CXC ENGLISH

Hello there! During these long holidays we’ve been looking at the short stories on the English B syllabus and we’ve been going back to basics regarding skills you need for English A. We hope you are enjoying the CXC stories (even if you don’t plan to take the English B exam!). Read on now, and enjoy!

ENGLISH B—POINT OF VIEW

People look at the same events from different points of view. For example, Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, is written from a Nigerian point of view, so we are guided to appreciate the culture of the people, and to sympathize with the tragic downfall of the hero-protagonist, Okonkwo.

But while Obierika, Okonkwo’s best friend, is devastated by his suicide, from the point of view of the European District Commissioner, the suicide is just a minor administrative inconvenience. And while Achebe devotes an entire novel to narrating the rise and fall of Okonkwo, the DC considers that Okonkwo’s story deserves no more than a paragraph in the book he is writing on The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger. Even that title tells us that from his point of view, the people of the region are “primitive”, and the Europeans are the heroes—bringing peace to a region troubled by tribal wars. Clearly ‘point of view’ is very important, and any story will affect you differently if re-told by a narrator with a different point of view.

Think about point of view as you read the short stories. Several of your stories are told from a child’s point of view—and some even have a child narrating the story. (Emma and The Two Grandmothers are good examples.)

ENGLISH B—SHORT STORIES Read the story, Berry, and then work through this section. Summary: Berry is a pleasant, willing, hard-working, honest young lad—but he is Black, in a predominantly white society, where some people show their racist attitudes by exploiting him and treating him as if he were inferior to them. Hungry, and in need of a job, he goes to work in a home for crippled children, but although he is the best employee in the place, the Doctor in charge and the Matron finally get rid of him on the basis of a trumped up charge. They accuse him of “criminal carelessness”, causing an accident that injures a child and damages a wheel chair. In fact the child is not hurt, and the money deducted from Berry’s pay to replace the wheel chair is more than he has actually earned! So he is sent packing—and without being paid.

During his brief time there, he discovers that the crippled children, too, are being exploited by Dr. Renfield, since good food is served to them only when the parents visit.

For you to do as you read: Make a list of the ways that Mrs. Osborn shows her racial prejudice against Berry.

● Dr. Renfield Berry?

● How does the writer suggest that Mrs. Osborn is in love with Dr. Renfield? Does this “love” for a married man add to our uneasiness that all is not well at the Home? ● List the evidence showing that society in general has been rough on Berry. ● Which other staff at the Home “use” Berry to do extra work for them? What jobs does he do for them?

● List the things that make Berry come to the conclusion that the place is “phoney”. ● List the evidence we have that the children love Berry. ● Compare the way the children respond to Berry with the way the adults respond to him. What can we learn from this comparison?

● Read about the little boy falling from the wheel chair. Compare the way he responds to Berry with the way he responds to Dr. Renfield and the other adults. What can we learn from this comparison?

● Find evidence in the story that Dr. Renfield is more concerned about the reputation of the Home and the possibility of a law suit against him than about the well-being of the children.

● Both Berry and the crippled children are exploited. What similarities can you find between them?

● List the emotions you feel as you read this story: I feel ————-when I think about Mrs. Osborn; I feel —————towards the children; I feel———— —-towards Dr. Renfield; I feel ———-when Berry is entertaining the children; I feel———-when Berry is accused, insulted and sent away without his wages. is also racially prejudiced. How does he discriminate against

Add to this list as other emotions come to your mind.

Shifting point of view. The first sentence reads like this: “When the boy arrived on the four o’clock train, lo and behold, he turned out to be coloured!” (Here the omniscient narrator goes into the mind of Mrs. Osborn and sees Berry from her point of view.) Read to the end of this section carefully and notice how the narrator takes us inside Mrs. Osborn’s head so that we discover she is in love with the Doctor.

The first sentence of the next section reads like this: “Milberry was a nice black boy, big, good natured and strong—like what Paul Robeson must have been at twenty.” (Here the omniscient narrator adopts the point of view of an onlooker who appreciates Berry, and admires Black people like the famous Black singer, Paul Robeson.) You will find that the rest of the story is told from the point of view of this omniscient narrator who is sympathetic to Berry,

Effectiveness of shifting point of view. Did you find yourself offended by Mrs. Osborn? Did you find yourself laughing at her for being so infatuated with the doctor? It was the point of view that caused you to react like that.

Do you find yourself sympathetic to Berry (and the crippled children) and very critical of the staff at the hospital? Again, it’s the narrative point of view that caused that reaction.

INVERSION

Inversion simply means changing the word order. When we place certain words at the beginning of the sentence, we have to re-arrange the word order of the rest of the sentence. Look:

A

BNotice how the B sentences sound a little like questions because the word order has changed.

Remember that we sometimes use DO, DOES, DID to form questions, and we will need these for inversion too. Look at these examples. The B sentences show inversion:

A

BHe has not only lost his new shoes, but he has also torn his pants. Not only has he lost his new shoes, but he has also torn his pants.

My mother has seldom enjoyed a movie so much. Seldom has my mother enjoyed a movie so much.

My father rarely gives me pocket money. Rarely does my father give me pocket money. Uncle not only gave us a ride to the party but he also provided our fare

A home.

B Not only fare home.

Now it’s your turn. Rewrite these sentences, beginning with the word in italics. Remember to use inversion after that word.

My mother it.

did Uncle give us a ride to the party but he also provided our

not only

makes all our clothes but she also bakes bread and sells

Our former head teacher seldom I never want to see him again. His girlfriend rarely smiles, but when she does her face is transformed. The students not only paint the classroom walls but also lacquer the desks and chairs.

SPELLING

How good is your spelling? Ask someone to test you and see if you can spell the words in this list. Go to the top of the class if you can get them all right!

Chaotic, conference, congratulate, curiosity, description, disappear, eligible, embarrassment, harassment, genuine, heroic, hygienic, hindrance, judgment, leisure.

INCORRECT POSSESSIVES

praised any of the students. Look at this sentence: Marcia was playing with her neighbour who lives across the road’s baby.

We saw last week that it was the neighbour’s we cannot put the apostrophe on road.

baby, and not the

road’s

baby, so

To correct the sentence we need to say, Marcia was playing with the baby of her neighbour who lives across the road.

Study these sentences and correct them in the same way:

1. Ameeka was carrying her sister who works over the river’s umbrella. 2. The chair that we borrowed from my uncle’s legs are broken. 3. Carlene gave us her cousin from St Lucia’s address and phone number. 4. The gate at the front of the school’s lock needs fixing.

ANSWERS Inversion 1 Not only does my mother make, 2 Seldom does our former head teacher praise, 3 Never do I want, 4 Seldom does his girlfriend smile, 5 Not only do the students paint…

Incorrect Possessives 1 the umbrella of her sister who works over the river, 2 legs of the chair that we borrowed from my uncle, 3 the address and phone number of her cousin from…, 4 The lock of the gate at the front of the school…