Wednesday 9/5/2012 3B1 Miss Hetman

Take a fresh page in your jotter and answer the following question. What message do you think Bradbury is trying to deliver in ‘There Will Come Short Rains’ and why? 5 mins.

Setting The 21st century house is fully automated, performing actions mechanically, through robotic technology, it functions perfectly well without the humans who created it and who it was designed to serve. – What is the message here? TPS - 3 minutes

Personification The house speaks and appears to think “as if it were afraid nobody would!” The stove hisses and “sighs”. As it becomes obvious that there are no humans it gets clearer that the house is the ‘main character’ of the story – it’s not really a character. The house is afraid, a human emotion Obsessive cleaning, trying to regain order and control, made more manic as fear grows, actions serve no purpose “angry at inconvenience” as it cleans up after the dog to maintain its perfect environment – Why has the writer bothered to include so much personification of the house? How does this personification effect the reader – how do you feel about the house? 3 mins.

Symbolism The automated house and the machines that run represent our obsession with technology and the convenience it can bring. The house is designed to provide everything the family could possibly need. However, it can’t protect them from nuclear war – as we see from the silhouettes on the wall of the house. As well as this, it can’t even tell when the family it is designed to serve are all dead and gone. It may seem intelligent but this reminds us that really the house is just obeying to its programming, never straying from its given schedule, not even to feed the dog. Re-read the section where the dog enters the house. What does the dog symbolise? Create a spider diagram tracking what happens to the dog and what it represents in the story. 5 mins.

The Ending The ending is obviously quite important in the battle between nature and technology. Lets re-read the end and annotate the imagery, word choice and personification used here.

This is just a few elements of the story to think about, there are many others. The symbolism of the artificial jungle in the children's room. What about the use of the poem within the story? The single sentence paragraphs. The motif of the house telling the time – the that there is no one there to benefit. The symbolism that the clock it counting down to something…

Finally Look at what you wrote at the start of the lesson. Has your opinion changed at all since then? TPS.

Essay Question In ‘There Will Come Soft Rains’, the use of techniques such as symbolism, characterisation and setting are vital to the success of the text. Explain how the writer employs these techniques and why, in your opinion, is it so important to your appreciation of the text as a whole. How do we structure the essay?

Understanding – Show that you understand key elements and central concerns of the text. Explain your understanding clearly and in detail. Analysis – Show that you can identify and discuss the use of literary/linguistic technique. Evaluation – Needs to be valid and appropriate and should demonstrate clear engagement with the text. Any evaluation you make should be fully supported by appropriate use of quotations. Expression – The way you express your points including use of critical terminology, must establish a clear and sustainably relevant line of thought. So you need to plan well.

Key Points to Remember The purpose of the essay is to answer thee essay question. Show that you know the text well. Comment on how the story is written, using quotes to back up your comments.

How do we structure the essay? Introduction. 3 main paragraphs. PEC PEC in each paragraph. Conclusion.

Structure Introduction Mention title, author and answer the EQ . Main body At least three main paragraphs. Use topic sentences that mention the key words in the EQ. Each paragraph should make a clear Point, give Evidence to prove the point, and Explain the point in more detail (PEC). You should be supporting each point with at least two pieces of evidence. Conclusion - Sum up the main idea in your essay, referring back to the Eq.