Anthology B – the short stories VERONICA Thursday, 08 October 2015

DIVISION Read the story and be sure that you understand it clearly Notice any repetitive strands in the narrative Consider the form of the passage – compare it with the Faulks Comment on the gender divisions evident in the story.

City/village contrasts CityVillage The women are “only interested in money and cars” The women stay at home and look after the family Higher education leads to a good job: “passed my exams... Set up in a practice” “... No qualifications, not even standard six” No protection from disease Wealth encourages movement for safety and security

The stream – a recurring idea Look at the text and list the references to the stream and water. At each reference what might the stream connote? Stream referencePossible connotation “I helped her fetch water from the stream...” Equals sharing a task that brings life to the village and to the relationship “I snapped a twig and threw it into the water. It bobbed... and vanished from sight” (Consider the action and the implication of bobbing and vanishing)

Narrative form Read the passage that starts “what am I to tell you? You heard that my parents died?” and ends “It’s true”. What type of writing is this? In pairs, rewrite the passage in indirect speech- (“she asked what she should tell me and whether I was aware that her mother had died. I said that I hadn’t heard and she replied that...” What is the difference in effect of the two versions? One is much faster and more play-like. Can you interpret the various emotions in this version? Look again at your version and alter the verbs to reflect the emotions being felt and the delivery of the lines.

How do you feel? The exam question can ask you to be empathic – “how does the story make the reader feel...” Be sure to comment on the use of language and remember that any feeling has been created by the author!