CHEMISTRY – ending and comparisons Shared reading of last pages Explore Swift’s intentions behind the ending Evaluate links between Chemistry and TDOT

The story begins and ends with a pond – why? Suggests the boy is lonely – nowhere else to go Reminds the reader of the bottle of acid and the boy’s dislike of Ralph Completes Swift’s motif of water Reminds the reader of the lost boat and the changes that have happened to the family Shows that the boy wished to return to somewhere he felt loved Shows that things don’t change, even after death On your table groups, consider these six explanations for the way in which the story ends. Do any of them need further development? How well do you think they answer the question? Rank them in order of best – worst response and be ready to explain your ideas.

Contextual factors in ‘Chemistry’ Exploring the dismissive treatment of older generations Exploring the notion that society dismisses the emotional capabilities of children Exploring society’s inability to address the process of grief – for adults and children Exploring the manipulation of women/the mother by male characters

Group comparison tasks How do writers present characters losing their innocence? Compare how characters ‘lose their innocence’ in each story. Who? How? Why? Maia’s group Compare the writer’s use of the ending to convey ideas about innocence in each story. Lacey’s group Compare the writer’s use of a ‘villain’ character in each story. How is this character portrayed? How does this contribute to the theme of loss of innocence? Yarrow’s group Compare the writer’s use of narrative viewpoint and style in each story. How is this used to portray innocence? Hannah’s group Compare the writer’s use of symbolism in each story and how this is used to convey ideas about innocence. Amelia’s group Compare relationships and expectations in the two stories. How do the writers portray these and how do they contribute to the loss of innocence? Mary's group

How do writers present characters losing their innocence? Introduction – concise but precise intro to each story linked to question Both ‘Chemistry’ and ‘The Darkness Out There’ portray a young person being forced to grow up suddenly and losing their innocence to some extent. Whilst ‘The Darkness Out There’ presents a female protagonist on the cusp of adulthood, ‘Chemistry’ explores a young boy’s grief and increasing isolation following deaths in his family. Both writers use a range of techniques to...

Today and Homework: plan for this assessment Introduction: Summary of loss of innocence in Chem Explain narrative viewpoint … compared to loss of innocence presented in TDOT + compare narrative viewpoint to that in Chem Use of villain character: Ralph Use of villain character: Mrs Rutter Symbol of water – link to loss of innocence Symbol of the darkness – how it present loss of innocence How Swift uses structure/the ending – pace at which innocence is lost, impact of ending Contrast Lively’s use of foreshadowing/ different kind of ending. Conclusion 1 2 3

How could I structure my ideas? Technically, you are not required to directly compare the stories in this question However, it has been suggested than a higher level response would take this approach in order to be ‘convincing’/‘insightful’ and demonstrate a ‘well-structured’ argument. There are a couple of different ways you could approach this. When might each of these two approaches be useful?