Significance of the Owl in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

Question

There's a scene in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" where Prideaux (Mark Strong) is in the class room teaching, then suddenly an owl pops out of the fireplace. Prideaux quickly dispatches it. Later on, in the same class room, Prideaux is talking to Smiley (Gary Oldman) and we see a stuffed owl on the wall.

That (and the bee scene) always seemed rather random to me. Or am I missing some deeper meaning?

Answer 1

I always assumed it was a sign that an otherwise unassuming and placid teacher had a ruthless streak and could deal swiftly and, if necessary, brutally with a situation.

---The book explains it (and it was written pre-Harry Potter). The owl had been nesting in the disused chimney. When Prideaux fired it up a half-dead owl was smoked out onto the classroom floor, shocking and startling the boys. Prideaux whisks it up and out of the room. Later the boys find the dead owl on the rubbish heap, its neck neatly twisted and broken. The point is that Prideaux is a skilled killer. Also in the book, Haydon is killed by persons unknown, his neck neatly twisted and broken.

Answer 2

The significance of the bee scene is that, unlike the others in the car, Smiley is totally focused on the things that matter (the mole) and able to completely ignore trivial distractions like the bee.