GCSE English lit: Telling Tales Anthology

TDOT Narrative perspective

-Third person limited

-Indirect free discourse, to extensively reveal Sandra's inner monologue

-Uses Sandra's idiolect 'cleaning the floors while gossiping and that' creating a more intimate experience but also allows Lively to comment on things outside her perspective

Packers End

-'Packers end' shows Mrs Rutters warped moralities (reversed perception) as she describes it as 'lucky to be by the wood'

-Sandra thinks of it as terrifying so shows her naivity

The intrusion that Packers End has on her daydreams show the shadow it casts on her thoughts.

Sandra ventures into further thoughts of Packers end, involving raped and abducted girls. It is where childhood ends, foreshadowing Mrs Rutters tale.

Countryside where Sandra is walking

-Idealistc 'she walked through the flowers 'she could see the cottage' resembling a fairy tale

-'Somebody said she had pretty feet once' shows Sandra's self centred nature, only cares about her own wellbeing

She is linked to he sunshine as she 'dusts her brown legs.' She can daydream about her future involving travel brochures and sewing machines and falling in love. Showing her immaturity.

Sandra's daydream house

'little white house'

'crisp green lawn'

Contrast to Mrs rutters, shows her immaturity but also causes the reader to reflect on whether this was Mrs rutters dream as well, before her husband was killed. Did grief a his loss turn a former 'Sandra' into a witch?

Mrs Rutters cottage

'Shaggy grass'

'no-mans land'

-At the spinney the cottage looks inviting, but on the inside it is corrupted

-Inside 'smell of cabbage' 'torn from magazines' 'clumps off fluff'

-Contrast to Sandra's ideal cottage

-Spinney reaches out to the garden as if trying to envelop it, could show corruption of Mrs rutters heart

Kerry

'explosive with acne'

''broke off a bit, and offered it''

'Mum says boys matured later'

'the boys spoon clattered'

'he had grown, he had got older and larger'

'his anger eclipsed his acne'

-He is already mature, he is in the world of work and bases his decisions on experience

-Unlikely prince 'licked down hair and slitty eyes' Sandra associates him with dirt 'oily workshop'

-Sandra thinks he is immature and views him over a 'chasm' dismissing his wariness about Mrs rutter as immaturity

Mrs Rutter

-Constant monologue, likes to be centre of attention

-Even when Kerry gets up to leave she continues to talk, making herself the centre

'Monotonal delivery is contrasted with the horrified reaction of the children 'the boy stared at her' 'the boy stiffened' but she is continues, making it a more tense situation

-'Composite chintzy mass from which cushions oozed and her voice flowed softly on'

'oozed' suggests sluggish and unwholesome, Mrs Rutters words are a polluted stream.

-'chins collapsed into one another' 'creamy pool of smiling face' suggesting layers

- eyes are 'snapped and darted' they 'investigate' and 'examine' suggesting calculation and weighing up, contrasting with her soft exterior

-simile 'quick as mice' introduces the idea that Mrs Rutter only shows her true self momentarily

-Tale progresses she becomes more sinister as she laughs at Sandra and her 'chins shook, pink and creamy chins'

Sandra

-Ignorance portrayed through a botanical list 'ox eyed daisies, vetch, and cow parsley'

-Innocent abroad with limited life experience, she 'keeps on track' showing she stays on familiar territory

'pat had a funny looking eye, are all people who help other people not very nice looking?' she bases her opinions on looks

-Adolescent on the verge of woman hood 'breasts perked ' she looked at her toes' Mrs Rutter makes her 'blush' as Mrs Rutter s aware of her interest of her on body and uses this to create intimacy

-Sandra's view of men is based on fairy tales 'and thered be this man' but by the end she sees Kerry as a true man 'he had grown; he had grown older and larger.'

Narrative perspective of Korea

-First person

-Interior monologue- the son comments on what his father has told him

-For example, the fathers recollection of the execution 'years after' describing the 'furze pods' which 'destroyed the day' which is then validated by the son 'there was something calculating in his face'

-The truth of what the son is saying is questionable as our view of the father is always filtered through the sons perceptions

Setting of Korea

-Ireland where they had little education and large families relied on subsistence farming

-It shows a fast changing world where families encourage children to move away

-Setting is beautiful 'beaded with drops of running water' but is contrasted with the 'ugly whirls' of bats which show the deceptiveness of appearances

Son in Korea

-We learn little except it is his 'last summer on the river'

-he is well educated

-He understands his father by the end 'I'd never felt so close to him before' It is as if the scales have fallen from his eyes and he sees his father as what he is- a man capable of 'murder'

Father in Korea

-Manipulative, 'wary of big words....not his voice' son recognises it as a sales pitch

-Also shown as he 'baiting each hook so beautifully' 'without a splash' showing the son believes his father is capable of betrayal

-Father is 'excited' about the financial benefit of sending the son to the US

-He is not as patriotic as originally seems , 'fought his own wars' Ireland 'fend for itself' emphasises the disconnect in his fathers mind between what he is proposing for his son and the fate of the boy in the Irish war

Imagery of fishing in Korea

-Father can be seen as 'twisted hook'

-Bates worms 'beautifully' with prospect of US

-'Other fish' are sold off like the son will be

-The bait of 'crawling worms' the son sees before going out to set the sightline is his fathers apparent concern for his future but the worms crawl 'in darkness'- the darkness could be at the heart of the fathers twisted soul

Narrative perspective of IMOTBC

-First person narritive, personalises it immediatley. A03, this story is similar to Williams' story.

-Uses her idiolect e.g. switches from 'walking a tightrope' to 'this look and smell like big trouble to me.'

-Speaks in standard English to teachers but her inner monologue is in patois, adding to the authenticity of the account

-She sees her patois as an assertation of her identity

-At first, when she gets angry at the inspector the words 'gush out' because she is angry. But this time, she 'says the word slowly so I get them right' and her friends 'whoop' down the corridor. They have affirmed the value of their cultural identity

Setting of Invisible mass

-Characterised through sensual imagery

'bright blue seas retaliated' 'smells of cinammon' 'black toothless gums' 'steam bath' sweat smelt 'rank' 'oiled, ivory skin'

-England she approaches 'gingerly' as it has 'new smells'

-However, she reconciles the two worlds by speaking to her friends in patoir and by bringing the smells of Jamaica to the common room 'dominated' 'hair pomander' 'face powder' 'woolworth's fragrances'

Structure of Invisible mass

Cyclical structure, showing the same scenario but with two different outcomes. She will always go back to her roots. Or, could suggest a change in character.

Hortense

-She has a strong sense of self, but this is challenged by perceived injustices

-Uses her patior as a weapon: she is a 'rebel' wants to 'kill' her teacher as 'somebody has to pay' for her humiliation

-HOWEVER, she responds to warmth and kindness 'big and strong' lunch women 'warm blosson' of Cousy.

-She is surrounded by classmates, who follow her leads in both countries. She is a rebel that wants to be heard.

Library in invisible mass

-Moving to England gives her access to her library

-Supplying Hortense with alternative cultural history, giving her a 'right to be'

-No longer relegated to the 'back row' nor part of the anonymous mass of 'black people' but she can take centre stage with 'Toussaint L'Ouverture' and 'Paul Bogle'

Narritive perspective of Polish Tie

-First person narrative

-Unreliable (distorted by her own feelings of inadequacy)

-Only when does she find her 'mother tongue' does she speak in an authentic 'voice'

-Inferiority evident from her opening

Setting of Polish tie

-Not important

-Her feelings of inferirority are due to interactions with others

Carla

-Her narrative voice

-Interactions with others

-Name not revealed by herself

-Rediscovering of herself starts with Steven

Stephen

-'Innocent abroad'

-Looks bewildered in the staff room

-Innocence and openess 'he couldnt hide anything'

Canary in polish tie

-Could be a metaphor for Carla's loss of identity or 'mother tongue' as canaries can sing and were sent down the mines

The tie

-'much too wide and bright' to declare him as Polish

-'better country than the ones either had lived in'

-By comparing it to this, Carla transcends their national and cultural identities to affirm their shared humanities

Narrative perspective of Chemistry

-First person reflective

-Does not use idiolect of a child

-Some may view this is detached and aloof as it seems very impersonal, we have to make inferences

Significance of the ghost (Chemistry)

-The boy's innocence and lack of understanding about death

-Salt and seaweed shows the son thinks he is just at the bottom of the Irish Sea as he wanted to know 'when he would return'

-Shows that the boy has understood the sinking of the boat led to the breakdown in the family.

-'Don't you believe me' is a plea for revenge

-We are left wondering what is pulling him towards the door...

Setting Chemistry

-Pond is 'circular, exposed' it is a ritual that they take part in, it brings warmth to the bleak environment. They are bound by familial ties that can not be broken

-Shed is 'miniature' where the boy believes he 'communes.' The old man feels less alone here'

-Where the child takes refuge from Mother and Ralph's confusing relationship

-By detailing the 'single electric lightbulb' 'glass cylinder' 'glass fronted cupboard' the boy can hand onto something solid and dependable, that operates by known laws

Ralph

'pounces' 'barks' 'shouts'

-Boy vehemently refuses Ralph's offering, asserting his loyalty to his grandfather and father

-Ralph's relationship is domineering, he doesn't only 'move in' but he 'takes over' upsetting the equilibrium established by the three

Mother (Chemistry)

-Never named, characterised by the men in her life

-Catalyst in the plot as she introduces Ralph

-Boy has no concept of her inner life and needs, boy's disappointment is evident by the appearance of the ghost and the boy declares he 'believes' and 'will prove'

-Her lack of relationship is shown when she silences the son after the death, he is left wondering how 'suicide can be murder' and we are left wondering how the relationship will develop as they get older

Grandfather (Chemistry)

-Sympathy created through boys worship of him

-'acid marked hands' 'as he might of kept his own wife and son'

-He is v stubborn 'you must accept it- you cant get it back- its the only way'

-His intellectualism is contrasted with Ralph who swills beer while smothering the mother

Chemistry (changing relationships)

-'the science of change'

Changing dynamics within relationships is reinforced referring to the power struggle of the grandfather between him and the couple

-'people change too, don't they?

Chemistry (bonds)

-Hereditary ties pas on through genes

-Gold, if its outwardly nature changes, its inwardly nature stays constant

-'would often gaze curiously onto her face'

-'invisible cord'

Odour Context

-Set in Selston, rat infested mining town

-Lawrence often discusses sexual relationships in his work

-Portrays miners in early 20th century, a hard life

-64 mining deaths a year

Odour, structure

-Told in past tense and linearly

-Events are described as they occur

-Tension created by repeated references to time as Liz checks her clock

Odour, narrative perspective

-Begins in third person objective, we watch Elizabeth and are vaguely aware of her emotion. Perhaps done as she has a high level of self control but inside is harbouring a seething mass of pent up emotion

-Moves to third person limited, we see into her world as she describes her husband's dinner as 'spoiled'

-Moves to free indirect discourse: 'how tiresome he would be to nurse'

-By doing this, perhaps the absence of her husband has allowed Elizabeth to become more indpendent and find her identity- we can see her full character

Odour, setting

-Exposition has extended description of nature seemingly struggling to survive: trees are 'withered' and fields 'dreary and foresaken' this seems to allude to how Elizabeth feels with her life

-Second setting is the interior of the cottage: it is ordered, with coal 'glowing' in comparison to the other miners' wife's house which has lots of 'litter' (this is repeated several times) Showing that Elizabeth doesn't life a conventional miners' wife's life

Odour, dialect

-Written in dialect of Nottinghamshire miners

-Gives it authenticity

-Isolates Elizabeth, she doesn't speak like that

Odour, Elizabeth

-She is a proud woman, and her 'bittnerness' with her disappointed life is kept under control

-Her eyebrows are 'definite' and hair is 'exactly parted' she is determined to maintain standards despite her poverty

-Describes as 'imperious' from the root of 'imperial' which means to have control

Odour, how does death effect Elizabeth?

-Frees Elizabeth from hiding that her life has not been fulfilled

-Death 'restores the truth' as it allows her to acknowledge the gulf between her and her husband

Odour, chrysanthemums symbolism

-Symbol of the dying relationship between Liz and Walt, they are 'dishevelled

-Liz hates them, they are a symbol to make the disappointment and deterioration of her marriage

-They are in a vase when walt's body is taken out, they smell 'deathly'

-Finally, they lie on the floor amongst shards of smashed glass, she clears them away for her husband's body, a symbols of their broken life together

-Are they symbolising the death of a previous persona?