Hunting Snake 26/03/2014 09:32
Nature is greater than man, and there is a contrast between the beauty
and danger of the snake Despite that we think that we are greater than
some animals we still fear them. "We lost breath" shows how they are
captivated by nature. "Our eyes went with him" Show they exercise
caution, and are in fear and awe. "Froze half-through pace" The snake has
memorized the poem and captured their curiosity.
Contrast between beauty and ferocity. "great black snake" Great: heroic
and majestic, Black: fearful and powerful. "quested" shows the
determination, connotations of quest indicative of noble qualities.
Title
Hunting Snake
o Could be verb or adjective
Rhyme
ABAB ends at last stanza when rhyme scheme changes to ABCA
Sudden shock at passing danger
Structure
"Last seasons grace"
o Setting
o Imagery
o Indian summer
"Autumn's gentlest sky"
o False sense of calm
"sun warmed" to "froze half through a pace"
o Transition through juxtaposition
"the great back snake went reeling by"
o Implies narrators end of thought
o Degree of tension
"quested through the passing grass"
o Nobel qualities
o How grass parts, gives gravitas to the snake
o Connotations of power
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge 26/03/2014 09:32
This was my poem, so I have no notes on it. If someone would like to type
up their notes and send them I will be happy to compile and attribute
them.
The Cockroach 26/03/2014 09:32
Disillusionment of youth
"At first he seems quite satisfied to [..] but soon he turned to jog
in crooked rings"
"A path between the wainscot and the door, but soon he turned
to jog in crooked rings"
Confusion
"Circling the rusty table leg and back"
"He looked uncertain where to go"
"Was this due payment for some vicious crime"
Vulnerability
"Circling the rusty table leg"
o Represents troubles in the poets life
o Instead of dealing with it he goes around it
o Fear of change
Rhyme scheme
ABAB to ABCAB
o Links to theme of confusion
o At start is regular, becomes changing
Flows, linking to time passing without fault
Metaphors and Allegory
Poet realizes that he is similar in many ways to the cockroach
Cockroach is an extended metaphor for life itself
Enjambment
"At first he seemed quite satisfied to trace a path"
Description
Description is limited, and the poet focusing on the message he
is trying to convey
Different parts are used as metaphors to explain the stages of
life
The Planners 26/03/2014 09:32
Three main themes
Urbanization
o Everything is mathematical and planned out
o "All spaces are gridded"
Explored the idea that all spaces are planned under
the city structure
Suggests nothing in the city is except from city
planning
Every area is forced into defined areas
o "The piling will not stop, the drilling goes right through"
Portrays ceaseless nature of these actions
Unstoppable
Destroying the land
Modernization vs Nature
o "They erased the flaws"
They suggest the natural flaws of the earth
Ironic that the poet write of building in order to erase
flaws, suggesting that without man nature is flawed
o "Even the sea draws back, and the skies surrender"
Insurmountable power
Human > Nature
Loss of identity
o We come from nature, by erasing "blemishes of the past"
and making "history new again" we are replacing the rich
history
o Counter evolution
Through these themes the battle between human and nature is
illustrated
Power of three
"Anesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis"
o Manipulating
o False belief of perfection
o Link to plastic surgery
Personification
"Even the sea draws back"
o Personifies sea as animal
o Adds power to humans
o Through research, poem is personification of Singapore
Metaphor
Hyperbole
Imagery
Diction
Exam questions
"How does the poet explore the power of man over nature?"
"How is the loss of originality so effectively conveyed?"
"How are the poets personal feelings towards the planners
conveyed?"
Where I Come From 26/03/2014 09:32
Nostalgia
"A door in the mind blows open and a frost wind blows in from
the fields of snow"
o Mind shows her memory
o Snow is description from her past
o Frosty nature of the wind shows sad nature and relates to
her being home sick.
Nature vs Man
"art also tidily plotted with a guide book"
o Nature is wild and free
o The city is placed and contained in the city
o The city manipulates the nature fit
Human Identity
"People are made by places"
o Nature and nurture
o Origin is the base of identity
o Who they are is based on where they come from.
"They carry with them"
Implying her identity is better because she is from the country
rather than the city
Structure
Title conveys the main theme, Human Identity
o Long run-on sentence reflects how mind work, flowing
Simple language shows ideas created in the mind
Break in stanza shows split between break and country
o Puts them in parallel, even though they are greatly
different.
Her images of the city are generic, and it is shown that she is reflecting on
her own city in Canada.
Comparison between urban and natural Canada
First and second stanza are very different
Language becomes more advanced
Focuses on structure and description
Throughout the poem she speaks on what her view of the city is, and how
she compares it to the country.
The Fly in the Ointment 26/03/2014 09:32
Basic Plot
Begins with a young man meeting his depressed, bankrupt
father.
Father is mean and jealous of the success of the son.
The father offers the son a cup of tea, after which he calms down
and they have a casual conversation.
Displays modesty and humbleness towards his son.
A fly enters the room, at which point the father goes mad and
tries without success to kill the fly.
Becomes emotional, discussing his failure triggered by the
inability to kill the fly.
The son shows pity, and offers money.
Father gets mad again, attacking the son and asking why he
didn't offer money earlier.
The father trying to kill the fly is an illustration of how the father is trying
to fix his mistakes. The ointment represents how money and wealth is
splitting the family apart.
The son is a successful professors, and shows kindness towards his father.
"I must see him"
o Shows urgency and high position as is not used to being
told 'no'.
When he went to see his father he becomes embarrassed with his father
and his ineptitude to run a company, however shows remorse for his
actions.
The father is shown as a demanding and arrogant person, who sees
bankruptcy as a positive thing and will do anything the maintain face.
Soft, warm and kind
Harsh, scary and intimidating
Shown to be cunning
"Like a fox"
Relationship between the father and son
Dysfunctional
Large contrast between the personalities
Father has huge greed
o Leads to important question, "Can nature change?"
Father-son relationship is ever changing
o Initially, seem like good friends or business partners
"Hello, old chap. This is very nice of you"
o Overly ceremonious
o Topic becomes more passive aggressive, father is shown to
have two faces.
"The son noticed for the first time that his Father has
two faces"
o Become critical of each other
"Smiling aggressively"
"If I were not an optimist I wouldn't be here"
Passive aggression
o Son becomes embarrassed of his father
Father has always been a powerful business man,
tables have been flipped and son is more powerful
than his father.
o Father becomes jealous of his sons success, and doesn't
want to lose faith.
Fly becomes a physical manifestation of the fathers problems, and his
need to get rid of it shows how strong his reaction, and his weakness.
Fly has negative connotations
Son suggests the father opens a window and lets the fly out,
showing his passive opinion. The father needs to attack it,
showing a high level of aggression.
At Hiruharama 26/03/2014 09:32
Could be compared to sandpiper.
The story is told as a flashback, by the stories main protagonist, Tanner.
Main Characters
Tanner
o An orphan from Lincolnshire sent to New Zealand as a
servant. He meets Kitty, his future wife while at work. As
they settle in, Kitty revealed that she is pregnant. During
this period, he becomes much more nervous and fidgety,
constantly running around and trying to get things done.
However, that is out of his determination to help his wife to
the best of his abilities.
Kitty
o Tanner’s wife, she met him while working as a servant. She
persuaded Tanner to learn how to write and formed his
base on which he could anchor to. During her pregnancy,
she is remarkably calm and quiet.
Minor Characters
Brinkman
o Tanner’s neighbor, he comes around twice every year to
have dinner with them. However, by a coincidence, his visit
is on the day that Kitty goes into labor. He blatantly refuses
to leave without food, complaining that he was counting on
this dinner. Although he is a pest, Tanner and Kitty manage
to deliver the baby safely.
The doctor
o The local doctor has almost no business due to the low
rates of illness in the area. He is concise and to the point,
and never wastes time. He is the one who finds that Tanner
had accidentally thrown away the second baby and
manages to save it.
Parrish
o A town local who is a pigeon-racing enthusiast, Parrish
lends two racing pigeons to Tanner in order to contact the
doctor if needed.
Exposition
Tanner is introduced
o Background (family, place of origin, etc.)
o Situation
Details of how Tanner and Kitty meet
Setting the scene; they move to Hiruharama
Rising Action
Revelation of the child
Tanner going to the doctor, obtaining medicine
Borrowing racing pigeons from Parrish
Brinkman arriving for dinner while Kitty is in labor
Climax
Tanner writing a letter to the doctor
Tanner helping Kitty while Brinkman complains
Falling Action
The doctor arriving right after the baby was delivered
Tanner greeting the doctor, covered in blood
Brinkman continuing to complain
Resolution
The doctor discovering that the “afterbirth” was a twin
The narration ending, concluding with “Throw Nothing Away” and
the lives of the two girls.
The Son's Veto 26/03/2014 09:32
Themes
Marriage
o Two failed marriages
Importance of education
o The mother is educated as a worker, teaching her how to
do hard work. The boy is educated in etiquette and
language and this difference promotes conflict.
Class
o The son is embarrassed about his mother, as she is a lower
class.
o By marrying Sophie, Mr. Twycott commits social suicide
due to her lower social class.
o Has to move from country to city to protect them both from
the impact of their relationship.
Character Analysis
Sophie
o Never reprimands her son, showing respect for her son
even though she is older.
Rev. Twycott
Randolph
Sam
Explore the ways in which Hardy makes you sympathise with the mother
and Sam in The Son's Veto.
The Destructors 26/03/2014 09:32
Settings
Author establishes the setting at the beginning of the story
London
The Characters
Blackie
o Leader of the gang
o Around 16 years old
o
Trevor
o Called 'T' so everyone else doesn't laugh at his upper class
name.
Changed after joining gang
Didn't fit in with 'posh' name
o Not scared of Blackie
o Has clever ideas
o Calm and always composed yet dangerous
o 15 years old
Mr. Thomas
o Kind to the gang
o Reminds him of his youth
o Doesn't react when locked in toilet
Submissive
'Boys-will-be-boys' attitude
o Children think he is miserable
Irony, as they are the miserable ones
Conditions 26/03/2014 09:32
The file is licensed under the GNU Free Documentations License.
Modifications and redistributions of this license is subject to the following
conditions:
All previous authors of the work must be attributed.
All changes to the work must be logged.
All derivative works must be licensed under the same license.
The full text of the license, unmodified invariant sections as
defined by the author if any, and any other added warranty
disclaimers (such as a general disclaimer alerting readers that
the document may not be accurate for example) and copyright
notices from previous versions must be maintained.
Technical measures such as DRM may not be used to control or
obstruct distribution or editing of the document.
You can read the full text of this license at
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html
Previous Modifications
All modifications to this file must be documented below in the same
manor before release.
@version: 1
@author: Benedict Lewis
@desc: Initial release
@version: 2
@author: Benedict Lewis
@desc: Update to contain notes for the short stories