BookTalk.org

I have some questions, and perhaps you do as well, which should be left to the end.

Stop here if you have not completed the book and don't want to read a spoiler.

My first question concerns the election of Gabriel Syme as Thursday in Chapter 2.
It seems to me that the logical thing to do would have been to elect Gregory as he was advocating non-violence. Why did they elect an unknown and violent man if they were all police?

Well, they're trying o catch the most anarch-y anarchists. The ones who seem peaceable are probably not much to worry about.

stahrwe wrote:I have some questions, and perhaps you do as well, which should be left to the end.

Stop here if you have not completed the book and don't want to read a spoiler.

My first question concerns the election of Gabriel Syme as Thursday in Chapter 2.
It seems to me that the logical thing to do would have been to elect Gregory as he was advocating non-violence. Why did they elect an unknown and violent man if they were all police?

This does seem illogical, perhaps paradoxical. Lots of paradox in this book so not too surprising. But perhaps its not completely illogical. They are police and they are looking for anarchists, it is their mission as police to bust the anarchists and the more potentially violent the better, so they see and, oddly enough, support their enemy because their enemy justifies themselves, reinforces who they are and why they are there. If there were no true anarchists (and Gregory despite his bluster speaks in a very pacifist way so he doesn't appear to be a true anarchist) then there is no need for police. Syme fits the bill as an anarchist and they elect him. Also, the big target in this police investigation is not this local anarchist group but the Council of Anarchists and perhaps Syme is a more credible representative on that Council than Gregory.