Danger of a Single Story
George and Lennie: “We could live offa the _ _ _ _ _ the _ _ _ _ .”
George and Lennie: “We could live offa the fatta the land.”
What is the tone of 'Explorers or boys...?
Cynical / sarcastic / negative
'I found out: on other side of mountains are mountains, more mountains and more mountains again.'
What does this tell the reader about the Bhutanese landscape?
What does it say about her opinion of it? Can you think of two ways of interpreting how she feels?
Repetition and consonant 'm' reflects the sameness and lack of diversity in the landscape.
Repetition of 'mountains' shows the remoteness of the nation.
She might find it boring.
She might find it overwhelming and awe inspiring.
What does the writer - Levine - call the boys she meets and what does this show?
Lads - over-familiarity. Maybe she is over-excited.
Zephaniah uses collective plural pronoun 'we', personal singular pronoun 'I' and direct address second person pronoun 'you'.
What is the effect of each of these - why does he use them?
'We' - togetherness and connection
'I' - Signifies anecdotes - personal stories. Connection, pathos, persuasive rhetorical device
'You - rhetorical technique, connection, persuasive
Adichie read books that did not reflect her life. What did the characters in the books eat compared to what she ate?
They ate apples… we ate mangoes -
The worlds are juxtaposed using parallel sentence structures.
Boss: “Well, I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is.”
Boss: “Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is.”
'convulsion of crests and gorges and wind-sharpened pinnacles'
What sounds can you hear in this quote?
What does it reflect about the environment?
hard consonant sounds: 'c' 't' 'g' 'd' 'p'emphasises the harshness of the landscape.
maybe suggests her dislike for it? like it is a cold, unwelcoming place...
Levine uses quite Western references in order to explain what she encounters to her Western readership.
Name two Western references she uses.
What does this show about her perspective?
'A Game of Polo'
'Wacky Races'
'Formula One without the rules.'
- Suggests chaos, but also hints at her lack of understanding and unconscious bias.
Zephaniah writes: 'We are the architects, we are the designers.'
What are the connotations of 'architects' and 'designers'?
What message is he trying to get across?
'Architecture' and 'design' are highly skilled and highly revered professions. By highlighting that dyslexic people make up a high percentage of people performing these roles, he is presenting dyslexia as a strength that can aid success.
Name three assumptions that Adichie's American room-mate had of her.
That she listened to ‘tribal music’,
That she didn’t have English as a first language
That she ‘didn’t know how to use a stove’.
How does the writer present the men as selfish? What resources did they use and who footed the bill?
Royal Navy
RAF
British Coastguards
- Taxpayers get the rescue bill and the funds will never be recovered.
About Slim: “His _ _ _ heard more than what was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , but of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ beyond _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .”
About Slim: “His ear heard more than what was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought.”
'horns tooting, bells ringing, and the special rattles'
Name one language device and one structural device shown here.
State effect.
Triplet
Sensory language
Coupled together creates an overwhelming/exciting/chaotic/noisy atmosphere.
What metaphor does Zephaniah use near the start of this article, and what does it tell the reader?
'The past was a different kind of country.'
That the time in which he grew up was unrecognisable to what we know today.
That times have changed and there is greater understanding now.
That he felt that he didn't fit in back then.
The media's portrayal of Mexicans gave her a single story of them.
What was her single story of Mexican people and how did her visit to Mexico change this?
The media portrayal of Mexicans had informed her that they were commonly ‘sneaking’ across the American border and ‘fleecing’ people.
She saw them 'going to work, rolling up tortillas in the marketplace, smoking, laughing'.
Her exposure to another 'story' of the Mexican people showed her how she was just as guilty of stereotyping. This tells the reader it can happen to anyone. Plurality humanises people.
What expedition experience and training/expertise did Mr Brooks have?
What claim does Mr Smith make about his flying experience?
Why does the writer give us this information?
Mr Brooks: expeditions in 70 countries in 15 years. Trekked solo to Everest base camp, walked barefoot for three days in the Himalayas. Negotiated the white water rapids of the Zambezi by kayak, survived a charge by a silver back gorilla in the Congo.
Mr Brooks: qualified mechanical engineer and pilot.
Mr Smith: claims to have been flying since the age of five. Twice flown a helicopter around the globe. Won the world freestyle helicopter flying championship.
They should have known better! Presented as irresponsible and inconsiderate of the consequences.
What can you recall about what she described about having to eat and drink?
Consider the adjectives she pairs with 'coffee', 'milk', 'bread' and 'jam'.
'instant coffee, powdered milk, plasticky white bread, flavourless red jam.'
Curley’s Wife: "Well, you keep your place then, N******. I could get you _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ on a tree so easy it ain't even _ _ _ _ _ ." // Crooks had reduced himself to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .”
Curley’s Wife: "Well, you keep your place then, N******. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny." // Crooks had reduced himself to nothing.”
Aside from being discriminated against for his dyslexia, in what other way did he face prejudice?
What quote/event can you recall to support this?
How did he react to this and what does this tell the reader?
Racial prejudice.
Told to go and play football.
Told that people who were not white were savages.
Told off when challenged.
Shows he was an up-stander, strong-willed and evokes a sense of injustice and inspiration.
The final line of Adichie's speech is this:
'I would like to end with this thought: That when we reject the single story, when we realise that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise.'
Tell me one structural device, one language device and briefly state the effect of each.
'I would like to end with this thought: That when we reject the single story, when we realise that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise.'
Call to action introduced by signposting the end.
Colon
Collective plural pronoun 'we'
Verb 'reject'
Parallel structure
Adverb 'never'
Noun 'paradise'
In the last sentence of the article, Mrs Vestey, Mr Brooks' wife, states:
'I don't know what will happen to them once they have been picked up by HMS Endurance - they'll probably...
Finish the sentence and explain how this last line supports the title.
'I don't know what will happen to them once they have been picked up by HMS Endurance - they'll probably have their bottoms kicked and be sent home the long way.'
Supports the claim in the title that they are 'boys messing about' as the punishments stated are typical of those experienced in childhood (in the old days - it is illegal now...!). The childish punishment further shows that the family disregarded the consequences and had no remorse.
The tone shifts throughout this piece.
She starts off either bored or overwhelmed.
She then shows admiration for the people and the nation.
Then she ends on a rather patronising tone.
What quotes can you recall to support these shifts?
'mountains, more mountains and more mountains again'
'dignity, unselfconsciousness, good-humour and grace'
'I am full of admiration for this small country that has managed to look after itself so well.'
'And then the trouble began.'
'Voices were raised, fists were out and tempers rising.'
What can you say about the sentences structures used here?
What is the reader encouraged to feel?
Conjunction sentence starter.
Tone shift from excitement to concern.
Triplet.
Sense of danger.
Crooks: “Just like _ _ _ _ _ _ . Ever’body wants a little piece of _ _ _ _ … Nobody never gets to _ _ _ _ _ _ , and nobody gets no _ _ _ _ . It’s just in their head.”
Crooks: “Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of land … Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It’s just in their head.”