CXC ENGLISH

Hello there! This week we continue looking at our second English B novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. As usual we have a variety of exercises to challenge your English A skills and help you prepare for the exam. Read on now, and enjoy your CXC page.

ENGLISH B—To Kill a Mockingbird In Harper Lee’s novel, three stories (plot-lines) are interwoven:

● The first story begins with Mayella Ewell’s false charge accusing Tom Robinson of sexual advances on her. Her lie leads to Tom being arrested and imprisoned. Atticus undertakes Tom’s defence, but although he is able to demon strate to the court that Tom (who has only one arm) would have been unable to commit the offence, a guilty verdict is delivered by the all-white jury. Tensions run high in the town, and Tom, fearing lynching, attempts to break out of prison and make a run for freedom, but is shot dead, leaving his lovely wife, Helen, a widow.

● The second story follows Atticus’s children, Jem and Scout, as (along with their mischievous friend, Dill) they try to make Boo Radley ‘come out’. Rumour has it that Boo has been shut up in the house ever since he attacked his own father with a pair of scissors, and the children are fascinated by the idea of having such a monster living nearby. Increasingly their efforts to get in touch with Boo reveal to the reader that Boo is, in fact, a harmless, lonely recluse, who is very fond of the two children. Boo’s secret kind deeds come to a climax when the children are returning home in the dark after the school Halloween party. Angry with Atticus for shaming him publicly, Mayella’s father, Bob Ewell, attacks the children on a lonely path, and would have killed them had Boo not been watching over them. Boo snatches Bob’s knife and kills the assailant, so saving the two children. The local Mayor decides not to press charges, and Boo returns to his reclusive life. Jem and Scout, though, have learnt that the man they tormented was, in fact, their friend and rescuer.

● Another significant story involves a neighbour, Mrs Dubose. The children are subjected to insults and harassment from the racially divided community when their father undertakes the defence of a black man, Tom Robinson, and when Mrs Dubose joins in the verbal attacks, Jem takes revenge by cutting the heads off her prize camellias. Undeterred by the fact that Mrs Dubose is so hostile, Atticus insists that Jem make amends by reading for the sick, unpleasant old woman. What Jem later learns is that Mrs Dubose is desperately trying to fight her dependency on morphine so that she can die free of her addiction.

All three of the stories present the theme of heroism.

Atticus puts his professional reputation on the line by defending a black man in this racially divided town. He also puts his own life at risk, and the lives of his children. Tom and Helen are poor people, too, so Atticus does not expect to gain financially by taking on the case; he is driven solely by a passion for justice.

Boo, in his own way, is also a hero. Having been shut away from people all his life, he is painfully shy, yet secretly he reaches out to the children, placing gifts for them and showing up when they are in danger. In seizing Bob Ewell’s knife and using it on the assailant, Boo risks confirming the rumours that he is a dangerous killer, and he could very well spend the rest of his life in jail—or worse. Yet courageously he overcomes his fears in order to save the lives of Jem and Scout.

Mrs Dubose also shows courage. Instead of giving in to the cravings for morphine, she bears the pain stoically. Jem’s reading distracts her a little until she is able to fall asleep. Bravely, she fights the addiction, and dies ‘free’.

FOR YOU TO DO

● Make a list of the kind things that Boo secretly does for Jem and Scout. ● Make a list of the ways in which Atticus and his family suffer because of his decision to defend Tom Robinson. ● Write a paragraph outlining Mr. Radley’s treatment of Boo after the incident with the scissors and your opinion of him as a father.

HOW TO DO A SUMMARY

Read the following passage and then summarise, in not more than 115 words, the reasons given for the importance of studying and understanding Religion.

● Step 1, remember, is to underline the material you need in your summary. (We

have done this for you by italicizing the sections). ● Step 2 is to write out the selected material in your own words, avoiding

repetition or examples illustrating a point. ● Step 3 is to revise your work, ensuring that you have the correct number of

words. Here’s a tip: Write on alternate lines so that you can make changes without needing to re-write the entire summary. That way you will save time in the exam.

We suggest that you attempt to summarize the italicized points yourself, and then check your version against ours.

It’s hard to imagine any subject more important to study and understand than Religion. More important than Maths? Or French? Or Physics? Or Engineering? Well, let’s at least say that it is equally important, though maybe for different reasons.

There are three main reasons why it is so essential to understand and appreciate what religions are, and why they matter so much. The first is that religions are extremely dangerous. Think of all the evil and vicious things which have been done in the name of Religion: people have been tortured and burned alive; holy wars and crusades have been fought; whole groups of people have been kept in subordination and subjection—outcastes, slaves, women in relation to men. And think also of the many difficult and apparently insoluble problems in the world at the present time which have a religious part to them: Northern Ireland, the Middle East, the apartheid system in South Africa, the division between communist countries and others. It is not the case that religions alone create those problems, but it is certainly true that Religion has a part to play in them. If we want to live in a more peaceful world, it is important that we understand what there is about Religion which makes believers so passionate in their commitments and in their division from each other.

But there is a second reason why it is wise to study and understand Religion: religious belief has been the inspiration, not only of great violence and hatred, but also of almost all of mankind’s greatest achievements, in art, poetry, music, architecture, spiritual exploration and discovery. The creative power of Religion is enormous in all parts of the world. And this is still true. To take just one example, we have just lived through one of the greatest ages of Christian poetry that has occurred in the world history of Christianity. Of course, we are so close to it that it is hard to see it, but it is in fact the case that the last hundred years have seen an almost miraculous flowering of Christian vision, and also of Christians grappling with the reality of evil. So Religion is not disappearing or fading away. It is changing its forms of appearance and expression, but it remains a vital and creative force in many lives. Indeed, it is still the case that the majority of people alive on the planet today are committed to some form of religious belief.

And that leads to a third reason why it is so important to study and understand Religion. Religions are concerned with the question of eternal life, with what may ultimately and in the end—and for ever—be the case. If it is the case that your life can find its rest in God and can abide in Him/Her for ever, it is obvious that the issues which religions set before us are a great deal more important than a choice between cornflakes and porridge for breakfast. Of course, it may be that what religions claim is false—it may be that there is no reality correctly described as God in whom we can find our eternal life. But we can scarcely know whether that is so before we make some exploration ourselves.

(From the Foreword by John Bowker to

1986)

GETTING THINGS DONE

Religions of Man by Roger Whiting, You can do things yourself, or you can get them DONE for you. You can paint the house yourself, or you can have it PAINTED for you. You can sew your clothes yourself or you can have them SEWN for you.

Do you see the pattern here? To get something DONE, you need to use the past participle: to get it painted; to have them sewn.

Let’s practise. Follow the pattern of the sentences above, and add the part that follows “or”: 1. You can fix your bicycle yourself, or you can get it… 2. You can clean the windows yourself or you can have them… 3. You can write the invitations yourself, or you can have them… 4. You can fight your battles yourself, or… 5. You can tell your life story yourself, or… 6. You can type the letter yourself, or… 7. You can sing your praises yourself, or… 8. You can wash your jeans yourself, or you can have them … 9. You can pull out your tooth yourself, or… 10. You can dig your yard yourself, or… 11. You can cook lunch for yourself, or… 12. You can mow the grass yourself, or… 13. You can take the photos yourself, or… 14. You can mend your punctured tyre yourself, or… 15. You can fly your aeroplane yourself, or…

(N.B. To GET something done is the same as to HAVE something done.)

There are three main reasons for studying Religion. First, religions are extremely dangerous. Cruel things have been done in the name of Religion, wars have been fought, groups of people have been given inferior status. Many of the world’s difficult problems have a religious dimension. For greater peace in the world we need to understand why believers can be so passionately committed, yet so divided from others. Secondly, religious belief has inspired mankind’s greatest cultural and artistic achievements. Thirdly, religions are concerned with the question of eternal life, and of finding rest in God for ever. Maybe in fact there is no God, but we cannot know unless we make some exploration ourselves.

Getting things done You can get it fixed, have them cleaned, have them written, have them fought, have it told, get it typed, have them sung, have them washed, have it pulled out, have it dug, have it cooked, have it mown, get them taken, have it mended, have it flown.