Fall Of Giants

“Fitz cherished tradition […] It was only a century or so since the French nobility had been driven in carts to the guillotine, and the same would happen here if some of those muscular black-faced miners had their way.”

Fitz is characterized as a privileged member of the aristocracy who cherishes traditional and conservative values. His fear of social unrest and uprising and his lack of sympathy for the miners who extract the coal that brings in his huge fortune is made clear.

‘“When I was a girl, I was made to watch three peasants being hanged,’ she said. ‘My mother didn’t like it, but my grandfather insisted. He said: ‘This is to teach you to punish your servants. If you do not slap them or flog them for small offenses or carelessness and laziness, they will eventually commit larger sins and end up on the scaffold.’”

Bea refers to the hanging where Grigori and Lev’s father is killed after grazing his cattle on land that technically belonged to Bea. The quote illustrates the cruelty of the Russian aristocracy and foreshadows the uprising of workers and peasants in the Russian revolution.

“He looked again at the row of lockers, each labeled: ‘Breathing Apparatus.’ […] Billy swiftly broke open the first locker. It was empty.”

Celtic Minerals assures the unionized workers at the Aberowen mines that breathing apparatuses will be installed to ensure safe air is accessible in the case of a leak or explosion. The miners find out they have been tricked, and the lockers are empty. The greed of the company is foregrounded in this quote, where men suffocate in the underground explosion. Readers feel sympathy for the miners’ anger and outrage.

“The elders lay facedown in the road with their foreheads in the dirt.”

When the tsar passed through the village, people were expected to lay prostrate before him to illustrate their devotion and servitude. This illustrates the extent of the social hierarchy that existed in Russia. That same tsar (Nicholas II) was assassinated by Russian revolutionaries 25 years later.

“This was great good luck, Grigori thought. Only foreigners would object to a policeman kicking a peasant.”

Gus Dewar is shocked at Mikhail Pinsky, a police officer, beating Katerina in the street. To Grigori, this is a commonplace sight. The ubiquitousness of corruption and violence in Russia compared to the democratic America is made clear in the opposing reaction of the men.

‘“May you live long,’ said the old man. ‘Long enough to take revenge on the bloodstained tsar for the evil he has done this day.’”

As Grigori holds the corpse of his mother, who was shot dead by tsarist soldiers, an anguished peasant hopes he will avenge her death. This comment foreshadows Grigori’s involvement in the Bolshevik uprising. When Grigori stands in front of the Winter Palace a decade later, having stormed the palace and arrested the last of the provisional government, he remembers the old man’s wish.

“Everyone have [sic] been evicted!”

Mrs. Dai Ponies tells Ethel that all of the miners have been evicted. The miners went on strike to object the eviction of the widows of the miners killed in the pit explosion. In retaliation, Celtic Minerals fired and evicted all the miners. This quote illustrates the ruthlessness of the company and their indifference to the suffering of the workers they employ.

“I could use your passport and papers for entering the United States—no one would know the difference.”

Lev is wanted for murder and convinces Grigori to give him his passport and ticket to America. Grigori is devastated. The decision sends the brothers’ lives in different directions: Lev toward a life of wealth in America and Grigori toward the approaching Russian revolution.

‘“The Tsar cannot stand aside if Serbia is attacked.’ Walter felt a chill. This was exactly the kind of escalation he was afraid of.”

Walter’s Russian source, Anton, indicates that Russia will mobilize if Austria moves to attack Serbia. Walter knows Germany would be obliged to stand by Austria as their ally. He feels a sense of immense fear and foreboding as the world slips closer and closer toward a catastrophic war. 

“As she lay alone, hour after hour, grief slowly gave way to anxiety. How would she and her baby live? She would lose her job here at Ty Gwyn—that was automatic […] She was not sure she could return to her parents’ house: the disgrace would kill her father.” 

Ethel miserably considers her options after discovering she is pregnant with Fitz’s baby. She loses her job and has to move away from the town she has lived in all her life. Fitz’s life, on the other hand, continues uninterrupted. Ethel is sworn to secrecy over the identity of her baby’s father. Her situation emphasizes the power structures that favor men and the aristocracy.

“The bosses were able to behave outrageously because they held all the cards. The owned the mines and the houses, and they acted as if they owned the people.”

Billy reflects with frustration on the situation of the Aberowen miners, who are relatively powerless compared to the might of Celtic Minerals. The owners and managers do not prioritize the wellbeing of their workers. The miners, due to franchising laws, cannot vote.

“Spotty convulsed horribly as a hail of bullets tore into his body.”

Billy watches, horrified, as one of his boyhood friends is killed by German machine-gun fire at the Battle of the Somme. His death was one of thousands on the first day of action, which turned out to be a massive failure for the Allies.

“What had shocked him was the stupidity, callousness, and corruption of the officers. Living and fighting alongside the ruling class had made him a revolutionary.”

Grigori is shocked and disgusted with the cruelty and corruption of the officers who are supposed to be leading him. This ruling class officers are elevated to their position because of their birthright rather than for any aptitude for leadership or warfare. His involvement in the war solidifies his hatred of the aristocracy.

“If he was going to shoot at his own side, he would kill an officer rather than a soldier.”

Grigori is ordered to fire at Russian soldiers retreating from Austrian attack. Instead, he kills the officer who makes the order. This rebellious act foreshadows Grigori’s participation in the Russian Revolution.

“We were told that our artillery had destroyed the enemy positions, wrecked their trenches and demolished their dugouts, and when we got to the other side we would see nothing but dead Germans.”

At the Labour Party meeting, Billy refers to the misinformation given to soldiers at the Battle of the Somme. Instead of seeing only dead Germans, British and Allied soldiers are killed in their thousands by German artillery. Billy criticizes the officers who planned the attack, including Fitz.

“This moment of battlefield opportunity would not last long. Americans had started to arrive in greater numbers.”

Walter reflects that the 1918 spring offensive is Germany’s last chance for victory. Germany’s numbers have been bolstered on the western front by Russia’s withdrawal from the war. Meanwhile though, American soldiers travel toward the western front.

“They will be demoralized if they think we were defeated.”

Otto agrees with the German right-wing press, which blames Germany’s surrender on Jews and Socialists. Walter dismisses this as ridiculous, but Otto thinks it’s better for German morale to blame an outside force. This rationale ominously foreshadows Hitler’s rise to power.

“Make the hun pay!”

Bernie speaks to the voters of Aldgate: He hopes to be elected as their Member of Parliament. Angry crowd members want to know his stance on the peace treaty being discussed in France. Bernie thinks revenge is not important, but many are furious at Germany for British deaths. Attitudes like this lead to the humiliating terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

“At Chateau-Thierry we saved the world.”

Woodrow Wilson arrives in France to a hero’s welcome. French men, women, and children take their hats off in a silent show of respect as his train passes. America’s reinforcements stopped Germany’s progress at Chateau-Thierry; Wilson claims this act stopped the war.

“The degradation to which you subject others comes back, sooner or later, to haunt you.”

Maud worriedly reflects that Germany’s humiliation by the Allied powers may come back to haunt them. Her reflection foreshadows World War II, which grew out of German anger and poverty. 

“Any time she liked she could kiss Walter […] and that made up for everything else.”

In spite of their impoverished life in Germany, Walter and Maud’s love is all-consuming. Maud is happy with her choices, even though it estranged her from her family and her country.

“They’ve caught the leader. It’s Adolf Hitler.”

Walter and Maud discuss the revolutionaries in Bavaria, led by a fiery politician called Adolf Hitler. Their conversation about political instability and violent revolution in Germany alludes to the events that will occur in Germany in the next decade and lead the world toward World War II.

“Men should be promoted for brains, not birth.” 

Billy stands in front of his friends, family, and colleagues in Aberowen as a candidate for their local member of Parliament. He refers to the unfair privileges enjoyed by the aristocracy and suggests promotions should be based on merit, not birthright. This speech solidifies his status in the story as a working-class hero, and his election to Parliament symbolizes social reform and the growing power of workers.