We are given a thorough description of Mr. Florian, the
headmaster of Greenslade Secondary School, in Chapter One of this excellent novel, when
the author visits the school for the first time and meeets Mr. Florian, and is allowed
to wander around to see the school for himself. Note how the author describes this
somewhat eccentric character:
Behind a large desk sat a small man whose large
head was decorated with a fine crop of carefully groomed curly white hair; the face was
either tanned or olive-skinned, lean with high cheekbones and surprisingly smooth, as if
the youthfulness which had deserted his hair had found permanent accommodation around
the aquiline nose and full sensuous moth; his brown eyes were large, slightly
protruding, and seemed filled with a kind of wonder, as if he were on the verge of some
new and exciting
discovery.
He seems to be
described as if he were some kind of eccentric professor figure, with the white hair and
youthful face and childish enthusiasm. However, as the novel develops, we see that what
impresses Braithwaite above all is Mr. Florian's "deep, enthusiastic concern and
undoubted love for the children." He is clearly presented as unorthodox in his approach
to teaching and education, but above all what endures is his belief in the children and
his sympathy for them, combined with an obvious understanding of the very difficult
contexts from which they come from.
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