CAPPELEN
DAMM
Key: Chapter 6 – A World of Literature
Access to International English
Key: Chapter Five
Introduction to Literature
p. 266
Spot check
a)
Fiction, drama and poetry.
b)
No. A true story can also be “fictionalised”.
c)
Fiction generally tells a story, while drama generally shows a story.
d)
Prose is writing that follows the patterns of ordinary speech, without rhyme or metre.
f)
A user manual strives to be as unambiguous as possible. Literature often cultivates ambiguity
and encourages interpretation.
g)
In real life, experience is filtered through your own mind. In literature, experience is filtered
through someone else’s mind first.
1: Plot and Theme
p. 269
WRITING
a
Summaries:
Cinderella: Cinderella lives with her cruel step-mother and step-sisters and is forced to do all
the chores. When a ball is held to find a wife for the young Prince, Cinderella is left at home.
But her Fairy Godmother helps her, using magic to provide her with a coach and horse,
coachmen and fine clothes. She warns her that the spell will be broken at midnight. She
dances with the Prince and they fall in love. Cinderella loses track of time and has to leave
hurriedly just before midnight, leaving a glass slipper behind her. The Prince vows that he will
only marry the girl that fits the slipper. When he arrives at Cinderella’s house, the sisters try
on the slipper first with no success. Finally Cinderella asks, and the slipper fits perfectly. The
Prince marries Cinderella.
The Three Billy Goats Gruff: Three billy goats want to go to summer pasture to get fat, but in
order to do so they have to cross a bridge under which a terrifying troll lives. When the
smallest goat crosses the bridge the troll comes and threatens to gobble him up. The goat
says he should wait for his brother who is much bigger. The troll agrees. When the middlesized goat crosses the bridge, the same thing happens; the troll agrees to wait for the biggest
goat. When the biggest goat comes and the troll threatens to gobble him up, the goat
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Key: Chapter Five
charges at him with his horns and throws him into the stream. Then the three goats continue
up to their summer pasture.
The Ugly Duckling: When mother duck’s eggs hatch, one of the ducklings is larger and uglier
than the others and is bullied by the other animals on the farm. He leaves home and goes out
into the world. On his journey he sees a flock of migrating swans, but is not yet able to fly. He
spends the winter alone on a lake and nearly freezes to death. When the spring comes, the
swans return, and the duckling approaches them, expecting them to kill him. Instead they
welcome him and he sees in his reflection that he is in fact a swan himself.
Snow White: Snow White is born to the Queen, who dies shortly afterwards. The King takes a
new wife who hates Snow White for her beauty. When the Queen asks her magic mirror who
is the fairest in all the land, the mirror answers that it is Snow White. The wicked Queen
orders a huntsman to take Snow White out into the forest and kill her. However, he cannot
bring himself to do it and lets he go. She finds a house with seven dwarfs and becomes their
housekeeper. When the Queen learns that Snow White still lives, she tries three times to
poison her by going to her in disguise and giving her gifts. On the last occasion she succeeds.
Snow White falls into a deep, death-like sleep. The dwarfs put her in a glass coffin. When a
prince travelling through sees Snow White, he kisses her and she revives. They fall in love and
agree to marry. The wicked Queen is invited to the wedding, not knowing that it is Snow
White. When she realises, it is too late – she is punished by being made to wear red-hot iron
shoes in which she dances until she is dead.
b
Suggestions for themes:
Cinderella: external appearances vs inner virtue, the trials of growing up, fortitude in the face
of adversity
The Three Billy Goats Gruff: verbal cunning vs brute force, meeting your match
The Ugly Duckling: misleading appearances, the potential of the outsider (e.g. the poet?), the
trials of growing up, the cruelty of the mob
Snow White: goodness vs evil, virtue as the key to success, the dangers of vanity, cruelty is
rewarded with cruelty
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Key: Chapter Five
Robert and the Dog
p. 273
Spot check
a)
Bachelors don’t have meddling wives, so Robert has greater freedom.
b)
By living at home he could cover his tracks more easily, and suddenly disappear.
c)
She treated Robert with interest and was keen to help him in his work.
d)
The dog was, from his point of view, spoiled and received better treatment and better food
than his children.
e)
He took the dog’s food and left it tied to the settee.
2: Point of View and Irony
p. 281
a)
The four main types of point of view are
1) the third-person objective point of view
2) the third-person limited point of view
3) the third-person omniscient point of view
4) the first-person point of view
b)
In the third-person omniscient point of view the thoughts and feelings of all the characters
can be rendered by the narrator. In the third-person limited point of view, however, the
insight is restricted to one or perhaps a few characters.
c)
A “reliable” narrator is one whose judgements, impressions and attitudes are understood to
be trustworthy; in other words, they mirror those of the author.
d)
In both cases the reader realises that the character’s understanding of himself is not to be
trusted.
EXPLAINING IRONY
–
“I never forget a face” is usually something you say to point out that you have a good memory. In
this case forgetting is something you do on purpose – because the person is so ugly.
–
Usually referring something as “child’s work” means it’s very easy. Here the implication is that
children of five are better equipped to understand than the speaker is.
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Key: Chapter Five
–
The sentence “I have had a perfectly wonderful evening” usually implies “this evening”. But it can
also mean “I have had a perfectly wonderful evening – once ”.
–
The expectation from the first sentence is that watching television is something the speaker finds
educational. In fact, the educational gain comes from the speaker getting so bored by television
that he reads a book instead.
–
The expression “that is the last thing I’ll do” usually implies preference. In this case, though, it is
meant literally.
A Shocking Accident
p. 288
Spot check
a)
Jerome is in the house-master’s office. He is in the lower years of Preparatory School – in
other words 7-8 years old.
b)
A Prep School is a fee-paying private school – a rather expensive one in this case, we are told.
It “prepares” pupils for their further education at Public School – i.e. fee-paying private
schools like Marlborough or Rugby.
c)
The school he attends is a boarding school.
d)
Jerome imagines that his father leads a dangerous life, perhaps as a spy or a gun-runner.
e)
The house-master finds it difficult not to laugh at the absurd way in which Jerome’s father
died.
f)
We are told that Jerome’s father lived abroad and was the writer of travel books. Jerome
worships his father and, as a child at least, believes him to have led an exciting life.
g)
His best friend laughs. (This is implied, not directly stated.)
h)
He is afraid she too will laugh.
Note: Questions h) and i) on page 288 should be g) and h).
Analysing Point of View and Irony in “A Shocking Accident”
p. 292
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Key: Chapter Five
1
LOOKING AT IRONY
a
Mr Lawrence is a teacher who loves the sound of his own voice and who is convinced of his
unparalleled pedagogical abilities. He despises modern methods and believes that pupils are
best served by listening passively to him.
b
The writer finds Mr Lawrence ridiculous and insufferable.
c+
Exaggeration: “Every lesson was … a pedagogical triumph”, pupils were “filled with
gratitude”, group work described as “chaos”, project work described as “pure anarchy”.
High-flown language: “ignorance … put to flight”, “the torch of enlightenment” , “bottomless
well of wisdom”.
Ambiguity (double meaning): “I love Mr Lawrence’s lessons; you can just sit back and
wonder.” (i.e either because they are good, or because they are so pacifying and awful.)
Pun: the Direct Method. Usually this refers to a recognised pedagogical method (for teaching
foreign languages). Here it simply means that Mr Lawrence has no other pedagogical method
than just lecturing the students.
3
LOOKING AT PLOT AND THEME
a
Suggested answer:
Exposition: The first paragraph of the story. (It could also be argued that the whole scene in
the housemaster’s office (down to “What happened to the pig?”) could be seen as an
exposition, if the main story is about Jerome as an adult.
Climax: When Sally learns the truth about the accident – and doesn’t find it remotely funny.
Resolution: The few lines after the climax when it is implied Jerome and Sally lived happily
ever after.
b
Suggestions for themes: the absurdity of life (and death), children’s adoration of their
parents, keeping up appearances, social conformity
3: Characterisation
p. 296
Spot check
a)
Direct characterisation involves the author telling us what someone is like. Indirect
characterisation involves the author showing as what someone is like, either through their
actions/speech, or through other characters referring to them.
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Key: Chapter Five
b)
A round character has some of the complexity of real people, with the contrasts and
contradictions that entails.
c)
To be a dynamic character you have to show development – itself as sign of complexity. Flat
characters are usually not complex enough to develop.
d)
An epiphany implies a life-changing insight. By definition this means there is some sort of
dynamic involved.
The Raft
p. 300
Spot check
a)
They are invited out to dinner and she knows that her husband’s story will take some time.
We also guess that this not the first time.
b)
Grandfather was the captain of a destroyer in WWII.
c)
Grandfather gave orders to have them torpedoed.
d)
He would not have been able to deal with a boatload of Japanese prisoners. He also says that
he had been warned of the danger of “kamikaze flotillas”.
e)
The grandfather, weeping, tells his grandson about what happened to the Japanese sailors.
p. 304
1
DISCUSSION: CHARACTERISATION
a
As the main character Robert is characterised indirectly through his actions and thoughts.
b
By not mentioning the names of Robert’s employers, the author underlines Robert’s own lack
of interest in them as people. They are simply employers. For the reader, too, they become
just typical figures rather than individuals.
c
Robert is certainly a round character. We see the story from his perspective and follow his
thought. His employer is only briefly sketched (using direct characterisation) and therefore
never achieves “roundness”. We see more of the wife (Robert’s view of her), but she is not
given much depth either; she is depicted as the typical well-meaning, but nevertheless
distant European wife.
d
Jerome: “He had no fear of trouble, for he was a warden …” (line 2, p.282) ”Jerome
worshipped his father: the verb is exact.” (line 21, p.282) “Nor was Jerome a boy who cried;
he was a boy who brooded …” (line 30, p.284) “In course of time, neither too early nor too
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Key: Chapter Five
late, rather as though, in his capacity as a chartered accountant, Jerome had studied the
statistics and taken the average, he became engaged to be married.” (lines 5-8, p.287)
e
Jerome can be seen as a mainly flat character. Descriptions like the ones in d above are close
to parody – he is depicted as a completely predictable person with no potential for change or
surprise.
f
Jerome’s aunt is talkative, opinionated (“I suppose one has to regard Italy as civilized”),
rather lacking in empathy (she has, for example, no feeling for Jerome’s discomfort about
how his father died), and completely without humour.
g+
If there is an epiphany, it coincides with the climax: the insight that Sally has no sense of
humour and therefore poses no threat to his memories of his father.
3
ANALYSING “THE RAFT”
a
The story is told with a first-person point of view. We see events from the point of view of a
young boy who in many ways has the role of a passive observer, in spite of being in the
middle of events. We understand at the same time that this childhood perspective is
moderated through the now adult author. The result is that the reader is allowed to both
observe and understand the old man.
b
There is irony in the first sentence: “My grandfather … calls me into his study because we
wants to tell me the story he’s never told anyone before, again.” There is irony, too, in the
contrast between the grandfather’s pompous militarily manner and his wife’s impatience
(“Must you go back to the South Pacific?”)
c
The climax of the story could be seen as the scene in the wardrobe when the grandfather
reveals his secret – not for the first time, but with a different result. He weeps. Alternatively,
if the story is seen as being primarily about the boy’s anxiety (see p. 303 under “the
Narrator”), then the climax could be seen as the revelation that in the last lines: “This time I
don’t imagine anything, not even a hand that feels like a fish yanking my ankle.”
d+
The first paragraph down to line 7 can be seen as an exposition; we are introduced to the
grandfather, his past and the immediate setting. There is no resolution as such here,
although the intervention of the grandmother (“Where’s the kid?”) implies a return to
normality.
e+
The main themes of the story are guilt and forgiveness, the immutability (ugjenkallelighet) of
the past, and the relations between generations.
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Key: Chapter Five
4: Setting
p. 306
Spot check
a)
The three aspects of setting are place, time and social environment
b)
Unlike most stories, fairy tales are not located in any definite place or time.
Air Mail
p. 311
Spot check
a)
They are dealing with developing nations on the Third World.
b)
They are dealing with the Gulf War.
c)
All Tommy’s parents know is that their friends the Merrimans were in the Far East and didn’t
like the sewage smells.
d)
All Anirudh’s parents know is that their friends the Caturvedis were there once and noticed
that the cars were bigger and everyone ate outside.
e)
Tommy and Anirudh communicate via airmail letters.
Analysing Setting in “Air Mail”
p. 314
1
DISCUSSION. SETTING
a
The story “Robert and the Dog” concerns a conflict of values between the poor ghetto
dweller Robert and his westernised employers. This conflict is firmly rooted in the Nigerian
setting where these two worlds exist side by side.
b
Jerome attends a fee-paying Preparatory School, which only the well-off can afford. In the
rest of the story it is clear that we are dealing with an upper-middle-class environment.
Jerome becomes a chartered accountant and Sally is a doctor’s daughter from Pinner.
c
“The Raft” concerns an old man’s experiences in the Second World War, which at the time
the story is set are two generations ago. That means that it can hardly be taking place earlier
than the 1970s, but it may also be later.
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Key: Chapter Five
2
ANALYSING “AIR MAIL”
a+
Plot summary: Two boys, one in the USA and one in India, make contact by air mail in
connection with a project at their respective schools. In spite of the lack of real interest from
their teachers and classmates the two boys succeed in broadening each other’s horizons and
becoming friends. Climax/epiphany: There is a moment of real insight when Tommy receives
his first letter from Anidudh: “It lives! It breathes! He was no creature from another planet. It
was as if a boy no different from himself had just been birthed into existence.”
b
The story uses the third-person limited point of view. However, this point of view shifts
between Tommy and Anirudh. The result is that the shift in perspective is also a cultural shift
between the USA and India.
c
Both Tommy’s father and Anirudh’s father are portrayed as smugly self-satisfied in their
ignorance of the wider world. They are characterised indirectly through their own comments.
d
In a way Mr Peters and Mr Lawrence can be seen as opposites, in spite of the fact that they
are both portrayed as examples of bad teachers. Mr Peters is keen to be liked and willing to
compromise on the content of his teaching to gain the acknowledgement of his pupils. Mr
Lawrence is quite immune to the needs and interests of his pupils and only preoccupied with
holding forth. However, both cold be called complacent – the former about his “coolness”
and the latter about his pedagogical expertise.
e+
The main theme of the story is the importance of having an open mind in the meeting of
cultures.
Audio Tour
p. 318
Spot check
a)
Debby is a young woman who until now has been living with, and in a relationship with, Todd
Niesle.
b)
At the time of Debby’s writing this Todd Niesle says he is on a skiing trip with his brother in
Vermont. But Debbie believes he is visiting his lover.
c)
The “gift shop” is the kitchen. Debby calls it that because so many of the items in it are gifts
from her.
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Key: Chapter Five
d)
Sue Ann Kraftsow is the woman Debby suspects Todd Niesle is having an affair with.
e)
Debby invites “visitors” to terrorise Todd Niesle by ringing him at 3 am or by ordering 10
pizzas at a time in his name.
p. 319
1
ANALYSING THE TEXT
a
The main arguments in favour of calling a “Audio Tour” a short story are that it undoubtedly
tells a story and it has a cast of characters, including a main character (Debby, the 1st personnarrator). It also has a setting. The argument against is that it has the outward form of an
audio tour and thus cannot easily be made to fit the usual narrative pattern of a short story –
with an exposition, rising suspense, climax, falling suspense and resolution. However, this
applies to many short stories.
b
The narrative has an imagined audience, referred to in the 2nd person – “you”. It guides the
reader through a physical environment (Todd Niesle’s apartment) in the same way as an
audio tour, giving clear instructions on where to go (“Please turn right…”) and how to use the
“Acoustiguide”. It focuses on items of particular interest on the way, using vocabulary that
belongs to archaeology (“The carton of milk dates from the 12th century AD”) and the history
of art (“In this room we can see the influence of early Michelle.”).
c
The humour of the narrative is to be found in the way it breaks with the conventions of the
audio tour genre: its use of an identified 1st person narrator (“I, Debby”), its focus on
personal anecdotes and details of a personal, even intimate nature (e.g. underwear), its
lapses into conversational style e.g. questions, quotes and idiomatic language. On a few
occasions the narrative invites the reader to harass Todd Niesle, e.g. reporting him to the
Rent-Info hotline or by mass-ordering pizzas to his address.
d
Debby and Todd Niesle have until recently been in a relationship and living together in his
apartment. Before Debby, Todd was living with a woman called Michelle. At present Todd is
(according to Debby) cheating on Debby and pretending to be skiing in Vermont with his
brother, while in fact staying with his lover, Sue Ann Kraftsow, in Milwaukee. Debby is now
walking out on him.
e
The story is set in an apartment in an unnamed city. Socially we seem to be in a middle-class
environment; the apartment itself is “spacious” and Debby says that Todd Niesle’s income
“far exceeds the maximum allowed for a tenant in a rent-stabilized apartment”. Todd’s
college education and skiing holiday (true or invented) seem to support this.
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Key: Chapter Five
Nervous Conditions
p. 324
Spot check
a)
Tambu gets up early so she can cultivate her maize field as well as doing all the other chores
she has to do. Her long-term plan is to be able to be able to finance her own schooling.
b)
Tambu thinks her mother discourages her in order to prepare her for disappointment.
c)
Because he is at school during the day, Nhamo is unable to work in the fields until the
afternoon.
d)
Since Tambu doesn’t go to school any more, she no longer risks being caned on Monday for
not attending church. Besides, she has a lot of work to do.
e)
Tambu discovers that her brother Nhamo has been stealing her maize and giving it to the
children at school.
f)
The fight ends when Mr Matimba intervenes and threatens the children with a caning.
p. 325
1
ANALYSING THE TEXT
a
Tambu and her family live at a “homestead” (l.6 p. 320) and she has to walk by foot to her
field, carrying a water-drum on her head – a typical scenario for rural Africa. We learn also
(l.18 p. 320) that the whole family works together in the family fields. The word “kraal” (l.11
p.322) places the setting more specifically in Southern Africa – it is originally an Afrikaans
(Dutch) word.
b
Tambu’s family can no longer afford to send her to school, a situation she finds very hard to
accept. She hopes that by cultivating her own mealies (in addition to doing her usual chores
for the family) she will be able to make enough money to finance her schooling. When she
discovers that her brother has been stealing her mealies, she sees this as an attack on her
dreams and on her independence.
c
This is clearly a society (rural Rhodesia in the 1960s) in which children too are expected to
pull their weight in securing the family economy. Education is a luxury that cannot be
afforded by everyone, and it is taken for granted that boys are given priority over girls.
Church attendance is seen as a duty and breaking the Sabbath is regarded as sinful.
d
The story is told with a 1st person point of view. The narrator is the main character in the
excerpt and presents an openly subjective view on events.
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Key: Chapter Five
e+
Important themes: gender inequality, sibling rivalry, family loyalty vs. personal fulfilment.
f+
The opening line seems to imply that the main character has been introduced before – not
least the fact that her name is not mentioned in the text itself (except in the diminutive form
Tambudzai in l. 13, p. 324). The background for why Tambu no longer attends school is not
stated explicitly either. We can guess that it has been dealt with earlier.
The Housing Poem / The Migrant
p. 337
1
MAIN THEME
This is a method to help pupils realise how working with a poem and using first impressions more as
hypotheses rather than a final statement/opinion can lead to a better understanding of what the
poem is about. Too often pupils jump on the first-impression train and never stop to consider other
possibilities or simply stop digging deeper. Don’t make your mind up too quickly, give it time, think
and share ideas with others and the poem will eventually reveal itself to you.
a
Suggested main theme “The Housing Poem”:
“The Housing Poem”, like “The Song of the Banana Man”, is about perspective and cultural
difference. While the Native Americans feel the house is wonderfully full of family, the
landlord considers this “multiple tenancy” grounds for eviction. Obviously the concept of
“single-family” has different meanings between the majority and minority cultures here, and
the representative of the majority culture is prepared to use the law against the Native
American family for being, well, a Native American family.
The tone of the poem helps one come to this conclusion as it has a child-like innocence to it,
telling how each member of the family comes along, and telling about what they add to the
home environment so that it feels natural and matter-of-fact. For example, one could
imagine the second stanza as being read from a children’s book: it is simple, saying this
happened, and then that happened and then they laughed a lot. When this innocent tone is
then contrasted with the landlord’s reactions and actions the theme that culminates with the
last line of the poem (“because that’s what they thought they were”) makes it clear that this
is about a cultural difference.
Suggested main theme The Migrant:
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Key: Chapter Five
The theme in The Migrant appears to be the experience of being a refugee, a person who
seems to always be in transit, never able to put roots down. The queue is physically the line
at the terminal where the others are waiting to embark to their destinations. Metaphorically
the queue is what the migrant is in; the waiting line for establishing a life, everything in her
life is fleeting, tentative and uprooted.
2+
DETAILED STUDY
Using the checklist (p. 332):
Title
The Housing Poem
The Migrant
An odd but appropriate title. The poem
This is a very simple title that tells us
is really about the meaning and
exactly what the poem is about. Perhaps
understanding of family, but the
the stark title reflects the migrant’s life
landlord only sees housing law and
which is so transient and lacking an
occupancy rates so the title takes on a
anchor or any lasting content.
double meaning. It is about housing in
the sense that the landlord sees
property and profit; the Native
Americans see family and values.
This rather impersonal title also suggests
that this migrant’s tory is the story of
“The Migrant”, or all migrants. This story
is being repeated innumerable times day
by day.
Speaker/voice
Third-person objective like a story-
This is more difficult as it is basically told
teller. This story-telling function,
as third-person limited point of view on
almost like a children’s story adds a
the migrant’s feelings and experiences,
sense of innocence to the poem which
but then in the last stanza a “we” is
then strengthens the contrast between
introduced. This one line “we watch her
the two perspectives: up until the last
go through” suddenly breaks with the
two stanzas there is no suggestion that
third-person perspective and the effect is
anything they are doing is wrong
stark: we (all of us) passively watch while
another human being is suffering.
Perhaps the implication is even that we
watch but refuse to really see, it’s easier
for us that way.
Events in the
This is a straight-forward story telling
The experiences of a migrant are told:
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Key: Chapter Five
poem
us about a house filling with family and
voyage from home a blur, coming to a
how and why it fills up – and the
strange place, starting to settle, uprooted
landlord’s reaction.
again, desperation, moving on to more
uncertainty.
Diction
The language is very simple in
The poem has many refugee-related
accordance with the attempt at the
words; voyage, country of origin (the
child-like innocence of the poem.
official UNHCR designation for one’s
The poem is positive until the last
section when the verb “disturbed” is
used along with the noun “court” and
the verb “evict”.
The official term “single-family
occupancy” is used, which contrasts
homeland), passage, travelled, transit,
departure, onward journey, documents
etc.
Many words paint a bleak picture of her
life: inescapable, dreading, fearful,
unutterably lonely.
with the feeling of family given in the
Words that could be positive are tied to
rest of the poem and then is contrasted
negative actions “committed to continue
again in the revealing last line of the
elsewhere”; “bound for some other
poem.
destination”.
The use of the word queue has
connotations. It describes us standing in
line on our busy journeys to somewhere,
but it also suggests (metaphor) that her
life is a matter of queuing up for a new
start somewhere, anywhere.
The “we” in the poem “shuffle forward in
the queue” – shuffling here gives a
connotation of guilt.
Literary
The poem strives for a colloquial
“Rooted” is a metaphor for settling
devices
matter-of-fact style which reads more
down.
like someone telling a story or relating
events, so literary devices are not very
evident in this poem
There is personification: “the house
Being told that she is not staying is
“broken to her” (connoting breaking the
news to her, but also breaking her life,
her fragile security).
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Key: Chapter Five
warmed and rocked and sang”.
The “we” in the poem “shuffle forward in
the queue – shuffling here gives a
connotation of guilt and does not paint a
nice image of the “we” fingering
documents and not wanting to see the
migrant.
This poem is also very direct, letting the
real images of the migrant’s experiences
affect us.
Tone
Sound effects
Simple, innocent, child-like, matter-of-
Sad, reflective, harsh, cold, lost,
fact to contrast with the landlord’s
depressed, desperate, guilty (refer to
reaction.
boxes above).
Nothing special to note.
Alliteration; securely settled (which is
broken in the next line); committed to
continue.
Lots of plosive sounds throughout the
poem: broken, bound, postpone,
brochures, plentiful, bosom, boarding –
these and other harsh sounds give a
harsh, cold tone to the poem.
Structure/
Free verse
Very much free verse: No apparent
Free verse: Varied length of each stanza.
structure other than that the first
Stanza 1 the voyage; stanza 2 no
seven stanzas create a rambling flow to
recollection so only one line; stanza 3
the story that reflects the randomness
some vague recollections, only two lines,
of the collection of the family. The final
stanza 4 first stop, builds some hope
stanza repeats “he” in the first three
which is broken in the third line (one of
lines which sounds accusatory; “he was
the longer stanzas); stanza 5 realisation
disturbed”; “he went to court”, “he
of situation, making plans not really
said”. Try reading this lines out loud,
aware of how things are working behind
isn’t it easy to put more stress on each
the scenes; stanza 6 (the longest stanza)
repeat of “he”?
is the total realisation of moving on and
The poem actually does not read much
attempts to prepare, but still “dreading
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Key: Chapter Five
like a poem in the traditional sense, it
reads more like someone talking to us
in everyday language.
Theme
3
Done above
the boarding announcements”.
Voice changes in the last stanza: “we” are
“silent witnesses”
Done above
PERSONAL RESPONSE
A personal response should also refer to the poem for backing. It is not very productive just to say
the poem makes me think about this or that. In writing about a poem, the best personal response is
incorporated throughout the analysis, not as a tacked on response at the end of your analytical
essay.
For example, in referring to the last stanza in The Migrant you might write:
The migrant goes through the gate, disappearing forever, we can only assume, feeling “fearful and
unutterably lonely”, terrible emotions to have filling your life. But we are also at the terminal, but
for other reasons (holidays perhaps), where we “finger our documents”, so obviously trying not to
notice or reflect on this person’ plight. Perhaps this is why we shuffle forward in the queue, as the
poet suggests we should be guilty for not caring.
(Personal response is in bold.)
Writing Course 6: Using Sources
pp. 341-342
1
a1word argues that while football is neither a religion nor a drug, it has the same power as
both to make its followers “seesaw between states of bliss and devastation”. Fans fail to
recognise that the sport is just about “grownups chasing a leather air bubble whilst being
shouted at by thousands of men”. Not satisfied with just watching a match, fans are happy to
have them “replayed, analysed, dissected and discussed for years after the event”.
5+
- Hughes, Robert. The Fatal Shore, Collins, London 1987
- Gough, Richard. Captain Cook: A Biography, Hodder & Stoughton, London 1994
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Key: Chapter Five
- Parliament of New South Wales. “1788 to 1810 – Early European Settlement”
www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf /key/historyearlyeuropeansettlement accessed
[today’s date]
- Crabb, Annabel. “Ancient tensions fail to mar apology.” February 17, 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
Language Course 6: Analysing Genres and Judging Sources
pp. 348-349
1
Obesity is a growing health problem that is directly addressed by this advertisement. The message is
clear and should capture the reader’s immediate attention. The advertisement uses effective scare
tactics, combining a minimum of text with a well-composed picture. The text starts with a clear and
simple statement of fact “Portions Have Grown”. This is written in black text type and large font to
get our attention. It is a simple statement that on its own does not tell us too much. The white text
underneath then hits us with a message about the possible result of eating big portions: The
conjunction “so” ties bigger portions directly to the development of type 2 diabetes and the relative
pronoun “which” then ties this directly to amputations. The message is clear. But what are we
consuming in bigger portions? The picture shows three sizes of a soft drink in cups that are familiar
from fast-food restaurants, so the message is even clearer. Bigger fast-food portions means more
diabetes 2, means more amputations. The “Then” /“Now” scale emphasises the growth in portions.
This also contrasts with what could be called the normal then/now photo which would be
advertisements for slimming where the aim is to show the effect of losing weight. The scale showing
the increase in the size of the drinks also lends an air of scientific authority with “then” and “now”
acting as labels for the two axes.
The text and the picture of the drinks with the scale are all in the foreground. In the
background, highlighting how the human factor is often forgotten or ignored underneath all the hype
and sales techniques, sits the overweight man with one amputated leg and with his crutches leaning
against the wall. The picture is composed so that the first thing you notice in the background is the
overweight man and then the full meaning of the picture dawns on you as you notice the amputated
leg and then the crutches. The message is stark and shocking.
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Key: Chapter Five
Once all this has been taken in, the imperative form of the verb gives you a clear message
that almost sound like an order: “Cut your portions, cut your risk”. The noun risk then ties directly to
the information you have been given in the upper part of the picture, diabetes and amputation. The
verb “cut” has interesting connotations as amputation means here the cutting off of a limb, which is
a drastic thing to have to do. But you can try another “cut”, you can cut down on the amount you eat
and cut down on your risk. This message is further enhanced by the use of the personal pronoun:
“your” portions, “your” risk, making this very personal and underlining that this problem is
something you can control yourself. And not only that, the solution (perhaps even a cure?) is at
hand! All you have to do is call 311 for your Health Eating Packet (whatever that is, possibly an
information package, a packed healthy meal etc.). While this quick fix with a presumably toll-free
number sounds “typically American”, help from the health authorities in any shape or form is surely
both necessary and appreciated.
2 / 3+
a
This text is the start of a feature article on unemployment. Unemployment is more of an ongoing issue rather than breaking news, but it is certainly a topical subject that concerns many
people so it would be typical material for a feature article. It would appear from this
introduction that the aim of the article will be to persuade and influence readers about the
importance of this subject as the writer compares what the big city inhabitants find to be
interesting to what the people on the front porches and in the living rooms in the rest of the
country want to talk about. This makes us feel that the writer is going to tell us what is really
important, like he has his finger on the pulse of the nation. Unemployment is personified as a
specter that can keep people awake at night. The use of literary devices like personification is
also typical of the feature article. After this personalised introduction paragraph, just three
words are used to present the topic. In other words the specter is unemployment. It is a far
stronger introduction this way as the word unemployment is the focus, followed by a pause,
which makes us think of how serious it is.
Another typical feature here is that the writer is very much “present” in the text. The text is
written in first person (first-person pronoun), which immediately tells us this is not a text that
will just be giving us the facts. The writer uses his home town to represent small town
America and presumably we will be told some individual stories about unemployment in this
town.
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Key: Chapter Five
b
This text is a typical news article with a neutral tone that is simply giving us the facts. The
only purpose of the text is to give us some information, in this case about a hurricane that hit
the New Jersey coast. The journalist is invisible, but there is a bit of “attitude” in the text
when the progress of the hurricane is described as a “relentless push”. Although the whole
article is not given, it is clear that the most essential information has been supplied to us in
this opening sentence.
c
This text is from an editorial. The style is formal and uses repetition to get its point across. A
particular point of view is being expressed; that we need to combat poverty. The text makes
a statement about poverty, but also qualifies the statement with “perhaps”. If the editorial
had simply stated “Poverty is the greatest global problem we have today”, it would have had
to back up this absolute statement with examples, facts, figures, other data and perhaps
quotations from reliable sources. This would have changed text from being an editorial into a
news article or feature article. Editorials in newspapers are generally not too long as the
opinion needs to presented to the readers quickly or they may lose interest. The noun
“poverty” is used six times in the short text and it lists the effects of poverty; hunger,
suffering, anger, terrorists. The use of the personal noun “we” is inclusive and implies that
we all have the duty to combat poverty. The solution, to fight poverty at the source, is stated
in a very straightforward tone suggesting it is an obvious solution and therefore easy to
tackle. The editorial ends with a call to action that is presented as a question, but the
message is clear: you must be willing to help.
d
This is a formal objective text that has a neutral tone as its function is simply to inform. There
are no personal pronouns, the text is very matter of fact and the adjectives only have an
informative function. The genre is factual report as in a dictionary entry, in this case a
dictionary of Business English.
e
This is a typical example of text from a business report. Unlike the factual report, the aim of
this text is to give the reader a positive impression of the company’s prospects. Therefore if is
less objective than the factual report. It begins by admitting a negative threat “uncertainty
over global economic developments” but then uses positive words to describe BMO’s ability
to meet this challenge: “sustained momentum”; “success”; “focus”; “serving us well”. The
text is very formal in style, using fairly sophisticated words like “notwithstanding” “sustained
19
Key: Chapter Five
momentum” “initiatives” and “outlook”, but balances this with the personal pronoun “our”
(used twice). Thus, this is a serious company, and a team that can confidently talk of its
positive attributes as “our outlook” which reveals optimism and pride, qualities the company
obviously wants to be associated with.
4+
a
Source a obviously comes from an Obama supporter, what we can call the Democratic camp.
It starts by deflecting criticism of Obama’s tax scheme by attacking his critics. The
exclamation point on the quote (“Class warfare!”) makes the criticism sound shrill and over
the top, as does the comparison to “run for your lives”. The writer makes it clear what side
he or she is on in the next sentence, calling this statement “histrionics”, which means
excessively dramatic or emotional. The writer then describes the “upper-crust”, the highest
social class or group in the country, using the adjective “greedy”. This again suggests his
political leanings, and the rest of the sentence also reveals this attitude. This greedy one-per
cent (a term used by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement) is waging a “devastating war”. The
adjective “devastating” suggests that these people are destroying America, at least in this
writer’s opinion. The writer presents him- or herself as the defender of the middle class, the
working class and the poor; referring to them as the “long-suffering” victims. This is very
much an “us” versus “them” text, where the people who make up the “us” are finally
preparing to hit back.
Obama’s proposal is called “a good first step”, so the writer is also putting pressure on
Obama to continue reforming the system. By comparing the taxes paid by the hedge-fund
executives to their chauffeurs and “private” chefs the writer personalizes the injustice and
underlines the privileges the “upper-crust” enjoy at the expense of the majority.
b
Source b is a neutral news article that gives information about the tax proposal. No personal
pronouns are used and there is no presentation of the facts from an “us” or “them” position.
Indeed, this article seems to strive for objectivity and remains very formal throughout, even
when referring to the political horse-trading in the second paragraph (“agreeing to higher
revenues…”). The essential information about the news item is found in the first paragraph.
We are told the where, who, when, what by the end of this first paragraph. When the text
20
Key: Chapter Five
says “to ensure that they pay at least…” where “at least” could be seen as stating an attitude
on the issue, it is attributed as indirect speech (“according to administration officials”).
c)
If source a is Democratic in flavor, source c is very much on the right side of the political
scale. It is written in a very vindictive style, painting the other side as the enemy. There is no
room for discussion here. The opposition has a “lefty mouth” and their views on America are
referred to as “mindless twaddle”. This expresses an anger and polemical view of the issue
being discussed. Like source a, this text uses exclamation marks, claiming that the Democrats
are trying to punish success. Twice the writer uses expletives (“the hell you don’t”; “they
damn well do”) to counter what he or she claims is the stance of the Democrats. Like source
a this text anticipated the other side’s argument as a way of presenting its own argument. In
this presentation of the argument the writer uses the noun “success” twice and ties success
directly to “achievement”. Perhaps typical to polemical texts, source a ends by pointing out
an assumed fault of the very rich (paying less taxes than people working for the), and source
c ends by also pointing out the assumed fault of the left: punishing achievement, even going
to the extent of calling this a credo, a belief.
21