Thinking

We did a little exercise on context, linking and imagery questions and on the whole this was well done. Splendid! If you’re still not sure, check the Language Skills book (see last week’s post).

We then looked at chapters 11 and 12 of “A Patchwork Planet”. In chapter 11, Barnaby visits Opal for her birthday, but the present (chosen by Sophia) falls flat and Opal is cold in the park in her party dress, so she goes home again. He has to wait for Sophia to give him a lift home, which gives him time to think about his marriage. He wonders if perhaps he should have stayed with Natalie and she might have “become the right person”. On the way home in the car, he and Sophia have an argument: she wants him to apply for a job at her bank and is clearly unhappy that he doesn’t earn much; especially since she has “lost” her money in her aunt’s flour bin and for some reason won’t go and retrieve it. (Why do you think she doesn't?)

In chapter 12, he thinks a lot about the problems brought by old age. Then at Mrs Cartwright’s, he and Martine are turning a mattress and end up standing very close to each other. He hears the clink of her overall clasp (on what occasion did he last mention this? – p. 186) and she asks him “How do you get your mouth to turn up at the corners that way?” (How does she feel about mouths? – p. 27). He replies flippantly and changes the subject quickly not wanting to be late for lunch with Sophia. Martine picks a fight with him on the way home and he – apparently – doesn’t know why.

Of course, Anne Tyler knows why. Never forget that this is a novel. Anne Tyler pulls all the strings.

Then we looked at various types of Close Reading questions from a handout which we’ll look further at next week.

Getting it right

Today we thought more about Close Reading and the absolutely standard questions that you really need to be able to get right. Please check out the “English Language Skills for Higher English” book: page 9 onwards for context questions, page 11 onwards for linking questions and page 36 onwards for imagery. You might as well get these frequently-occurring questions right and scoop up the marks that less-clued-up students get wrong. Believe me – most students waste marks by NOT doing these questions the SQA way.

In “A Patchwork Planet”, we mainly just had time to look at chapter 10, in which Barnaby sells the car to Len Parrish and hands over the money to his mother. He’s very reluctant in the end to let the car go, which shows us its importance to him. To his disappointment, the handover of the money falls flat: his mother is suspicious as to where he got it and his father is shocked that he has sold the Corvette.

Then the reader finds out that Mrs Glynn has found the money that she thought was stolen – she’s just misplaced it. Barnaby is very forgiving, but Sophia seems surprisingly upset. It turns out that she has withdrawn her savings and put them in the flour bin to protect Barnaby. He immediately realises that this seems to be proof that she really thought he’d stolen the money, but he’s disarmed by Sophia’s reference to the O Henry (above) story in which a young married couple each secretly sell their most prized possessions (the girl’s long, beautiful hair and the man’s pocket watch) to buy presents for each other (a clasp for her hair and a chain for his watch). Sophia likens this to her pointless sacrifice of her savings, and Barnaby is distracted from her obvious lack of trust in him by the romantic way she puts this: “You are your gift to me, Barnaby”.

We then looked at a bit of chapter 11, in which Opal’s birthday falls flat as far as Barnaby is concerned and he is left in the park, waiting for Sophia. He thinks about marriage and thinks that he should have stuck to Natalie, and, he thinks, she would have become “the right person” for him.

What do you think is the significance of this thought in the context of the story?

Trouble with women

Yesterday we began our study of poetry with Thomas Hardy's "The Voice", in which the poet imagines that he hears the voice of his dead love (actually his wife of many years). The rhythm is very important here - it bounces along at first as if the poet is hurrying excitedly to catch sight of the woman, but then gradually slows as he begins to doubt what he hears. Then it changes completely to an irregular beat in the final verse, which mirrors his stumbling to a halt, discouraged - before the last line, when he seems to hear her again.

There's also a lot of alliteration and asssonance in this poem - choose an example and tell us the effect, as you see it. We also noticed the feminine rhymes, which give an echoing, rather chanting effect.

At the beginning of chapter 9 of "A Patchwork Planet" there's an abrupt turning point in Barnaby's fortunes when Sophia's aunt accuses him of theft.
He's terrified when a policeman comes to interview him - he presumably thinks that his past record may count against him.

We noticed his childish reactions to this unfair accusation - what does he do? - give an example in a comment.

However, Martine persuades him to come out to work (what does she say, exactly?) and tells him her plan that he should sell the Corvette and buy Everett's truck with her.

And then, apparently to Barnaby's surprise, they start kissing and end up in bed together. Afterwards, Barnaby remembers an occasion when he was married to Natalie and she was angry at him for being late home when - for once - it wasn't his fault. His attitude then was, "If you think I'm such a villain, just watch: I'll act worse than you ever dreamed of." What is the relevance to his current situation?

The chapter ends wonderfully well, with Mrs Dibble telling him that all his clients support him and that she wants him to buy the business off her when she retires. He then contacts Sophia to apologise for... not returning her calls. At the end of the chapter, rather like at the end of the previous one, he feels that "I really might have moved on in my life". So this turning point in the structure seems to have been reversed and he's on course again.

See me waving?

It would be really nice if some different members of the class would answer when I ask a question in class, as well as on the blog. I very much appreciate those who do; but it would be good to have any idea what's going through the heads of those who don't. Are you riveted by what's going on? Are you in a complete daze? Are you thinking about the one you love? It's hard to tell from your faces.

Anyway, above we have the river Seine, and in the Close Reading we began this week, the writer says that Parisians see the Seine ...

... and Venetians use the Grand Canal - as a focus for their city, whereas for Londoners, the Thames ...

is a "twisty ruler", defining what is North London and what is South London, and measuring the distance between East and West London also. He uses various other words to reinforce this idea.

He mentions too that the Thames has featured in literature (he cites Dickens) as a spooky place where dark deeds happen.

Vauxhall Gardens, on the south bank, used to be a place for bad behaviour. This picture is a bit small, but it shows dancing, flirting and other such wicked practices.

What, by the way, does implacable mean?

What is the difference between practice and practise?

Please look at this website - there will be a test on this language feature on Wednesday! http://www.apostrophe.fsnet.co.uk/

In "A Patchwork Planet", Barnaby tells us more about his meeting with Natalie, who offered him a glass of lemonade using "quaint" language - what does she say, what does "quaint" mean and why does this appeal to him at that stage of his life?

Their relationship has progressed and Barnaby has now spent time in Sophia's rather pretty spool bed (with curly, turned bars at the head and foot).

She goes to dinner with his family and makes a good impression. He thinks again about the time he met her, with her feathered coat.

Why have I ended this with a picture of a hand?

Please comment, answering at least one question. I've put these in bold, to make them easier to spot.