CXC ENGLISH

Hello there! Today we continue studying the short stories on the English B syllabus, and we have our usual handful of challenges to brush up your skills for English A. Read on now, and enjoy!

ENGLISH B—Short Stories Let’s take a look at Pearl Crayton’s story, an End. Here’s a summary of the story. The narrator of this story tells us about a frightening experience she had when she was twelve (back in 1936). Her family lived on a plantation in Louisiana in a community where old-time religion played an important part in their lives. The local pastor preached a great deal about the horrors of Hell, and urged churchgoers to “get religion” so they would avoid the terrifying punishments he so vividly described. Our narrator has decided that there are plenty of “delicious sins” that she wants to enjoy, so she is postponing the business of getting religion.

She is shaken, though, when her cousin rushes over to tell her that there’s going to be an eclipse, and that if the moon “whips the sun” rather than the other way around, then the world will end. At that very moment, a church sister comes by and urges both girls to pray and get religion because “the Lord is coming soon”.

Sensibly the narrator decides not to panic but to check out the scary news with her father (who is out at a church council meeting). She goes to bed, but is woken by an unusual noise in the sky that gets louder and louder. Terrified, she jumps out of bed and runs out of the house in her nightie, yelling to everyone around that the world is coming to an end.

Fortunately she runs into the arms of her father, who is coming home from the meeting. He is able to calm her down and reassure her that it was only an old aeroplane flying over head. She is relieved, but also ashamed as she realizes that she has made a fool of herself. Thoughtfully, her father covers her nightie with his jacket, and they head for home.

Frightening as the experience was, it taught her an important lesson: life is wonderful, and we should enjoy it to the full, thankful for all that it offers.

Now the problem with a summary is that it ignores all the writer’s clever techniques that make the story really wonderful!! So now let’s look at those narrative devices!!!

The Day the World Almost Came to

Narrative devices Contrast. One theme in this story is religion—the kind of religion that makes people scared of dying when they could be enjoying living. Rena, the narrator’s cousin, the local pastor, and church folk like Miss Daya all present to us a kind of religion that is full of fear. In contrast, the narrator’s father (himself a good churchman) shows love and compassion to his daughter and has a lot of common sense in his approach to interpreting Bible prophecies. The contrast is set up between a religion of love and a religion of fear. (Read again the details that the pastor gives his congregation about Hell, and then compare his fear-mongering with the last paragraph of the story. Which way do you think we should live our lives?)

Humour. The story criticizes a particular type of religion, but it does so with humour. What does the narrator mean exactly when she tells us she is a sinner, and wants to enjoy a few more “delicious sins”? Check the paragraph that begins “The lazy old moon…” and you’ll find a list of her sins: taking fruit from the neighbours’ trees without asking, fighting, gambling for penny stakes, telling white lies. Her “sins” are pretty much the things that all kids get up to, aren’t they?

Characters The five main characters in the story fall into two groups. The pastor, Miss Daya and Rena frighten themselves and others with talk about Hell and the end of the world. The narrator’s father, in contrast, demonstrates his religion by showing love, gentleness, compassion and wisdom. The narrator is at a crossroads in her life: she chooses her father’s way and rejects the way of those who peddle fear. Her unique experience of “getting religion” is described in the last paragraph of the story. It’s not the kind of religion that Miss Daya talks about, is it?

CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD

1. Make sure you don’t lose/loose your temper when you speak to him. 2. You should never except/accept a ride in a stranger’s car. 3. During the storm, the sailors considered lightning/lightening the ship by

throwing the cargo overboard. 4. Look at that foolish dog chasing its/it’s tail again! 5. You could serve salad; alternatively/alternately, you could call in a caterer. 6. It’s difficult for us to meet your deadline since we don’t have our full

complement/compliment of staff. 7. People who submit false information on their tax returns will be

persecuted/prosecuted. 8. In his brilliant summing up yesterday, the judge led/lead the jury through the

main events of the case. 9. A large cartoon/carton of tins of condensed milk fell off the over-laden

truck. 10. At the Awards Ceremony, Tom and Fred were given a watch and a commemorative plaque respectfully/respectively.

SPELLING

Here are 15 words that are frequently misspelt. Ask someone to test you and see if you can spell all of them correctly.

Torture, repetition, competition, patience, similar, familiar, exceptional, acceptable, occasional, acknowledgement, prejudice, dilapidated, conscientious, civilian, brochure

PERSUASIVE WRITING

You will be asked to write 250-300 words giving your opinion on a particular topic. Here are some tips. ● Divide your 250-300 words into five paragraphs—an Introduction, a Conclusion, and three paragraphs for the “body” of the letter or speech. ● In the Introduction, mention that this topic has been widely discussed recently. Many people argue that………, but my opinion is that……….. For example, in a letter/speech on corporal punishment in schools, you might write this for your Introduction:

While in our grandparents’ days it was taken for granted that teachers ought to beat children who were “difficult”, there is a strong movement nowadays to ban corporal punishment in schools. Many argue that corporal punishment leads to abuse and can never help a child to learn. I disagree, and wish to argue that corporal punishment is necessary, but should be monitored.. Notice that you have indicated the topic of debate AND which side you are on. ● Use each “body” paragraph to develop ONE argument supporting your view. ● Now sum up in your Conclusion, drawing together all your arguments. You

might write this: No one is suggesting that corporal punishment should be used regularly, and it certainly should not be used on children because they are having difficulty learning. It must be strictly confined to curbing inappropriate behavior, and only resorted to when all other methods of punishment have failed—and even then, only under strict supervision. Your turn now! Write out this persuasive piece, filling in the three “body” paragraphs.

SYNONYMS

For each of the words in List A, find a synonym from list B. When you have put your synonyms in pairs, choose the correct word from list A (or its synonym from list B) to fill the blanks in the sentences: List A knack bizarre assimilate repugnant annul random obtain spend accomplish indigenous despicable eccentric invalidate aboriginal flair absorb haphaz ard execute procure disburse You have to admire Mum: she really has a —————-for turning a piece of cheap cloth into a gorgeous dress. 1. My friend Nazeema has an enviable ………… ..for making even

inexpensive clothes look classy. 2. Our neighbour’s behaviour is most ——————: he keeps turtles in his

bathroom and has ten cats sleeping in his bed. 3. It’s important not just to read a book but to —————the message it

communicates. 4. What we found most ——————-about the crime was that the children

were forced to witness what was done to their parents. 5. The businessman wanted to——————-the contract when he acquired

damning information about his partner. 6. Management cannot simply make ———— choices of people to fill

important positions: they have to make careful, informed selections. 7. The police have had to ——————more sophisticated weapons and

protective gear to deal with the crime wave. 8. In order to equip the police force, the Government has had to —————

———-large sums of money. 9. The Ministry of Housing has been able to ——————a number of

important projects over the past twelve months. 10. The —————————people of New Zealand are the Maori. List B

ANSWERS Synonyms 1 knack-flair, 2 bizarre-eccentric, 3 assimilate-absorb, 4 repugnantdespicable, 5 annul-invalidate, 6 random-haphazard, 7 obtain-procure, 8 spend-disburse, 9 accomplish-execute, 10 indigenous-aboriginal. Choose the Correct Word 1 Lose your temper, 2 accept a ride, 3 lightening the ship, 4 chasing its tail, 5 alternatively, you could… 6 full complement of staff, 7 Defaulters will be prosecuted, 8 The judge led the jury, 9 a carton of milk, 10 a watch and a plaque respectively