CXC ENGLISH

Hello there! Today we look at another of the short stories on the English B syllabus, and we have some fun exercises for you to help with English A. Read on, and enjoy!

In the English B exam, you can choose to answer a question on ONE of the following:

● Frangipani House ● Things Fall Apart ● Selected Short Stories

If you choose to write on the short stories, you will be asked to compare TWO stories, looking a theme that they both have. Today, we take a look at Emma by Carolyn Cole. After reading any short story, you should be able to do the following:

● Outline the plot (i.e. summarize what happens in the story) ● Describe the main characters, and notice whether they learn anything or

change in any way in the story. ● Identify the main themes (i.e. be able to say what the story-teller is concerned about) ● Comment on the connection between the landscape/setting of the story

and the events that take place. ● Notice who the narrator is.

Our next short story, Emma, is about a little girl whose life changes dramatically because her father has an affair and her mother is knocked down by a car and killed. Dory had been totally happy and secure in her mother’s love, but when Emma dies, little Dory is packed off to boarding school so that she will be out of her father’s way. (Compare the happy life that Dory enjoyed when her mother was alive with how sad, lonely and confused she is at the end of the story)

The narrator in the story is Dory herself, and this is very important. You see, because Dory is only a child, she observes what is going on in the home, and tells us about it faithfully, but she herself does not understand the implications of what she has seen and heard. We, the readers, on the other hand, understand fully that Dory’s father is being unfaithful to her mother, Emma. (As you read, make a note of all the hints we are given that Emma’s husband is being unfaithful.)

Dory’s friend, Maria, has heard her mother talking about it, so she knows of the affair that Emma’s husband is having with the lady at the train station. She has told Dory that it’s a “game” that big people play, and that she must never say a word to Emma about it. Only Emma, it seems, is unaware that her husband is cheating on her, though she seems to be trying very hard to keep his love, and Dory’s description of the goings-on in the home let us know that the marriage is on the rocks.

The atmosphere at Dory’s home changes a great deal, though, when Emma’s father comes for a visit. What changes do you notice? (In this part of the story, consider the contrast between the two fathers: Emma’s father and Dory’s father. Which of them would you like to be your Dad, and why? Your reasons will tell you something about what makes a good father.)

In the course of the story, Emma and her neighbour, Mrs. Robinson, take Dory and Maria (Mrs. Robinson’s daughter) to a shopping mall. As the women talk, we discover that Mrs. Robinson is pretending to give friendly advice to Emma about marriage, but in actual fact she wants Mr. Robinson for herself, and is being very mean and spiteful in the things she says to Emma. She states quite clearly that Mr. Robinson is a “player”—a womanizer—and that he is not going to change. Emma, of course, is dismayed, and does not want to believe. (Take time to look carefully at the contrast between the two mothers. Which of them would you like to be your Mum? Your reasons will tell you about the characters of the two women.)

From the mall, the two girls are taken to skate at an area near the train station, and this choice of venue brings us to the climax of the story. It is here that Emma sees for herself that her husband is hugging and kissing “the lady at the train station” that Maria had spoken about. Hysterical, she runs wildly down the road and is killed when a car hits her. Her death leaves Dory’s father free to continue his philandering—this time with Mrs. Robinson—but it leaves Dory alone in the world, unable to understand what has happened or why she is being sent away from home.

Contrast is an important device for communicating information to the reader. Notice how the author sets up a contrast between Emma and Mrs. Robinson to show us what a good mother is like. Notice the contrast between Dory and Maria, since it shows us that children who have bad parents often develop mean, unkind behaviour, as Maria does. Notice the contrast between Dory’s father and her grandfather. The difference between the two men lets us know what a good father ought to be like, and shows us what a bad father Emma’s husband is. You should study these contrasts carefully and make lists of the differences you find.

The playing card as Symbol. We saw how the wall, the paradise plums and the river were symbols in Shabine. The joker in the pack of cards is a symbol in this story. The word “play” occurs frequently in the story, and Dory, as a little girl, naturally loves to play. Sometimes she and her mother play cards. But the concept of “play” has a sinister meaning too: Emma’s husband is a “player”—a womanizer, we would say. We see that the games big people “play” are about infidelity and cheating. When Emma lies on the road at the scene of the accident, the contents of her handbag, including the pack of cards, are scattered around. Beside her there is a Joker, stained with blood. The cheating “game” that her husband has been playing has certainly left her holding the Joker: she is the loser.

But Dory also loses in the game the grown-ups are playing. And this is the point of the story: when adults play around instead of taking seriously the responsibilities of parenting, it is the children who suffer. Mr. Robinson, we gather, did not want to have children in the first place. He wanted to continue being a “player”, not to be burdened with the job of being a father.

What would you like to say to men like Mr. Robinson? Co-ordination

As children, we learn to write fairly simple short sentences: I have a dog. My friend has a goldfish. Sita plays the guitar. Anand is learning to play the clarinet.

In order to make our style more sophisticated, we may want to combine two sentences to make one. If we use these conjunctions—and, or, but—we can combine the two sentences so that they both remain independent. Look at these examples:

I have a dog but my friend has a goldfish. Sita plays the guitar and Anand is learning to play the clarinet. Kwame will make some lemonade or Karen will buy a bottle of aerated drink.

Notice that in each example, the statements on either side of the conjunction are still independent, and make sense on their own.

Subordination Another way of combining two sentences is by making one of the two subordinate to the other. When we do this, the “subordinate” sentence does not make sense on its own, and it cannot stand alone.

Here are two sentences:

I get to the airport. I check in my luggage. We can join them with a co-ordinating conjunction: I get to the airport and I check in my luggage.

Alternatively, we can use

subordination:

As soon as I get to the airport, I check in my luggage. When I get to the airport. I check in my luggage.

Notice that the subordinate clause—the one in italics—does not make sense on its own; it cannot stand alone. That is why some teachers like to call them “dependant clauses” because they “depend” on the main clause.

Here are some more examples of subordinate clauses (all in italics).

1. If you come late, you will miss the best part of the concert. 2. My brother was disappointed because his girlfriend left him. 3. Whenever I am afraid, I whistle a happy tune. 4. While you were paying the bill, I was chatting with someone I met. 5. Jack like mangoes whereas Mira prefers tangerines. 6. She studied hard so that she could get a good grade in the exam.

Please notice that a subordinate clause cannot stand alone. It is incorrect to write Whereas Mira prefers tangerines. That is NOT a sentence: it is just a subordinate clause, and it MUST be attached to a main clause as it is in example 5.

For you to do

Why not try to make up some sentences of your own containing a subordinate clause and a main clause just like these?

Take a paragraph or two from a novel, and find the sentences that use coordination and the sentences that use subordination. Which type of sentence is more common?