The Iron Heel | Objects, Setting & Important Places

The Iron Heel Objects/Places

The Everhard Manuscript

This is the name given by the people of the future (Anthony Meredith) to the main body of the narrative. The Manuscript is presented as equal parts personal memoir (of its author, Avis Everhard), political manifesto (of the ideals of the Revolution), hagiography (biography of a "saint"- in this case, Ernest Everhard) and, from the perspective of Meredith and the people of the future, historical document.

The Footnotes

Throughout the Manuscript/novel, footnotes written from the perspective of the future, perhaps intended to be perceived as written by Anthony Meredith, comment on the manuscript's references to people, situations and ideas. Some of the shorter footnotes even give translations of idiom and slang - in chapter twenty-three, for example, a one-word footnote translates "grub" (found in the manuscript) as "food". In general, the footnotes come across as somewhat patronizing and judgmental and, in some ways, have the potential to undermine the reader's respect...
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