Motivation

"And something told me we were coming to what was, for Chrissie and Rodney, the central purpose of this whole expedition." PAGE 153

The central purpose referenced in the quote was to find out more about deferrals. Tommy, Ruth, and Kathy had all thought the veterans, Chrissie and Rodney, were trying to help them find Ruth's possible. Their real motivation was to find out how they could stay together longer before they had to begin donations. This motivation made them look selfish. Telling their motive was effective in letting the reader see who Chrissie and Rodney really were. They tried to trick the younger students from Hailsham into going with them so they could learn more in private about the deferral system for their own interest. They did not really have any intention of looking for Ruth's possible because they kept changing the subject. They made it out that they weren't interested. The use of motivation was a way of indirect characterization of the veterans. Without the description of their real motive, the reader would believe that the veterans were truly interested in the younger students and finding the possible which they clearly weren't. I think their motivation is flawed because they should have directly told the Hailsham students that they wanted to talk to them in private on the trip rather than take them to Norfolk under false pretenses.