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.

Chapter 4 A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Chapter 4

Narrative Structure

We have been discussing Eggers' use of a variety of narrative and structural devices to present his story. He uses drawings, diagrams, scripts, musical notations and he experiments with structure and form all the way through.  He is the first to agree that some of these devices are just gimmicks and throughout is very self-conscious of himself as a writer. This is particularly prominent in the opening section of the book. However, he uses them to inject some fun and humour to what is essentially a tragic story, creating a fragmented and post-modern narrative.

One way in which Eggers explores himself as a writer and his relationship with Toph is through the construction of dialogue. As he suggests in the preface, the dialogue "has of course been almost entirely reconstructed. The dialogue, though all essentially true - except that which is obviously not true, as when people break out of their narrative time-space continuum to cloyingly talk about the book itself - has been written from memory, and reflects both the author's memory's limitations and his imaginations nudgings." (Preface ix)

Write a paragraph on the how Egger's uses the dialogue between him and Toph as a narrative device in pages 114 - 119.

What is he actually doing in this section? What does the dialogue reveal about Eggers as writer? Why is he writing? What does the dialogue reveal about Eggers as a parental figure? What do we find out about his relationships with his parents? What emotions come out from this section? Why does he write about it from 'Toph's' point of view?  Support each idea with one quotation from the text.

Symbolism

Close analysis of page 122

Complete the table here as you closely analyse the etc. What do we learn about Eggers and his feelings in this section? What does this whole section symbolise?

Key terminology for your analysis:

negative lexis
adjectives and noun phrases
lists
minor sentences
simple sentences
declaratives
stative verbs
dynamic verbs
onomatopoeia
juxtaposition
interrogatives
symbolism
first person plural

ELLA 3 Section B Waiting for Juan and Letter Writing

Analysing Non-Fiction Texts: Exploring Letter Writing

This lesson you will be looking at the key language and discourse features of both personal and formal letters.

Task One:

Read the example of the personal letter which is taken from an exam response for Section B. Download the letters and using the comments tool, aim to comment on as many features as you can about the linguistic and structural choices the writer made. If you would like to have some prompts, use the next link. When you have finished, check your points against the explanations.


Personal Letter

Personal Letter with prompts

Personal Letter with explanations

When you have done this, look at how the student's commentary matches the structural and linguistic devices used and also links to meaning.

Task Two: 

Read the letter from Kurt Vonnegut (author of Slaughterhouse 5). Comment on how the language and structure is used to reflect the letter genre. 


Kurt Vonnegut Letter

Task Three:

This a very quick task. You might be asked to write a formal letter. Using the Framework below, complete the table to make a note of some of the key language features you would or would not find. 

Formal Letter Framework Analysis

This link might give you some prompts: Writing a letter of complaint


Task Four: Text Adaptation Task Planning for next week

•Imagine that you are Petra and you decide to tell your family about Juan. Write the letter home where you explain the details of your life and relationship with Juan.

•Write your letter, deciding to which member of your family it is addressed.

•You should adapt the source material, using your own words as far as possible, without using direct quotations from the original text.

•Your letter should be approximately 300 – 400 words in length. 

Focus on these three areas of the text:

Page 214 - 216 “This episode began…to…I’ll be fine now”

Page 218 -219 “Back to bed…to…I knew it was so”

Page 223 – 224 “ In the town…to the end”

•Plan the key content points you could include.

•Make a note of the key linguistic and stylistic features you will need to use to ensure you match the genre, audience and purpose of the text.

You will be given 1 hour next Friday to write a full response to the task and to write a commentary. You may bring your notes and your planning to use.

Extension Task:

What attitudes to gender and masculinity are presented in the text? Find examples from the text to support your ideas from 213 – 216.

Focus on:

•the narrator’s thoughts

•the reference to Manolo

•the character of Juan

•the response of the police

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Overview


Chapter 3 continues to describe Dave and Toph's life in San Francisco. It describes their search for a new place to live, as they have decided to live on their own, without Beth (sister), Kirsten (Dave's girlfriend) and Katie (a friend) (p.73)


They eventually find a place and Dave can pay for it for a whole year. Dave reminisces about his parents and money (p.76). There is detailed description of the house they are in (p.78) and there is a focus on the chaotic life they leave. They are messy, late for everything (p92/93), muddle through with cooking (p.86) and cleaning. They continue to play games, have fun, be rude to each other (p.81/82)


There is also a focus on relationships. We get an insight into how Beth and Dave are dealing with the situation they are in in different ways (p.88) and also a hint of the role that Bill has in the family (p.77) Dave imagines relationships with women and there is a sense of him being conflicted about wanting someone to be settled with someone to provide stability for Toph and wanting have the freedom to date and flirt, like any man in their early twenties would(p.74/75 & p.98) .


Throughout the chapter we get a sense of what their family life is really like and the paranoia Dave feels about his situation with regards to taking responsibility for Toph and what others must be thinking about him (p.102/103). We continue to get an insight into the conflict Dave feels about being a brother and a parent to Toph and the fact that he isn't a parent and that it is all pretend (p.83 & 90).


Task One


The structure and discourse of this chapter is really interesting. Eggers continues to play around with the form of his writing, creating a very idiosyncratic style of narrative. He continues to push the boundaries of what narrative writing is.


Looking through the chapter, what different techniques has Eggers used to create his idiosyncratic style? If you would like some ideas, click here! Why has he used certain techniques? How do they link to his character and situation?


Task Two


Using the summary above, find 8 key quotations / specific references  that support ideas about the relationships and the way Dave and Toph are living their lives. You will find evidence on the pages identified. What effect do they have on the reader? What are we supposed to think and feel? What is Eggers trying to tell us?


EXT / Challenge Task instead of Task 2


Write an analytical response on how Eggers presents relationships in Chapter 3. Integrate evidence from the text, and explore using appropriate terminology. You should be able to comment on the structure and discourse, as well as some of the specific language features used.


Post all work on your blog / padlet page.


Have fun!!


Nina

Section B Ella 3 - Barefoot at Shanzu and Diary Writing

This lesson you are going to complete an exam task based on 'Barefoot at Shanzu' by Errol Trzebinski.


You need to read the question and the extract very carefully.


To approach this task you need to do two things.


1) Make sure you know what makes a diary a diary. What should your diary be doing?  Refer back to your work on diaries last lesson. Follow the link below for the overview given last lesson. It is good practice to make a note of the key features as this will help you to write the commentary. Think about the question: how many entries are you to write? What sort of time scale are you writing about?


Writing Diaries


2) Jot down all the details that you will need to include from the text that are relevant for the task. Think about the genre, the audience, the point of view you are writing from to help you make those decisions. What would an 11 year old boy be interested in and how would he have experienced the situations described by his mother? It is good practice to note all the elements that you will need to include from the text. You need to include as much detail as possible. To get all this information you need to understand all the vocabulary from the original text.




Once you have planned the points you want to use, you need to start writing it.


In the exam you have 40 minutes to complete this part of the task.


You then have 20 minutes to write a commentary.


Have a look at this overview of commentary writing (in your pack too): Commentary Writing


Have a look here for the type of approach you need to take. This example has good focus on lexis and semantics but does need some more grammar points. However it shows good awareness of audience and purpose.


Write a commentary for the piece of writing you have just done explaining how you made it sound like a diary, how you captured the voice of Bruce, what effects you were trying to create.