Shuggie Bain Minecraft Scene Proposal

Themes: 

Temperament- Big shug has anger issues. They stem from his frustration with his life/standing in society. He then takes this frustration and blames it on Agnes effectively gaslighting her.  

He tells her he is leaving her because he cannot make her happy.  

He only goes back in the evening to have sex with her and has complete control over her, and he loves that control.  

Religion: 

• There is constantly a battle between the Protestants and the Catholics.  
• Religious conflict is not presented in any major scenes, but it is very underlying and serves as the reason as to why so many characters act the way they do. 
• “Celtic,” … “Oh, fur f***’s sake, might’ve known ah’d get in a Pape’s taxi.” 
• Rangers: Protestant soccer team 

• Celtic: Catholic soccer team 
• No tolerance for the other team 
• “‘You need a lot of things.’ Then she added, ‘You should have stayed married to that Catholic.’… ‘Jesus can’t pay my catalogue.’ Lizzie gave a fake laugh. ‘No. But hell will mend you.’”

Proposal (setting, scene, how themes apply): 

The setting will be a church (God church). The plot will feature a parking lot and a walkway towards the Church entrance. The Church will be non-denominational, but it will be established that the Church is monotheistic and associated with Christianity. There will be a large cross positioned above the main Church entrance. Inside the Church, there will be pews (traditional church benches), an altar, and a large statue of Jesus that will be positioned on the wall behind the altar. There will be pews for approximately one hundred people. There will be two rows of pews separated by a central aisle. The Church will be Gothically built but relatively plain on the inside. The blocks used will include stone bricks, cobblestone, glass panels, glowstone, dark oak logs, dark oak planks, oak logs, oak planks, white carpets, white quartz blocks, signs and flint and steel.  

Theme illustration: 

Escapism: This theme will be integrated into the build through the use of glow stone and flint and steel to burn the church. These elements are inspired by the juxtaposition of two scenes: Agnes when she visits Blackpool and when she attempts to burn the house. Agnes, a hopeless alcoholic, desperately tries to escape her dire circumstances in Glasgow. Stuart informs the reader of Agnes existential longings when she sees the flashing lights in the casino. This is contrasted with her attempt to burn to the house; which is symbolic of her desire to escape her mundane existence.  

Religion: Because religion is more of an underlying theme that doesn’t have a concrete presence in any major scenes, two scenes will be used to describe religious conflict. The first one will occur in the parking lot. It will be the scene where Shug and his passenger are talking about the soccer game and Shug says he supports Celtic, implying he is Catholic, and then receives scorn from his passenger, a Protestant. A sign will be placed outside the car with the following quotation to provide context to the scene: “Celtic,” … “Oh, fur f***’s sake, might’ve known ah’d get in a Pape’s taxi.” The second scene will be when Lizzie is talking to Agnes, which will take place on the pathway into the Church. This scene is when the two are arguing and Lizzie makes the point that Agnes should’ve never divorced her first husband. The following quotation will also be added on a sign for description of the scene: “‘You need a lot of things.’ Then she added, ‘You should have stayed married to that Catholic.’… ‘Jesus can’t pay my catalogue.’ Lizzie gave a fake laugh. ‘No. But hell will mend you.’” 

Gaslighting: The scene will be in the isle of the church; Agnes will be in front of the alter with a Jesus statue hanging on the wall behind her. She will have her hands up and apart, like Jesus nailed on the cross. She is taking the burden of Shuggs sins, similarly to how Jesus took the sins of man. The Church will be on fire to show the discrepancy between her sacrifice and Jesus’s with hers being self-destructive and his not.