CSEC ENGLISH
Hello there! We’re glad that you are checking out your CSEC ENGLISH page. You are sure to find something to help you here as you study for your CSEC exams starting in May. We are still looking at dramatic techniques to help you with English B, and we have exercises to help you with vocabulary, verb tenses and so on to help with English A. Read on and enjoy!
ENGLISH B—dramatic techniques
Last week we looked at the way Shakespeare makes rich use of sound effects in The Tempest, not only to create an appropriate mood, but also to underscore the message of his play. When the exam question asks you to comment on the effectiveness of the device, that’s what is meant: Does this device create a mood—and if so, what kind of mood? Does this device communicate the message of the play?
Your job, then, is to identify the device and show examples of where that device is used in the play. Next, and most importantly, you need to show how this device makes the audience feel and how this device makes the audience think.
This week let’s look at a couple of dramatic devices in Ti-Jean and His Brothers. Walcott actually uses such a range of dramatic devices that it’s difficult to choose, but we will explore his use of the mask as disguise and his use of props.
The Mask and Disguises
The masks and disguises worn by the Devil are very important. He appears sometimes as the Devil (use your imagination to think how he would be dressed!) but he also appears in disguise as Papa Bois and as the Planter. He even lets the audience see him changing his disguise and removing his mask. The effect is to make us understand that the intelligent, reasonableseeming Planter is actually the embodiment of evil, and so is the seemingly helpful Old Man of the woods. The masking and disguising have a two-fold effect on us: they let us UNDERSTAND how devious and cunning the Devil is, and how easy it is to be deceived by appearances. The masking also makes us FEEL a shudder of fear to know the danger that TiJean is in.
Props
Props, unlike the scenery, are movable. Some of the props in this play are the bare table with its empty bowls outside the Mother’s hut (showing the family’s poverty), Mi-Jean’s fishing rod and book (showing us that his book learning has only managed to make him useless as a provider), and the cow-foot and stiff tail of Papa Bois (showing that he is the Devil in disguise, so Ti-Jean must be very careful not to be fooled by him).
The two crosses on the graves of Gros-Jean and Mi-Jean, along with the human bone that the Devil is gnawing, are important props that suggest (in a semi-comic way) the ruthlessness of the slave trade and the plantation system. We are shocked at how nonchalantly the Devil enjoys his breakfast, and we feel the grief of Ti-Jean as he realizes that his brothers have both died.
For you to do
Reread this last paragraph.
1. Did the writer NAME the device?
2. Did the writer give an EXAMPLE of that device? 3. Did the writer say how the device made us THINK? 4. Did the writer show how the device made us FEEL?
In your own response to the exam question on a dramatic device used in the play, be sure to cover all four points.
PERSUASIVE WRITING
Let’s look at the kind of question you will encounter in the Persuasive Writing section of the exam. Study our model answer carefully.
Many young people are quick to leave home and start life on their own. You are a young person who does not approve of this.
Write a letter for the Youth Magazine of your community arguing against this practice.
Dear Editor,
For most young people in Guyana, leaving home and starting life on one’s own is not really an option. The cost of living is very high, so we are forced to remain at home. We see, on television, that young people in other countries leave home early, but I find that this is not a wise move, and I would like to warn our young people against the practice. (We have indicated the topic, and we have shown that we are AGAINST the practice.)
Throughout their school years, young adults have been supported financially by their parents—often at great sacrifice. Is it reasonable, as soon as these young adults are able to make a financial contribution to the home, for them to abandon ship? Isn’t that the height of selfishness? I believe they should stay for a while and give back something. (First point: they should stay and make a financial contribution. Point stated and developed along with rhetorical questions)
Although a young person may be able to work, he or she is not necessarily fully mature. Leaving school does not make you grow wise overnight. It is good for a young person to remain under the family roof for a while to learn about decision making in adult life. (Second point: they should stay because they are not fully ready to face the world.)
A young friend of mine got into a lot of trouble because he was renting a place with a fellow who turned out to be a bad egg. My friend was bound by their agreement to stay there for six months, and he almost got into trouble with the police because of his association with his “friend”. (Third point: bad company. Use an illustration to make your point)
To our young people who want to fly the nest and “do it my way”, I would say that it’s not a good idea to start life on your own until you are wise to the ways of the world, and in any case you should think about giving back to your family before you take off.
(To conclude, we restate our position, giving our main arguments briefly. Notice that we have remembered that this is a letter to the Editor, so we suit our style to that) (Put a real name—not something like “Concerned Citizen”)
SPELLING
Yours sincerely,
Tandy Phillips.
Here are 14 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! Maintenance, sustenance, nutritious, medicine, mischievous, mortgage, noticeable, manageable, nuisance, occurrence, orchid, oxygen, pamphlet, violence
BUILDING YOUR VOCABULARY
Here are 10 words. Fit them appropriately into the blanks in the sentences. Lithe, brittle, dexterous, conscientious, complementary, authentic, obnoxious, supercilious, adept, rigorous
Turn to 6B