Thursday 31 May 2007
Block 2 Presents Toads and Dancing Monkeys
The three videos below are Block 2's re-creation of Gerald Durrell's journey through Africa which he describes in the first chapter of The Bafut Beagles. The title of that chapter is Toads and Dancing Monkeys. Each clip represents one paragraph and the first paragraph is the bottom clip; the middle clip is the second paragraph and the top clip is the third paragraph. Well done to the students and my only comment is, "for goodness sake get a new cameraman!"
Tuesday 29 May 2007
Dramatis Personae
Mr Thomson, Head of English.
Rules his Empire with a rod of iron. Woe betide anyone who crosses this fierce Celt.
Sunday 27 May 2007
More Words of Wisdom
A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read.
Mark Twain
Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.
Winston Churchill
Mark Twain
Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.
Winston Churchill
Saturday 26 May 2007
Misery Lit...read on (posted by Mrs Saunders)
(Misery lit... read on (bbc 17/4/07)
By Brendan O'Neill
The bestseller lists are full of memoirs about miserable childhoods and anguished families. Waterstone's even has a "Painful Lives" shelf. Why are authors confessing their hurt so freely and do readers find morbid enjoyment in them?
In recent years, numerous new sub-genres have emerged in Britain's literary scene.
There has been "chick lit" (usually comedic novels about singletons looking for Mr Right), "mummy lit" (tales of new mums making a hash of juggling child and career), and "Brit lit" (which refers to new British novel-writing in general).
Now we have what Bookseller magazine refers to as "mis lit", or "misery memoirs", in which the author tells of his or her triumph over personal trauma. Referred to by publishing houses as "inspirational lit" - or "inspi-lit" - many, though by no means all, of the harrowing memoirs tell of being sexually abused as a child.
And they are proving to be hugely popular. Currently there are three such books in the top 10 best-selling paperbacks in Britain.
Two of the top 10 bestsellers
Don't Tell Mummy by Toni Maguire, "a memoir of childhood abuse", is at number one. It's followed closely by Betrayed, a mother's story of a family torn apart by her daughter's behaviour, and Silent Sisters, a memoir about "siblings who survived abuse". In the hardback top 10 there is Our Little Secret, which tells of a "boy molested from age of four" and Damaged, the story of a child abused by parents "involved in a sickening paedophile ring". Daddy's Little Girl, which recounts a girl's abuse by her father, sits just outside.
These memoirs sell in numbers that many mainstream novelists can only dream about. Of the top 100 bestselling paperbacks of 2006, 11 were memoirs about surviving abuse. With combined sales of 1.9 million copies, abuse memoirs made up 8.8% of sales in the 100 bestselling paperbacks last year.
Waterstone's now has a "Painful Lives" shelf which features the newest such examples; Borders has a "Real Lives" section.
They sell in supermarkets, too, including Asda and Tesco. According to Kate Elton of Arrow publishers, the market for these memoirs is "80% or 90% female".
What lies behind the speedy rise of the "misery memoir"? Is the popularity of these books a healthy sign that Britons are shaking off their stiff upper lips and finally talking out loud about painful events? Or is there an element of voyeurism, even salaciousness, in the snapping up of such memoirs?
Helps healing
Some of the memoirists say they write in order to come to terms with their traumatic experiences - and to help readers to do likewise.
There's compelling evidence that writing about serious emotional upheavals can improve mental and physical health
Professor James W Pennebaker
Toni Maguire, author of the top-selling paperback Don't Tell Mummy, in which she writes of her abuse at the hands of her father, said in a recent interview it was "difficult going back over the past, but writing helped me deal with the past. If readers take one thing away from reading the book I'd like it to be that they normalise the victim. People have got to realise that it is not shameful to be a victim", said Maguire.
James W Pennebaker, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas in the US, says that writing about traumatic experiences can indeed help the writer to deal with his or her emotions.
"There's compelling evidence that writing about serious emotional upheavals can improve mental and physical health," he says.
Professor Pennebaker admits scientific research into the value of expressive writing is still in the "early phases". But his research seems to show that trauma-writing is beneficial.
Unsavoury side
"In our studies, we bring a group of people into the lab and randomly select some to write about a personal traumatic experience and others to write about something superficial. They write in 15- or 30-minute bursts over a period of three or four days. We found that those who write about trauma tend to see some improvement in wellbeing."
Do the books point to a national obsession with abuse?
The trauma-writers experienced health benefits - including improvement in immune function - and also reported feeling "less haunted" by their traumatic experiences.
However, Professor Pennebaker says his research only covers individuals who write "by themselves and for themselves".
"The act of writing can be therapeutic, but having your painful writing published is a different matter. Whether that is beneficial for the author is up for question. Sometimes it introduces new problems of its own. The author might be cut off by family and friends or find that their social worlds fall apart."
Others believe that the success of the misery memoir reveals something rather more unsavoury about contemporary Britain.
"I just don't buy the idea that people buy these books for information or advice, for an 'Open Sesame' to becoming free of their own harrowing memories", says Times columnist Carol Sarler.
"Rather they show that, as a nation, we seem utterly in thrall to paedophilia. We are obsessed with it. And now, with these books, we are wallowing in the muck of it. It's all rather disgusting."
Gerry Feehily, a publisher-turned-novelist based in Paris, also believes these books are popular because they flatter readers' sense of moral outrage while also secretly titillating.
"Paedophiles are down there with the Nazis and Judas as all-time bad folk, so these stories are easy on the writer, easy on the reader. Most of us not being paedophiles, we are in a comfort zone with these books, where we feel edified and also morbidly thrilled."
And because the memoirs are born out of an existing consensus that child abusers are wicked, they cannot be considered to be challenging or "real" literature, says Feehily.
"For me, any real literature avoids a ready-made consensus, or even challenges the consensus. Few of the books on abuse rise above the level of curio, documentary or pure opportunism", he says.
Liz Bury of Bookseller thinks we should be more generous. The rise of the misery memoir shows there has been a "great shift in attitudes in Britain" - we have become more willing to talk about nasty events rather than pursing our lips and staying quiet, she says.
"Maybe there is a voyeuristic impulse behind some people's purchase of these memoirs," says Ms Bury. "But probably the vast majority of readers are motivated by empathy rather than a desire to pore over someone else's pain"
By Brendan O'Neill
The bestseller lists are full of memoirs about miserable childhoods and anguished families. Waterstone's even has a "Painful Lives" shelf. Why are authors confessing their hurt so freely and do readers find morbid enjoyment in them?
In recent years, numerous new sub-genres have emerged in Britain's literary scene.
There has been "chick lit" (usually comedic novels about singletons looking for Mr Right), "mummy lit" (tales of new mums making a hash of juggling child and career), and "Brit lit" (which refers to new British novel-writing in general).
Now we have what Bookseller magazine refers to as "mis lit", or "misery memoirs", in which the author tells of his or her triumph over personal trauma. Referred to by publishing houses as "inspirational lit" - or "inspi-lit" - many, though by no means all, of the harrowing memoirs tell of being sexually abused as a child.
And they are proving to be hugely popular. Currently there are three such books in the top 10 best-selling paperbacks in Britain.
Two of the top 10 bestsellers
Don't Tell Mummy by Toni Maguire, "a memoir of childhood abuse", is at number one. It's followed closely by Betrayed, a mother's story of a family torn apart by her daughter's behaviour, and Silent Sisters, a memoir about "siblings who survived abuse". In the hardback top 10 there is Our Little Secret, which tells of a "boy molested from age of four" and Damaged, the story of a child abused by parents "involved in a sickening paedophile ring". Daddy's Little Girl, which recounts a girl's abuse by her father, sits just outside.
These memoirs sell in numbers that many mainstream novelists can only dream about. Of the top 100 bestselling paperbacks of 2006, 11 were memoirs about surviving abuse. With combined sales of 1.9 million copies, abuse memoirs made up 8.8% of sales in the 100 bestselling paperbacks last year.
Waterstone's now has a "Painful Lives" shelf which features the newest such examples; Borders has a "Real Lives" section.
They sell in supermarkets, too, including Asda and Tesco. According to Kate Elton of Arrow publishers, the market for these memoirs is "80% or 90% female".
What lies behind the speedy rise of the "misery memoir"? Is the popularity of these books a healthy sign that Britons are shaking off their stiff upper lips and finally talking out loud about painful events? Or is there an element of voyeurism, even salaciousness, in the snapping up of such memoirs?
Helps healing
Some of the memoirists say they write in order to come to terms with their traumatic experiences - and to help readers to do likewise.
There's compelling evidence that writing about serious emotional upheavals can improve mental and physical health
Professor James W Pennebaker
Toni Maguire, author of the top-selling paperback Don't Tell Mummy, in which she writes of her abuse at the hands of her father, said in a recent interview it was "difficult going back over the past, but writing helped me deal with the past. If readers take one thing away from reading the book I'd like it to be that they normalise the victim. People have got to realise that it is not shameful to be a victim", said Maguire.
James W Pennebaker, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas in the US, says that writing about traumatic experiences can indeed help the writer to deal with his or her emotions.
"There's compelling evidence that writing about serious emotional upheavals can improve mental and physical health," he says.
Professor Pennebaker admits scientific research into the value of expressive writing is still in the "early phases". But his research seems to show that trauma-writing is beneficial.
Unsavoury side
"In our studies, we bring a group of people into the lab and randomly select some to write about a personal traumatic experience and others to write about something superficial. They write in 15- or 30-minute bursts over a period of three or four days. We found that those who write about trauma tend to see some improvement in wellbeing."
Do the books point to a national obsession with abuse?
The trauma-writers experienced health benefits - including improvement in immune function - and also reported feeling "less haunted" by their traumatic experiences.
However, Professor Pennebaker says his research only covers individuals who write "by themselves and for themselves".
"The act of writing can be therapeutic, but having your painful writing published is a different matter. Whether that is beneficial for the author is up for question. Sometimes it introduces new problems of its own. The author might be cut off by family and friends or find that their social worlds fall apart."
Others believe that the success of the misery memoir reveals something rather more unsavoury about contemporary Britain.
"I just don't buy the idea that people buy these books for information or advice, for an 'Open Sesame' to becoming free of their own harrowing memories", says Times columnist Carol Sarler.
"Rather they show that, as a nation, we seem utterly in thrall to paedophilia. We are obsessed with it. And now, with these books, we are wallowing in the muck of it. It's all rather disgusting."
Gerry Feehily, a publisher-turned-novelist based in Paris, also believes these books are popular because they flatter readers' sense of moral outrage while also secretly titillating.
"Paedophiles are down there with the Nazis and Judas as all-time bad folk, so these stories are easy on the writer, easy on the reader. Most of us not being paedophiles, we are in a comfort zone with these books, where we feel edified and also morbidly thrilled."
And because the memoirs are born out of an existing consensus that child abusers are wicked, they cannot be considered to be challenging or "real" literature, says Feehily.
"For me, any real literature avoids a ready-made consensus, or even challenges the consensus. Few of the books on abuse rise above the level of curio, documentary or pure opportunism", he says.
Liz Bury of Bookseller thinks we should be more generous. The rise of the misery memoir shows there has been a "great shift in attitudes in Britain" - we have become more willing to talk about nasty events rather than pursing our lips and staying quiet, she says.
"Maybe there is a voyeuristic impulse behind some people's purchase of these memoirs," says Ms Bury. "But probably the vast majority of readers are motivated by empathy rather than a desire to pore over someone else's pain"
Speak English Like the Natives
One of the indicators of advanced speakers of English is their ability to use idioms. Native speakers use them all the time. Click on the link below to see loads of them. Learn them, use them. Don't be a laughing stock, bite the bullet and keep up with the Joneses. As Inspector Clouseau said, I am not the idiom. You are the idiom.
www.idiomconnection.com
www.idiomconnection.com
Great Speeches
Have a look at this, one of the seminal speeches of the 20th Century. Martin Luther King, American Civil Rights leader, who was later assassinated in 1968.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk
You will really need e-speed to be able to watch properly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk
You will really need e-speed to be able to watch properly.
Friday 25 May 2007
Interesting!!
Unlikely Book titles
THE SCHIZOPHRENIC: AN UNAUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY
THE TEACHER'S GUIDE TO FASHION
Mixed Metaphors
I have a lot of irons in the fire, but I'm holding them close to my chest.
You hit the nail right on the nose.
She really rubs me up the wrong tree.
Strange things to say.
If you fall and break your leg, don't come running to me!
Don't look at me with that tone of voice
That question was so easy you could have answered it blindfolded.
Math illiteracy affects 7 out of every 5 people.
Definitions not in a dictionary
Avoidable: What a bullfighter tries to do.
Handkerchief: Cold Storage.
Polarize: What penguins see with.
Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Shellfish: A bit like a shelf.
THE SCHIZOPHRENIC: AN UNAUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY
THE TEACHER'S GUIDE TO FASHION
Mixed Metaphors
I have a lot of irons in the fire, but I'm holding them close to my chest.
You hit the nail right on the nose.
She really rubs me up the wrong tree.
Strange things to say.
If you fall and break your leg, don't come running to me!
Don't look at me with that tone of voice
That question was so easy you could have answered it blindfolded.
Math illiteracy affects 7 out of every 5 people.
Definitions not in a dictionary
Avoidable: What a bullfighter tries to do.
Handkerchief: Cold Storage.
Polarize: What penguins see with.
Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Shellfish: A bit like a shelf.
Thursday 24 May 2007
Let's look at an ad.
The text of the advertisement below appeared in the Radio Times. Link to Radio Times
Have you?
The value of experience
Well have you? You know, been there, done that?
Anyone who tells you the world’s getting smaller hasn’t driven a Suzuki lately. For over 30 years, Suzuki 4 X 4s have been expanding drivers’ horizons, taking them as far as their imagination leads them. And sometimes beyond. For real adventures, you need a real 4 X 4.
Underneath that smoothly-contoured body shell, the Grand Vitara is pure, uncompromising, off-road engineering with a ladder-frame chassis that’s strong enough and durable enough to take on the toughest of terrains. Long-travel suspension and high ground clearance let you ride easily over rocks, ruts and river-beds. The Drive Select 4 X 4 system, giving you all the traction and control you need – with an effortless switch to 2WD when you get back on the tarmac. You can choose from 2.0 litre petrol and Turbo Diesel engines or a gutsy 2.5 V6. Whatever Mother Nature’s throwing at you outside, inside it’s all comfort, space and relaxation. And wherever life takes you, the Grand Vitara offers unparalleled safety, comfort and driver satisfaction, all at a price that’s a world away from other 4 X 4s. If you expect a lot from your car, we expect your call on 01892-707007.
How do we set about analysing an advertisement? Firstly we need to understand that this is persuasive writing. The author is trying to persuade us to buy something; in this case a car. Advertisers typically like to create needs in us; make us feel that our lives are incomplete unless we buy what they are selling. Very often it's a need we never knew we had.
Look at the heading and the questions. What need is the advertisement creating? Why are there so many questions? Why does the advertisement address the reader directly using you? Why does the author use value and experience? What is the purpose of been there, done that? What tone does all of this create?
In the main body contrast smaller with expanding, as far as, horizons, beyond. What has allowed people to lead a less restricted lifestyle? What is the only thing stopping you achieving this less restricted lifestyle? What's the importance of 30 years? Why is real repeated and what does it contrast with? What, therefore, will buying a Suzuki do for you? What does buying a Suzuki promise you?
Is there a non-sentence in the first paragraph? What is its effect?
In the next paragraph look at the compound modifiers smoothly-contoured, off-road, ladder-frame, long-travel. What do they mean? What are the words that they modify? What do those words mean? If you don't know, it's all jargon (find the meaning of this word). If you do know it's terminology (find its meaning). In either case, what is the effect of these phrases? Do they sound technical and impressive? What then is a drive select 4 X 4 system?
Can you spot a nice piece of alliteration? What effect does that have?
Do we have choice? How? Is the driver in complete control? How?
Find other words in the same lexical field as easily. What effect do they have?
Do the same for pure.
What effect does world away have? Does it echo another part of the advertisement?
Comment on the structure of the final sentence.
Did you find the word need anywhere? It would be very surprising not to find it somewhere.
Contrast the world outside the Suzuki with the one inside it.
Does the writer use contractions? What is their effect?
Can we say anything about sentence length?
Advertisers often hit us with a hard-sell, after all they are spending good money trying to get us to spend ours. Is there a hard-sell anywhere here? If so, how is it achieved?
Think about the audience in terms of age, gender, social status, professional status, income, aspirations and lifestyle. Now, when you are stuck in a huge traffic jam on your way to your boring dead-end job, where are you in your mind? Do you think that owning a Suzuki gives you freedom and choice and control over your life?
Guidance on Writing a Speech in the Style of Mandela's Let Freedom Reign
You will write a section of a speech (about 120 words) that you will make to your fellow students on a subject concerning the school which you feel strongly about.
1. Unite the audience by using inclusive pronouns. Mandela uses we, us, our.
2. Use optimistic vocabulary for a bright future. Mandela uses celebrations, glory, hope, liberty.
3. Use metaphors. Mandela uses healing of wounds, bridge the chasm.
4. Contrast the evils of the past with the optimism of the future. Mandela uses poverty, deprivation.
5. Use parallel structures to make your message clear, memorable and to develop ideas. Mandela uses: Let there be peace for all. Let there be justice for all. Let there be work...
6. Use repetition to make the message clear, memorable and emphatic. Mandela uses never, never and never again.
7. Use a dramatic image to startle the audience. Mandela uses skunk.
8. Sound like a leader. Mandela uses formal phrases let freedom reign; he offers inspirational guidance we pledge ourselves to...
9. Relate your message to the world and universe to show its great significance. Mandela says the sun will never set.
10. Invoke the Almighty to show that God is on your side. Mandela says God bless Africa.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/greatspeeches
Click on this link to hear some great speeches.
1. Unite the audience by using inclusive pronouns. Mandela uses we, us, our.
2. Use optimistic vocabulary for a bright future. Mandela uses celebrations, glory, hope, liberty.
3. Use metaphors. Mandela uses healing of wounds, bridge the chasm.
4. Contrast the evils of the past with the optimism of the future. Mandela uses poverty, deprivation.
5. Use parallel structures to make your message clear, memorable and to develop ideas. Mandela uses: Let there be peace for all. Let there be justice for all. Let there be work...
6. Use repetition to make the message clear, memorable and emphatic. Mandela uses never, never and never again.
7. Use a dramatic image to startle the audience. Mandela uses skunk.
8. Sound like a leader. Mandela uses formal phrases let freedom reign; he offers inspirational guidance we pledge ourselves to...
9. Relate your message to the world and universe to show its great significance. Mandela says the sun will never set.
10. Invoke the Almighty to show that God is on your side. Mandela says God bless Africa.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/greatspeeches
Click on this link to hear some great speeches.
An Outsider's View of Brunei
Have a look at this interesting travel article about Brunei from a British newspaper, the Daily Mail. As you can see from the description of the first picture, not entirely accurate, but interesting to see how Brunei is viewed by the outside world.
http://www.travelmail.co.uk/travel/Brunei/Brunei----don-t-just-fly-by.html?article_id=27156
http://www.travelmail.co.uk/travel/Brunei/Brunei----don-t-just-fly-by.html?article_id=27156
Wednesday 23 May 2007
Tuesday 22 May 2007
Monday 21 May 2007
Yet More Food For Thought
Whether you believe you can or believe you can't, you're probably right
Henry Ford
You make a living by what you get, you make a life by what you give
Winston Churchill
Henry Ford
You make a living by what you get, you make a life by what you give
Winston Churchill
Sunday 20 May 2007
More Food for Thought
Nothing will work unless you do.
Maya Angelou
There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.
Henry Ford
Maya Angelou
There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.
Henry Ford
BBC AS Level Website
Been there yet?
Go on, try it, you'll love it!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/asguru/
Have fun!!
Go on, try it, you'll love it!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/asguru/
Have fun!!
Saturday 19 May 2007
A Rare Sight
Indeed a rare sight, Block 4 class, hard at work. Clearly happy and fulfilled in their labours.
Friday 18 May 2007
A Joke
Nelson Mandela is sitting at home watching TV when he hears a knock at the door. When he opens it, he is confronted by a man, clutching a clip board and yelling,"You Sign! You sign!" Behind him is an enormous truck full of car exhausts. Nelson is standing there in complete amazement, when the man starts to yell louder,"You Sign! You sign!" Nelson says to him, "Look, you've obviously got the wrong man", and shuts the door in his face. The next day he hears a knock at the door again. When he opens it, the man is back with a huge truck of brake pads. He thrusts his clipboard under Nelson's nose, yelling,"You sign! You sign!" Mr Mandela is getting a bit annoyed by now, so he pushes the man back, shouting:"Look, go away! You've got the wrong man. I don't want them!" Then he slams the door in his face again. The following day, Nelson is resting, and late in the afternoon, he hears a knock on the door again. On opening the door, there is the same man thrusting a clipboard under his nose, shouting,"You sign! You sign!" Behind him are TWO very large trucks full of car parts. This time Nelson loses his temper completely, he picks up the man by his shirt front and yells at him:"Look, I don't want these! Do you understand? You must have the wrong name! Who do you want to give these to?"The man looks very puzzled, consults his clipboard, and says:"You're not Nissan Main Dealer?"
Thursday 17 May 2007
Learn English Doing Crosswords
Crosswords are a great way to pass the time and learn loads of language. There are many to choose from on-line, but here's a good one. The Herald has a new crossword every day; you can print it out or complete it on your computer; the answers are available the next day and it's free! Go on become a crossword head. You'll really learn English. Click on the words below.
Herald Crosswords
Herald Crosswords
Wednesday 16 May 2007
Inspiration: Food For Thought
Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.
Alexander Graham Bell
The road to success is always under construction.
Unknown
It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question
Eugene Ionesco
Alexander Graham Bell
The road to success is always under construction.
Unknown
It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question
Eugene Ionesco
Contact Us
You can make comments on each post by clicking on the "comments" link.
You can also send us an email on the above address pteb.eas@gmail.com.
You can "tag" on the tag board, but please include short name and Block number. Anonymous tags will be removed.
Or you can do the old-fashioned thing and talk to us!!!
You can also send us an email on the above address pteb.eas@gmail.com.
You can "tag" on the tag board, but please include short name and Block number. Anonymous tags will be removed.
Or you can do the old-fashioned thing and talk to us!!!
Sunday 13 May 2007
The Ghastly Blank
If you would like to do a bit of background reading about the text we are going to do in the near future entitled "The Ghastly Blank" about a fateful expedition across Australia in the 19th century, look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burke_and_Wills
Thursday 10 May 2007
The Road to Wigan Pier
This is Mr Kendrew's model of the Commentary on the text taken from George Orwell’s “The Road to Wigan Pier”
L6th EAS Assessment 1. May 2007
This text from George Orwell’s “The Road to Wigan Pier” is in the genre of a report or a social commentary. His purpose is to bring to light or expose the conditions suffered by the working people in the North of England. The audience is likely to be the general public, but more specifically the government. Its tone therefore is critical, descriptive and provocative.
The first paragraph characterizes the South, East and Midlands of England as comfortably bland and uniform, through the use of such lexical items as “accustomed to”, “not much difference”, “not unlike” and “indistinguishable”. He then provides a stark contrast to this with his description of the towns of the North. The repetition of words such as “ugliness” and the use of adjectives like “frightful” and “arresting” heightens the terrible contrast between these comfortable pleasant towns of the rest of England, and those of the North.
The second paragraph consists of a description of Wigan. He uses a myriad of adjectives to describe the terrible scene he witnesses, such as “hideous, planless, functionless, frightful, evil.” All of these combine to create an image of a horrific environment. In the first line he uses the term “at best” to show that the word “hideous” is not enough to describe the scene of the slag-heap. That is indeed the best thing which can be said about it.
The simile “like the emptying of a giant’s dustbin” gives us an image of the huge size of the slag-heap. Adjectives such as “jagged” convey a harsh, sharp image of the scene. He then creates an image of hell with the use of the alliterative metaphor “red rivulets of fire, winding this way and that.” The never-ending nature of this horror is emphasized through the description of the “blue flames of sulphur, which always seem on the point of expiring and always spring out again.” There is no relief, no respite from the misery. These slag-heaps will also still be visible “centuries hence”. In the phrase “evil brown grass” he uses personification to show that even natural elements such as grass have this horrible characteristic. The fact that slag-heaps are used as playgrounds seems incongruous, almost ironic. These slag-heaps are compared with the use of a simile to the sharp peaks of “a choppy sea, suddenly frozen” or a metaphor with his depiction of an uncomfortable lumpy “flock mattress”.
In the third paragraph he recalls one particular winter afternoon in Wigan. He uses the alliterative metaphor “lunar landscape” to give the image of a barren, almost alien environment. There is no vegetation, just “cinders” and “frozen mud”. This environment is “criss-crossed by the imprint of innumerable clogs“ the alliteration generating the memorable image of many people suffering under these harsh conditions. The “flashes – pools of stagnant water” intensify the image of this horrific place, as they were covered with “ice, the colour of raw umber”. You might, under normal conditions expect ice to clear or white, but not in this environment. There is an example of personification where the “lock gates wore beards of ice” emphasizing the image of this cold, barren land, from which “vegetation had been banished.”
However, all of this pales in comparison to Sheffield, as evidenced by the use of the intensifier “even”. It is “the ugliest town in the Old World”, with very few decent buildings, even compared to the average East Anglian village of only 500 inhabitants. The exclamation mark after “…stench!” intensifies the already strong meaning of the word. Even when the sulphur smell is not present, you smell gas. There is no respite, no relief from the unrelenting misery. “The shallow river…is usually bright yellow” and one might normally expect something yellow to be bright, primary and natural, however here, the yellow comes from “some chemical or other”. Throughout the text, Orwell uses colour imagery, “grey mountains…red rivulets…blue flames…brown grass…raw umber…bright yellow…dark red…blackened…blackish… red and yellow brick…rosy…redlit boys” to heighten the vivid effect of his imagery. Even the primary colours are indicative of something horrible.
The description of the thirty-three chimneys is heightened by the fact that it was only the smoke which hindered his view of many more. Further use of lexis such as “frightful…squalor…littered…gaunt” increase yet more the impression of impoverishment. His ironic use of the word “vista” to describe the ugly panorama is intensified by the repetition of “chimneys, chimney beyond chimney”.
The last paragraph gives us an image of Sheffield at night, a hideous place where there is nothing but “blackness” and the oxymoronic “sinister magnificence.“ The description of “serrated flames, like circular saws” reprises the “jagged” image from the description of Wigan. Orwell personifies the smoke and flames which “squeeze themselves”, as if they were alive. The vision of hell is once again highlighted with “fiery serpents” and “redlit boys”, and further intensified with the onomatopoeic “whiz, thump…scream.”
Orwell, through his cumulative use of imagery created by a variety of lexis, paints a picture of unmitigated horror. It is clear that his writing was intended to have a very strong effect on his audience.
L6th EAS Assessment 1. May 2007
This text from George Orwell’s “The Road to Wigan Pier” is in the genre of a report or a social commentary. His purpose is to bring to light or expose the conditions suffered by the working people in the North of England. The audience is likely to be the general public, but more specifically the government. Its tone therefore is critical, descriptive and provocative.
The first paragraph characterizes the South, East and Midlands of England as comfortably bland and uniform, through the use of such lexical items as “accustomed to”, “not much difference”, “not unlike” and “indistinguishable”. He then provides a stark contrast to this with his description of the towns of the North. The repetition of words such as “ugliness” and the use of adjectives like “frightful” and “arresting” heightens the terrible contrast between these comfortable pleasant towns of the rest of England, and those of the North.
The second paragraph consists of a description of Wigan. He uses a myriad of adjectives to describe the terrible scene he witnesses, such as “hideous, planless, functionless, frightful, evil.” All of these combine to create an image of a horrific environment. In the first line he uses the term “at best” to show that the word “hideous” is not enough to describe the scene of the slag-heap. That is indeed the best thing which can be said about it.
The simile “like the emptying of a giant’s dustbin” gives us an image of the huge size of the slag-heap. Adjectives such as “jagged” convey a harsh, sharp image of the scene. He then creates an image of hell with the use of the alliterative metaphor “red rivulets of fire, winding this way and that.” The never-ending nature of this horror is emphasized through the description of the “blue flames of sulphur, which always seem on the point of expiring and always spring out again.” There is no relief, no respite from the misery. These slag-heaps will also still be visible “centuries hence”. In the phrase “evil brown grass” he uses personification to show that even natural elements such as grass have this horrible characteristic. The fact that slag-heaps are used as playgrounds seems incongruous, almost ironic. These slag-heaps are compared with the use of a simile to the sharp peaks of “a choppy sea, suddenly frozen” or a metaphor with his depiction of an uncomfortable lumpy “flock mattress”.
In the third paragraph he recalls one particular winter afternoon in Wigan. He uses the alliterative metaphor “lunar landscape” to give the image of a barren, almost alien environment. There is no vegetation, just “cinders” and “frozen mud”. This environment is “criss-crossed by the imprint of innumerable clogs“ the alliteration generating the memorable image of many people suffering under these harsh conditions. The “flashes – pools of stagnant water” intensify the image of this horrific place, as they were covered with “ice, the colour of raw umber”. You might, under normal conditions expect ice to clear or white, but not in this environment. There is an example of personification where the “lock gates wore beards of ice” emphasizing the image of this cold, barren land, from which “vegetation had been banished.”
However, all of this pales in comparison to Sheffield, as evidenced by the use of the intensifier “even”. It is “the ugliest town in the Old World”, with very few decent buildings, even compared to the average East Anglian village of only 500 inhabitants. The exclamation mark after “…stench!” intensifies the already strong meaning of the word. Even when the sulphur smell is not present, you smell gas. There is no respite, no relief from the unrelenting misery. “The shallow river…is usually bright yellow” and one might normally expect something yellow to be bright, primary and natural, however here, the yellow comes from “some chemical or other”. Throughout the text, Orwell uses colour imagery, “grey mountains…red rivulets…blue flames…brown grass…raw umber…bright yellow…dark red…blackened…blackish… red and yellow brick…rosy…redlit boys” to heighten the vivid effect of his imagery. Even the primary colours are indicative of something horrible.
The description of the thirty-three chimneys is heightened by the fact that it was only the smoke which hindered his view of many more. Further use of lexis such as “frightful…squalor…littered…gaunt” increase yet more the impression of impoverishment. His ironic use of the word “vista” to describe the ugly panorama is intensified by the repetition of “chimneys, chimney beyond chimney”.
The last paragraph gives us an image of Sheffield at night, a hideous place where there is nothing but “blackness” and the oxymoronic “sinister magnificence.“ The description of “serrated flames, like circular saws” reprises the “jagged” image from the description of Wigan. Orwell personifies the smoke and flames which “squeeze themselves”, as if they were alive. The vision of hell is once again highlighted with “fiery serpents” and “redlit boys”, and further intensified with the onomatopoeic “whiz, thump…scream.”
Orwell, through his cumulative use of imagery created by a variety of lexis, paints a picture of unmitigated horror. It is clear that his writing was intended to have a very strong effect on his audience.
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