Riddley Walker

Goodparley and Orfing prepare their Eusa show, a piece of theatre which uses puppets resembling the traditional British characters Punch and Judy. The people of Riddley’s village watch his initiation ceremony and then gather around for the Eusa show. As the connexion man, Riddley will be required to interpret the story for them. The show begins with a customary call and response between the connexion man and the audience. Riddley and the audience know the words by heart. Goodparley disappears into a small booth and controls the hand puppet characters including Eusa. Orfing stands beside the booth and acts as the narrator, occasionally interacting with the characters.

The puppet Eusa reenacts the story of how he and Mr. Clevver destroyed the world. In this version of the story, the puppet Eusa invents a mechanical head to help him think. When Mr. Clevver asks about this new invention, Eusa explains that the rudimentary computer will help him on a project named Good Time. Mr. Clevver cranks the machine beyond its limits and transports all of Eusa’s knowledge into the machine. Mr. Clevver departs with the machine, leaving Eusa alone and confused. The Littl Shynin Man appears to Eusa. When Eusa does not recognize him, the Littl Shynin Man reveals that Eusa is the person who tore him in two and tells Eusa to retrieve his machine from Mr. Clevver to ensure that project Good Time is a success.

The play seems to end but Eusa reappears and seems to argue with Orfing. They disagree over why the puppet Eusa has changed the traditional story to blame Mr. Clevver for all of the mistakes previously assigned to Eusa. Orfing asks why anyone would believe this new interpretation. He accepts that the show evolves and changes all the time, but this new version deviates radically from the traditional account which blames Eusa for the nuclear war. The puppet Eusa proclaims its innocence, claims that nuclear war was inevitable, and insists that this version of events is true.

The puppet show finishes, and the people socialize amongst themselves, drinking alcohol and discussing what they have just seen. Riddley is now one of the senior members of the community but neither Goodparley nor Orfing seem to pay him any attention. He goes out alone into the rain and walks along the perimeter of the village. Goodparley and Orfing’s party departs and Riddley watches them leave.

The next day, Riddley does not have to work. He prepares his interpretations of the Eusa show for the rest of the village. Riddley has always believed that he could provide better interpretations than his father, whose connexions were never particularly exciting. He remembers one Eusa show which seems entirely different from the previous day’s performance. In this show, a more foolish version of Eusa becomes embroiled in a dispute over land ownership. The simple story seems to preach the importance of community as a form of defense. His father made a simple pun about the message of the play and, a few days later, the village elders began to form alliances with nearby villages to increase their protection. They became farmers instead of foragers, though many do not appreciate this new lifestyle and wish to return to the old ways.

Riddley thinks about his first connexion. He wants to distinguish himself from his father but does not want to seem arrogant or self-important. His father advised him not to overthink the connexions; Brooder’s interpretations were always improvised in the moment. Riddley begins his interpretation slowly, building up to a grand finale by slowly leading his audience through his reasoning. He disappears into his own thoughts for a while and, after a moment of silence, proclaims that Eusa’s head “is dreaming us” (50). The others are confused until Lorna points out that the idea came to him in a trance and, perhaps, he broke from the trance too soon. Riddley and the others have no choice but to wait until the intricacies of his interpretation become more apparent.