Dave's 'death' in AHWOSG

From pages 304 to 309, Dave describes a moment in time when he thinks he is dying (he has a kidney stone).

Using integrated literary and linguistic approaches, explore the ways Eggers presents death and illness in this scene. What insight do we get to his character? How does the language link to the key themes of the book? How does the language link to the context of the book?

Here are some language points to consider:

Discourse and Structure:

• use of spoken language features
• use of short paragraphs
• how Eggers digresses
• use of hyphens
• use of bathos
• use of dialogue - free direct speech
• use of italics

Lexis and Semantics:

• use of dynamic verbs
• use of expletives 
• use of allusion and imagery
• use of capitalisation

Grammar:

• use of interrrogatives / declaratives / exclamatory sentences
• use of minor sentences
• use of modal verbs
• use of past and present tense

Here are some contextual and thematic points to consider:

AIDS, death, illness, guilt, pain, sex, desire, family, writing, humour

The MTV Narrative Device in AHWOSG

Much of Chapter 6 is made up of the interview Eggers had in order to appear on MTV's reality show The Real World. However, not long into the interview it becomes apparent that this is actually a narrative device by Eggers and the interview did not happen in this way (if at all?!)

There is a hint that this might be the case as he introduces the interview on page 184:

'"Really?" I say, feeling a format change coming, one where quotation marks fall away and a simple interview turns into something else, something entirely so much more.' 

In the opening section of the interview, Eggers describes the place where he grew up; a place called Lake Forest. This was a very white, middle class suburb and there was a real lack of cultural diversity:

'Homogeneous, yes; intolerant, no. It was overwhelmingly white , of course, but racism of any kind - at least outwardly expressed - is kind of gauche, so we basically grew up without any kind of prejudice, firsthand, or even in the abstract.'

Eggers digresses into a narrative about a racist kid, who was his first experience of bigoted thinking. He also tells a story of Mr T (look him up - from a programme called the A Team The A Team) and his daughters. There were so few black people in the town that he can count how many were in his school.

The next story ( and this is all they are) is about the games the children played: 'Most of the things we did together involved some sort of vandalism, come to think of it, throwing stuff at cars.....we were bored and loved the thump of a projectile hitting a passing car, truck, whatever. It kept escalating.'

There is also a story about death and a childhood response to the suicide of the father of a childhood friend (Ricky). We get a sense of a child'd point of view about death (p195 - 196) and how they don't always engage with or have the same sense of enormity that an adult has. Ricky compares seeing his father die to a scene in The Raiders of the Lost Ark Face Melt Scene.

On Pages 196-7 the reader is presented with the idea the interview is just a narrative device.

'So tell me something: This isn't really a transcript of the interview, is it?
No.'

It;s not much like the actual interview at all, is it?
Not that much, no

This is a device, this interview style. Manufactured and fake.
It is.'

Padlet Page for notes about the interview.

What do we find out about Dave's motivation for appearing on the show (paralleled with writing the book)? What do we find out about his past? His parents? What sort of person is he? Make notes on the section you have been given and post on the padlet page.

Review of Commentary Writing and a Mini Text Adaptation Task

Commentary Writing


Read a student response to the task you completed last week.

Now read the commentary to the task attached here. Have a look at the markscheme and decide what mark you would give it. Email me your mark with an explanation about why it would get that mark. What are its key features? What is effective about it? What could be improved?

Mark Scheme Link

Here is a link to the key aims of writing a commentary (which you have seen before!)

Some of you are worried about this part, but just remember it is a min-analysis! All AO1!




Mini Text Adaptation Task

On returning to New York, Francesca writes her autobiography of the time she spent in Paris which is going to be published.

Using material from the extract, write a promotional text to be printed on the back cover of the book.

Page 243 – 245 (Most females…murky, dank, sex)

First, you need to explore some of the features of an autobiography promotional text. Read the two examples and write a quick analysis of each based on the following questions:

What is the purpose of the text? Who is the audience? What is the overall tone? What type of sentences are used? What tense is it written in? What type of lexis is used? How is it structured?..... and so on!!

Next, read the extract and jot down what we learn about Francesca. Use as much information as you can in the promotional material.  It can be 150 - 200 words.