Дипломная работа: Современная британская проза в элективном курсе по британской литературе для старших классов школ с углубленным изучением английского языка

Additional task. Think of five statements about the character of the mother, and find evidence to support each one.

Таблица 7 - Для заполнения информации о матери

3. Where does the story happen? The writer's choice of a setting is important in any story. Read this extract from the last paragraph in the story. What impression do you get of the pond in the park?

“I had nowhere to go. I went down to the park and stood by the pond. Dead willow leaves floated on it. Beneath its surface was a bottle of acid and the wreck of my launch”.

Now look at the description of the pond at the start of the story.

Write notes about:

a) the layout __________________________________________________

b) the season ________________________________________________

c) the effect of the wind_________________________________________

d) the privacy it allows _________________________________________

Do you think it is a pleasant place? Give reasons for your answer. __________________________________________________________________

4. Working with a partner, discuss the following questions.

1. When the boat sinks, Grandfather says: You must accept it - you can't get it back - it's the only way.

a) What do you think he is really talking about? __________________________________________________________________

b) When she hears this, the mother's face is described as `very still and very white, as if she had seen something appalling'. Why do you think she reacts like this?

_____________________________________________________________

c) The narrator describes the family as living `within the scope of this sad symmetry'. What do you think he means by this? __________________________________________________________________

2) In the paragraph beginning My father's death was a far less remote event than my grandmother's …, the narrator makes a distinction between adult and childish grief. What do you think are the distinctions? __________________________________________________________________

5. How can you prove the following interpretations of the boy's personality?

a) He is lonely. ___________________________

b) He is imaginative. ___________________________

c) He feels his world is threatened. ___________________________

d) He loves his mother and wishes to protect her. ___________________________

e) He loves his grandfather and feels sorry for him. ___________________________

f) He is cruel. ___________________________

g) He feels he can explain his grandfather's suicide. ___________________________

6. The narrator's standpoint

Is this story a third-person narration or a first-person narration? Why do you think the author has decided to use this type of narration?___________________________________________

By whom is the story told, in your opinion: by an adult who recalls his childhood or from the point of view of a boy? Why do you think so? __________________________________________________________________

7. What the characters say and do

In order to make a character believable for the reader, the writer has to give enough information about what the character says and does.

Look at this extract from the opening paragraph of the story:

For some reason it was always Grandfather, never I, who went to the far side. When he reached his station I would hear his `Ready!' across the water. A puff of vapour would rise from his lips like the smoke from a muffled pistol. And I would release the launch … As it moved it seemed that it followed an actual existing line between Grandfather, myself and Mother, as if Grandfather were pulling us towards him on some invisible cord, and that he had to do this to prove we were not beyond his reach. When the boat drew near him he would crouch on his haunches. His hands - which I knew were knotted, veiny and mottled from an accident in one of his chemical experiments - would reach out, grasp it and set it on its return.

In this paragraph, Swift creates an impression of the characters of both the boy and his grandfather, and of the relationship between the three characters.

. Working in a pair, think about:

a) how the family is presented as a selfcontained unit _________________

b) the physical description of Grandfather's hands (what effect does this have on the reader?) _____________________________________________

c) words or phrases that suggest Grandfather wants to be the most important person in the family. _________________________________________________

2. Complete the following table. How does what Grandfather says reveal aspects of his feelings and attitudes? The first point has been completed for you as an example.

Таблица 8 - Чувства дедушки и его отношение к другим членам семьи

8. How the characters relate to each other

Writers may also use dialogue to give readers an understanding of characters and relationships. The way people speak to each other can reveal a lot about themselves and the way they see others. Swift puts some ideas and attitudes into his characters' mouths that indicate their own attitudes and feelings, for example their attitudes to Grandfather. He does this by allowing the boy to witness these incidents.

With a partner, explain what you think each of the following quotations reveals about the other characters' attitudes towards Grandfather. One quotation has already been completed as an example:

Таблица 9 - Отношение к дедушке других членов семьи

9. Image of ghost

Swift uses ghosts as a part of the story. The ghosts of the boy's father and grandfather both appear to him.

a) What do you think is important about what his father tells the boy? __________________________________________________________________

b) What does this suggest to the reader about how the boy now views his mother?

_____________________________________________________________

c) Why do you think Swift repeats the image of the pools of water? __________________________________________________________________

d) Why is the placing of this ghostly visit important at this point in the story? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Analysing language

When you analyse a story, you should look closely at different parts of the story to see how they are connected. These may form a pattern. Often, close study of the language may reveal details of the author's meanings and purposes that on a first reading you may not have noticed. These details are usually called implications.

What someone says can be taken as a fact or as a sign of something more - a feeling, an attitude or a personality trait. Implied meaning can be different from what is apparently being said.

Writers choose their words to convey a range of things - usually ideas, feelings and attitudes. Sometimes even a short and simple sentence can show how a writer has chosen words carefully.

1. Mother says to Grandfather: You're ruining our meal - do you want to take yours out to your shed?! Rank the following statements according to how close you think they are close to what the mother means in this sentence, giving reasons for your decisions:

a) She does not want to wait for her pudding.

b) She wants to get rid of Grandfather so she can enjoy the meal with Ralph.

c) She does not want the crumble to go cold.

d) She wants to tell Grandfather that she now values Ralph more than him.

e) She thinks she should do what Ralph wants her to do.

2. Discuss the following quotations from the story about the weather and the natural world. Make notes to help you answer the following question: How might the weather and the natural world be related to what different characters are feeling?

- When the wind blew, little waves travelled across it and slapped the paved edges.

- All that autumn was exceptionally cold. Rain was dashing against the window as if the house were plunging under water.

- The heavy rain and the tossing branches of a rowan tree obscured my view.

- It was a brilliant, crisp late November day and the leaves on the rowan tree were all gold.

- They tidied the overgrown parts of the garden and clipped back the trees.

- The air was very cold.

Means of expressiveness

1. Swift uses alliteration in this story. For example: “For about a year we lived quietly, calmly, even contentedly within the scope of this sad symmetry”. Try to find other examples of alliteration and explain what effect it causes in every case. _________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________Try to find examples of metaphors like “invisible cord”. __________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

11. Symbolism

Sometimes a writer uses words or actions in a way that gives them a wider meaning. In this story, we can find symbolism in the study and practice of chemistry.

1. Discuss and make notes about the following questions.

a) Grandfather says: You don't make things in chemistry - you change them. Anything can change. Do you think he is speaking about chemistry or relationships? _______________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

b) Why does Grandfather say, Then we'd take something that wasn't gold at all and cover it with this changed gold so it looked as if it was all gold - but it wasn't.? ______________________ __________________________________________________________________

c) Why doesn't Grandfather put the watch chain into the beaker? __________________________________________________________________

d) What does the boy mean when he thinks `how suicide can be murder and how things don't end'? __________________________________________________________________

e) In the final paragraph, the boy thinks But though things change they aren't destroyed. What do you think is the significance of this? __________________________________________________________________

12. Exploring a key moment in the story

The moment when the ambulance arrives to take away the dead grandfather is an important point in the story. The boy watches from a bedroom window as Ralph appears outside the house and seems to be supervising the paramedics.

1. Re-read the paragraph beginning And then it was almost light … and then make notes on:

a) how the weather contributes to the drama of what is happening __________________________________________________________________

b) how the boy's view is obscured so he does not understand what is happening ___________ __________________________________________________________________

c) how Ralph appears to be an almost comic figure __________________________________________________________________

d) how Ralph also appears to have some authority __________________________________________________________________

e) the boy's reaction when he realises what is happening __________________________________________________________________

f) the importance of the smell of whisky __________________________________________________________________

g) the mother's promise of an explanation __________________________________________________________________

13. Analysing structure

1. The story begins and ends at the pond. Why do you think Swift does this?

Working in a small group, rank the following statements according to how well you think they answer this question. Explain your decisions.

The story begins and ends at the pond to:

a) suggest that the boy is lonely

b) remind the reader of the bottle of acid and the boy's dislike of Ralph

c) show that Graham Swift likes to include water in his stories

d) remind the reader of the lost boat and the changes that have happened in the family

e) show that the boy wishes to return to somewhere where he felt loved

f) show that things don't change, even after death.

2. Re-read the last paragraph of the story. Then answer these questions.

a) What details can you find that create a sad atmosphere?

b) In what ways does the description of the grandfather link to the opening of the story?

14. Which of the following best describes how you feel about the ending of the story?

- sad

- uplifting

- hopeful

- curious

- celebratory

- sentimental

Why is the story called `Chemistry'? __________________________________________________________________

Focus on language

Read the description of Grandfather's shed and do the tasks below:

I don't think Grandfather practised chemistry for any particular reason. He studied it from curiosity and for solace, as some people study the structure of cells under a microscope or watch the changing formation of clouds. In those weeks after Mother drove him out I learnt from Grandfather the fundamentals of chemistry.

I felt safe in his shed. The house where Ralph now lorded it, tucking into bigger and bigger meals, was a menacing place. The shed was another, a sealed-off world. It had a salty, mineral, unhuman smell. Grandfather's flasks, tubes and retort stands would be spread over his work-bench. His chemicals were acquired through connections in the metal-plating trade. The stove would be lit in the corner. Beside it would be his meal tray - for, to shame Mother, Grandfather had taken to eating his meals regularly in the shed. A single electric light bulb hung from a beam in the roof. A gas cylinder fed his Bunsen. On one wall was a glass fronted cupboard in which he grew alum and copper sulphate crystals.

I would watch Grandfather's experiments. I would ask him to explain what he was doing and to name the contents of his various bottles.

And Granfather wasn't the same person in his shed as he was in the house - sour and cantankerous. He was a weary, ailing man who winced now and then because of his rheumatism and spoke with quiet self-absorption.

Task 1. In this extract you come across the word `would'. What is it used here for? What's the difference between `would' and `used to'? _____________________________________________

Task 2. Many things that Grandfather had in the shed are enumerated in the extract. Match their names with the pictures.

glass fronted cupboard

shed

retort stand

work-bench

light bulb

flask

1

Рис. 12 - Верстак

2

Рис. 13 - Сарайчик

3

Рис. 14 - Лампочка

4

Рис. 15 - Колба

5

Рис. 16 - Сервант

6

Рис. 17 - Держатель для колбы

Task 3. Match the words from the extract with their synonims

1. solace

2. ailing

3. menacing

4. sealed-off

5. self-absorption

6. sour

a. tired, exhausted

b. gloomy

c. threatening

d. sick, unhealthy

e. state when you are into your thoughts, into yourself

7. weary

8. cantankerous

f. isolated

g. quarrelsome

h. consolation, comfort

Task 4. Match the words with their definitions

1. Drive out

2. Lord it (over)

3. Tuck into

4. Wince

a. Make a slight involuntary grimace or shrinking movement of the body out of pain or distress

b. Eat food heartily

c. Make somebody leave the house

d. Act in a superior and domineering manner towards someone

“Grandfather wasn't the same person in his shed as he was in the house”. Are there places where you are a different person than at your house? Why do you behave differently there? __________________________________________________________________

ПРИЛОЖЕНИЕ 6

(обязательное)

Книга для учителя для 6 уроков курса по современной британской прозе

J. K. Rowling and A Casual Vacancy (2012)

If you have started the discussion about modern literature with asking students what modern writers they know, J. K. Rowling would probably be the only one they named. While the most part of the students have a notion about Harry Potter (through books or movies), few of them knows anything about her biography.

Start the lesson with brainstorming ideas about Rowling's biography. Write facts students know about J. K. Rowling on the board and elicit as much information from students as possible. Aim: to introduce students to the topic, to find the line between known and unknown, to make students motivated to learn more about J. K. Rowling.

After that ask them to read the text about Rowling they have in the Workbook and write down five new facts they've found out about her and her books. Aim: to find out new information about J. K. Rowling, to improve reading skills.

With modern writers we have a priceless opportunity to read their interviews, quotations, real words.

Ask students to read the quotations and to try to insert an appropriate word. Explain difficult words like `have a knack for something', etc. and tell them the right answers after listening to their variants.

We do not need _________ to change the world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: We have the power to imagine better. (answer: magic)

It is our ________... that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. (answer: choices)

Humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are ______ for them. (answer: worst) (to have a knack for means to be good at something, to have an acquired or natural skill at doing something)

The ________ has been a boon and a curse for teenagers. (answer: Internet) (a boon is a thing that is helpful or beneficial)

If you don't like to _______, you haven't found the right _____. (answer: read; book)

________ are like mirrors: if a fool looks in, you cannot expect a genius to look out. (answer: books)

Ask students to express their opinion, agreeing or disagreeing with Rowling's words.

Aim of the task: to learn more about J. K. Rowling's views on different things, improving reading skills by developing the contextual guess and to let students express their own opinions thus developing speaking skills.

Reading an extract

Before reading the text itself, it may be useful to say a few words about the novel. Aim: to create general picture of what the book is about. Ask one student to read the text aloud and translate it if necessary.

Then ask students to read the text to themselves. The text is provided with the translation notes to facilitate reading. Aim: to introduce students to an extract from Casual Vacancy.