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In Chapter 3, Axl and Wistan speak with each other on the platform overlooking the Saxon village, and the description of their view is a significant instance of visual imagery:
The view before them that morning may not have differed so greatly from one to be had from the high windows of an English country house today. The two men would have seen, to their right, the valleyside coming down in regular green ridges, while far to their left, the opposite slope, covered with pine trees, would have appeared hazier, because more distant, as it merged with the outlines of the mountains on the horizon [...] And just where the sunlight went into shadow on the left bank of the river could be seen some remnants of a long-abandoned village.
This passage of visual imagery is notable for its departure from the novel's beginning, when the speaker notes that the English landscape of Axl and Beatrice's village resembles little of the country known today. In this moment, the narrator notes the familiar contours of the land: the lush ridges, trees, and mountains resemble much of the greenery found in England today. The view described from the Saxon village, therefore, is significant because of its familiarity to a modern audience.
It is possible that these images of the English landscape suggest the outcome of the battles between the Saxons and the Britons: the view from the Briton village resembles little of England today—and the view from the Saxon village resembles England greatly—because the Saxons emerge victorious over the land after the end of The Buried Giant.












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Common Core-aligned