CSEC ENGLISH
Last week we looked at one important narrative device—the choice of narrator. Today we consider more techniques that the prose writer can use. As always, we have an assortment of exercises to help brush up your language skills. Read on now, and enjoy your CXC English page!
ENGLISH B—NARRATIVE DEVICES
In your English B exam (Paper 2), you will have to write three essays— one on a prose work, one on a work of drama and one on a poem. For each genre, the question will ask you to comment on the effectiveness of one of the devices used. Many students find this part of the questions difficult, so we want to help you get a good mark.
Last week we looked at one device/technique of the prose writer—the choice of narrator (first person, third person omniscient, and third person limited.) Today we will examine a couple of other devices.
Contrast
Contrast is an important device, and you can be pretty sure to find it in any short story or novel you read. It’s a useful device for the writer. In The Two Grandmothers, for instance, we see a traditional Caribbean grandmother and a modern ‘with-it’ type of grandmother. While Grandma Del is not perfect, she has many admirable qualities, and when we compare her with Grandma Elaine—the modern one—we tend to criticize much of Elaine’s behaviour. Through the device of contrast, Senior presents various values and character traits that she approves of. The reader has to make a choice between the behaviour of the one in contrast to the behaviour of the other. Similarly, there are two very different boys in Blood Brothers, and as we see them contrasted with each other, we are able to understand why there is so much tension between them. We have a lesson in psychology through the device of contrast.
In Emma, readers will spot the contrast between Emma, who is basically a good mother, and Mrs Robinson, who isn’t; and between Dory’s grandfather (who takes the responsibility of parenting seriously) and Dory’s father, who doesn’t. Once again, the author presents a set of good moral values without preaching at us.
Pearl Crayton shows us a deeply religious community in the South of the USA. The contrast you may like to consider is between Miss Daya, whose religion is all about fear and judgment, and the narrator’s father, whose religion is about love and compassion. Isn’t it a beautiful and significant action when he takes off his jacket and puts it on his daughter, covering up her nightie?
In Breath, Eyes, Memory, one contrast is between life in Haiti and life in New York. Another is between the abusive and damaging methods of raising girl-children in Haitian culture, and the liberated, wholesome style of raising a child that Sophie will use as her little daughter, Brigitte, grows up.
You will find many examples of contrast in To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a fine father-figure, and stands in contrast to Mr Radley and to Bob Ewell. Atticus (along with a few others in Maycombe) is not a racist, so he can be contrasted with the citizens who want to lynch Tom regardless of the evidence proving he had been incapable of committing the crime he is accused of.
These examples should set you searching for more—and you will find yourself on quite a treasure hunt!
Landscape/Setting
Where the story or novel takes place also affects our response to the characters and the plot. Think how important the two different settings are in To Da-Duh, in Memoriam. The grandmother’s pride is in her Barbadian heritage—the cane, the tall royal palm, the fertile soil. Her granddaughter, raised in Brooklyn, takes pride in tall buildings and technological gadgets. Living in a former British colony, the grandmother retains a deep respect for white folk, while the granddaughter, living in the USA, sees herself as equal to the white kids she encounters. As you see, the setting (Barbados and Brooklyn) is very important in getting across our understanding of the two characters and the tension between them.
What is the landscape like in these stories—and how does it affect our response to the conflicts that are portrayed: Who Loved Ice Cream; The Man of the House; Blackout?
CAUGHT IN THE SLIPS
Do you get caught in the slips when you use the verbs to trash/to thrash? If the sportswriter is writing that Team A beat Team B soundly, which of these is correct:
● Team B was trashed by Team A
● Team B was thrashed by Team A?
Check the answers section to see if you got it right.
SPELLING
Below are 15 words that are frequently misspelt. Ask someone to test you and see if you can spell all of them correctly. Write out any words that you couldn’t spell, and make sure they will never catch you again!
Ridicule, heroic, violence, portray, coherent, column, commemorate, committee, concession, condemn, confer, conference, conferred, congested, congratulate.
MAIN CLAUSES AND SUBORDINATE CLAUSES
There are two main ways to join thoughts together in a sentence: coordination and subordination. Don’t let the names scare you, just follow our examples.
You could write this:
John was late. He came with a good excuse. (Both are ‘main clauses.’) You join them together with AND or BUT. That’s called coordination: John was late and he came with a good excuse.
But another way to join sentences together is to make one sentence dependent on the other, forming a subordinate clause:
Example 1
John was late. He had a puncture.
John was late because he had a puncture.
Example 2
Mum got up and cooked breakfast. She hadn’t slept much.
Although she hadn’t slept much, Mum got up and cooked breakfast.
Example 3
Dad built a small shed in the yard. We could lock up our bikes inside.
Dad built a small shed in the yard so that we could lock up our bikes inside.