the bodies. These bodies were the ones used in the dissecting lessons and they were usually homeless people who wouldnt be noticed or missed by any if they vanished. The body snatchers were usually gangsters or in some way affiliated to the mob. One day the body deliverers brought a body Fettes did what he usually did he checked the body if it was in good condition but this bodies was different it was of a girl and he immediately recognised her. He didnt know what to do so he paid the men and waited for Macfarlane to come. Once he told him Macfarlane told him that no-one would notice and that he should act as if he didnt know who she was. Even though Fettes was worried that someone would recognise her he still put the body out to be dissected. Every one got busy dissecting and no one recognised the girl. Fettes went to a popular tavern after work and met Macfarlane with a stranger named Gray. The stranger seemed to exercise a great deal of control over Macfarlane. Gray seemed to like Fettes and even told him about how he used to be a bad fellow. He ordered Toddy to get Fettes a drink or he would have to close the door. Macfarlane got angry because Gray called him Toddy and so makes a joke about dissecting dead friends. Gray ignores Macfarlane joke and invited Fettes to join them at dinner. He ordered a feast so great that it caused commotion in the tavern. After they finished eating Gray made Macfarlane pay for the feast. The three men then went around the taverns drinking, when Fettes left the group Gray was heavily drunk and Macfarlane wasnt happy for getting made to use his own money to pay for Grays expenses. At four oclock Fettes heard a knock on the door when he opened it he was surprised to find Macfarlane in a gig with a body bag. Inside the bag was a dead Gray Macfarlane told Fettes to take the body and pay him. Fettes was hit hard by the shock and did what he was told. Fettes is confused and starts drinking. The amounts of bodies available start decreasing and so the two men went into the country side to dig up dead farmers wife who died recently. The light started getting dim and it started raining. The got to the grave and so started they digging it didnt take long before they got to the casket.