Pig-Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman
Life or death?
Dr Bryce tells Cameron: ‘I’ve narrowed it down to two likely
candidates. I’m considering you and a woman in her twenties.’
You will be given the role of Cameron or the artist (the woman in
her twenties). Write a short speech persuading Dr Bryce to
give you the new heart and the chance of life. This will be
delivered to the class.
Top tips to persuade:
1. Use pronouns like ‘you’, ‘your’, ‘we’, or ‘me’ to make your
audience feel included.
2. Use similes e.g. life is like a precious jewel.
3. Use antithesis (balancing two opposites) e.g. life and death.
4. Use repetition: repeating a word makes it stick in your mind.
5. List things in threes to emphasise or give rhythm to a
sentence e.g. strength, hope and life.
6. Use rhetorical questions (questions that already have an
answer implied e.g. Would you want to die at 14?) Rhetorical
questions assume the reader and speaker share a belief and
prompt a specific answer.
7. Use emotive language to get the audience to feel certain
emotions. Good examples are: death, child, innocent, hope,
dying etc.
8. Finish your speech with a plea: e.g. ‘Please give the heart to
me and give me my life.’
Practise your speech by reading aloud and try to learn parts off by
heart. Vary your tone of voice in performance and make eye
contact with your audience.
Pig-Heart Boy copyright © Malorie Blackman
© 2006 www.teachit.co.uk
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