Waterland by Graham Swift

History is the study of past human events and activities (Wikipedia). In the novel "Waterland", the author, Graham Swift, discuses throughout the novel, the events of history, and the circumstances of history. Tom Crick, the main character, tries to remember and understand what happened to him in the past, by making his life events into a story. He makes history, by recalling his previous life experiences.

In the beginning of the novel, Tom Crick, "a history teacher who is about to be fired, ruminating upon history and his story in terms of the events of his own life, and he quickly runs up against the young, those without interest in the past,"(Brown University).
An outspoken student in Mr. Crick's class said, "The only important thing about history, I think, sir, is that it's got to the point where it's probably about to end," (Waterland P.7).

"This resistance to history by the young, who wish to live in the here and now..." (Brown University). To bring order to his class room, Mr. Crick engages his students in an act of history. "There is the suggestion that it is human nature to be interested in the past because of the effect it has on us", (Essay Info). Crick does not talk about history, but retells the story of his life to his class. He relates the events of his life in some sort of manner to makes it into a story. "He constructs history--his story. He constructs himself, and in the course of doing so he recognizes that "Perhaps history is just story-telling" (133)" (Brown University). Crick starts observing the key events in his life at the Fens. So he attempts to understand why his wife did what she did, but only attempts to learn what his past mistakes were. "Crick looks at his own personal history and that of those around him, during his life in the Fens, in order to determine how history has shaped him. Story telling is also used to comfort - threat of nuclear war... the theme of Crick using history to comfort his students indicates something more about the nature of history in the wider perspective." (Essay Info)

In Waterland, Swift discusses mainly about the history of events, with facts, and the circumstances of history. History in Waterland covers both the history of a family and of particular events. "So, dwelling on the idea of personal history in the novel could be an attempt to emphasize the insignificance of the individual in comparison to world events, or which is more likely to emphasize the importance of the individual, (Essay Info). One of the many themes in the novel Waterland is that history repeats itself. "...the popular notion of revolution...a leap into the future. A redemption; a restoration...A return to a new beginning..." (Waterland P. 137). So in the classroom Mr. Crick teaches that history will repeat itself, through the French Revolution.

"Waterland" is a novel that discusses the events of history, and the circumstances of history, through the memory of Mr. Crick.

Work Cited

Anonymous, "History", Wikipedia,

Anonymous, "Why is "history" such a central theme in the novel Waterland",
Essay Info,

Landow, George P., "Waterland: An Introduction", Brown University,

Swift, Graham, Waterland, New York: First Vintage International Edition, 1992

Swift, Graham, Waterland, New York: Washington Square Press, 1985