What is meant by the word ambiguity? Have you ever read a book or seen a film that appears to be about one thing but is actually about another? Why do you think authors\directors like to use this technique? How does it make you feel as a reader\viewer? Look at the following extract and try to figure out what you think it is about.

What techniques does the author use to make this piece ambiguous? It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him. The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a coloured poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall. It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features. Winston made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift. Even at the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the electric current was cut off during daylight hours. It was part of the economy drive in preparation for Hate Week. What techniques does the author use to make this piece ambiguous?

Try to use at least 2 of the techniques we have already identified. Now it’s your turn! Write the blurb for a book. You should keep in mind one story but your blurb should point to something else. Write down the ‘real’ story underneath your work. We will read these out and try to guess what the story will be about. Try to use at least 2 of the techniques we have already identified. Feedback.

Never Let Me Go – Blurb: As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have re-entered her life, and for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special What do you think you’ll be reading about and what makes you think that?

What effects does a 1st person narrative have on a reader and why? What is the difference between a 3rd person narrative and a 1st person narrative? What effects does a 1st person narrative have on a reader and why? Why might an author using 1st person narrative use flashbacks? Can you think of a book or story you have read which is written in 1st person and how it might have been different had it been written in 3rd person?

How is the reader effected? Read pages 1-5. What effects does the author use to try and make you engaged and do these work better in the 1st person narrative form? How is the reader effected? Create a P.E.E.L.(L) paragraph for any one of your points. Feedback.

What have we learned about Ishiguro’s style so far? Read pages 6-15 Create an ‘early years’ first impression profile for Kathy . Use the first person narrative as a guide for this and select quotations to back up your ideas. Feedback. Would the beginning of NLMG have the same effect if it was written as a 3rd person narrative?

Can you see anywhere in the text where Cathy has changed? Read P16-24 Can you see anywhere in the text where Cathy has changed? Add this to your profile of her. Would the beginning of NLMG have the same effect if it was written as a 3rd person narrative?