Flipping Fantastic By Jane Langford

Elements of a Short Story

Synopsis Flipping Fantastic is set out in the form of diary entries by twin brothers, Tristan, James and their mother. The twins have completed primary education in Peter Hill Primary and will be going to different secondary schools. Tristan who is wheelchair-bound will be attending Chesterlea Grange, a special residential school for the disabled. James will be attending Highfields, a normal secondary day school. Tristan is more confident than James who tend to be shy. Both boys have high opinions of the other’s abilities but realise that they rely a lot on each other.

Synopsis While Tristan is excited about his new school, James is not too keen as he will not be with Tristan any more. Tristan knows that James is depressed so he tries to help by changing his mind about going to Chesterlea Grange. James is happy about this but later realizes that Tristan is doing it for his sake. He convinces Tristan to go to Chesterlea Grange and Tristan arranges for a friend to look out for James in the new school. Both are happy with their new schools.

Setting The children’s house - A secure and familiar place. Peter Hill Primary – the boys old school which they love.

Setting Chesterlea Grange – a residential school for the disabled. Highfields – a brilliant normal secondary school.

Characters Refers to the people in the story. Main character. Minor characters. Gives body to the story. In Flipping Fantastic, the main characters are Tristan and James, while the minor character is the boys’ mother, simply introduced as Mother in this story.

Tristan and James Tristan : Confident. Dependent on his brother. Caring. Appreciative. Smart. Optimistic. Talented. Sentimental. Very close to his brother. James : Not Confident Highly dependent on his brother. Caring. Shy. Helpful. Pessimistic. Good at sports. Very close to his brother.

Mother Loving. Understanding. Anxious. Determined. Proud of her children. Optimistic. Wise

Plot Refers to the sequence or chain of connected events in the story. Must be interesting to maintain the reader’s interest. Consist of : Exposition – where the characters are introduced. Conflict – the problem that occur, what the story is about. Climax – the problem reaches it’s highest point. Resolution – the conclusion, the problem is solved, the end of conflict

Plot : Exposition The plot is written in the form of diary entries by the various characters. The two boys are in the same school, peter Hill Primary and have completed their primary education. They will be going to secondary school soon.

Plot : Conflict The two boys will be going to different schools. Tristan will be going to a residential school for the disabled while James will be attending a normal secondary school. Both feel that they cannot do without the other as they have always been together and rely on each other for moral support. Tristan depends on James to push him around. James depends on Tristan as he is not so confident.

Plot : Climax Tristan tells his mother that he does not want to go to Chesterlea Grange although he has set his heart on it. James is relieved at Tristan’s decision. Later he realizes he is being selfish as Tristan is supposed to learn to be independent and he can do this at Chesterlea Grange. James talks to Tristan and convinces him to go to Chesterlea Grange.

Plot : Resolution Tristan goes to Chesterlea Grange and he finds it fantastic. James is happy in Highfields because Tristan made sure he has a special friend, that is Kiara Jones whom James like to have as a friend, to help him through the first few days. Both are happy in their new schools and their mother feels relieved.

Themes Learning to be independent. Importance of being self-confidence. Sense of responsibility for one’s siblings. Telling the truth about one’s feeling.

Moral Values We must plan our own path in life. We must not afraid to tell our true feelings. We must not be selfish especially at the expense of another person’s happiness. We should respect other people’s wishes. Different people have different interests.

Point of View & Tone, Mood and Atmosphere Point of View – This story is told in the first person point of view as the characters tell their feelings in their diary entries. y Tone - lighthearted as the characters talk about school life and serious as the characters express feelings about each other and going to different schools. Mood – Anxiety about how they would cope with the new schools. Atmosphere – free as one can relate to the characters – twin boys who are close and their mother who is very proud of them

Language and Style Simple, easy to understand language and related in form of diary entries with expressive figurative and casual expressions. Literary devices : Figurative language Diction – e.g. ‘…horrible for words.’, ‘…worst night…’, ‘….sad and bad…’. Simile – e.g. ‘…new school is really cool…’, ‘…as good as him…’ Metaphor – e.g. ‘Talk about pride.’, ‘James is such a pest.’ Personification – e.g. ‘….time could have stopped still…’

Language and Style Imagery – e.g. ‘…write with a pen instead of a computer….’, ‘…put me on a real high.’ Alliteration – e.g. ‘Flipping Fantastic.’ Irony– e.g. ‘I know that I rely on Tristan but he relies on me too. How will he cope at his new school without me?’ Repetition – e.g. ‘…if I don’t want to, and believe me – I don’t want to.’

~ The End ~ Thank You