1 Blueprint C

Blueprint C Version 2.
0 Blueprint
Version 2.0
christina m c kay micke brodin jeanette clayton christopher webster
liber
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Redaktion Cecilia Stern Frisenfelds, Anna Granlund Formgivning Eva Jerkeman Bildredaktion Marie Olsson Produktion Anna Trnqvist Gppel Granskning och utprvning Helena Heijdenberg, Nina Ellmark, Grace Rose, Michael Knight Andra upplagan 1 Tryck Kina 2010 Repro Repro 8
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Omslag Ulf Rennus/Mary Square Images 7 Jewel Samad/AFP/Scanpix 1213 Thure Wikberg/Scanpix 17 Oxford Cartographers/Stone/Getty Images 21 Rolf Bruderer/Masterfile/Scanpix 27 1984. AKG/Scanpix 32 Dmitry Beliakov/Rex Features 39 Newscast project/Scanpix 41 Rod Lord 45 Nathan Evans/Millennium/Scanpix 46 Ty Milford/Masterfile/Scanpix 52 Wuthering Heights. Tom Hardy & Charlotte Riley, 2009. ITV/Rex Features 57 Mario Quadros/AP/Scanpix 60 Solent News/Rex Features/IBL 65 Bram Stokers Dracula. Keanu Reeves, 1992. Everett Collection/IBL 73 Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 75 v, h Ferrari Press Agency/Scanpix 79, 81 Aarre Rinne/iStockphoto 85 Alice in Wonderland. Mia Wasikowska, Michael Sheen, Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman, Matt Lucas, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter & Stephen Fry, 2010. Walt Disney Pictures/Everett Collection/IBL 86 Robert Harding Images/Masterfile/Scanpix 94 The Son of Man. Ren Magritte/BUS 2010. Christies Images/Corbis/Scanpix 97 Eat Pray Love. Julia Roberts, 2010. Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection/ IBL 103 Ephotocorp/AGE/Scanpix 105 Martin Parr/Magnum/IBL 109 Justin Sullivan /Getty Images 115 Alan Crowhurst/EPA/Scanpix 117 Philip Scott Andrews/AP/Scanpix 123 Eric Reed/AP/Scanpix 129 Chris Mattison/AGE/Scanpix 134135 Stefan Zaklin /Getty Images 145 Berit Roald/Scanpix 151 Photo Researchers/IBL 159 Succession Picasso/BUS 2010 Bridgeman Art Library/IBL 164 Geray Sweeney/Corbis/Scanpix 179 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Yevgeny Stychkin & Anatoly Bely. SharifulinValery/ ITARTASS/Corbis/Scanpix 192 Paul Grover/Rex Features/IBL 196 Giovanni Simeone/Folio 202 Mohamed Dahir/AFP/Scanpix 213 Jane Eyre, 1996. Miramax/Everett Collection/IBL
Texts
English The International Shark? 8 There is No Word For Goodbye (Mary TallMountain) 12 The House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisernos) 15 English: A Drop in the Bucket? 17 So English Is Taking Over the Globe. So What. (Noam Cohen, New York Times) 20 Focus on Listening: 1984 (George Orwell) 27 Globalization A Hot Potato 31 Focus on Music: Californication (Red Hot Chili Peppers) 38 Focus on Listening: The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) 41
Wordshop
Synonyms and near synonyms Loan words In-text citation Style and syntax Imagery and idioms
Things That Go Bump In the Night 45

Texts
Why Do People Like Being Scared? (Queendom.com) 46 Gothic 51 Focus on Listening: CBCs The Current: Vampire Culture 57 Victorian Sexual Morality 59 Dracula (Bram Stoker) 64 The Gothic Subculture 72 Focus on Music: Bela Lugosis Dead (Bauhaus) 73 Focus on Listening: Twilight (Stephanie Meyer) 75 The Raven (Edgar Allan Poe) 78
Wordshop
Use of commas Subject-verb agreement Homophones, homographs and homonyms
contents
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ISBN 978-91-47-09196-6 2010 Christina McKay, Micke Brodin, Jeanette Clayton, Christopher Webster och Liber AB
Bildfrteckning
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Wherever You Go, There You Are 85

Texts
Modernism 156
Texts
A Fish Out of Water 86 Focus on Music: An Englishman in New York (Sting) 93 Eat, Pray, Love (Elizabeth Gilbert) 96 Focus on Listening: My Cleaner (Maggie Gee) 103 Focus on Listening: Touch the Dragon (Karen Connelly) 105 Im A Stranger Here Myself (Bill Bryson) 108
Wordshop
Modernism 156 Ulysses (James Joyce) 162 The Second Coming (W.B. Yeats) 166
Wordshop
American/British English
Neologisms -ships Metaphor and simile
Postmodernism 171
Texts
Postmodernism 171 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Tom Stoppard) 177 Thoughts About the Person from Porlock (Stevie Smith) 183
Wordshop
Mind Your Manners 115

Texts
Generation Me (Jean Twenge) 116 Focus on Music: Help Save the Youth of America (Billy Bragg) 122 To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf) 129 Bad Manners 134 This be the Verse (Philip Larkin) 136 Writing the University Application Letter (Hugh Gallagher) 141
Wordshop
-isms
Postcolonialism 189
Texts
Postcolonialism 189 Focus on Listening: On Seeing England for the First Time (Jamaica Kincaid) 196 Focus on Music: Somalia (Knaan) 201
Wordshop
Poetic effects Puns Euphemisms, colloquialisms, slang
Irony
Feminist Criticism 207 Literary Criticism 145

Texts Texts
Why Be So Critical? 146 Focus on Music: Closer To Fine (Indigo Girls) 151
Wordshop
Feminst Criticism 207 Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bront) 213 Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys) 217
Wordshop
Dictionary definitions
Inclusive language, pronoun problems, gender-neutral titles
Blue Pages 225

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Wordlist 255
Foreword
Blueprint C 2.0 will help you develop all the skills required by your pre-university English course curriculum, such as understanding and producing theoretical, scientific and literary English, critical reading and thinking in English, and understanding social issues and cultural differences in the English-speaking world. Blueprint C 2.0 is an up-grade of Blueprint C. Layout and instructions have been simplified and homogenized. Some texts and a whole chapter have been replaced by completely new material, and Focus on Music pieces have been added. Compared to Blueprint A and B, the new Compare & Analyze level of exercises takes comprehension and critical thinking a step further. Blueprint C also has Wordshops, which take up various linguistic topics ranging from grammar details to irony. These are followed by Wordshop Work exercises to help consolidate your understanding. The Word Work exercises have been moved, and are provided in the Teachers Book. The Blueprint C Blue Pages introduce Readers Roadmap, a companion to the well-known Writers Workshop and Speakers Corner. In Readers Roadmap youll find advice to improve your reading efficiency - useful in later university or working life. The Teachers Book for Blueprint C 2.0 has a number of valuable complements to the main book, providing a wide range of extension materials to suit a variety of needs and interests. These include suggested class activities, expanded and additional Wordshops with accompanying exercises, and extensions to the Writing, Speaking and Reading materials in the Blue Pages. These include illustrative writing samples, laboratory report guidance, and help with critical reading of statistics. The linguistic and literary glossary from the original Blueprint C can be found in the Teachers Book. Words underlined with red dots in this book are the ones explained there. In this new version of Blueprint C we have for the sake of clarity and consistency used American standards of spelling and vocabulary in all the books own texts. Literary extracts have, however, been reproduced in the English used by the original author. Congratulations you are stepping onto the launch pad, and the count-down has started for your lift-off through the orbit of Blueprint C 2.0 to the English-speaking universe beyond. Enjoy the trip, and make use of the supplies we have packed for you. 6
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English The International Shark?

er, like a moon on the tide Language exerts hidden pow
Rita Mae Brown, Starting Fro
s.
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m Scratch, 1988
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anthropologist scientist who studies human societies, customs and beliefs hegemony powerful dominance predispose make likely, set up a framework for
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ome writers have called English the international shark: a hungry set of jaws swimming the linguistic seas and devouring smaller languages for lunch. If reports are true that 80 % of the 6,000 or so living languages on the globe are slated for extinction before the end of the next century, should we blame English? If you speak a minority language, what thought have you given to the role of English in your present, or your future? Language is a sensitive issue for most people, since it is the key that unlocks our personal and national identities. Through language, we can explain who we are, how we think, and what we believe. We use language to define our differences and to seek out similarities. Nowadays, it seems that many smaller languages and cultures are standing in the path of the great English juggernaut barrelling towards them. Defenders of minority cultures and languages warn that when the world learns English, the world submits to the hegemony of English and its dominant world view of culture, traditions and ways of thinking. This leads to a kind of homogenization, where everybody thinks, acts and speaks exactly the same way the whole world over. Other cultures, languages and traditions are marginalized, or pushed to the outskirts of civilization, where they no longer play a significant role. When it comes to defining what makes each language unique, two great thinkers made significant inroads. The American linguist and anthropologist Edward Sapir worked with his student Benjamin Lee Whorf to develop the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which argues that our language determines how we think, and limits the way we see our world. Sapir writes that Language is a guide to social reality No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds
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in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached We see and hear and otherwise experience as we do, because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation. (Sapir Selected Writings) One famous example of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is the rich vocabulary for snow found in the Inuit languages of the Canadian Arctic. Some accounts report that up to fifty different words are used to describe snow and snowy conditions. People who live in a remote northern climate where their survival can depend on the weather certainly require a lot more words for snow than, say, people who live under the hot equatorial sun. Although the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis has been hotly contested amongst linguists, it is an idea worth considering because it illustrates the complex interplay between language and our unique identities. The following texts in this chapter all work to address questions of identity, language and power.
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R e a d & R e a ct
1. Why is language a sensitive issue for most people, according to
masticate, munch, nibble, nosh, partake of, polish off, put away, relish, savour, scoff, snack, stuff oneself, sup, swallow, taste, tuck in to, wolf down.
this text? Do you agree? Why or why not?

2. What primary arguments against the globalization of English
are given in the text? Do you agree with them? Explain your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing.
3. Explain the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in your own words.
Wo r d s h o p Wo r k R e f l e ct & S h a r e
1. Go through the eat words above, and put them in three
1. How many terms for snow and snowy conditions exist in your
different lists: hungry or greedy eating, neutral words for eating, eating very little or carefully.
2. Look through the words again and mark some of them I or F,
language? Why is this?

2. If you are a foreign speaker of English, would you say that you
have a different identity when you speak English?

3. What do you think will happen to your own native language in
I if you would only use them in informal English, F if they are too formal for everyday use.
3. Look up any of the above near synonyms of eat which you
100 years time?

4. This article offers a very negative view of the spread of English
all over the world. Nevertheless, here you are learning it. Can you list any positive effects of the global spread of English?
arent familiar with, then illustrate them in your group by acting them out or using them in a context. What different moods, feelings or status relationships between people are suggested by these words? How can you learn to use them more actively yourself?
4. When you are out travelling, you might spot this sign in the
Wo r d s h o p
Synonyms and near synonyms
window of the help desk at Los Angeles railway station.

PLEASE DO NOT ANNOY, TORMENT, PESTER, PLAGUE, MOLEST, WORRY, BADGER, HARRY, HARASS, HECKLE, PERSECUTE, IRK, BUL LYRAG, VEX, DISQUIET, GRATE, BESET, BOTHER, TEASE, NETTLE, TANTALIZE, OR RUFFLE THE METROLINK AMBASSADORS.

The hungry set of jaws imagery, used to describe the English language, opens the door for the use of the word devour. Eat and devour can be called near synonyms, as they both describe the same basic process, but devour adds information about the manner of eating that it is done very hungrily. Here are some more verbs which are synonyms or near synonyms of eat.
banquet, bite, bolt down, breakfast, chew, consume, cram down/in, devour, digest, dine, eat like a bird, eat like a horse, feast, feed oneself, feed ones face, gnaw, gobble up, gorge oneself, gormandize, graze, have a blow-out, ingest, lunch, make a pig of oneself,
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How many of the above near synonyms do you know? Look up a few you dont know, then in your groups, try ranking them in order of seriousness, and compare rankings between groups.
There Is No Word For Goodbye

By Mary TallMountain
The following poem was written by Mary TallMountain, a Native American writer born of a Koyukon-Athabaskan Indian mother and a Scottish-Irish father. As you read the poem, consider what TallMountain is saying about her cultures relationship with English.
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Sokoya, I said, looking through the net of wrinkles into wise black pools of her eyes. What do you say in Athabaskan when you leave each other? What is the word for goodbye? A shade of feeling rippled the wind-tanned skin. Ah, nothing, she said, watching the river flash. She looked at me close. We just say, Tlaa. That means, See you. We never leave each other. When does your mouth say goodbye to your heart? She touched me light as a bluebell. You forget when you leave us, Youre so small then. We dont use that word. We always think youre coming back, but if you dont, well see you some place else. You understand. There is no word for goodbye.
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Sokoya word meaning aunt on the mothers side Athabaskan a language spoken by Native American tribes in parts of Canada, Alaska, Oregon, and California
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R e a d & R e a ct
1. Identify the two speakers in the poem and explain their
The House on Mango Street

By Sandra Cisernos
relationship. Why is this relationship important?

2. What word is used in Athabaskan when people leave each
other? What does it mean?
R e f l e ct & S h a r e
1. Why is there no word for goodbye in Athabaskan? Explain in
your own words.

2. Are there any words or expressions in your own language
that cannot be accurately translated into English? What do you think this moment of loss in translation says about the difference between your culture and English culture?
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C o m pa r e & An a ly z e
Can you see the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (see p. 8) at work in this poem? How?
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Further Studies
Find out about a minority, endangered or even extinct language. Research the relationship between this language and English and write a brief report to present orally to your class. Some useful web search terms might be:
terralingua, indigenous and minority language, linguistic diversity, extinct language
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n English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing. It was my great-grandmothers name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse which is supposed to be bad luck if youre born female but I think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexicans, dont like their women strong. My great-grandmother. I wouldve liked to have known her, a wild horse of a woman, so wild she wouldnt marry. Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier. Thats the way he did it. And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldnt be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I dont want to inherit her place by the window. At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver, not quite as thick as sisters name Magdalena which is uglier than mine. Magdalena who at least can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza. I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do.
R e a d & R e a ct
Peters Projection World Map
1. List the different meanings of the name Esperanza that you can
find in this text.

2. What kind of a woman was her great-grandmother? Describe
her, based on the information given in the text.

3. Why doesnt Esperanza want to become a woman like her
great-grandmother?
IMAGE: Display the Peters projection map side-by-side with the standard Mercator map for comparison.
World Map
1. Reflect on your own name. Does it have a meaning? If you
dont know the meaning of your name, do some research to find out.
2. What is the story of why you were given your name? Why did
your parents choose it? What meaning did it have for them?
3. What does your name mean to you? Has your relationship
What makes the Peters Projection World Map so distinctive is that countries are shown in their correct proportions. Usually Europe appears much larger than South America whereas it is in fact only half the size. This also means that the equator is placed in the middle, instead of the usual allocation of 2/3 of the map to the northern hemisphere, and only 1/3 to the southern hemisphere. New Internationalist Magazine (www.petersmap.com)
with your name changed since you were a small child?

4. How has your name shaped the person you have become?
allocation placement hemisphere half of the globe concentric with their centres at the same point
1. Have you ever traveled to another country and found that your
name was mispronounced or misunderstood in any way? Why do you think this happened? How did you feel about your name when you were in this new context?
2. If Sapir-Whorf says that language is a guide to social reality,
English: a drop in the bucket?

suggested The linguist Braj Kachru that we imagine the spread of English in three concentric circles, looking much like a drop of water l. Each circle 5 splashing into a poo represents the ways language is
is the same thing true for names? In other words, how do the names certain cultures use reflect the values and norms of that culture? What do typically Swedish names, for example, tell us about Swedish culture?
become part of the countrys chief institutions and plays a role as an official second language. (Examples include India, Singapore, Malawi r nations.) 5 and over 50 othe
the expanding circle involves those acquired and used. nations who recognize the importance of English as an international the inner circle includes the tralanguage, but do not have a formal ditional bases of English where it nization by members language (USA, UK, 10 history of colo 10 is the primary of the inner circle. English also does Australia etc.) not hold any special administra the outer or extended circle tive status in these nations. In these the of es phas er involves the earli countries, English is taught as a setes include spread of English in non-native 15 foreign language. (Exampl has lish Eng , tries coun 15 tings. In these Russia, China etc.)
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R e a d & R e a ct
Wo r d s h o p Wo r k
1. In which of the three circles do you think the most growth is
taking place?
2. List three more countries to add to each of the three different
circles of Eng lish.
Match the loan word in the left column with the language it comes from listed in the right column. Note that the lists do not match each other exactly, and there are more words than countries. In some cases, you can assign several words to one country. Loan words 1. tomato 2. hamburger 3. algebra 4. guerilla 5. piano 6. keel 7. orangutan 8. ombudsman 9. kung fu 10. shampoo 11. anorak 12. banana 13. breeze 14. hunk 15. iceberg 16. ketchup 17. orange 18. tsunami Origin a) Italy b) Norway c) West Africa d) India e) The Arabian Peninsula f) Portugal g) Indonesia h) China i) Germany j) Sweden k) Spain l) Holland m) Belgium n) the Arctic o) Japan
1. In the text about the outer or extended circle, what do
you think is meant by a countrys chief institutions? Try to suggest a few examples of institutions in the countries mentioned where English might be playing an important role.
2. Where should Sweden be located in Kachrus three circles of
English?
1. Do you think this is an accurate way to depict the global
spread of English? What drawbacks or limitations do you see in Kachrus model?

2. Choose another major world language (French, Spanish,
Mandarin, for example). Can you find a way to draw an image of how they have spread in the world? How do they compare to Kachrus model for English?
etymology study of the origin and development of words
Wo r d s h o p
Loan words
2. Do some research on the etymology of the listed words. What
polyglot using many languages; multilinguistic
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Just a scratch on the surface of the English language will reveal that it really isnt English at all: its a polyglot mess of pretty much every other language the English ever encountered in their history. From its earliest days, English borrowed words from Latin, Greek, Celtic (mostly place names) and Germanic languages, and con tinued on to collect from the French and Scandinavian languages, to name just a few. These words are called loan words words from one language that are incorporated into another language. English still regularly shops for new words in the global grocery store, as you can see in this exercise.
are their original meanings? Why do you think that English adopted these words instead of making up new ones?
So English Is Taking Over the Globe. So What. New York Times Ideas & Trends, August 6, 2006
By Noam Cohen
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vid the world, the linguist Da sed last WHEN its president propo that ing say s Graddol cites figure rds like month to ban English wo ple 500 million to a billion peo izza, helicopter, chat and p either as ], 06 [20 speak English now ntry to Iran became the latest cou d language. 5 a first or secon ead of English 5 try to fight the spr Under a plan he calls the ge. But as a de facto global langua ntries World English Project, cou d un aro h glis En in st ere with int age of would recognize the advant , not the world growing stronger introEnglish as a global tool and cul can eri Am by ked sto weaker earlier in duce English instruction and advertising, the 10 10 tural influences ites, there schools. As a result, he wr ple peo ng you of ers mb nu g increasin speakers could be two billion new the in developing countries and . of English within a decade ong other spread of the Internet, am per pro t tha is But the danger guists factors there are some lin d overwhelme by the 15 English will be it? ht fig y wh : say o wh ers 15 and oth akers, he English of non-native spe s, English, Instead, the argument goe t English acknowledged. This is no of the m for r ple sim the ly lar particu have as we have known it, and n-native language used by most no foreign taught it in the past as a . ced bra em be uld sho rs, speake wrote. It is a new 20 language, he fight Its a lost cause to try to 20 resents phenomenon, and if it rep y, Lv es qu Jac d sai e, tid the against probably any kind of triumph it is the Swiss who studies globalism at by native not a cause of celebration gy in olo hn Tec of te titu Ins l Federa speakers. FrenchLausanne and is a native nce Leave it to a native of Fra 25 just is ed, add he h, glis En r. 25 speake 1990s a country that itself in the tongues. the latest in a line of global English briefly required that 3,000 lanr the ano n bee e hav ld It cou nch ones words be replaced by Fre Latin, guage; it was Greek, then r English to suggest that this simple h. glis En is it w no , French n-Paul Nerrire, 30 be codified. Jea In a report for the British 30 I.B.M., a retired vice president of that dy bo nt me ern gov a cil, Coun It uses a calls his proposal Globish. around promotes English culture
00 words, limited vocabulary of 1,5 erica, taken from the Voice of Am ich can among other sources, wh to express be put together clumsily ed thoughts. Little 5 more complicat plexities concern is given to the com that ses of grammar, and he propo same speakers of Globish say the make up thing in different ways to s in pronunciation. 10 for difficultie in The typical conversation to a Globish could be grating
job native speaker, but get the n and done between, say, a Kenya te a busia Korean trying to naviga p at ness deal or asking for hel ck-in. For nephew, 5 the airport che r/sister; there is son of my brothe you cook kitchen is room in which casually your food; chat is speak howza, to each other. Pizza is piz bish considers it to 10 ever, since Glo like taxi be an international term, or police.
Globish propose substitutes from it ge, gua lan a t no is Globish writing. , it does l wil never have a literature l with As the world learns to dea e, tur cul a ing vey not aim at con h, whether the domination of Englis in an ote wr re rri Ne . Mr , ues val the more inten5 through Globish or a t jus is ish lob G ge. 5 e-mail messa posed sive language training pro ited on lim nt, icie eff al, ctic pra l, too ort, it is by the British Council rep purpose. o could native English speakers wh the Mr. Nerrire said he got ation. be in need of extra prepar ia while idea from his travels in As seem can y enc 10 Though English flu I observed 10 working for I.B.M. m today, like the key to the kingdo my h wit on ati nic mu that my com two billion in the future, if there are gues was lea col n rea Ko or se ane Jap glish, the people who can speak En nt, icie eff re mo ch mu much easier, knowledge English speaker without n what tha ted ibi inh s les ch mu and ther language will be at a en them and 15 of ano 15 I could observe betwe disadvantage. veling bish the American associates tra Mr. Lvy, who reviewed Glo d. sai with me, he d he liked for an online journal, sai t an Globish is something tha English its idea of reminding native as rn lea to d nee uld American wo cannot assume 20 speakers that they ish speaker, he 20 much as a non-Engl fluent as that the entire world is as itwr has he ok bo a said, although h world they are. The global Englis available t no is a ide the ut abo ten phone is not a world where Anglo , nch Fre are ere (Th in America. they people speak the same as h vernis Spa and lian Ita n, rea Ko he said. We have on 25 would at home, ng rki wo s wa he d sai 25 sions*.) He akers to to force native English spe that fall software to identify words limit the use of these tools. its and outside the vocabulary lim
Glo *Now also available in bish.
braham Lincoln delivered one of the most famous speeches ever given, the Gettysburg Address, on November 19th, 1863, during the American Civil War. The speech took place shortly after the Unionists defeated the Confederates in the decisive Battle of Gettsyburg (in Pennsylvania). Lincolns address framed the Civil War as a struggle for unity and equality, and to ensure that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
In English
The Gettysburg Address
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Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this
In Globish
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Eighty-seven years ago our fathers brought to this land a new nation, formed in liberty and committed to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are involved in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so born and so committed can long live. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to give a small piece of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is completely fitting and right that we should do this
R e a d & R e a ct
Wo r d s h o p
In-text citation
1. What factors are stoking interest in English around the world,
according to the article?

2. Describe Jean-Paul Nerrires invention and explain why he
invented it.
3. List two pros and two cons of Globish as described in the
article.
1. The article mentions that Iran tried to ban certain English
words. Do you think that nations should try to put a stop to English influences? Why, or why not?
2. What differences can you find between the Globish text of the
Gettysburg address and the original text? Which one do you prefer? Why?
3. What effects will Globish have on the creative use of English in
In the text, Cohen often refers to what somebody else has express ed. Sometimes this is done by using that persons exact words called verbatim citation, and sometimes the persons words or thoughts have been rephrased in Cohens own words called paraphrase citation. When you write your own essays, reports or articles, you will inevitably be citing other writers/speakers to give your work great er authority and academic credibility. You can mix your use of verbatim and paraphrase citation, but whichever you use, you will need to find ways of varying the reporting words s/he says/said. (Note that for paraphrase citations you will always write the word that after your reporting word.) Here are some of the reporting words used in Cohens text, plus a few more.
he said, he acknowledged, he wrote, he writes, he proposes that, (which) he calls, he considers, he added, he cites (figures), they say, the argument goes, they suggest, they assume, they argue, s/he admits, s/he agrees, s/he appears to believe, s/he believes, s/he claims, s/he comments, s/he concedes, s/he counters, s/he deliberates, s/he expresses it, s/he holds that,
the future? What could happen to poetry, literature, song lyrics, drama, or film?
4. Do you think Globish will catch on? Why or why not?
s/he indicates, s/he muses, s/he notes that, s/he observes, s/he postulates, s/he professes that, s/he wishes us to believe that, s/he would have us believe that, which s/he names/dubs
Choose another text in Blueprint C (some suggestions include Globalization A Hot Potato on p. 31, or Victorian Sexual Morality on p. 59 or Postcolonialism on p. 189) and try translating a paragraph into Globish. The list of 1,500 words can be found online. How difficult was this to do? What was lost? What was gained?
Further Studies
Esperanto is an example of an earlier effort to create an international language. You arent speaking it now, are you? So, what happened? Do some research on Esperanto. Find out about who created it, what it was intended to be used for, who uses it, and why it did not catch on as an international language.
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Wo r d s h o p W o r k
Focus on Listening:
1. Work with a friend, and say aloud some of the above reporting
words to cite passages from the text, either as verbatim or paraphrased citations (where you really use your own words to express what you think the text is saying).
2. Practise writing a few sentences at a time, where you use some
1984
By George Orwell
Contrary to popular belief, Big Brother is not a just a reality TV show. In fact, the term was borrowed from George Orwells prophetic novel, 1984. Published in 1949, Orwells novel predicted a dystopian future for humanity, where the ruling oligarchy, known as The Party, controls citizens lives so completely that even their thoughts are kept under surveillance. Big Brother is the partys figurehead, and the novels main character, Winston, is a powerless underling. Winston, however, begins to ask dangerous questions about Big Brothers totalitarian system. In this excerpt, Winston meets Syme, who is writing a dictionary of Newspeak, the language of The Party. Follow the word list on p. 255 as you listen, to help you understand.
oligarchy government by a small group of powerful people
of the following reporting words to cite from other non-fiction texts in Blueprint C. Look up any words you dont know the meaning of, not forgetting to look at the examples of how to use them, which any good dictionary will provide.
According to X As we can read in X (As) X accounts for, affirms, argues, asserts, assumes, calls it, claims, contends, declares, disputes, draws attention to, emphasises, establishes, explains, finds, focuses on, hints, holds (the view) that, indicates, insists, maintains, notes that, observes, points out, protests, proves, recognizes, recommends, rejects, remarks, states, stresses, suggests, supports, underlines In XXs article we find/can be found Says X Which X calls/refers to as Writes X
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Lis t e n & R e a ct
Wo r d s h o p
Style and syntax
1. Why does Syme think it is necessary to write yet another
edition of the Newspeak dictionary?

2. How, in Symes view, can six words be made into one? Explain,
using examples.
3. What is thought-crime? How, according to Syme, does
Newspeak help to reduce the risk of thought-crime in his society?
An important aspect of writing style concerns the syntax the structure of the sentences used. Informal language, such as conversational speech, uses plenty of short, simple sentences, but also plenty of incomplete ones, as the speakers often change their mind about what to say in mid-sentence. The more formal the linguistic style, the more we find long sentences with several joined and subordinated clauses. In this wordshop you will learn to identify the different types, and to use them appropriately yourself.
Simple sentences
1. Has Newspeak become a reality in our time? If so, how? Can
you think of any examples where a language like Newspeak is used?

2. Syme says that Orthodoxy means not thinking not needing
A simple sentence has at least a subject and a finite verb (plus maybe an object), and it expresses a complete thought.
Its fascinating. (The verb = is)
S V
to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness. Can you explain this in your own words? Do you think its true? Explain how.
3. How does Orwell reveal his own political leanings through the
Were cutting the language down to the bone. (The verb = are cutting)
S V O
text?
Even the slogans will change. (The verb = will change)

S V
1. Can Globish be considered a type of Newspeak? Argue for or
against such a notion.

2. Literature in Newspeak or Globish? Syme says: Chaucer,
Note how a string of short simple sentences can be used for effect in creative writing: The party does not like such people. One day he will disappear. It is written in his face.
Compound sentences
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Shakespeare, Milton, Byron theyll exist only in Newspeak versions, not merely changed into something different, but actually changed into something contradictory of what they used to be. Take a short extract from a favorite poem of yours, and check its vocabulary against the list of the 1,500 words of Globish (the list can be found online). Which words would you have to replace? Can you find words in the list that you could use instead?
In a compound sentence, two equal clauses which could stand alone as simple sentences are brought together by a coordinating con junction such as and, but, or, nor, yet, so, for. This type of standalone clause is called a main clause, or independent clause. It is normal in English compound sentences to place a comma at the end of the first clause, immediately before the coordinating conjunction, though if the sentence is short this is not needed. What you should not do in correct, formal writing is to put together two main clauses that could stand as separate sentences, using a comma but missing out the conjunction. Unless it is used for special effect in creative writing, doing this tends to make your writing look disjointed and uneducated.
Note: if you have the same subject in two joined main clauses, you dont need to repeat it, and you should not use a comma.
He sees too clearly and speaks too plainly. He is the subject in both clauses and is not repeated.
Globalization A Hot Potato

Globalization, as defined by rich people like us, is a very nice thing you are talking about the Internet, you are talking about cell phones, you are talking about computers. This doesnt affect two-thirds of the people of the world.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
If you want to repeat the subject, it is optional whether or not you use a comma before the conjunction.
He sees too clearly(,) and he speaks too plainly.
You could choose to make them two separate, short simple sentences.
He sees too clearly. He speaks too plainly.
An unusual option, but sometimes effective, is to use a semicolon between the two clauses. In these cases the semicolon acts like a full stop (period), but shows a slightly stronger link between the two clauses than if you had started a new sentence:
He sees too clearly; he speaks too plainly.
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Formal/informal syntax
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Rewrite the following to make a text in as formal a style as you can. Vary sentence types, but use only a few simple sentences, and no minor sentences*. Concentrate on syntax, but feel free also to enrich the vocabulary. Note that the text is in the present tense, as is the norm for writing/talking about the events in a text/film etc.
Winston and Syme talk. Syme is eating. They discuss Newspeak. Brilliant, thinks Syme. He is writing a dictionary. He is destroying words. He is excited. He hates unnecessary words. He gives examples. Syme wants Winston to agree with him. Winston is a writer. Syme criticises Winston. Winston prefers old, rich language. No good. Syme describes the future. No need for thought control. Winston almost mentions the proles.
*A minor sentence is an incomplete sentence, lacking subject or verb, or both. E.g. Alright. Not me.
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Syme notices. He explains what will happen to literature in the future. Winston thinks about Syme. He expects Syme to get into trouble. Too clever.
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y now, its clich to say that the world is getting smaller. But how does this statement affect you, anyway? Lets try a quick scan, starting with your shoes. Where were they made? What about your shirt, or the last movie you saw? What did you eat for lunch? Who did you chat with on the Net yesterday? These days, its likely your shoes were made in Indonesia, and your shirt comes from Romania. You probably last saw a Hollywood blockbuster, and ate a kebab or some sushi for lunch. On the Net, you might have contacts all over the world, and you probably stay in touch using English. If this sounds anything like you, then welcome to what the academic oracle Marshall McLuhan called the global village. In a nutshell, globalization is the result of expanding trade throughout the world. The majority of the products and services we buy now are produced beyond our national borders and shipped to us at lightning speed. The Internet has spearheaded the exchange of untold quantities of information. Nothing is really exotic anymore since you can have it delivered to your doorstep for a song. The goal of globalization is a level playing field: one giant global economy operating without protectionist trade barriers and offering everyone the promise of capitalism and the efficiency of competition. Increasing trade boosts the flow of capital and paves the way for companies to establish production lines anywhere in the world. Access to raw materials and workers makes it possible for companies to offer consumers lower prices on better products. The lynchpin of these raw materials is cheap oil. Cheap oil gives us cheap transportation, plastic and manufacturing. Many hail globalization as a panacea. They claim that increased trade makes us all wealthier and improves everyones standard of
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living. Globalization, they say, asserts the supremacy of consumers, who have much more choice, and the ease of international travel and electronic communication tears down cultural barriers. But thats the tip of the iceberg. Proponents of globalization insist that above all, global capitalism will encourage the spread of democracy and the fall of autocracy. But there is a groundswell of opposition to globalization. A coalition of environmentalists, anti-poverty campaigners, trade unionists and anti-capitalists amass to protest whenever the G8, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank or the World Trade Organization meet. These anti-globalization protesters argue that corporations have more power than individual nations. They worry that companies act ruthlessly when they move their operations to countries desperate to get a piece of the global economic pie. These companies can set up camp unencumbered by the usual rules and regulations they must follow on their home turf. It is easy to maximize profits when there are no labor unions to contend with, few if any laws about minimum wages, employee ben efits or work safety, and lax environmental restrictions. Companies can also pull out in a heartbeat according to the whims of the international market, leaving whole communities out of work. Studies about the effects of globalization on the developing world reveal a mixed message. On the whole, evidence shows that developing countries have increased their share of world trade. At the same time, however, it is clear that the very poorest people in the world have grown even poorer. On the one hand, newly industrialized countries in East Asia have prospered as a result of globalization, but on the other hand many less developed nations in Africa have suffered. The poorest countries in the world rely mostly on their exports of food and raw materials, but in the aftermath of the new world economy, this trade has actually declined. The greatest numbers of exported goods are now manufactured. The question of oil is paramount in any discussion of globalization. Oil has greased the gears of globalization, both literally and figuratively. Our natural environment bears witness to this as temperatures rise year by year. But as we all know (but perhaps refuse to admit), oil is not a renewable resource. As our global demand continues to rise, the earths reserves are quickly depleting. We will
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soon reach a point called peak oil, when our demand exceeds the supply. The effects on globalization will be dramatic, whether we like it or not. We need to find new, clean and sustainable energy sources to power our global network, or else. Globalization enthusiasts paint a picture of a beautiful interconnected web, linking us all together. But recent world events have demonstrated this same webs brittleness. For example, the financial crash on Wall Street caused by the Americans debt load set off shock waves in markets around the world within minutes. Pandemic influenza spread like wildfire around the globe, as fast as airplanes could carry it to the next nation of victims. The downside of having instant access to the rest of the world is the vulnerability it creates in all of us. We are all wide open to the effects of economic disruption, germs and environmental chaos. Beyond the question of the economic realities of globalization lie deeper cultural, political and ideological questions. Critics fear that a harmonized global economy will lead to a homogenized global culture, where Hollywood movies and the English language itself can blur or wipe out national cultural identities. On the other hand, globalization has provided rich opportunities for cultures to learn about each other through music, dance, art, literature and film. When two cultures interact, fascinating hybrids can emerge. Youve probably danced to rap music that samples West African djembe drumming, or seen a recent film rock out with a big Bollywood-style dance number from India. Fusion food tastes incredible, incidentally. Who doesnt love California rolls? For better or for worse, globalization is here to stay. It is up to us all on every level, from individuals to nations to the entire world community, to decide how we can promote human rights, sustain our environment, nurture national identities, encourage equality among the nations, and prosper together in the new global village.
R e a d & R e act
1. Make two lists, one showing positive and one negative aspects
of globalization as mentioned in the article.

2. Look at your lists from the above exercise, and try to rank
them in order of importance. Then show your list to another student/group, and explain your ranking.
3. What is the relationship between oil and globalization,
according to the text?

4. What effect does globalization have on language and culture,
1. Answer the questions in the first paragraph on p. 31 about
your shoes, your clothes, what you ate etc. List the evidence of globalization you can find in your own life. Compare your answers with your neighbors.
2. Think about the discussion concerning globalization and oil
in this text. Have you taken any steps to reduce your own dependence on oil? How?
3. Can you find any examples of cultural hybridity, where you see
two cultures combining to form something new, in your own life?
1. Write a paragraph where you explore what the English
language, oil and globalization have to do with each other. Do they share any similar qualities? Does one depend on the other? How? Give examples.
2. Look at the definition of Postcolonialism on p. 189193.
What connections can you see between globalization and Postcolonialism?
Further Studies
What do you know about the academic oracle Marshall McLuhan? Gather information by group brainstorming, and then complement what you know by doing some web research. Then answer this question: Why is McLuhan mentioned in this article?
Imagery 1. Look through the text on globalization, and pick out examples
of imagery.
2. Make a list of them, and use a good dictionary (preferably an
English-Eng lish one which also gives actual examples of how to use them) to ensure you understand their meaning.
3. Use your collection of words (along with others) to write two
Wo r d s h o p
Imagery and idioms
Imagery
A common and popular way of livening up a text, whether poetry or prose, is to use imagery. This involves creating mental images in the mind of the reader, sometimes quite mundane ones, sometimes more symbolic. Modern journalists often love the kind of flourish which the use of imagery can give their texts. A couple of exam ples from the text Globalization A Hot Potato are spearhead and paves the way.
Idioms
different poems, with contrasting emotions or states of mind, e.g. love/hate, anger/delight, pensiveness/excitement. You will probably find that using imagery in this way can liven up your poetry, helping to concentrate its meaning and give a lasting impression.
Idioms
Here are some idioms from the text Globalization A Hot Potato:
a hot potato for better or worse (this one comes from the marriage ceremony) get a piece of the pie for a song
paves the way
a level playing field

production line
2. When you are sure you understand the meanings of the above
idioms, write some sentences of your own in which you use them. Read your sentences aloud to a friend, to get used to using the idioms in speech too.
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An idiom is a group of words which commonly appear together to produce a certain meaning, usually a different meaning than would be produced by taking the same words individually and putting them together logically. For example, the idiom a dark horse does not mean a horse which is dark in color, but is used to describe a person who has hidden qualities. Similarly, the idiom to keep the wolf from the door does not mean that you prevent a wolf from coming close to a door, but means that you eat something small, just enough to keep you from feeling great hunger. As in this last case, many idioms originate from expressions containing powerful images. This is why some expressions in the following exercise on idioms are also relevant to the exercise on imagery. As your English develops, you should try to use more idioms. They will help to make your language sound more natural and fluent. Perhaps most importantly, increasing your repertoire of idioms will also help you to understand more of the English you hear and read.
set up camp in a nutshell in a heartbeat out of work the lynchpin
1. Use a good, up-to-date English-English dictionary that shows
idioms, and try looking up the words in bold in the above idiom list to see if the idioms are listed/explained there. It is not always easy to decide which head-words to look up in order to find them. You should also acquaint yourself with at least one of the many specialized idiom dictionaries, in book form or on the Internet.
Focus on Music:
Californication
By Red Hot Chili Peppers
Psychic spies from China Try to steal your minds elation Little girls from Sweden Dream of silver screen quotations And if you want these kind of dreams Its Californication Its the edge of the world And all of western civilization The sun may rise in the East At least it settles in the final location Its understood that Hollywood sells Californication Pay your surgeon very well To break the spell of aging Celebrity skin is this your chin Or is that war youre waging [Chorus] First born unicorn Hard core soft porn Dream of Californication Dream of Californication
ontier e the fi nal fr Space may b basement a Hollywood in e ad m s But it heres u hear the sp yo n ca n ai b Co station off station to Singing songs r away erons not fa 5 And Ald ation Its Californic who praise ised by those ere Born and ra odys been th yb er ev n o ti la opu Control of p and tion mean on vaca 10 I dont [Chorus] ry rough road leads to a ve n io ct u tr es D n reeds creatio But it also b rls guitar a es are to gi ak u q h rt ea And bration other good vi an st ju e r ey 15 Th e world ldnt save th u co es av w And tidal rnication From Califo l eon very wel Pay your surg g spell of agin To break the e rest Sicker than th st There is no te aving hat youre cr w is is th t u B [Chorus]
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Space the final frontier famous quote from the TV series Startrek Cobain lead singer in Nirvana (died 1994) the spheres (poetic) the sky Alderon Princess Leia's planet in the fictional universe of Star Wars
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Marry me girl be my fairy to the world Be my very own constellation A teenage bride with a baby inside Getting high on information And buy me a star on the boulevard Its Californication
R e a d & R e a ct
Focus on Listening:
1. Which two words are combined to create Californication?
What does each word mean by itself? What meaning do they create together when combined in Californication?
2. What is the connection between Hollywood and
The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy

By Douglas Adams
Californication?
3. Surgeons are mentioned in verses 3 and 9. Why are surgeons so Listen to the first programme of this well-known radio series, which has also been turned into novels and other forms of entertainment. Youll meet Arthur Dent in a difficult situation in his everyday life in England, unaware that he is about to begin a colossal space adventure.
important here? What do they do?
You may find that even the global environment can seem parochial, if we expand our horizons far enough! To aid your comprehension of the programme, be sure to turn to the vocabulary list on p. 256.
parochial small-mindedly provincial
1. Why do Little girls from Sweden dream of silver screen
quotations? What are they talking about here? Is it true?

2. What do you think is meant by: Its the edge of the world and
all of western civilization?

3. Why cant tidal waves save the world from Californication? 4. What do they mean when they sing everybodys been there
and I dont mean on vacation?

5. There are several references to space in the song. Find them
and discuss what they mean and what they have to do with Californication.
1. Look at the wordshop on neologisms (p. 91) and find which
type of neologism the word Californication belongs to.

2. Whats the link between Californication and globalization?
bild?
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1. What is the problem Arthur Dent is grappling with in the
Writing
1. Creative writing Write a paragraph you could transmit to the
beginning? Why does his friend Ford see this problem as unimportant?
2. What logic does Arthur use to persuade Mr. Prosser not to
knock down his house while he slips off to the pub for half an hour?
3. What does Arthur mean by damning Ford for telling him
editor of the actual Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, as a suggested new entry for the planet Earth. Bear in mind that the editor will severely cut your text if it is too long. Swap texts with a classmate, and edit one anothers as brutally as possible!
2. Compare & contrast Compare Globish and 1984 in a five-
p. 239 Creative writing
fairy stories? What fairy stories?

4. Describe in your own words the function of the Babel fish.
paragraph essay, referring to the relevant texts in this chapter.

3. Compare & contrast Based on Compare & Analyze 2 on
p. 233 Compare & contrast
1. Identify and explain the use of pun (see p. 127) in the passage
bits of me keep passing out, with reference to a military academy, and in Whats wrong with being drunk? Ask a glass of water.
2. Explain how you think the Babel fish, by effectively removing
p. 42, and using the examples given there, write a short essay in which you compare and contrast the use and effect of any two of: verbal, dramatic and situational irony. Find some additional illustrative examples of your own.
4. Critical review Are you familiar with the music video for
all barriers to communication between different cultures and races, could have caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation.
3. Having heard the horrors of Vogon poetry, brainstorm in your
Californication? If so, write a critical review of it.
p. 238 Critical review
groups about situations in which words and/or poetry could actually be dangerous and maybe even lead to physical pain.
Speaking
1. Quick informal persuasive speech Ford Prefect had a tricky
1. If you cant be bothered to take an interest in local affairs,
2. Scan (see Readers Roadmap p. 250) to find out about irony,
hamlet tiny village intermediate in between
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then determine what types of irony are evident in each of the following, as they are heard in the programme. Ever thought of going into advertising? Last orders! Some strange useage of the word safe. Im a bit upset about that.
3. Class debate . Refer to the article about globalization (p. 31).
Organize a class debate on the resolution Globalization is a positive development for humanity.
p. 246 Debate
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its your own look-out! A clear parallel is drawn between the demolition of Arthurs house and that of the planet Earth. If Arthurs hamlet is the microcosm and the Universe the macrocosm, describe how the equivalent demolition story might turn out on the intermediate, global level. For example, can you think of any countries that have forced large numbers of people to move for developmental reasons?
task, convincing his friend that the world was going to end in twelve minutes. Brainstorm for five minutes with a partner, then meet another pair. You have three minutes to convince them they must go with you, as the world is due to end in twelve minutes! Then change roles with the other pair.
2. Impromptu speech Give a one-minute impromptu speech on
one of these topics: Why I want to be even better at English; More effort should be made to get rid of Englishisms in Swedish.
p. 247 Impromptu speech
Reading
1. Skimming . If this was your first chapter in Blueprint C, now is
p. 250 Skimming
the time to skim the rest of the book to see which chapter you would like to work on next. When you have picked one, skim through it in more detail to get an overview of its content. Based on your browsing, what do you think is the main controlling idea behind the chapter you chose?
2. Scanning . Scan Blueprint C to find as many reasons as you can
p. 250 Scanning
Things That Go Bump In the Night

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for the choice of the cover illustration.

3. Skimming . Refer to Writers Workshop p. 225 on understanding
structure in writing, then re-examine the article Globalization A Hot Potato (p. 31) to identify the following.
At least three topic sentences A thesis statement for the text Some linking words and mechanisms (e.g. repeating a key word)
p. 250 Skimming
Use of illustrative examples A neat clincher

4. Source criticism Find a newspaper or magazine article that
p. 252 Source criticism
covers an anti-globalization protest somewhere in the world. Study the article using the standard source criticism set of questions, and determine what kind of bias, if any, is evident. Be sure also to think critically about any figures or statistics in the article.
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Why Do People Like Being Scared?

Question
Answer
I was just talking to my brother in the car one day and he was going to see a movie. I was telling him some movies I wanted to see and how I never had time to see them. Most of the movies were horror movies and he asked me how I could stand them. This led to the question Why do people love to be scared from movies and stories? Why the heck do people like to be scared? Missy Kate (20-year-old woman)
Missy, would have perished and died out long Thanks for this fun and interesting ques ago. tion. With something so compelling, is it In order to answer it, though, lets any wonder that many people like to get 5 look first at the way in which people like 5 this sens ation within the comfort, secuto be scared. As you mentioned, some rity and complete resolution a ninetyfolks like scary movies and stories, som e minute scary movie or a two-minute people like amusement park thrill ride s, thrill ride provide? and a substantial segment of the populaThese pastimes give us the chance to 10 tion actually likes engaging in challenges 10 have our evol utionary cake and eat it, to their physical safety like enduranc e too. Leaving the theater, or turning off tests and extreme sports. Some persons the VCR after we have been thorough ly choose relationships and behaviors terrified by a film directors imagery, we which have the potential to cause grea t connect just a bit with our ancestor s 15 destruction, and still others love the 15 who had to overcome natures savagery. threat of financial disaster (and success) We like they get to feel victorious, that financial ventures, like the stock triumphant, and, perhaps, most impormarket, present. In other words, peop le tantly, sorely tested. It is a feeling as old have a whole lot of ways they like to be as mankind itself. 20 scared. 20 As you enter the stage in your life The hormonal reaction we humans which will be (probably) the most get from responding to a threat or crichallenge-filled (independent young sis is what motivates us to like to be adulthood), you might be connecting scared. This is the same fight or fligh t with your own need to survive and con25 syndrome whic h guaranteed our survival 25 quer on an ever deeper psychological in more primitive times. At the moment level than older filmgoers. Maybe just we are threatened, we have increased maybe thats why the typical horror strength, power, heightened senses and movie audience seems to be primarily intuition. This increase in mental and teenagers and young adults. Perhaps they 30 physical capa city is commonly referred 30 are (unconsc iously) readying themselves to as an adrenaline rush. It is named for the survival tasks of adulthood. after the primary hormone involved. The fact that you do not make time Basically, you can get this feeling right now to go see the scary movies you defending yourself against a lion in the enjoy might mean that you are engaging 35 jungle or sittin g in a theater showing a 35 in other chal lenges in life which meet horror flick. We, as humans, appear to this need more directly, but thats just a be hard-wired to be drawn to this feelguess. ing. It is older than we are as a species, Sincerely, and is tied to our survival; without it, we Margaret Peg Burr, MA, MFT
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R e a d & R e a ct
1. List some of the ways people like to scare themselves. 2. Explain the link between the adrenaline rush and the fact
Dont use a comma between subject and verb, unless you are using two parenthetical commas.
John and Anne were terrified./John and Anne, despite the broad daylight, were filled with terror. But never: John and Anne, were filled with terror.
that the human race has survived to reach its present state.
3. How does this link explain that we like the feeling of the
adrenaline rush?
4. Why does Peg think young people are more attracted to
horror movies than older people?
1. What is your favorite way to scare yourself? 2. Do you enjoy being afraid sometimes? Why? How does it
Use commas to separate items in a list. Do not place a comma before the word and that precedes the last item in your list. (Exception if the items take a few words to explain, you might need a comma before and.)
The movie made me laugh, cry, gasp and scream./The movie hand.
make you feel?

3. As you near adulthood, do you find the things which scared
you as a child are different from the things which scare you now? How have they changed, and why?
1. Do you think women, more than men, are attracted to
Sometimes we want to put together into one sentence two pieces that could stand alone as separate sentences*. When we do this, we normally put a comma at the end of the first sentence, then add a conjunction (e.g. and, but, though, which) before the second one.
She loved skydiving, but her brother preferred scuba diving.
dangerous romantic partners? If so, why? If not, why not?

2. What would a feminist critic have to say about your answer to
the previous question? (Checklist on feminist criticism p. 207.)

Wo r d s h o p Wo r k Wo r d s h o p
Use of commas
A.
Parenthetical commas are two commas placed before and after a piece of extra information in a sentence.
If its scary, and I think it might be, Ill shut my eyes.
Here are some sentences for you to add commas to or not according to the above rules. 1. People of a nervous disposition are advised not to watch for the next five minutes!
2. Young children nervous people and anyone alone at home
should not watch this film!

2. Young children even if accompanied by a parent should not
watch this film.

4. Young children really shouldnt watch this film but parents are
often completely unaware of what their children are watching.
* See Compound sentences p. 2930.
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made me laugh, cry, gasp, and even grab hold of my neighbors
5. My little brother saw the film at his friends house though I
doubt he really understood it.

6. Young children and people of a nervous disposition should not
Gothic
traditional scottish prayer From ghoulies and ghosties And long-leggedy beasties And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!
see this film!

7. It is clear however that this is the parents responsibility. 8. My little brother saw the film at his friends house and that
night he was afraid to shut his eyes and go to sleep.

9. The fact is whether you like it or not that many young children
have probably seen this film already.

B.
1. In order to answer it though lets look first at the way in which
people like to be scared.

2. As you mentioned some folks like scary movies and stories
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some people like amusement park thrill rides and a substantial segment of the population actually likes engaging in challenges to their physical safety like endurance tests and extreme sports.
3. Some persons choose relationships and behaviors which have
the potential to cause great destruction and still others love the threat of financial disaster (and success) that financial ventures like the stock market present.
4. At the moment we are threatened we have increased strength
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power heightened senses and intuition.

5. It is older than we are as a species and is tied to our survival; 6. We like they get to feel victorious triumphant and perhaps
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most importantly sorely tested.

7. The fact that you do not make time right now to go see the
scary movies you enjoy might mean that you are engaging in other challenges in life which meet this need more directly but thats just a guess.
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Now look at the following sentences from the texts. The original commas have been removed. Try applying the given rules to add commas in the right places, then find the sentences in the texts to see if you came up with the same solutions as the original writer.
ts a dark and stormy night. Thunder rolls through ominous clouds menacing the night sky. A lone wolf howls at the veiled sliver of moon. A slowly creaking door opens into a blackened room Its pretty easy to see where this is heading, isnt it? This gothic scene, whether its on TV, in a movie, book, or poem, is meant to send a shiver up our spine. The incredible success of gothic literature and entertainment, from Dracula right up until now, with series like True Blood and books like Twilight, is proof that we absolutely love anything that goes bump in the night. But what defines the gothic, and what has made it so extra ordinarily popular? For one thing, the gothic evokes sublime emotions. Have you ever noticed that nature has the power to captivate and overwhelm us? Perhaps you too have felt that heart-stopping thrill gazing at a cloud-raked mountaintop, or felt the stillness between each wave lapping on the shore of a sun-kissed beach. The pre-Romantic poet/artist William Blake said this is our ability To see a world in a grain of sand,/And a heaven in a wild flower,/Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,/And eternity in an hour. We have an ability to feel and react on an emotional level without engaging our sense of reason. Gothic writers enjoy the way that nature thrills and frightens us. Thats why they love mountain peaks and thunderstorms. The 18th-century philosopher Edmund Burke took it even further and said that the sublime was produced by the strongest emotion we can possibly have: our fear of death. We feel a sense of awe and power when we gaze at the peak of Mount Everest, and a shiver in our spine because we know getting there could very well kill us. Gothic writers have taken this gut reaction to natures power
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and ratcheted up the tension by evoking the supernatural. Knowing weve set reason aside, they can parade in a whole host of monstrous creatures, ghosts, werewolves, disembodied voices, vampires and other representations of nature-gone-bad. In the gothic, the supernatural shows us that the world is turned upside down, that the natural order of things has been reversed. A vampire, for instance, is a kind of perverted version of a human being. They are neither living nor dead, but undead, and are awake at night and sleep all day. In a Christian universe, the fact that a vampire drinks human blood is upsettingly sacrilegious, since it is a perversion of Holy Communion, when we symbolically drink the blood of Christ. To make matters worse, the way the vampire extracts the blood from the neck in a sort of a kiss is highly erotic not exactly what they want you to think about in church taking communion, now, is it? To get at another important ingredient of the gothic, its important to ask just why the natural order has flipped upside down.
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Gothic checklist Extreme emotions, from fear and horror to the sublime, e.g. love, or awe inspired by beauty of nature Supernatural forces Perversion of nature Malaise, sense of the world in decay Antagonist much more interesting than the protagonist Possible presence of a Byronic hero
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Whats happened? Whats gone wrong? In a gothic universe, we usually find an underlying kind of malaise, and a sense that the world is in decay. In 18th-century gothic literature, for example, the ever-popular haunted house can I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow be seen as a metaphor for the way the of life to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to whole house of Europe is falling its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why apart (as seen in the example of the then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it French Revolution). were sublime, to know it by experience. Finally, in a gothic text, you often Henry David Thoreau find that the protagonist, or the traditional good guy and main character of the novel, is overshadowed by an antagonist, or bad guy, who is a hell of a lot more interesting. Readers might even find themselves asking whos the real hero here? or even reconsidering what they thought was a hero in the first place. Enter the Byronic Hero. The name originates from the poetry of Lord Byron, a Romantic Era writer who was himself called mad, bad and dangerous to know. Byrons heroes are darkly attractive but conflicted male characters, irresistible to both female characters and readers. Known for their moodiness, the Byronic hero is a solitary figure, usually an exile or outcast who casts a sophisticated but cynical eye at the mainstream. His troubled past indicates that he is nursing a secret wound, but his arrogance keeps him at arms length. He is the classic bad boy all the girls love to love. As we explore the following gothic texts, try to note which of the elements described above you can find at work amidst the gathering storm clouds
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1. What usually happens to our reason when we read a gothic
1. a) Have you ever been attracted to someone who was a bit
text?
2. What is the role of the supernatural in a gothic text? 3. What is a Byronic hero? 4. In the first four sentences, how many words can you find that
mad, bad and dangerous? What do you think was so attractive for you in this situation? Did you hope you could somehow cure or reform them? Why? Or did you enjoy living on the wild side of life? Why? b) Could there be an evolutionary reason to explain the fact that some people find mad, bad and dangerous romantic partners attractive? If so, what do you think this could be?
2. If the 18th-century haunted house of gothic literature can
are onomatopoeic (i.e. words like bang, which sound like that which they mean)? What effect does this have on your understanding of the text?
5. Emotions throw us into many different states. Name an
emotion you could call sublime.
Prepare individually, then share and discuss in groups.

1. Describe the kind of emotions you feel when you gaze at
a stormy ocean. Would you say that this resembles Burkes description of the sublime described in this text? Why or why not?
2. a) Can you think of another image of your own from nature,
Wo r d s h o p
Subject-verb agreement
that might evoke sublime emotions? b) Is it an image in which Nature is fierce and threatening, or calm and soothing?
3. We have an ability to feel and react on an emotional level
Sometimes in complex sentences it is not easy to decide whether a present tense verb should be in the third person singular s-form or not. Study this sentence from the text.
The incredible success of gothic literature and entertainment from Dracula right up until now with series like True Blood and books like Twilight is proof that we absolutely love anything that goes bump in the night.
without engaging our sense of reason. (p. 51) a) Think of times when youve reacted on a purely emotional level. What caused this? b) Can you think of an occasion when, by later engaging your sense of reason, you changed your view of something? c) Do these raw emotional reactions help or hinder us through life?
A.
Look at the three (marked) present tense verbs in the sentence above, and for each one, find the subject, and analyze why the verb does or doesnt have the s-form.
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be seen as a metaphor for the falling apart of Europe in conjunction with the French Revolution, how then does todays fascination with the gothic mirror our present-day world? What malaise is there in todays world? Is there a flipping upside down that causes us discomfort?
B.
Focus on Listening:
Now find the correct versions of the verb in the following sentences. The infinitive of the verb is given in brackets.
1. The fact that men and women often (have) different views (be)
CBCs The Current: Vampire Culture
a contributing factor.
2. As every editor (know), the importance to the writer of
different readers expressing their views (be) enormous.

3. Weak or strong, who you (choose) as your victims (do) not
really matter.
4. The different ways to kill a vampire (require) courageous
action.
5. One of the main issues to address, whether or not many people
(be) involved, (be) the risks to be taken into account.

6. The current situation of declining economic indicators,
7. Even before the clear patterns established by Frankenstein
and Dracula, the use of supernatural themes (be) commonly observed in English literature.
8. These days it often (happen) that the rest of the world (adopt)
a literary trend with rapidity and enthusiasm.

9. What (distinguish) Dracula from Twilight (be) the greater
range of subtle techniques employed by the author.
In this podcast from CBC radio in Toronto, Canada, we listen to two vampire experts discussing our modern-day fascination with these blood-thirsty figures. Veronica Hollinger teaches in the Cultural Studies Department at Trent University. Shes also the co-editor of Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture. Elizabeth Miller is one of the worlds foremost Dracula experts. Shes the author of Dracula: Sense and Nonsense. Both experts agree that vampires reflect the fears and anxieties of the society they spring from. If this is the case, what do you think our current obsession with vampires says about us? Read the questions before you start listening. Following the word list on p. 257 as you listen can aid your understanding.
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growing domestic violence and mistrust in politicians (give) rise to moral uncertainty and a thirst for escapist literature.
1. Why do vampires appeal to us, according to the first speaker,
Victorian Sexual Morality

Bram Stokers Dracula could really be called the granddaddy of all the coffin-dwelling, bat-winged blood-suckers we know today. Though he was not the first vampire in literature, it was Stokers creation that lit popular imagination on fire and inspired countless novels, films, comic strips and Halloween costumes. To understand just why Dracula became such a potent literary figure, it can help to know more about the richly paradoxical and sexually complex period in history when he came alive: the Victorian Age.
vampire expert Elizabeth Miller?

2. What was so important about Anne Rices novels about the
vampire Lestat (Interview with a Vampire and The Vampire Chronicles)?

3. Miller, Hollinger and Guillermo del Toro all mention some
frightening events and practices in our early human history that might have caused us to make up stories about vampires. Can you name a few of these?
1. Miller says that our desires can also be our fears and anxieties.
2. Vampires usually represent a mysterious outsider of some
sort, one that we often fear. Both experts refer to the vampire representing of the other. What examples of others in our society might vampires represent?
3. Do you agree, as Hollinger states, that teenagers are increasingly
sexualized in our culture? If so, how? If not, why not? Think about the ways that teens are depicted in novels like Twilight, TV shows like True Blood, or other vampire or horror films you have watched.
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1. The interview discusses the problem of a secular world where
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there is no absolute good and no absolute evil. Do you think this is true nowadays? Can you think of other situations where it is hard to draw the limits between good and evil?
2. Twilights Edward has an ethical problem: he needs to survive by
drinking blood, but he wants to do good in the world. Can you think of other situations where someone has to do something wrong in order to survive?
3. Stokers Dracula came from Eastern Europe during a time when
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England was coping with a new wave of immigration from this same region. How would a postcolonial critic look at the Dracula character as the other? See the postcolonial checklist on p. 189 for some help.
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chronicle to chronicle, to write a detailed history of something

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Can you think of some examples of this?
racula was published in England in 1897, during Queen Victorias reign. Her reign lasted 63 years, from 1838 to 1901, and was the longest of any British monarch. Victorias England flexed extraordinary political and economic muscles. Fueled by wealth flowing in from far-flung colonies in India, Africa and the West Indies, and powered by a surge in scientific and technological innovation, England was manufacturing more goods than any other country in the world. If you look carefully at an old stone building in London, you can still see traces of black soot from the coal fires of industry that burned night and day, smelting steel or weaving massive bolts of cloth. Though England had a strut and a swagger during this period, wealth and success did not flow equally throughout society. Charles Dickens famous novels such as Oliver Twist and Hard Times chronicle the sufferings of the lower classes, particularly children, who worked in the factories and breathed in the soot and squalor of the crowded industrial cities. It only takes a small scratch in the confident veneer of such wealth to find a good dose of doubt and anxiety. As science marched forward and factories boomed, many Victorian thinkers began to ask deep questions about the darker side of human identity. Who are we? What drives us to act the way we do? What, for example, might drive a man to hire a prostitute? What causes us to have nightmares? Not surprisingly, this age ushered in the rise of psychology, criminology and anthropology.
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*See also Feminist Criticism on p. 207.
The Victorians were fascinated and troubled by the fact that our tendencies to be strange and naughty pop out with alarming frequency when it comes to sex. In fact, the Victorians developed a reputation for being terribly uptight and prudish about sex. You have probably heard expressions like no sex please, were British or lie back and think of England. Some said Victorians were so certain the sight of a leg could arouse someone, they covered up their piano legs with little socks. Some people would not place male and female writers next to each other in their bookcases, unless the writers in question were married. While we enjoy a dip in the ocean in a skimpy bikini, Victorian bathing suits were huge poofy pantaloon-affairs. Even then, the Victorians still needed to wheel themselves down to the waters edge in a bathing machine a wooden cart covered with canvas to swim in total privacy. Many Victorians looked to their Queen as a moral and sexual role model. Her marriage to her cousin Albert was an example of faithful devotion, and when he died at the young age of 42, she went into mourning and wore black for the rest of her life. Some experts say that Victorias strict attitudes about sex stemmed from her desire to reverse the trend of previous generations of aristocracy, whose loose morals and shocking behavior eroded the publics respect for the nobility. Instead, Victoria and Albert presented a stable and chaste example of a proper Victorian family. Long before science revealed the role hormones play in differentiating the sexes, Victorian evolutionary theorists came up with their own ideas. They created a model of opposites*, suggesting that men are active, and women are passive. A mans role is to think, to create, to do, whereas a womans role is to rest at home, raise children and recuperate from the demanding work of menstruation and pregnancies. These theorists saw marriage as a way of controlling and rationing mens natural sexual urges while preserving women for the role of motherhood. With strict lines drawn around what Victorians thought to be proper, it was easy to find deviance. Masturbation was a definite no-no, with threats that it could blind you, drive you mad, or curse your soul to hell. If such threats were not enough, an anti-masturbation device such as the one pictured might save a weak-minded young man from such fates! Many illnesses were
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Now imagine yourself living in this icily non-sexual, strict moral universe. One day, along comes the story of Dracula, with his harem of depraved wenches, poised just above the jugular of some drowsy Englishman. How do you think you might react to a text like this?
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blamed on sexual urges being regarded as unnatural, which could include even thinking of having more sex than the prescribed once-a-month within marriage. Homosexuals had a particularly difficult time under the British legal system, when in 1885 gay sex, even behind closed doors, was made a criminal offense. Oscar Wilde famously underwent a trial for this, and was convicted and jailed as a sodomite in 1896. Women also suffered under the strict Victorian moral code. They could suffer from hysteria, which covered a wide range of symptoms, illnesses and strange behavior, all largely thought to be connected to sexual abnormalities. A fallen woman was a woman who was considered sinful and promiscuous because she had had sex outside of marriage. Even victims of rape were shown no sympathy. Children born out of wedlock were considered bastards and often caused their mothers to be turned out of their homes and left to fend for themselves. Many women became prostitutes in order to survive, and there was no shortage of brothels where they could ply their trade. Among the two million people in London in the 1830s there were an estimated 80,000 prostitutes. We might well wonder who their customers were, when men were supposed to be so restrained in their sexuality
jugular a vein in the neck that carries blood from the head to the heart
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Further Studies
1. Why was England such a powerful nation during Victorias
1. Sketch a plan to suggest the reform of a sexually repressed
reign?
2. How did Victorians feel about their bodies, and sex? Give
society.
2. Do some research to find different ages of consent around the
examples from the text.

3. Victorian society may have been very powerful and successful,
but many people experienced hardships. Who were they, and why?
4. What kind of behavior was considered proper in Victorian
world. Are there any you think should be changed? Is it OK for every country to make these kinds of decisions independently, or should decisions be made at an international level?
society, and what was deviant?
1. Do you think our own times could also be called sexually 2. Do royal families today function as moral and sexual role
models? If so, how? If not, why not?

3. Having read this text, do these descriptions of Victorian
behavior and society disturb you? Would you be happy living in a society like this? If not, what bothers you the most about this kind of society?
1. Is the society you live in more or less sexually complex
than the society of the Victorian Age? For example, you could discuss fashion, marketing, online dating, birth control, or pornography.
2. Some people would say our society today is over-sexualized,
forcing everyone to display a sexual identity whether they like it or not. Do you agree? Would you prefer to live in a society with a Victorian view of sexuality?
3. World Health Organization figures recently showed that
underage sex in Britain is the highest in Europe, with 39 per cent of girls and 34 per cent of boys having under-age sex. Is this a sign that the sexual revolution has gone too far? Should they lower the age of consent (presently 16)?
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complex? If so, why?
Dracula
By Bram Stoker
The young lawyer, Jonathan Harker, has gone to help Count Dracula with buying real estate. Back in England, his fiance Mina waits for his return. The Count invites Jonathan into his castle, but soon it becomes evident that this is no normal household
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without outside, outdoors
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hen I had written in my diary and had fortunately replaced the book and pen in my pocket I felt sleepy. The Counts warning came into my mind, but I took pleasure in disobeying it. The sense of sleep was upon me, and with it the obstinacy which sleep brings as outrider. The soft moonlight soothed, and the wide expanse without gave a sense of freedom which refreshed me. I determined not to return tonight to the gloom-haunted rooms, but to sleep here, where, of old, ladies had sat and sung and lived sweet lives whilst their gentle breasts were sad for their menfolk away in the midst of remorseless wars. I drew a great couch out of its place near the corner, so that as I lay, I could look at the lovely view to east and south, and unthinking of and uncaring for the dust, composed myself for sleep. I suppose I must have fallen asleep. I hope so, but I fear, for all that followed was startlingly real, so real that now sitting here in the broad, full sunlight of the morning, I cannot in the least believe that it was all sleep. I was not alone. The room was the same, unchanged in any way since I came into it. I could see along the floor, in the brilliant moonlight, my own footsteps marked where I had disturbed the long accumulation of dust. In the moonlight opposite me were three young women, ladies by their dress and manner. I thought at the time that I must be dreaming when I saw them, for, though the moonlight was behind them, they threw no shadow on the floor. They came close to me, and looked at me for some time, and then whispered together. Two were dark, and had high aquiline noses, like the Count, and great dark, piercing eyes, that seemed to be almost red when contrasted with the pale yellow moon. The other
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was fair, as fair as can be, with great wavy masses of golden hair and eyes like pale sapphires. I seemed somehow to know her face, and to know it in connection with some dreamy fear, but I could not recollect at the moment how or where. All three had brilliant white teeth that shone like pearls against the ruby of their voluptuous lips. There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear. I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips. It is not good to note this down, lest some day it should meet Minas eyes and cause her pain, but it is the truth. They whispered together, and then they all three laughed, such a silvery, musical laugh, but as hard as though the sound never could have come through the softness of human lips. It was like the intoler-
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able, tingling sweetness of water-glasses when played on by a cunning hand. The fair girl shook her head coquettishly, and the other two urged her on. One said, Go on! You are first, and we shall follow. Yours is the right to begin. The other added, He is young and strong. There are kisses for us all. I lay quiet, looking out from under my eyelashes in an agony of delightful anticipation. The fair girl advanced and bent over me till I could feel the movement of her breath upon me. Sweet it was in one sense, honey-sweet, and sent the same tingling through the nerves as her voice, but with a bitter underlying the sweet, a bitter offensiveness, as one smells in blood. I was afraid to raise my eyelids, but looked out and saw perfectly under the lashes. The fair girl went on her knees, and bent over me, fairly gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet lips and on the red tongue as it lapped the white sharp teeth. Lower and lower went her head as the lips went below the range of my mouth and chin and seemed about to fasten on my throat. Then she paused, and I could hear the churning sound of her tongue as it licked her teeth and lips, and I could feel the hot breath on my neck. Then the skin of my throat began to tingle as ones flesh does when the hand that is to tickle it approaches nearer, nearer. I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the super sensitive skin of my throat, and the hard dents of two sharp teeth, just touching and pausing there. I closed my eyes in languorous ecstasy and waited, waited with beating heart. But at that instant, another sensation swept through me as quick as lightning. I was conscious of the presence of the Count, and of his being as if lapped in a storm of fury. As my eyes opened involuntarily I saw his strong hand grasp the slender neck of the fair woman and with giants power draw it back, the blue eyes transformed with fury, the white teeth champing with rage, and the fair cheeks blazing red with passion. But the Count! Never did I imagine such wrath and fury, even in the demons of the pit. His eyes
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were positively blazing. The red light in them was lurid, as if the flames of hell fire blazed behind them. His face was deathly pale, and the lines of it were hard like drawn wires. The thick eyebrows that met over the nose now seemed like a heaving bar of white-hot metal. With a fierce sweep of his arm, he hurled the woman from him, and then motioned to the others, as though he were beating them back. It was the same imperious gesture that I had seen used to the wolves. In a voice which, though low and almost a whisper seemed to cut through the air and then ring round the room he exclaimed, How dare you touch him, any of you? How dare you cast eyes on him when I had forbidden it? Back, I tell you all! This man belongs to me! Beware how you meddle with him, or youll have to deal with me. The fair girl, with a laugh of ribald coquetry, turned to answer him. You yourself never loved. You never love! On this the other women joined, and such a mirthless, hard, soulless laughter rang through the room that it almost made me faint to hear. It seemed like the pleasure of fiends. Then the Count turned, after looking at my face attentively, and said in a soft whisper, Yes, I too can love. You yourselves can tell it from the past. Is it not so? Well, now I promise you that when I am done with him you shall kiss him at your will. Now go! Go! I must awaken him, for there is work to be done. Are we to have nothing tonight? said one of them, with a low laugh, as she pointed to the bag which he had thrown upon the floor, and which moved as though there were some living thing within it. For answer he nodded his head. One of the women jumped forward and opened it. If my ears did not deceive me there was a gasp and a low wail, as of a half-smothered child. The women closed round, whilst I was aghast with horror. But as I looked, they disappeared, and with them the dreadful bag. There was no door near them, and they could not have passed me without my noticing. They simply seemed to fade into the rays of the moonlight and pass out through the window, for I could see outside the dim, shadowy forms for a moment before they entirely faded away. Then the horror overcame me, and I sank down unconscious.
R e a d & R e a ct
1. Read the second sentence carefully, then say what you suppose
1. Think about what you read in the earlier section on Victorian
was the warning the Count had given.

2. a) Why did the narrator believe at the time of his experience
that he must be dreaming? b) Why did he believe later that he had not been dreaming?
3. He is young and strong. There are kisses for us all. In the
sexuality. How well does this extract from the novel fit into a Victorian moral framework? Look at, for example, the dress and behavior of the three females in the text.
2. Read about feminist criticism on p. 207. What observations
context of a vampire novel, what is meant by kisses?

4. What does the word dent mean? Why could we say that the
might a feminist critic make about this text extract? Look at, for example, the way the speaker describes the females.
3. In Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare) you might remember the
author is using the word cleverly here?

5. Why does Dracula stop the women from doing what they
want?
6. How are the women compensated for not attacking Jonathan?
1. What is it, do you think, that makes these women so attractive
to Jonathan Harker?
2. Why was the narrator feeling obstinate (p. 64 third sentence,
line 5)?
3. a) then they all three laughed (p. 65, line 11) find
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Homophones, homographs and homonyms
something about the girls laughter that the narrator describes in positive terms, and something that he describes in negative terms. b) After the Count joins the women, is their laughter still described in both positive and negative terms? What point is the novelist making?
4. He is young and strong. There are kisses for us all. Why
might this shock a Victorian reader in an everyday novel or story? What makes it acceptable here?
5. What does the passage reveal about its narrator? Could a
character like Jonathan Harker be found in our society?
One of the hurdles to jump over when learning English is the large number of homophones, homographs and homonyms. Reasons for their confusing existence in the language vary, but all have to do with the history of the English language. Over the centuries, words have come in from many different sources. Also, most words have changed their pronunciation in one way or another, so that some words which once sounded different can today sound the same. To help you remember which is which of these three categories, lets look briefly at the etymology (meaning history) of homophone/graph/nym. Homo-, from ancient Greek, means same, phone from ancient Greek means sound, graph from ancient Greek means writing, and nym from ancient Greek means name. So we have homophone = same sound but they look different in writing, homograph = same writing but they sound different, homonym = same name, they look and sound the same, but have quite separate meanings. The examples on p. 70 are taken primarily from the Dracula extract.
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famous balcony scene dialogue between Romeo and Juliet. Later in that dialogue, the impassioned Romeo has to leave without any physical fulfillment of love, and we hear this: romeo : O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied? juliet : What satisfaction canst thou have tonight? (Act 2 sc 2) Where in the Dracula extract can you find an echo of these famous lines? Discuss the similarities and differences between the lines in Dracula and the ones in Romeo and Juliet. Do you think the similarity is intentional, or not?
Homophones Homophone examples: rain/reign/rein (note: not related to
Place the homophones in the right gaps.

allowed/aloud pain/pane knew/new threw/through
reindeer), threw/through, pale/pail, know/no, pain/pane, fair/ fare, wait/weight

Homograph examples: wicked (differently pronunced than if it
were the past tense of the verb wick), close (different pronunciations as adjective or verb). Examples not found in the text: bow (different pronunciation for bow and arrow and the movement of bending forward at the waist), row (different pronunciation for in a row ( line) and have a row (argument ).
Homonym examples: lap (what a cat does to milk, the upper
1. Debbie the ball so hard that a shot her shoulder, and
she watched aghast as it crashed the window which, she , was .

2. She spoke her thoughts : Oh dear, Ill never again be to
part of your legs when sitting, a complete circuit in a race), without, (not with, outside) saw (past tense of see, tool for cutting through wood). Examples not found in the text: train (transport + practise), bear (animal + carry), type (sort + machine write), left (past tense of leave + opposite of right).
play with a ball in the garden!

Homographs
Take turns to read these sentences aloud to a working partner. Your partner will listen carefully and follow with the answer key, to see if you are pronouncing the homographs correctly.
1. My new close-fitting skiing outfit was great. It wicked off
the sweat so I didnt feel cold and wet when the temperature dropped.
2. At close of day the wicked witch crept up close to the playing
Homonyms
Translate the following into your own language, to see for yourself if you understood the different meanings of the homonyms. If uncertain, check the different meanings in a good dictionary.
1. Tired from running several laps around the beach, the little girl
children. The little girl with a bow in her hair looked up. The little boy gave a polite bow, but said nothing.
crawled into her mothers lap. They sat relaxing, watching the waves lap against the rocks, and the thirsty dog lapping water from its bowl.
2. He saw with annoyance that the saw was broken.
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The Gothic Subculture
Focus on Music:
Bela Lugosis Dead

By Bauhaus
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Bela Lugosi (18821956) was a Hungarian-American actor known for playing Count Dracula.
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hin A subculture is a group wit : hey stand out in a crowd ys of society that resists the wa eerily pale faces, artfully kes its ma It the dominant culture. y styled raven tresses, thickl n its own own rules, sometimes eve and ns rte Ma c Do ge hu lined eyes, sees itself as a kind 5 language, and They ck. bla by d ine def le sty a 5 ture is in of tribe. The Goth subcul s hem ant k un st-p po k listen to dar of many fact a very diverse group the by bands like Siouxsie and , whose different types of Goths n Ca ad De or re Cu e Th Banshees, dieval and influences range from Me Poe and Dance. They read Byron, hion to deathrock and 10 Victorian fas are ey Th . la acu Dr s 10 Bram Stoker , most punk. For all their variety Goths. ism and Goths embrace individual led cal ce voi a to g Accordin as a style appreciate darkness, both ademia Ice Princess on the site Ac w. of dress and a point of vie ture, Gothica. Goth is a subcul d goo a ed Goths have suffer 15 of thinking. The 15 style, and way in the deal of misunderstanding culture is common thread in Goth th moveGo e Th mainstream media. hotomy an appreciation for the dic h Satanment has nothing to do wit t ligh en we bet st tra con of life, the nheads worship, Neo-Nazis or ski with and dark, good and evil, cre at Columbine High 20 or the massa t can o tw the t tha s nes 20 an aware ths are School in 1999. In fact, Go and that exist without each other, alism, creknown for their intellectu s ent gm jud ue val al ion the tradit lingness to ativity, tolerance, and wil s are not assigned to those opposite dogs. fight for outcasts and under e. tru ly necessari
The Goth movement can be traced to the post-punk music scene in the 80s when bands like Bauhaus and The Damned created a dark, atmospheric sound to accompany moody lyrics which could be romantic, morbid and anti-establishment. Bauhaus released their seminal hit Bela Lugosis Dead in 1979. Note the gothic and vampire references in the lyrics:
White on white translucent black capes back on the rack. Bela Lugosis dead. The bats have left the bell tower, the victims have been bled, red velvet lines the black box. Bela Lugosis dead. Undead Undead Undead. The virginal brides file past his tomb, strewn with times dead flowers, bereft in deathly bloom, alone in a darkened room the count. Bela Lugosis dead. Undead Undead Undead. Oh Bela, Belas undead.
Focus on Listening:
1. What sort of feelings do you experience when you hear this
piece of music?
2. Who was Bela Lugosi? Who did he play? 3. How does this music sound gothic to you? How does
Twilight
By Stephenie Meyer
Bauhaus achieve this atmosphere?
Now, more than ever, there are vampires in our midst. With her wildly popular Twilight Saga, author Stephenie Meyer has tapped our deep well of fascination with the un-dead. Love them or loathe them, the Twilight books are a cultural phenomenon. They can be found on teenagers nightstands all over the world, and under a good number of adults pillows too. But just what can a bunch of chaste, mopey vampires tell us about modern teenagers and the culture that we live in? Twilight may not rank as great literature, but it has given countless cultural critics something to puzzle over. Consider this has moved to the tiny, rainy town of Forks, Washington to live with her father, the local sheriff. Bella feels like a lonely outsider, and to make matters worse, it seems that a mysterious and beautiful boy in her Biology class, Edward Cullen, cant stand her very presence. Unable to understand the powerful pull she feels towards him, she works to uncover Edwards frightening secret: is he a vampire? excerpt, when we find that 17-year-old Bella Swan
R e f l e ct & s h a r e
Why is Bela Lugosi undead?
Further studies
they come from? What is the link between the original Goths and one of the first written pieces of literature in the early English language?
2. The rock bands original name was Bauhaus 1919. Find out
about the Bauhaus movement, and suggest why the rock band used this name.
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1. Who were the original Goths? Where did they live? Where had
1. How old is Edward? How does he answer Bellas question? 2. Bella narrates: My voice, at least, was composed. Why at
1. What makes Twilight a piece of gothic fiction? 2. One common element in a piece of gothic fiction is a Byronic
least? What part of her do you think was by contrast not composed?
3. Find as many adjectives and adverbs as you can that describe
Hero. Refresh your memory about the traits of a Byronic Hero (see pp. 53) and explain how you think Edward fits this type.
3. Many feminists are rolling their eyes at the incredible
Edwards emotional state. After you have listed them, explain in your own words how you think he is feeling during this conversation.
4. Repeat exercise 3 for Bella. 5. How does Edward deal with the problem that vampires drink
blood to survive? What position does this put Bella in?
1. How might it feel to be suspended in time, forever stuck as a
4. Compare the descriptions of facial expressions in this extract
teenager? What would you do, and how would you feel, if you were in Edwards shoes?
2. Find a few pieces of evidence in the text that Edward is
and the Dracula extract on p. 64. Which do you find more powerful?
5. Take a look again at the section on Victorian morality on
attracted to Bella. Why do you think he is? Is it her blood, or her soul? Does one make him more virtuous than the other?
3. Edward has become a sex symbol for countless teenage girls
(and some boys too). Why do you think this is the case? What makes Edward sexy?
4. Writer Stephenie Meyer explained in an interview that she
p. 59. Refresh your memory about why Dracula was such a hit novel for Victorians. Think about his dress, how he lived, who he interacted with, how he survived, etc. Now compare Dracula to Edward. Why is Edward an early 21st-century hit?
6. Edward is an astonishingly good boy for being a vampire.
Do you prefer to read about good or bad people?
wasnt consciously aiming to write for 16-year-olds her major audience. She said: I dont believe that you need to write down to teenagers. When I was a teenager, all I read was adult novels. My favorite books back then were Pride and Prejudice and Gone with the Wind, and I was reading big books from the time when I was little, and I dont think you can sell the kids short and say, Well, were going to have to dumb it down for them. They really dont need that. (Entertainment Weekly) Do you agree? Are teenage books unnecessary?
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popularity of Twilight. In her Psychology Today article titled Five Reasons A Smart Middle-Aged Woman Loathes Twilight Dr. Gina Barreca writes that Fear of your lover should not be an aphrodisiac. Ever. After reading p. 207209 in the section on feminist criticism, what potential criticism could a feminist have about a text like Twilight? You could begin by looking for places where it seems possible that Bella feels afraid of Edward, but also finds it to be an aphrodisiac. What other choices does she have?
The Raven
By Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allen Poes work is renowned for its gothic qualities. His 1845 poem The Raven is full of mystery and suspense. See for yourself how frightening you find it when you listen to The Simpsons* take a shot at possibly the most famous poem in American literature.
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Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow sorrow for the lost Lenore For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore Nameless here for evermore. And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating, Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door This it is, and nothing more. Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, Sir, said I, or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you here I opened wide the door; Darkness there, and nothing more.
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*On the teachers cd is a recorded version of the original The Raven. We recommend that you use the Internet to listen to the Simpsons version, search word: The Simpsons+The Raven.

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Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. Tis some visitor, I muttered, tapping at my chamber door Only this, and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning, Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before. Surely, said I, surely that is something at my window lattice: Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore
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Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou, I said, art sure no craven, Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Nights Plutonian shore! Quoth the Raven, Nevermore. Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor. Wretch, I cried, thy God hath lent thee by these angels he hath sent thee Respite respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore! Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore! Quoth the Raven, Nevermore. Prophet! said I, thing of evil! prophet still, if bird or devil! Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore, Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted On this home by horror haunted tell me truly, I implore Is there is there balm in Gilead? tell me tell me, I implore! Quoth the Raven, Nevermore.
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Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore; Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend, I shrieked, upstarting Get thee back into the tempest and the Nights Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! Leave my loneliness unbroken! quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door! Quoth the Raven, Nevermore. And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demons that is dreaming, And the lamplight oer him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted nevermore!
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R e a d & R e a ct
1. What gothic elements set the tone of the poem? Look at the gothic
Writing
1. Creative writing When Stephenie Meyer wrote Twilight she
checklist on p. 53.
2. What in this version is typical of the Simpsons? 3. Who is Lenore? 4. What is the narrators response to the noise that he hears? 5. How does the narrators attitude to the bird change as the poem
progresses?
6. What does the narrator want from the bird? 7. How does the word nevermore make the narrator feel when he
based it on a very vivid dream she had had. Can you remember any particular dreams you could use as material for a piece of creative writing? Write down all you can remember of your dream, then make a rough plan for a piece of creative writing it could be used for e.g. a poem, a part of a short story, a film script.
2. Creative writing Write down in note form everything you
hears it constantly repeated? How do you react to its repetition??
1. Bart Simpson becomes quite frustrated when the narrator finds
nothing behind his chamber door. Anything would have been scarier than nothing, Bart argues. What do you think would have been the scariest discovery behind that door?
2. Why do you think that Poe has chosen a raven instead of another
3. Compare & contrast writing There are countless film
bird, such as a parrot (which was Poes original idea) or an eagle?

3. Bart is not at all frightened after he has listened to the poem. Lisa
adaptations of Stokers Dracula. Find two versions and write a compare and contrast critical review of both films.
4. Report writing A report can be of many different types. Here,
p. 233
Compare & contrast
suggests that this is because the poem is old, and people were more easily scared back then. If you agree with Lisa, what kind of important triggers of fear does this poem lack compared to a modern horror piece? If you dont agree with Lisa, why does this poem still send shivers down our spine (just like it did to Homer Simpson who couldnt sleep after he had heard the poem)?
4. What kind of message is Poe giving us about our human condition
follow three report writing ideas. Be sure to include in your report some source criticism (see blue pages 226) in which you objectively evaluate fact sources or survey sample groups. a) Do an investigation amongst students of their gothic tastes/ films or books recently seen/read, favorite gothic heroes (you could provide a list of alternatives) etc. Write a report on your findings, to be presented to the school Gothic Culture Committee. b) Do some research to find out about the physiology and psychology of fear. Write a report on your findings, to be presented to the school Health Committee who want to help students combat their different fears. You might include results of a survey of some kind that you yourself conduct.
when the Raven keeps repeating nevermore?
Compare the narrators in the Dracula excerpt and The Raven. How do they approach their problem? For example, look at how each speaker describes their physical surroundings, and how they react to the new visitors who arrive in their respective chambers. What do they have in common? How do they differ?
p. 238 report writing
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know about the Goth subculture, or some other sub-culture you are especially interested in. If you have time, you could research a few additional facts/details. Then use your notes to write a very short script to be read as part of an informative radio programme.
Speaking
1. Class debate Prepare a class debate where you argue for and
p. 246 Debate
against this motion: Be it resolved that the Twilight books are dangerous for young women to read. For your research, refer to the section about feminist criticism on p. 207209.
2. Formal dinner toast Write and deliver a dinner toast to be
p. 248 dinner Toast
given by Jonathan Harker thanking Count Dracula and his maidens for their hospitality and lovely evening at his castle.
Reading
1. QQC With a partner or a small group of 34 members, go back
p. 251 QQC
and re-read the essays on the Gothic and Victorian Sexuality. To prepare for your discussion, complete a QQC card for each text.
2. Source Criticism Take one or two sources you have used for
a further studies task (e.g. on Goths or Bauhaus) and make notes of your answers to some of the standard source criticism questions. Then ask yourself whether you would refer to this source in a serious essay, and if so, what reservations you might need to make in your writing.
Wherever You Go, There You Are

be y windows to l sides and m al on in e d us le wal my ho blown about my house to be e lands to be I do not want th l al y. of an es by ur f my feet t the cult stuffed. I wan to be blown of se hi fu re I ut B Mahatma Gand ssible. as freely as po
Who are you? said the Caterpillar I I hardly know, Sir, just at the present, Alice replied rather shyly, at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.
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Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland.
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A Fish Out of Water
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out it. What you are. Just think ab herever you go, there you escape in your suitcase when are you really packing sunscreen locale? In beside your to some exotic, faraway e hitching nt but invisible baggag rta po im is re the d, and your iPo ng your culthe world, you pack alo in go u yo re he yw An 5 a ride. to filter the world education. We use these d an fs lie be s, lue va e, tur nt always see our dual perspective. We do through our own indivi w they cause recognize them and ho to rt sta we if t bu , own filters ser to a world ns, we might come clo tio ua sit t en fer dif in ct us to rea unicate with each r understand and comm tte be n ca le op pe ere 10 wh other.

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need to ng new or foreign, we thi me so ter un co en When we derstand it. So ltural perspective to un cu n ow r ou gh ou thr filter it ed as the accepted ? Culture can be defin tly ac ex re, ltu cu is at wh s and shared comrns, values, assumption set of behavioral patte of people. a certain place or group to g lon be t tha es nc 5 mon experie in a society. many different elements of lay erp int the is Culture es, attitudes towards include social structur t gh mi nts me ele ese Th nder, language, reliquette, ideas about ge money, manners and eti ment. people and the environ een tw be ip sh on ati rel gion, and the cts everyone es our identities. It impa ap sh it d an , ed rn lea is 10 Culture ost any situation ct and respond to alm rea we w ho es nc lue inf and we find ourselves in. , and only lture is invisible to us cu n ow r ou ys, wa In some You might have are removed from it. we en wh nt ide ev s become ter to describe the like a fish out of wa ion ess pr ex the ard 15 he unfamiliar situation. meone feels in a new, uncomfortable way so who have this feeling. Like fish e us ca en oft n ca l ve Overseas tra lives, we dont familiar water all our e sam the in ng mi im been sw raised in until we out the culture we were ab ch mu too nk thi en oft en when w and different, or ev ly somewhere totally ne 20 are sudden m us. y new and different fro we meet someone totall first to coin the Oberg was one of the ro lve Ka t gis olo op thr An ter feeling many scribe the fish out of wa de to k oc sh re ltu cu m ter says this feeling is a foreign culture. Oberg travelers experience in r signs and en we lose the familia wh ed uc od pr ty xie an 25 a kind of , we learn these As children growing up . on cti era int l cia so of signals gestures, words and m of facial expressions, for the in es cu r ilia fam often changed, or culture, these cues are customs. But in a new basic things find it difficult to know t gh mi We t. sen ab y even totall nners, how to how to show good ma et, gre d an et me to w 30 like ho lying. w to tell if someone is buy things, or even ho through as they ges or phases people go Oberg identified five sta confront a new culture.
anthropologist scientist who studies human societies, customs and beliefs
n Period cule The Honeymoo e travelling to a foreign rt a new experience lik
Most people sta tions. The newcomer tlook and high expecta ou ive sit po a th wi e tur , sounds, smells and ed by all the new sights is excited and stimulat to the newulties they experience fic dif y an up alk ch tastes. They culture they ny similarities with the ma d fin d an ce pla the ness of for a short while, but d of euphoria can last rio pe is Th d. hin be t lef le. The letdown is inevitab it is difficult to sustain.
Hostility g r Irritation and wc nce frustration adaptin omer begins to experie
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ent t Gradual Adjustm stage two, they will gra manage to make it past
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If the newcomers ey work to es in the new culture. Th elv ms the t ien or to gin dually be es that they were erpret subtle cultural cu int d an e ag gu lan the learn s feeling of isolation grasp. The newcomer previously unable to rity increases. They se of comfort and familia decreases and their sen overwheland everything, but the rst de un to le ab be t no may still two has dissipated. ming negativity of stage
Bicultur alism u Adaptation or ne nfidently in both their wcomer can function co
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In this stage, the even finds that a w culture. The traveler ne the d an re ltu cu n ow things and attitudes ys of doing and saying great many customs, wa them. This up and take home with ck pa uld wo y the ng are somethi t in the languthe newcomer is fluen en wh , ion rat ltu cu ac 35 is called of the culture. age and the behaviors

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Gradually, the ne ilarities to differeneir focus shifts from sim to the new culture. Th magnified. differences are suddenly se the d an , res ltu cu ces between lture, and imagine ll idealize their own cu wi ers om wc ne the , Often nt at home. This complicated or unpleasa er ev s wa ng thi no t tha the new ection phase because metimes called the rej 15 phase is so ght decide to the differences and mi th wi pe co to le ab un comer is eaking their own spend a lot of time sp y ma rs he Ot . me ho n retur and keeping close rning the new language, lea n tha r he rat e, ag gu lan n forging own culture, rather tha ir the m fro me co o to people wh new culture. ships with people in the 20 new relation
This can be the they will slip easily . The returnees expect me ho n ur ret the k: oc sh d that a great deal culture, but instead fin back into their own d them to them. They might fin ge an str d an t en fer dif 5 seems very rs of their own subtle cues and behavio the rn lea reto g vin ha selves al towards their own feel negative and critic en ev uld co d an re, ltu cu ects of the new culght also favor some asp culture as well. They mi lture shock . Essentially, reverse cu ted ap ad d ha y the ich ture to wh s again in their go through all the phase e ne ur ret the t tha es 10 requir der to re-adapt. own home culture in or ck, and they the phases of culture sho all es nc rie pe ex e on Not every Sometimes, for cur in progressive order. oc s ay alw t no do nly certai ys of honeymoon may have alternating da er om wc ne a , ple am ex al adjust it to a phase of gradu tion and never make 15 and rejec adaptation or p ahead to complete jum y sil ea y ma me ment. So neymoon period. experienced a short ho ly on g vin ha , sm ali ur bicult very individual and newcomers progress is a t, no n tha en oft e or M never predictable. ere cultures amine several texts wh ex ll wi we , ter ap ch s In thi 20 at work as each fy the cultural filters nti ide n ca u yo if e Se meet. other than their own. counter with a culture writer negotiates an en re shock? How do the symptoms of cultu How do they cope with fish out of water? they react to being a
re Shock i Reverse Cultumo bing phase of culture st surprising and distur
R e a d & R e a ct
Wo r d s h o p
Neologisms
1. What is culture? Describe the term in your own words. 2. What does it mean to have culture shock? 3. Summarize Obergs five stages in your own words. Draw a chart
or a cartoon strip that illustrates his five stages. For the chart, the vertical axis should represent positive and negative emotion, and the horizontal axis should represent time. For the cartoon strip, make it funny!
The first iPods appeared on the market in October 2001. Can you remember when you first heard the word? Maybe it belongs to your earliest learnt vocabulary, but your parents certainly never heard it when they were growing up. So we can call iPod a neologism (etymology from Greek: neo = new + logos = word). Human beings have always loved creating and spreading new words and expressions. Here are some of Shakespeares: admirable, amazement, bedroom, coldblooded, eventful, fashionable, lonely, obscene, shudder. HOW new words are formed varies along with human ingenuity, but linguists have identified many different categories, e.g*:
Portmanteau words arise when you blend important parts of two (or more) words, combining their meanings, e.g. motel (motor + hotel), brunch (breakfast + lunch), metrosexual (metropolis + heterosexual), pixel (picture + element), bit (binary + digit), SMishing (SMS + phishing), chiconomic (chic + economic). Acronymization was hugely popular in the 1980s, e.g. DINKY, NIMBY, but is still going strong in the recent buzzwords NEET, SWMBO, WAG , TWOC , ASBO. Clipping is when you use just a small part of a word, clipping it out
1. Have you ever experienced culture shock? Did you go through
any, or even all of Obergs stages? How did you feel? What happened to you?
2. Is there anything in Obergs theory about culture shock that you
3. Do you think it is possible to avoid culture shock altogether?
How?
4. Oberg uses the metaphor a fish out of water to describe culture
shock. Can you think of any other suitable metaphors that might describe this phenomenon? Invent some of your own.
from the rest of the word, e.g. ad, pub, lab, intro, gents, exam, flu, photo, mike, pic, modem (combined portmanteau word and clipping, from modulator/demodulator), neo-con (compounding and clipping, neo + conservative).
Compounding takes two complete words and joins them into one, combining their meanings: homework, bloodstain, sunrise, handmade, Clingfilm, broadband, baseline. Borrowing is when a whole word from another language is used to fill
1. Mahatma Gandhi says that he refuses to be blown off his feet
by all the cultures he experiences. In light of what you have just read about culture shock, what do you think he means by this? How could he avoid it? How did you react to this quote when you read it?
2. Read the quote from Alice in Wonderland at the beginning of this
a lexical gap in the receiving language, e.g. ombudsman, tungsten, schadenfreude, zeitgeist, gestalt, wiki, sushi.
Conversion (a. k. a. zero-derivation) one of the most productive types
chapter. What does Alice mean when she tells the caterpillar she hardly knows herself? How can you apply this to Obergs theories about culture shock?
3. When you began high school, did you experience any form of
culture shock? What phases can you identify? Is it possible to apply Obergs definitions not only to overseas travel but also to situations where people from two different cultures meet and interact anywhere? Are there any factors that might be different?
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over the centuries. You take an already known word and use it unchanged in a new word class. Take e.g. the verb imagine. We usually make a noun of it by adding the suffix -ation, but by conversion we could create a new noun an imagine. Actual examples: to leg it (to walk) from the noun leg; a look from the verb look; to leverage (a recent buzzword) from the noun leverage.
Euphemization see p 139.
* Meanings can be found in the answer key.

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doubt or find questionable? Why?
Focus on Music:
1. What type of neologisms (some new, some older) are the
following, and what do they mean?

chocoholic, spaghetti, travelogue, PIN, sitcom, edutainment, FAQ, smorgasbord, laptop, staycation, ROM, funemployed, glocalisation
2. Write a short text using as many as possible of the neologisms
An Englishman in New York

By Sting
Wherever you travel next, you might, like the speaker in this song, feel like a stranger in a strange land. Listen to the song and read along with the lyrics.
in the wordshop. What is the effect?

3. Here are some neologisms being used to describe a current
phenomenon in western societies today. Do you recognize the phenomenon? Does it have a name in your own language?
overparenting, helicopter parents, ber-parents, smother-love
4. Making up daffynitions is a game on the BBC Radio 4 comedy
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I dont drink coffee I take tea my dear I like my toast done on one side And you can hear it in my accent when I talk Im an Englishman in New York See me walking down Fifth Avenue walking cane here at my side I take it everywhere I walk Im an Englishman in New York Im an alien Im a legal alien Im an Englishman in New York Im an alien Im a legal alien Im an Englishman in New York If, Manners maketh man as someone said Then hes the hero of the day It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile Be yourself no matter what they say Im an alien Im a legal alien Im an Englishman in New York Im an alien Im a legal alien Im an Englishman in New York Modesty, propriety can lead to notoriety You could end up as the only one Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this society At night a candles brighter than the sun
quiz show Im Sorry I Havent a Clue. It involves using an existing word with a new meaning based on the way it sounds. Say the following examples aloud with a friend, then write them out to show where the new meaning comes from. E.g. antelope to run off with your mothers sister (answer: ELOPE with your AUNT).
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a) bouncer instructions for someone meeting a dignitary b) defer what a rich lady does when she gets too hot c) dilate live long d) fortunate had an expensive meal e) gestation sorry, no European food here f) impolite a flaming elf g) information how geese fly h) isolate me not on time i) legend a foot j) manager teenage daughter k) protein in favor of youth l) relief what trees do in Spring m) misunderstanding intelligent young lady n) testicle an exploratory tickle o) boomerang what you say to frighten a meringue p) pasteurize too far to see q) urine its your turn to bat
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What is the connection between the apple and the bowler hat you see in this image? What is Magritte implying about this connection?
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Takes more than combat gear to make a man Takes more than a license for a gun Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can A gentleman will walk but never run If, Manners maketh man as someone said Then hes the hero of the day It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile Be yourself no matter what they say Im an alien Im a legal alien Im an Englishman in New York Im an alien Im a legal alien Im an Englishman in New York
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R e a d & R e act
1. What are you if you are a legal alien? 2. According to the speaker, what expectations are there of a
man in society?
3. How would you describe the tone of this song? What kind of
attitude does the speaker have towards the world around him?
4. What does the expression manners maketh man mean? Why
then is he the hero of the day?
1. What do you think of this speaker? Is he someone you would
like to know? Why or why not?

2. How do you interpret the line at night a candles brighter than
the sun in relation to the song?

3. What references are made to American culture in this song?
Would you say these references are positive or negative? What sort of relationship exists between the British and the Americans, as seen in this song?
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Eat, Pray, Love

By Elizabeth Gilbert
At 34, Elizabeth Gilberts life was a smoldering mess. A painful divorce, a catastrophic rebound romance and a bout of depression left her in search of some answers to lifes biggest questions. She decided to embark on a year of solitary travel to Italy, India and Indonesia. She tells us that I wanted to explore the art of pleasure in Italy, the art of devotion in India and, in Indonesia, the art of balancing the two. In this excerpt, we find her in Rome, experiencing the art of pleasure and wondering just how she compares with the slick, well-dressed Romans she sees around her.
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probably cost as much). She was walking her little fancy dog on a gem-studded leash, and the fur collar on her tight jacket looked as if it had been made out of the pelt of her former little fancy dog. She was exuding an unbelievably glamorous air of You will look at me, but I will refuse to look at you. It was hard to imagine she had ever, even for ten minutes of her life, not worn mascara. This woman was in every way the opposite of me, who dresses in a style my sister refers to as Stevie Nicks Goes to Yoga Class in Her Pajamas. I pointed that woman out to Giulio, and I said, See, Giulio, that is a Roman woman. Rome cannot be her city and my city, too. Only one of us really belongs here. And I think we both know which one.
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step off the train a few days later to a Rome full of hot, sunny, eternal disorder, where immediately upon walking out into the street I can hear the soccer-stadium-like cheers of a nearby manifestazione, another labor demonstration. What they are striking about this time, my taxi driver cannot tell me, mainly because, it seems, he doesnt care. Sti cazzi, he says about the strikers. (Literal translation: These balls, or, as we might say: I dont give a shit.) Its nice to be back. After the staid sobriety of Venice, its nice to be back where I can see a man in a leopard-skin jacket walking past a pair of teenagers making out right in the middle of the street. The city is so awake and alive, so dolled-up and sexy in the sunshine. I remember something that my friend Marias husband, Giulio, said to me once. We were sitting in an outdoor cafe, having our conversation practice, and he asked me what I thought of Rome. I told him I really loved the place, of course, but somehow knew it was not my city, not where Id end up living for the rest of my life. There was something about Rome that didnt belong to me, and I couldnt quite figure out what it was. Just as we were talking, a helpful visual aid walked by. It was the quintessential Roman woman: a fantastically maintained, jewelry-sodden fortysomething dame wearing four-inch heels, a tight skirt with a slit as long as your arm, and those sunglasses that look like race cars (and
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Giulio said, Maybe you and Rome just have different words. What do you mean? He said, Dont you know that the secret to understanding a city and its people is to learn what is the word of the street? Then he went on to explain, in a mixture of English, Italian and hand gestures, that every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there. If you could read peoples thoughts as they were passing you on the streets of any given place, you would discover that most of them are thinking the same thought. Whatever that majority thought might be that is the word of the city. And if your personal word does not match the word of the city, then you dont really belong there. Whats Romes word? I asked. SEX, he announced. But isnt that a stereotype about Rome? No. But surely there are some people in Rome thinking about other things than sex? Giulio insisted: No. All of them, all day, all they are thinking about is SEX. Even over at the Vatican? Thats different. The Vatican isnt part of Rome. They have a different word over there. Their word is POWER. Youd think it would be FAITH. Its POWER, he repeated. Trust me. But the word in Rome its SEX. Now if you are to believe Giulio, that little word SEX cobbles the streets beneath your feet in Rome, runs through the fountains here, fills the air like traffic noise. Thinking about it, dressing for it, seeking it, considering it, refusing it, making a sport and game out of it thats all anybody is doing. Which would make a bit of sense as to why, for all its gorgeousness. Rome doesnt quite feel like my hometown. Not at this moment in my life. Because SEX isnt my word right now. It has been at other times of my life, but it isnt right now. Therefore, Romes word, as it spins through the streets, just bumps up against me and tumbles off, leaving no impact. Im not participating in the
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word, so Im not fully living here. Its a kooky theory. Impossible to prove, but I sort of like it. Giulio asked, Whats the word in New York City? I thought about this for a moment then decided. Its a verb, of course. I think its ACHIEVE. (Which is subtly but significantly different from the word in Los Angeles, I believe, which is also a verb: SUCCEED. Later, I will share this whole theory with my Swedish friend Sofie, and she will offer her opinion that the word on the streets of Stockholm is CONFORM, which depresses both of us.) I asked Giulio, Whats the word in Naples? He knows the south of Italy well. FIGHT, he decides. What was the word in your family when you were growing up? That one was difficult. I was trying to think of a single word that somehow combines both FRUGAL and IRREVERENT. But Giulio was already on to the next and most obvious question: Whats your word? Now that, I definitely could not answer. And still, after a few weeks of thinking about it, I cant answer it any better now. I know some words that it definitely isnt. Its not MARRIAGE, thats evident. Its not FAMILY (though this was the word of the town Id lived in for a few years with my husband, and since I did not fit with that word, this was a big cause of my suffering). Its not DEPRESSION anymore, thank heavens. Im not concerned that I share Stockholms word of CONFORM. But I dont feel that Im entirely inhabiting New York Citys ACHIEVE anymore, either, though that had indeed been my word all throughout my twenties. My word might be SEEK. (Then again, lets be honest, it might just as easily be HIDE.) Over the last months in Italy, my word has largely been PLEASURE, but that word doesnt match every single part of me, or I wouldnt be so eager to get myself to India. My word might be DEVOTION, though this makes me sound like more of a goodygoody than I am and doesnt take into account how much wine Ive been drinking. I dont know the answer, and I suppose thats what this year of journeying is about. Finding my word. But one thing I can say with all assurance it aint SEX. Or so I claim, anyhow. You tell
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by POWER rather than FAITH?

2. Do you agree with the suggestion that Stockholms (or perhaps
all of Swedens) trademark is CONFORM? Why or why not?

3. After Gilbert spends a lot of money on lingerie, she compares
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it to her experience earlier at the football match, when a spectator shouts Per chi?? or For WHOM are you passing the ball? What is the comparison here? Have you ever raised a similar question about your own behavior?
4. Some could accuse this text of enforcing cultural stereotypes.
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Do you agree? Do you think this text could offend, say, a Roman, or a Stockholmer for that matter?
5. In keeping with this texts idea that a single word can be used
to sum up a place, what word would you choose to identify your hometown? Explain why.
6. What single word would you use to describe yourself? Write a short explanation of why this word defines you.
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Using Gilberts technique of finding one word to sum up a single culture, look back to Kalvero Obergs 5 stages of culture shock at the beginning of this chapter. Can you think up one word to describe each of the five stages?
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me, then, why today my feet led me almost of their own accord to a discreet boutique off the Via Condotti, where under the expert tutelage of the silky young Italian shop girl I spent a few dreamy hours (and a transcontinental airline tickets worth of money) buying enough lingerie to keep a sultans consort outfitted for 1,001 nights. I bought bras of every shape and formation. I bought filmy, flimsy camisoles and sassy bits of panty in every color of the Easter basket, and slips that came in creamy satins and hush-now-baby silks, and handmade little bits of string and things and basically just one velvety, lacy, crazy valentine after another. I have never owned things like this in my life. So why now? As I was walking out of the store, hiding my cache of tissue-wrapped naughties under my arm, I suddenly thought of the anguished demand Id heard a Roman soccer fan yell the other night at the Lazio game, when Lazios star player Albertini at a critical moment had passed the ball right into the middle of nowhere, for no reason whatsoever, totally blowing the play. Per chi??? the fan had shouted in near madness. Per chi??? For WHOM? For whom are you passing this ball, Albertini? Nobodys there! Out on the street after my delirious hours of lingerie shopping, I remembered this line and repeated it to myself in a whisper: Per chi? For whom, Liz? For whom all this decadent sexiness? Nobodys there. I had only a few weeks left in Italy and absolutely no intention of knocking boots with anyone. Or did I? Had I finally been affected by the word on the streets in Rome? Was this some final effort to become Italian? Was this a gift to myself, or was it a gift for some as yet not even imagined lover? Was this an attempt to start healing my libido after the sexual self-confidence disaster of my last relationship? I asked myself, You gonna bring all this stuff to India?
R e a d & R e act
1. Why does the author have such a positive impression of Rome
in the beginning of the text?

2. According to the author, what are the characteristics of a Roman woman? 3. How does the author describe herself? 4. Why is the author so hesitant about finding a word that can fit her? 5. List the different words used to describe the various places discussed in this passage. Identify their parts of speech. Do you think its significant that some are nouns, but others verbs? Could any be adjectives?
1. Why does Giulio think that the Vatican should be characterized
Wo r d s h o p
ships
Focus on Listening:
1. Elizabeth Gilbert writes: the sexual self-confidence disaster of
my last relationship. Note the use of the suffix ship. What change in meaning does it bring to the root word, e.g. as in partner/ship?
2. Write a sentence in which you use both friend and friendship. 3. Now write three more sentences, similarly using some of these
My Cleaner
By Maggie Gee
Mary Tendo was once the housekeeper and caregiver for the Henman family, but left her job to go back to her native Uganda. Now, Vanessa Henman, a middle-aged, middle-class London professor, has a problem. Her 22-year-old son, Justin, is too depressed to get out of bed. Justin says the only person who can cheer him up is Mary. The book explores the clash of cultures and classes that occurs when Mary comes to work for the Henmans again. In this excerpt, Mary tells us what she thinks of her life as a cleaner in England, and compares it to the life she once knew in Uganda.
words.
champion, censor, dealer, dictator, leader, member, musician, premier, sponsor, owner
4. Relation/ship is different from the other ships above.
a) All my friends and are coming to the party. b) Ann and John have a very loving c) Did he and his boss have sexual ? d) I was hoping for a more intimate e) Ive had enough of Im perfectly happy living a single life. f) In to your inquiry, we can make the following offer. g) Labour were under strain during the economic recession. h) Let us focus on the role of the USA in global trade i) The between obesity and diabetes has been well researched. j) There is a mathematical k) This weather bears no to anything we experienced in Africa. l) We have excellent working business with this company. m) What exactly is your with Gerry? n) You need to demonstrate the clear between cause and effect.
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Relation = 1) a person you are genetically related to, and 2) a connection between two or more people or things, organizations, countries etc., e.g. international relations, customer relations, the relation between input and output. Now, choose relation or relationship to fill in the following gaps.
Focus on Listening:
1. Why was Marys African family considered rich? 2. Why, according to Mary, is the city dirtier than the country? 3. What observations does she make about English people?
Touch the Dragon

By Karen Connelly
A native of Calgary, Canada, Karen Connelly was 17 when she left to

live for a year in Denchai, a small village in northern Thailand. Her memoir Touch the Dragon was the result of this journey. As you listen to her diary about her arrival in Thailand, try to get a feeling for the cultural filters that she applies and take note of any symptoms of culture shock she seems to experience. To aid your understanding as you listen, prepare by looking through the word list on p. 259.
1. Do you agree that the cleaning profession carries a social stigma?
If your answer is yes, where do you think this stigma comes from? What would it take to remove this stigma and give the profession more respect?
2. The word caretaker is often used to replace the word cleaner.
What kind of an effect do you think such euphemisms have (see p. 139 on euphemisms)?
3. Not everyone enjoys cleaning, but some people find pleasure in
4. Cleaners are some of the most invisible workers in our society.
They often have to organize their work so that they are not in the way of others. If you, nonetheless, happen to meet a cleaner, how do you interact with them? Do you feel that we have a moral obligation to recognize them? Why or why not?
5. Mary refers to an army of foreigners she has worked with.
What kinds of attitudes does she exhibit about them? She states I myself am not prejudiced. Do you agree with her selfassessment? Why or why not?
6. Can you find any evidence in this text that Mary has encountered
culture shock? What, for Mary, is most shocking about life in England?
1. Both this text and the extract from Eat, Pray, Love are narrated by middle-aged women. Compare their narratives. How do they describe different cultures and ethnic groups? Do you consider one narrator to be more reliable than the other? Why or why not? What evidence can you find to support your assertion? 2. Refer to Kalvero Obergs five stages of culture shock, and see what evidence you can find in this text to suggest that Mary is experiencing one, or even more, of these stages. 104

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it. What is your own opinion about cleaning and the household tasks you perform?
1. What advice would you give Karen Conelly as she begins to
experience her culture shock?

2. Why does Connelly feel she should have glided into this
journey on a boat?
3. How does she feel as she flies to Thailand? Describe her state
being described. It is compared to something else: the vehicle. The ground provides the basis for the comparison between the two objects. In the example metaphor she was a stone, the female is the tenor (the thing compared), the stone is the vehicle (the thing being compared to) and the ground is that both the female and the stone are hard, unmoving and cold.
simile
of mind.
4. What is the first Thai word she learns? How is this made into a
Direct comparison using like or as. Ex. Shes as sweet as honey.
joke later on?
metaphor Implied or stated comparison. Does not use like or
as. Consists of a tenor (object being described),

vehicle (object to compare it to) and ground (basis for comparison). Ex. The foot of a mountain
tenor vehicle ground
1. Where do you think Connellys culture shock begins in the
narration?
2. What factors contribute to her culture shock?
lowest part of a mountain
feet provide a stable base to hold a person upright, a mountain similarly stands on a stable base.
Compare the voices of Karen Connolly and Mary Tendo as they experience culture shock. What differences can you see in their tone and how they perceive the world around them?
1. Try using some of the following objects as vehicles, using them

Wo r d s h o p
Metaphor and simile
to create similes or metaphors for something you want to describe (a tenor).

a tornado, a cockroach, an ice cube, a cornered rat, a bag of nails, silk underwear, a ray of sunshine, a truckload of gravel, a broken violin string, a burst condom
2. Have you ever experienced anything as thrilling as a fairground
Metaphor and simile are two of the most common poetic devices. Both are intended to draw comparisons between two otherwise unconnected objects or ideas. Metaphors and similes are used to try to describe the indescribable and to surprise, interest and engage the reader. A simile is a figure of speech that involves a direct comparison between two objects or ideas using like or as. One of the most famous similes is Robert Burnss My love is like a red, red rose. A metaphor is an implied or stated comparison which does not use like or as. Instead the objects are directly identified with each other. An example of an implied metaphor is her stony silence filled the room, and a stated metaphor is, she was a stone. A metaphor consists of two main parts: the tenor and the vehicle. These are linked by a third part: the ground. The tenor is the basic object
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ride? As boring as reading a telephone directory? As beautiful as the first flower of spring? a) Select one thrilling, one boring and one beautiful experience of your own. For each, find an appropriate simile using as or like. b) Try developing them into metaphors, for example: Our first football final was like a roller coaster (simile)/the roller coaster of our first football final (metaphor). c) Now find as many new metaphors as you can which can liven up the descriptions of your three chosen experiences.

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foot
Im a Stranger Here Myself

By Bill Bryson
Its never easy to come home again, especially after a long time overseas. Bill Bryson returns to his native soil, the USA, after twenty years of life in England. In his book, Im a Stranger Here Myself, he tells us that Its disconcerting to find yourself so simultaneously in your element as out of it. If Kalvero Oberg read the following text, he might diagnose Bill Bryson with a case of reverse culture shock. What do you think?
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TV. Now Open University, I should perhaps explain, is a wonderful, wholly commendable institution the British set up some years ago to provide the chance of a college education to anyone who wants it. Coursework is done partly at home, partly on campuses, and partly through lectures broadcast on television, mostly at odd hours like very early on a Sunday morning or late at night when normal programming has finished. The television lectures, which nearly all appear to have been filmed in the early 1970s, typically involve a geeky-looking academic with lively hair and a curiously misguided dress sense (even by the accommodating standards of that hallucinogenic age) standing before a blackboard, with perhaps a large plastic model of a molecule on a table in front of him, saying something totally incomprehensible like: However, according to Mersaults theorem, if we apply a small positive charge to the neutrino, the two free isotopes will be thrown into a reverse gradient orbit, while the captive positive becomes a negative positron, and vice versa, as we can see in this formula. And then he scribbles one of those complex, meaningless blackboard formulas of the sort that used to feature regularly in New Yorker cartoons. The reason that Open University lectures
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o you know what I really miss about Britain now that I live in America? I miss coming in from the pub about midnight in a blurry frame of mind and watching Open University on
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traditionally are so popular with post-pub crowds is not because they are interesting, which patently they are not, but because for a long time they were the only thing on British TV after midnight. If I were to come in about midnight now, mostly what I would find on the TV would be Peter Graves standing in a trenchcoat talking about unsolved mysteries, the Weather Channel, the fourth hour of an I Love Lucy extravaganza, at least three channels showing old M. A. S. H. episodes, and a small selection of movies on the premium movie channels mainly involving nubile actresses disporting in the altogether. All of which is diverting enough in its way, I grant you, but it doesnt begin to compare with the hypnotic fascination of Open University after six pints of beer. I am quite serious about this. Im not at all sure why, but I always found it strangely compelling to turn on the TV late at night and find a guy who looked as if he had bought all the clothes he would ever need during one shopping trip in 1973 (so that, presumably, he would be free to spend the rest of his waking hours around oscilloscopes) saying in an oddly characterless voice, And so we can see, adding two fixed-end solutions gives us another fixed-end solution. Most of the time, I had no idea what these people were talking about that was a big part of what made it so compelling somehow but very occasionally the topic was something I could actually follow and enjoy. Im thinking of an unexpectedly diverting
lecture I chanced upon some years ago for people working toward a degree in marketing. The lecture compared the selling of proprietary healthcare products in Britain and the United States. The gist of the program was that the same product had to be 5 sold in entirely different ways in the two markets. An advertisement in Britain for a cold relief capsule, for instance, would promise no more than that it might make you feel a little better. You would still have a red nose and be in your pajamas, but you would be smiling again, if wanly. A commercial for the selfsame product 10 in America, however, would guarantee total, instantaneous relief. A person on the American side of the Atlantic who took this miracle compound would not only throw off his pjs and get back to work at once, he would feel better than he had for years and finish the day having the time of his life at a bowling alley. 15 The drift of all this was that the British dont expect over-thecounter drugs to change their lives, whereas we Americans will settle for nothing less. The passing of the years has not, it appears, dulled the notion. You have only to watch any television channel for a few minutes, flip through a magazine, or stroll along the 20 groaning shelves of any drugstore to realize that people in this Advertising country expect to feel more or less perfect all the time. Even our is the art of convinc household shampoo, I notice, promises to change the way ing people to spend you feel. It is an odd thing about us. We expend huge efforts money they dont have exhorting ourselves to Say No to Drugs, then go to the for something they dont need. 25 drugstore and buy them by the armloads. Almost $75 billion Will Rogers is spent each year in the United States on medicines of all types, and pharmaceutical products are marketed with a vehemence and forthrightness that can take a little getting used to. In one commercial running on television at the moment, a 30 pleasant-looking middle-aged lady turns to the camera and says in a candid tone: When I get diarrhea I like a little comfort (to which I always say: Why wait for diarrhea?). In another, a man at a bowling alley (men are pretty generally at bowling alleys in these things) grimaces after a poor shot and mutters to his partner, 35 Its these hemorrhoids again. And heres the thing. The buddy has some hemorrhoid cream in his pocket! Not in his gym bag, you understand, not in the glove compartment of his car, but in his shirt pocket, where he can whip it out at a moments notice and call the gang around. Extraordinary. 110
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to allow people to ) was founded in 1969 The Open University (OU had school-level el whether or not they lev ty rsi ive un at dy stu dy with full-time dents combine OU stu qualifications. Many stu refore designed for ching methods are the tea s OU the d an rk, wo t the television flexible study times. Bu distance learning and ded in 20 06. n so much enjoyed en broadcasts which Br yso

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But the really amazing change that occurred while I was away is that now even prescription drugs are advertised. I have before me a popular magazine called Health that is chock full of ads with bold headlines saying things like, Why take two tablets when you can take one? Prempro is the only prescription tablet that combines Premarin and a progestin in one tablet. Another more intriguingly asks, Have you ever treated a vaginal yeast infection in the middle of nowhere? (Not knowingly!) A third goes straight to the economic heart of the matter and declares, The doctor told me Id probably be taking blood pressure pills for the rest of my life. The good news is how much I might save since he switched me to Adalat CC (nifedipine) from Procardia XL (nifedipine). The idea is that you read the advertisement, then badger your healthcare professional to prescribe it for you. It seems a curious concept to me, the idea of magazine readers deciding what medications are best for them, but then Americans appear to know a great deal about drugs. Nearly all the advertisements assume an impressively high level of biochemical familiarity. The vaginal yeast ad confidently assures the reader that Diflucan is comparable to seven days of Monistat. 7, Gyne-Lotrimin, or Mycelex-7, while the ad for Prempro promises that it is as effective as taking Premarin and a progestin separately. When you realize that these are meaningful statements for thousands and thousands of people, the idea of your bowling buddy carrying a tube of hemorrhoid unguent in his shirt pocket perhaps doesnt seem quite so ridiculous. I dont know whether this national obsession with health is actually worth it. What I do know is that there is a much more agreeable way to achieve perfect inner harmony. Drink six pints of beer and watch Open University for ninety minutes before retiring. It has never failed me.
R e a d & R e a ct
1. Why does the author find the Open University so compelling? 2. What is the link between the Open University and Brysons
Writing
1. Creative writing Imagine a character who is about to travel
observations about British and American attitudes towards pharmaceuticals and healthcare products?
3. What, for Bryson, is the most significant difference between
British and American attitudes about pharmaceuticals and healthcare products?

4. What does Bryson find ironic about Americas Say No to
Drugs campaign?
5. What, according to Bryson, is the greatest change that has
abroad. Choose the country (or the destination it does not necessarily have to be another country, it could be outer space!). Write a paragraph to introduce the character and the reasons they are about to travel. This character will take a diary with them when they travel. It is up to you to write five diary entries for your character.
2. Report writing Write some parts of a brief academic report
occurred in the medical field since he returned to live in America?
1. Why do you think there is such a difference in attitude towards
pharmaceuticals and healthcare products between the two countries?

2. Do ads for healthcare and personal care products have any
influence on you? Do they ever make you question your appearance, or your health?
3. Which society would you prefer to live in, based on what you
have read in this article? Britain or America? Why?

4. In North America, pharmacies sell products like candy, chips
3. Critical review In this chapter you have read or listened to
and soda pop. Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not?
various creative or artistic pieces, e.g. Eat, Pray, Love, Touch the Dragon, Im a Stranger Here Myself, My Cleaner, An Englishman in New York. Pick one of them, and write a short critical review.
4. Abstract Write a single short paragraph abstract of the text A
Have you ever, like Bryson, experienced reverse culture shock? What was it like? Write down some of your observations.
Fish out of Water. Your text should help an unknown person to decide whether or not it would be useful for them to read the full text, for a piece of their own research.
p. 235 Abstract
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on the use of pharmaceutical and/or hygiene products. You can use information from Bill Brysons text. One of your other sources could be a mini-survey your conduct of the students in your school. Ask them about their use of pharmaceutical and/or hygiene products, or about their reactions to certain advertisements for such products. Write a brief draft text for two to three of these sections of your report: Introduction/background, Methodology, Findings/results, Conclusions, Recommendations. In addition, be sure to include some source criticism (see p. 226) in which you objectively evaluate fact sources or survey sample groups.
Speaking
1. Marketing/Debate Prepare and deliver a speech for/against one
p. 245246 Marketing/Debate
of the following statements, or hold a class debate: Exposure to culture shock is necessary for becoming an interesting person; Culture shock, like electrical shock, can be avoided with the right insulation; Swedish 18-year-olds can be required to die for their country, but are not permitted to buy a bottle of wine to take home. This is perfectly reasonable, and a valued aspect of Swedish culture.
2. Marketing Individually or in pairs/small groups, prepare a
Mind Your Manners

t themselves. They ay think of nothing bu The young people of tod impatient of all ts or old age. They are ren pa for nce ere rev have no g and what passes y alone knew everythin the if as k tal ey Th . restraint As for girls, they are foolishness with them. for wisdom with us is viour and dress. manly in speech, beha wo un d an st de mo im forward, ly as 400 B.C.
This is supposedly wh at Socrates said as ear
p. 245 Marketing
longer oral presentation where you encourage Swedes who have moved overseas to the U.S.A. to move home again. Make good use of visual and audio aids, and follow the rules of an oral presentation (see Speakers Corner p. 243244)
3. Impromptu Speech Give a one-minute speech about whether or
not Swedens word is CONFORM.

The English developed manners to protect themselves from themselves
Reading
1. KWL strategy Prepare to read about the following literary
p. 250 KWL strategy
Jeremy Paxman
movements in the next chapters by applying the KWL strategy. Modernism (p. 156), Postmodernism (p. 171), Postcolonialism (p. 189) and Feminism (p. 207).
2. Skimming Browse ahead in Blueprint C until you find the
p. 250 Skimming
section that deals with Postcolonialism. Skim through that text to see if it could give you some help in further understanding the excerpt from My Cleaner.
3. QQC Read the Bryson text again, and apply the Quote,
p. 251 QQC
Question, Comment/Connection strategy to discuss it with a small group.
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Mind Your Manners

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Generation Me
By Jean Twenge
American author Jean Twenge says that todays youth are more confident, assertive, entitled and more miserable than ever before. Generation Me, she says, includes anyone born in the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s. Twenge tells us that todays young people take it for granted that the self comes first, and uses her book to examine the ramifications of this widespread narcissism. In this excerpt, she takes up the question of manners and etiquette, and wonders just how kids today stack up when it comes to minding their Ps and Qs.
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Part i
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Labor Day a public holiday first Monday in September
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Mind Your Manners

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ot caring what others think may also explain the decline in manners and politeness. Because we no longer believe that there is one right way of doing things, most of us were never taught the rules of etiquette. Although its fine to wear white shoes after Labor Day and use whatever fork you want, most etiquette was developed to provide something often lacking in modern life: respect for other peoples comfort. Society has gotten increasingly callous and me-centered, and were fed up with [the results], says Corinne Gregory, founder of a class called the PoliteChild. Diane Diehl, who runs a similar class, agrees. Kids are being encouraged by pop culture to be disrespectful and self-destructive, and their parents are frightened and looking for help. A high school teacher told me that she noticed her students dont clean up nice they find it difficult to not swear and to speak more formally when necessary. They talk to older people and authority figures the same way they talk to their friends. A business book relates the story of a company founder who visited one of his shops and asked a young employee how she was doing. Well, a little hungover this morning, but okay, she replied. Basic consideration for others seems to be on the wane as well. I am continually amazed at how many people drive down the street blasting music from their car stereos, often with their windows
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rolled all the way down. Some drivers soup up their car engines so they will make even more noise. Others will carry on loud conversations in hotel hallways at all hours of the day and night, or will allow the room door to swing open and then slam shut so loudly that the walls shake. In both of these situations, the perpetrators seem not to realize or care that their actions are disturbing dozens and sometimes hundreds of other people. It goes beyond manners people today are less likely to follow all kinds of social rules. Business professor John Trinkaus finds that fewer people now slow down in a school zone, and fewer observe the item limit in a supermarket express lane. More people cut across parking lots to bypass stoplights. In 1979, 29% of people failed to stop at a particular stop sign in a New York suburb, but by 1996 a stunning 97% of drivers did not stop at all. In Trinkauss most ironic finding, the number of people who paid the suggested fee for lighting a candle at a Catholic church decreased from 92% to 28% between the late 1990s and the early 2000s. In
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other words, 72% of people cheated the church out of money in the most recent observation. Cheating in school has also increased. In 2002, 74% admitted to cheating, up from 61% in 1992. In 1969 only 34% of high school students admitted to cheating, less than half of the 2002 number. This continues into college; a 2002 survey found that 80% of students at Texas A&M University admitted to cheating. Technology has facilitated this dishonesty, with students passing answers through camera cell phones and downloading papers on the Internet. Other times all it takes is good old-fashioned money: one of the heirs to the Walmart fortune allegedly paid her college roommate more than $20,000 dollars to write papers for her.
Part II In this second excerpt, Jean Twenge tries to find some antidotes to the
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poisonous narcissism she sees in Generation Me.
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he first change we must make is to abandon our obsession with self-esteem. Instead of creating well-adjusted, happy children, the self-esteem movement has created an army of little narcissists. Schools should eliminate self-esteem programs. It does not do any good for a child to hear that he or she is special or to win a trophy for just participating. Decades of research have shown that high self-esteem does not cause good grades or good behavior. So the programs are not doing any good. Whats more, they may actually be harming some kids by making them too self-centered. Praise based on nothing teaches only an inflated ego. The purpose of school is for children to learn, not for them to feel good about themselves all the time. Another facet of this movement says that teachers should not correct childrens mistakes, lest this hurt their self-esteem. This is extremely misguided: children learn by having their mistakes corrected, and their self-esteem is hurt when they later find out that theyve been doing something wrong for years and arent prepared. We are in danger of producing individuals who are expert at knowing how they feel rather than educated individuals who know how to think, writes education professor Maureen Stout.
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Children will feel good about themselves and rightly so when they develop real skills and learn something. Children also need to learn how to deal with criticism, in preparation for the inevitable day when it is not delivered as gently as you or they would like. We are doing young people an enormous disservice by sending them into an increasingly competitive world thinking they will be praised for substandard work. It is too late to change this for adult GenMeers, who are now struggling to succeed in college and the working world after having their self-esteem boosted throughout their childhoods. But schools can still make these changes for younger members of GenMe and for future generations. Parenting magazines should stop insisting that a parents most important duty is to raise a child who likes herself. As any parent of a two-year-old can tell you, most kids like themselves just fine and make the demands to prove it. Even as children grow older, most are confident and self-assured. Its true that a small percentage of kids might need extra encouragement, but a much larger percentage will believe you if you say they are the best kids in the world. Children do not need to be sheltered from failure. We do not need to completely shield our children from pain, discomfort, and unhappiness, advises the sane book The Overscheduled Child. When life undoes all that work, as real life invariably must, our carefully shielded children may not have developed the tools they need to cope with adversity. If children are always praised, and always get what they want, they may find it difficult to overcome challenges as adults. The risk of over indulgence is self-centeredness and self-absorption, and thats a mental health risk, says psychologist William Damon.
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Part II 5. What has been your own experience of praise? Is there too
Part I 1. What is the purpose of etiquette, according to the author? Do
much of it in the school system?

6. Do you agree or disagree with Twenges assessment of
you agree with this assertion?

2. In the first paragraph of the article, a high school teacher
complains that kids dont clean up nice. What does this mean? What would the teacher like to see instead?
3. The text lists several examples where people show a lack of
narcissism in your generation? Can you find examples to confirm her hypothesis? Can you find examples to refute her hypothesis?
basic consideration for others. List four examples, then add two of your own.
Part II 4. What does the author say will happen if we praise a child too
1. Do you agree with the statement that Kids are being
much?
5. According to the author, why is it important to correct
encouraged by pop culture to be disrespectful and selfdestructive? Find examples in film, television, music or on the Internet to support your arguments.
2. What is your opinion of a show like American Idol or any
childrens mistakes?
6. Why do parenting magazines say that it is a parents duty to
other TV talent show contests? Are they good examples of how the recommendations in this text should be performed?
3. When Twenge discusses child-rearing, she points out a
raise a child who likes herself? What does the author think about this?
Part I 1. The text says that most of us were never taught the rules of
difference between the responsibilities held by the childs parents and the childs school. Make a list of what ethical/ behavioral patterns you think a child should learn at home and at school respectively. Then compare your list with the way Twenge sees things. Do you think her views are different from yours? If so, why?
2. Why do you think 72% of the people visiting a Catholic
Further Studies
Church refused to pay a suggested fee to light a candle?

3. Why do you think cheating among students has increased so
dramatically over the past two decades? Have you witnessed it yourself? What is your own opinion about cheating and plagiarism?
4. The author relies heavily on statistics to underscore her point
about a collective decline in manners and civility. But as Aaron Levenstein warns, statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital. In reading this text, do you find the statistics to be reasonable supports for the authors points, or are you suspicious of them? Why?
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In Socrates quote (p. 115), he maintains that young people have never been worse. He said this 2,400 years ago, which suggests that older generations have always complained about kids these days. Conduct some of your own research about conflict between the generations. Ask your teachers, your parents, and your grandparents what they think of todays youth. What do they admire? What do they criticize? How have young people changed since they were young?
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etiquette. Is this true for you? Did your parents try to teach you any manners as a child? What did they focus on?
Focus on Music:
Help Save the Youth of America

By Billy Bragg
monkey trial legal case which was the turning point in the American creation-evolution controversy man in the mask The Lone Ranger from a western of the 50s and 60s who gallops about righting injustices with the aid of his clever Native American sidekick Tonto
Help save the youth of America Help save them from themselves Help save the sun-tanned surfer boys And the Californian girls
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When the lights go out in the rest of the World What do our cousins say Theyre playing in the sun and having fun, fun, fun Till Daddy takes the gun away From the Big Church to the Big River And out to the Shining Sea This is the Land of Opportunity And theres a Monkey Trial on TV A nation with their freezers full Are dancing in their seats While outside another nation Is sleeping in the streets Dont tell me the old, old story Tell me the truth this time Is the Man in the Mask or the Indian An enemy or a friend of mine? Help save the youth of America Help save the youth of the world Help save the boys in uniform Their mothers and their faithful girls
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And the fate of the great United States Is entwined in the fate of us all And the incident at Chernobyl proves The world we live in is very small And the cities of Europe have burned before And they may yet burn again And if they do I hope you understand That Washington will burn with them Omaha will burn with them Los Alamos will burn with them
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Listen to the voice of the soldier Down in the killing zone Talking about the cost of living And the price of bringing him home
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Theyre already shipping the body bags Down by the Rio Grande But you can fight for democracy at home And not in some foreign land
Rio Grande river that forms part of the border between the US and Mexico Chernobyl city in Ukraine, evacuated in 1986 due to the disaster at the nuclear power plant Omaha city in Nebraska, forming a triangle with Washington and Los Alamos Los Alamos town in New Mexico, where the first atomic bomb was developed during World War II
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Further Studies
1. What does the youth of America need saving from? For your
answers, look in both Verse 1 and Verse 6.

2. Piece together a description of the youth of America from
what Bragg tells us in the song. What do they do for fun? How do they see the rest of the world?
3. How does the incident at Chernobyl prove that the world is
If you look up the expression Monkey Trial, you will find references to the famous Scopes trial of 1925. Find more details of what happened in this trial and then explain why Bragg refers to it in his song.
The Scopes Trial Who: Biology teacher John Scopes vs. the state of Tennessee, U.S.A. What: a court battle pitting evolutionists against creationists. When: July, 1925.
very small?
4. Braggs song can be seen as a kind of protest song. What is he
protesting about?
Where: Tennessee, U.S.A. Why: John Scopes was accused of violating the Butler Act, which made it illegal to teach evolution in schools. How: Scopes was found guilty and fined $100, but the case was eventually thrown out on appeal due to a technicality.
1. Can you think of some contemporary examples of what Bragg
observes when he sings that the fate of the great United States is entwined in the fate of us all?
2. Why does Bragg use capital letters in this verse? What is he
trying to show us? From the Big Church to the Big River And out to the Shining Sea This is the Land of Opportunity And theres a Monkey Trial on TV 3. Why does America need to fight for democracy at home and not in some foreign land? Do you think this is true for your own country?
4. Is the world really as dependent on America as Billy Bragg
Wo r d s h o p
Poetic effects
implies with his song? Why or why not?
Look carefully at the description of Generation Me you found in Jean Twenges text, and compare this with the description of American youth you see in Billy Braggs song. What do the two writers agree about when it comes to young people in America? Where do they disagree? What solutions do they demand to solve the problems they see in this generation?
Give yourself and some friends a time limit of five minutes to find in Braggs song as many examples as possible of the various poetic sound effects listed above, plus examples of imagery. Special challenge check the answer key, and see if anyone has found any that need to be added to the key.
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The main thrust of Braggs song is found in its provocative content and choice of direct words, but it would be far less effective without its punchy use of poetic effects, most of them sound effects, imagery is also used. Some sound effects you can find are: rhythm and rhyme patterns (meter and rhyme scheme), internal rhyme, alliteration, assonance, and anaphora.
The Dinner Party

In Oscar Wildes famous play, The Importance of Being Earnest, we meet a character named Algernon who is in agony over seating arrangements for a dinner party: She [his aunt] will place me next to Mary Farquhar, who always flirts with her own husband across the dinner-table. That is not very pleasant. Indeed it is not even decent and that sort of thing is enormously on the increase. The number of women in London who flirt with their own husbands is perfectly scandalous. It looks so bad. It is simply washing ones clean linen in public. You and a partner are now also faced with the similar task of arrang ing a dinner party for a motley mixture of guests, listed below. The fol lowing exercise will develop your skills in listening, speaking, and nego tiating in English, provided your native language does not slip in accidentally. Mr. and Mrs. Host are giving a dinner party they hope will be a success, but it turns out that they have a varied, rather complicated selection of guests. They have a long, narrow dinner table; Mr. Host will sit at one end and Mrs. Host at the other. But how should they seat the other twelve guests so there will be generally pleasant conversation and no excitement, embarrassment or friction? Mrs. Host asked her new social secretary to make a seating plan, but the arrangement she suggested is far from satisfactory. Mrs. Host has now hired a firm specializing in social relations (you) to suggest a suitable arrangement. Her instructions are as follows:
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7. Judge Courtly is a good listener and very tactful. 8. Father OPreachy loves to give advice. 9. Rabbi Mensch loves to argue, but is never offensive. 10. Old Mrs. Host talks a lot, is a bit stupid and is rather deaf. 11. Mr. Chasuble is extremely con servative in his views. 12. Mrs. Chasuble has very bad tabl e manners and is always complaining. 13. Mary Host is a rather spoiled and impatient teenager. She is often rude to her parents and her grandmother. 14. Sir Alan Passionflower is a soci alist politician and is very interested in social issues. 15. Mrs. Host does not like Mrs. Chasuble. 16. Mr. Host cannot stand Lady Pas sionflower.
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Please observe that there is more than one correct answer, but you need to justify your decisions. Adapted from Discussions that work: Task-centered fluency practice, 1981, by Penny Ur.
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le have good food; in On the Continent peop good table manners. England people have
motley consisting of many different types
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Puns
Instructions
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1. Mr. and Mrs. Host should sit opposite each other at the ends of the table. 2. Members of the same family should not sit next to or directly opposite each other. 3. Men and women should be seat ed alternately around the table. 4. Amy Passionflower and Colin Host are violently in love. 5. Professor Jennifer Rommel, a colleague of Mr. Host, can tell amusing stories, but is rather anti -Semitic. 6. Lady Margaret Passionflower is very correct, polite and boring.
Websters dictionary defines a pun as the humorous use of a word, or of words which are formed or sounded alike but have different meanings, in such a way as to play on two or more of the possible applications; a play on words. Note that the definition of a pun given above is very broad. In a true pun, the two words being played with should sound exactly alike. The title of Oscar Wildes play The Importance of Being Earnest contains an example of a pun. In this case the word Earnest can either refer to the name Earnest, (often spelled Ernest), the main character, or to the quality of being earnest or sincere. Both meanings have great importance for the play. The puns below are all true puns. Can you find them?
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George Mikes, 1946
When the electricity went off during a storm at a school, the students were de-lighted. I used to be a tap dancer, until I fell in the sink. In democracy its your vote that counts. In feudalism its your count that votes. When chemists die, we barium.
To the Lighthouse
By Virginia Woolf
One of the most famous examples of a dinner party in English litera ture can be found in Virginia Woolf s 1927 novel To the Lighthouse. The text is an excellent example of Modernism, which you can read more about on p. 156. In this excerpt, the main character, Mrs. Ramsay, hosts a dinner party for her family and some friends in her summer home in the remote Scottish Hebrides. Through the window
of Mrs. Ramsays thoughts, we see how she observes and mediates the social relationships amongst her guests, and we feel first hand her apprehensions about how everyone should interact. Although Mrs. Ramsays view dominates, the focus sometimes shifts to other characters perspectives. Note for example in this extract how differently one of the guests, Charles Tansley, interprets the world.
1. Read the following names slowly out loud to a classmate. Then
decide what kind of profession this person should work in, based on the way their name sounds. Here are some examples.
Adam Engineer Specialized Civil Constructor Alec Trishun Wire manufacturer Bill Jerome Holmes Home Architect Claire Voyant Fortune-teller
2. d) and g) only work when pronounced with an American
accent. Why dont the British pronunciations work?
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a) Frieda Byrd b) Isaiah Lott c) Lee K. Fawcett d) Lon Moore (American pronunciation) e) Mac Aroni f) Phil McCavitie g) Paul E. Ester (American pronunciation) h) Robin Banks i) Rufus Lee King j) Scott Linyard k) Seymour Kleerly l) Xavier Breath
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feeble weak
ut what have I done with my life? thought Mrs Ramsay, taking her place at the head of the table, and looking at all the plates making white circles on it. William, sit by me, she said. Lily, she said, wearily, over there. They had that Paul Rayley and Minta Doyle she, only this an infinitely long table and plates and knives. At the far end was her husband, sitting down, all in a heap, frowning. What at? She did not know. She did not mind. She could not understand how she had ever felt any emotion or affection for him. She had a sense of being past everything, through everything, out of everything, as she helped the soup, as if there was an eddy there and one could be in it, or one could be out of it, and she was out of it. Its all come to an end, she thought, while they came in one after another, Charles Tansley Sit there, please, she said Augustus Carmichael and sat down. And meanwhile she waited, passively, for someone to answer her, for something to happen. But this is not a thing, she thought, ladling out soup, that one says. Raising her eyebrows at the discrepancy that was what she was thinking, this was what she was doing ladling out soup she felt, more and more strongly, outside that eddy; or as if a shade had fallen, and, robbed of colour, she saw things truly. The room (she looked round it) was very shabby. There was no beauty anywhere. She forebore to look at Mr Tansley. Nothing seemed to have merged. They all sat separate. And the whole of the effort of merging and flowing and creating rested on her. Again she felt, as a fact without hostility, the sterility of men, for if she did not do it nobody would do it, and so, giving herself the little shake that one gives a watch that has stopped, the old familiar pulse began beating, as the watch begins ticking one, two, three, one, two, three. And so on and so on, she repeated, listening to it, sheltering and fostering the still feeble pulse as one might guard a weak flame with a newspaper. And so then, she concluded, addressing herself by bending silently in his direction to William Bankes poor man! who had no wife, and no children, and dined alone in lodgings except for tonight; and in pity for him, life being now strong enough to bear her on again, she began all this business, as a sailor not without weariness sees the wind fill his sail and yet hardly wants to be off again and thinks how, had the ship sunk, he
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would have whirled round and round and found rest on the floor of the sea. What damned rot they talk, thought Charles Tansley, laying down his spoon precisely in the middle of his plate, which he had swept clean, as if, Lily thought (he sat opposite to her with his back to the window precisely in the middle of view), he were determined to make sure of his meals. Everything about him had that meagre fixity, that bare unloveliness. But nevertheless, the fact remained, it was almost impossible to dislike any one if one looked at them. She liked his eyes; they were blue, deep set, frightening. Do you write many letters, Mr Tansley? asked Mrs Ramsay, pitying him too, Lily supposed; for that was true of Mrs Ramsay she pitied men always as if they lacked something women never, as if they had something. He wrote to his mother; otherwise he did not suppose he wrote one letter a month, said Mr Tansley, shortly. For he was not going to talk the sort of rot these people wanted him to talk. He was not going to be condescended to by these silly women. He had been reading in his room, and now he came down and it all seemed to him silly, superficial, flimsy. Why did they dress? He had come down in his ordinary clothes. He had not got any dress clothes. One never gets anything worth having by post that was the sort of thing they were always saying. They made men say that sort of thing. Yes, it was pretty well true, he thought. They never got anything worth having from one years end to another. They did nothing but talk, talk, talk, eat, eat, eat. It was the womens fault. Women made civilization impossible with all their charm, all their silliness.
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1. Describe the dinner scene in your own words, based on the
information that is given. Give brief descriptions of the main characters mentioned in the scene, and describe the setting in as much detail as you can.
2. Why does Mrs Ramsay feel that the whole of the effort of
also feels responsible for her guests. Her guests dress for dinner and make polite conversation with each other. Do you think that the rules of dinner etiquette have changed since the time that Woolf wrote To the Lighthouse? How? To answer this, you might refer to some of the observations you made in the previous Dinner Party role play exercise.
3. How would this text be different if members of Generation
merging and flowing and creating rested on her? What is it that she feels she needs to do? Why is it that no one else can do it?
3. Why does Mrs Ramsay pity William Bankes? 4. How does Charles Tansley react to the conversation around
Me (p. 116) had hosted this dinner party? Rewrite this excerpt from their point of view, considering their manners, what they would eat, what their names and professions might be, and what they might like to discuss.
him?
5. Why is it that women made civilization impossible,
according to Tansley?
1. How is this scene narrated? Who is telling the story and
from what kind of perspective? What is interesting about the narrative here?
2. Distinguish between the psychological action and the physical
action in this scene. In other words, what seems to be happening on the surface, and what is going on beneath the surface? this, find something in the text that shows how her occupation affects her way of thinking.
1. Woolf presents two different gender perspectives on manners
and human interaction in this excerpt. Describe how she sees the interactions between women and men here and the reasons for their different behaviors. Do you agree with her point of view?
2. In Woolf s scene, the characters interact according to a specific
etiquette. There is a hostess, who assigns the seating around the table, arranges and plans the meal and serves the food. She
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3. If you read this novel you will find Lily is an artist. Knowing
Bad Manners
es, the case. In non-Western cultur ven though swear words ults are laws around libel and ins bad of a are the to g belon e cases very different, and in som , rather than good manners e orthomuch more extreme. In som ng thi No . ful use dy loo they are b countries, blasphemy is 5 dox Muslim n plunging into a 5 feels better tha law. Any a crime punishable by the . ves leti exp d goo few a rage with sidered act or utterance that is con t of ones When these words are par fane to be contemptuous or pro lly rea can y the ge, gua native lan entity concerning God or a sacred bone. strike at the marrow of the or could land a person in jail only another native 10 10 In fact, usually worse. power of speaker can truly feel the glish Originally, swearing in En ve ati n-n No rd. wo r tte r-le a good fou us basis. also had a primarily religio little more speakers need to tread a comRemember that the third in ing ear sw to es com it en softly wh Thou shalt not take 15 mandment is ge, since they may 15 another langua . In other the Lords name in vain e ens off of el lev the of are not be aw Gods words, dont swear using they might cause. y and was name: this was blasphem w on vie s iety soc t tha er mb Reme law in also a crime punishable by historically swear words varies both dle Ages. To this day, it is 20 the Mid g rin du n ede Sw In . ally 20 and cultur ple by still possible to offend peo th sidered the 17 century, it was con rist, Holy exclaiming God!, Jesus Ch e eon som ult ins to me cri a as much on these or any other variation e person as it was to attack the sam no-no. themes. Damn is another can you s day ese Th . axe with an around breaking 25 In order to get someone to court 25 not really take English the third commandment, ty, nas ing eth som you g for callin ve ways to libel illegal act of speakers developed creati of libel. publicly disgracing unless there is a question ut caussay what they meant witho can son per a , someone law the to g Accordin ployed ing direct offense. They em third commandment el if they publish lib of d use acc be Bible, Exodus 20 like gee whiz, golly gee 30 euphemisms a (or g itin wr of ce pie s euphemism word used ou 30 a malici Jesus and gee to replace God and to replace one which e or cartoon etc.) that can tur pic for damn. has become too negative Christ. Darn substituted blic pu to son per er oth the expose posite Others referred to the op le. It hatred, contempt or ridicu invoking team when they swore by le, to mp exa for us, elo lib be would d of an, Hell and devils instea tion that someone 35 Sat 35 publish a sugges blaspheming their deity. had preing is a peadophile if no court Nowadays, religious swear lly the viously proved that was rea
scatological toilet vocabulary versatility multiple usefulness etymology study of the origin and development of words
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; and fukka means to copulate to offend seems to have less power ka the old Swedish dialect foc refer to than the words we use to ulate. cop sh, means to strike, pu ns. These bodily and sexual functio gest that Etymological rumors sug as h suc rds wo cal ogi tol days, sca came from the acronym refer to body 5 the term to rds wo and t shi , s pis 5 owledge, For Unlawful Carnal Kn st mo the ke evo en oft sex parts and on a card which was a term written a case discomfort. Here follows k of to be worn around the nec . ord f-w the study on e, adultery someone accused of rap th To be polite, we normally in 18 century 10 or premarital sex ive ens off st mo the of e on 10 refer to America. ge as t the words in the English langua Although it seems clear tha at wh ow kn all we t Bu . the f-word a sexual origins of the word all had ow its it stands for. And we all kn used so meaning, the word is now a be can it y: ilit sat ver ul wonderf temporary English 15 frequently in con ive and so ect adj an b, ver a , un no s) that 15 (especially in American film lmo ety the is at Wh re! much mo to have the sexual meaning seems difogy of fuck? It is somewhat somedissipated. When we say ht aig str h wit up e com ficult to example, thing is fucked up, for like facts about the word since mean to say that 20 we dont usually ds ten it , rds wo ear sw er ed at all. 20 many oth anything sexual has occurr ention. to receive less scholarly att is perhaps As the word evolves and ore bef : ow kn do we at wh Heres ge, is it even overused in the langua sex was wer 1503 the vulgar word for po possible that it will lose its gins ori ely lik Its . yve sw or t of to swive end and eventually fall ou also resembles 25 to off it t bu c, ani rm Ge are 25 fashion? and some older words in French ide to term In The Hitch-Hikers Gu Latin. The Middle Dutch ensive off st mo the Galax y, the copufokken means to thrust, lgium. Be is y lax Ga word in the dialect late with; the Norwegian
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This be the Verse

By Philip Larkin
1. How often do you swear? Has your swearing ever put you
Here is a literary example of the use of the f-word, in a well-known and loved poem by one of Britains poet laureates, Philip Larkin.
into awkward sit uations? What could make you refrain from swearing?
2. Do you swear more or less in English than in your native
tongue?
3. What uses can you think of for the f-word? 4. How will you, to quote Larkin, fuck up your own children?
They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you.
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How can you prevent it from happening?
But they were fucked up in their turn By fools in old-styled hats and coats, Who half the time were soppy-stern And half at one anothers throats. Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, And dont have any kids yourself.
1. Think about the general rules about manners and politeness
you have been taught, and discuss these with a partner. Then consider these questions together: Which rules does Philip Larkin stick to, and which rules does he break? Do you find Larkins use of the f-word offensive or not?
2. What other ways of using the f-word have you come across
poet laureate officially appointed state poet soppy soft and sentimental
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in films or in music? In what instance(s) is it acceptable to break the rules of etiquette around swearing? When is it not acceptable?
3. The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children,
Further Studies R e a d & R e a ct
1. Carry out some etymological research about other highly
1. From A Lesson on Swear Words, find at least two other
synonyms you could use to replace the ones in the poem.

2. What do you understand blasphemy to mean, from its use in
offensive words such as cunt, prick and shit. Where may they have come from? Are there equivalents in other languages? Are there any explanations you find questionable?
2. Compare two cultures you are familiar with (e.g. Swedish
Bad Manners?
3. How has swearing in English changed over time? 4. Describe the origins of the word fuck in your own words. 5. Explain what you think Larkin means by soppy-stern.
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youth and Amer ican popular culture, elderly Swedes and American youth) and their atti tudes to swear words. What words are used and what are their origins? Are they, for example, mainly of a religious or a sexual nature? How are offen sive words perceived?
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William Shakespeare says in his play The Merchant of Venice. Do you agree with the suggestion in Generation Me that parents are to be blamed for the excessive narcissism in GenMe? How do you think GenMe will function as parents? What kinds of children will they produce?
How Foul-Mouthed Are You, Anyway?

Answer the following questions and then check with the key to see how foul-mouthed you are. 1. In a comment to British Prime Minister Tony Blair picked up
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Euphemisms, colloquialisms, slang
Euphemisms
on a live microphone, President Bush said Hezbollah had to: a) Stop this s--t b) Cut the c--p c) Come to the g--d--m table
2. Which word did the Romans not use for a males genitals:
A euphemism is a word or expression that we use to replace something we find too distasteful to mention by its real name. Dying and going mad are two concepts that we often try to find a way around expressing directly. When we want to say that someone has died, we can sometimes say they have passed away or gone to a better place, or to be a little more crass, kicked the bucket or that they are pushing up the daisies. When someone is mentally ill, we say that they have a screw loose or that they are off their rocker, not playing with a full deck or even one French fry short of a happy meal or nuttier than a fruitcake.
Colloquialisms
dagger, bird, tool or worm?

3. What does the American army term SNAFU stand for? 4. What are the neutral, scientific meanings of bastard and bitch? 5. Why do Americans use the word rooster for male chicken? 6. What does damn literally mean? 7. What are gee, whiz and sugar euphemisms for? 8. What was Thomas Bowdler, the 19th-century British editor,
famous for doing? a) rewriting Shakespeare to take out all references to sex and profanity b) he never swore in public c) a judge forced him to wash out his mouth with soap during a trial.
A colloquialism is an informal expression used in everyday speech. Colloquialisms are generally not acceptable in formal speech or writing. They can include words (such as gonna, gotcha, kid), phrases (such as slower than cold molasses, the apple of my eye and dead as a doornail), or sometimes even an entire aphorism (a concise statement of a general truth or principle, e.g. theres more than one way to skin a cat, a stitch in time saves nine). Colloquial words and phrases are usually marked with the abbreviation colloq. in dictionaries.
Slang
uncouth rude and unpleasant eloquent very good at using language
can defend swearing is uncouth, you If someone tells you that m Shakespeare t even the eloquent Willia yourself with the fact tha mple, damn ults in his writings. For exa used swear words and ins sions include: 37 plays. His juicier expres appears 105 times in his swollen parcel bag of guts, hill of flesh, whoreson, stuffed cloak n more colorcontemporaries offered eve of dropsies. Some of his my blindrd i your teeth and kiss ful expressions such as tu cheeks.
Slang is a sub-category of colloquialisms consisting of words that are non-standard in a language. Often they are invented words, or words imported from another language altogether, or from a particular community or subculture, such as musicians, athletes (think of the words we inherit from surfers, skateboarders or skiers). Slang can sometimes be confused with jargon, which is the specific terminology belonging to a profession, e.g. symptom in medicine, or specification in technology. Slang is generally playful, informal speech and should not be used in formal writing. We often use slang when discussing semi-taboo subjects such as drinking and drugs, sex and sexuality, or bodily functions.
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1. Brainstorm some euphemisms on your own or with your
classmates. Think up other concepts that people might find too rude, direct or blunt to talk about and find the euphemisms used to describe them. Keep in mind that some professions are also described with euphemisms. For example, garbage collectors might be called sanitary engineers.
2. Euphemisms are often used in politically correct language,
Writing the University Application Letter

By Hugh Gallagher
Good manners are certainly one way to put your best foot forward. For many of you, the next obvious step forward after high school will involve college or university study. Perhaps some of you plan to study at an English-speaking institution somewhere overseas. The process of applying to these institutions can involve a rather tricky piece of writing: the application essay or the personal statement. How can you write one that makes you stand out in only 500 words or less? (See Writers Workshop p. 225 for some tips.) This is an actual essay written by a college applicant. However, we do not necessarily recommend that you mimic the authors style in your own application. Nevertheless, rumor has it that Hugh Gallagher really was accepted to NYU.
Witness: and he was as drunk as a judge! Judge: Dont you mean, as drunk as a lord? Witness: Er, yes, my lord.
and sometimes people make fun of this by over-doing it. Try taking the following idioms, and make them politically correct by replacing the marked words with politically correct euphemisms of your own. The word challenged can be useful, e.g. the idiom as mad as a hatter can become as sanitychallenged as a hatter.
As sick as a dog. As thin as a rake. As deaf as a post. As thick as two short planks. (thick has here the meaning stupid, dull-witted) As drunk as a lord. As sober as a judge. As pissed as a fart. As queer as a coot. As black as the ace of spades.
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3. Watch any episode of a favorite situation comedy (e.g. Friends)
and list the number of informal words you hear. Identify which are slang and which are colloquialisms.
4. Write your own dictionary of slang and colloquialisms
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consisting of the words you and your friends are fond of using in English. What do the words mean? When can you use them?
5. What strategies do you use when you feel like you want to use
the f-word, but know you cannot? What do you say instead to cause less offense? How would you get around the f-word in the least offensive way?
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am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row. I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru. Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde
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in order for the admissions staff of our college to get to know you, the applicant, better, we ask that you answer the following question: are there any significant experiences you have had, or accomplishments you have realized, that have helped to define you as a person?
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a) Prepare a basic outline, sketching content and concentrating on structure. b) Write your statement/essay in full. Compare your essay/ statement to any successful samples you find online, then rework your writing one more time, to make it as personal, interesting and eye-catching as possible. Remember that here you really need to show all your best qualities, so dont be shy!
4. Report writing Jean Twenges article takes up the topic of
p. 236
Personal statement/ university application
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cheating in school. Imagine you are on a student committee that is concerned about the rise in acceptance of cheating, and you want your school to take action. You have therefore
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of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When Im bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge. I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I dont perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a travelling centrifugalforce demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me. I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me. I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four-course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prize-winning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis. But I have not yet gone to college.
Writing
1. Peer response In Generation Me, Jean Twenge observes that
Grade inflation has reached record highs. In 2004, 48% of American college Freshmen almost half reported earning an A average in high school, compared to only 18% in 1968. Write for about 1015 minutes, expressing your spontaneous thoughts/reflections on the topic of grade inflation. Then compare what you have written with a friend. When looking at one anothers writing, try to point out any mistakes of language you see, and ask one another questions about anything you dont understand.
2. Creative writing Write your own version of Billy Braggs
p. 231 Peer response
song, Help Save the Youth of America. In your song, you can choose what else you think needs saving. You might, for example, choose to critique a recent political event, or an element of pop culture.
3. Personal statement or essay for a college or university
Try writing your own personal statement or essay, to be included in a college or university application. Gear it towards either a British or U.S. educational establishment. Do some web research to find the typical task for the establishment you are interested in applying to. For British universities, search for UCAS personal statements, and for American colleges/universities, look for Common Application personal essays.
application
prepared an independent report to help bring the issue to the attention of the school board. Write the Introduction/ Background section of the report, and draft ideas for one or two of the sections Methodology, Results/Observations, Conclusions, Recommendations. You can of course imagine the results of an anonymous survey held amongst students at the school, and maybe of a couple of deep interviews.
Speaking
College/university interview Another part of the university application process might involve an oral interview. Divide yourselves into teams of 2 or 3 and assign one or two people to represent the university selection board, and one the applicant. Separately, the selection board member(s) should prepare the questions they might ask the applicant ahead of time, and the applicant should prepare the answers they think will be required. Base the questions on the personal statement/essay done in Writing 3 above. Then, conduct a mock interview and give each other feedback. In the interviewing role, try not to be too aggressive: remember that an important part of the process is giving the applicant a chance to do well.
Literary Criticism
p. 248 College/university interview
p. 252 Source criticism statistics
Working in pairs, look at some of the figures and statistics mentioned in Twenges article. Then ask yourselves some of the questions about statistics suggested in the Readers Roadmap. Look also for evaluative and emotive words used in conjunction with these figures, to see how the writer has used the apparent objectivity of figures to try to bias your view.
Source criticism statistics
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Reading
Why Be So Critical?
You hear of a new movie that piques your curiosity. But movies are expensive, and your time is limited. How do you find out if it is worth your while? Ask a friend? Check the evening newspaper reviews? Surf the web? But if the answers you find only tell you great movie or the movie sucked or I just fell asleep, isnt it a little frustrating? Dont you need to know WHY the film is worth it? In this case, you need to hear some critical opinions about the film.
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e usually associate the action of criticizing or being critical with finding faults, pointing out shortcomings, or passing some sort of neg ative judgment. But when it comes to the criticism of a text (or a film, work of art, piece of music, poem etc.), something entirely different, and more positive, is meant. When we criticize a text, we do not simply evaluate the text by saying, this is a great text or this text is rot ten. Instead, we need to use our intellectual tools to pry open the text and look carefully inside, to interpret its meaning and to analyze its con tents. It is up to a good critic to raise questions about the text, and then attempt to answer them. A critic asks questions like What is really going on in this text? What is the author trying to tell us? Are there symbols at work here? What might they mean? What kind of social (historical, political, intellectual, psychological, emotional) forces are at work in this text? Why be so critical? Repeated acts of reading literature and analyzing its contents can develop serious intellectual muscle. When you learn to really read a literary text and critically evaluate it, you can learn to read anything a website, a work of art, a newspaper editorial, a scientific report, a film, a thesis, a play, a soap opera the list is endless. Critical thinkers are able to swim confidently through the veritable tsunami of information crashing over them in this new Information Age. Just stop for a second to consider all the different ways information is able to reach you at any given moment of your day. From the cell phone in your pocket, to the computer at your desk, to the paper on the subway, each one is a portal to a world of information. But
how much of this information is neutral, and how much of it is trying to convince you to adopt its way of thinking? The act of criticism helps us to scrutinize others thoughts and distance ourselves from information that might lie, defame, cheat or brainwash. The ancient Greek Oracle at Delphi told us to know thyself, and this is what a critic does: she knows her own mind and can differentiate it from the thoughts of others. Critics might seem to work like scientists, they establish a method, focus on a specific question, pay careful attention to detail, and base their answers on evidence in the text. However, the conclusions they draw are never absolute. Instead, their conclusions should open up even more questions and possibilities, and encourage the reader to plunge back into the text with fresh ideas and new enthusiasm. The poet W.H. Auden wrote this about the role of the critic: So far as I am concerned, he can do me one or more of the following services: 1. I ntroduce me to authors or works of which I was hitherto unaware 2. Convince me that I have undervalued an author or a work because I had not read them carefully enough 3. Show me relations between works of different ages and cultures which I could never have seen for myself because I do not know enough and never shall 4. Give a reading of a work which increases my understanding of it 5. Throw light upon the process of artistic Making 6. Throw light upon the relation of art to life, science, economics, ethics, religion, etc.
The Dyers Hand (1963) 89
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There is no single path that leads to the correct interpretation of a text, a film, a poem, or a piece of music. In Blueprint C, you will find four 20th-century approaches to deeper understanding of literature and other art forms: mod ernism, postmodernism, postcolonialism and feminism. In many cases these movements have influenced or inspired writers to produce works which in themselves display the characteristics of modernism, postmodernism, postcolonialism or feminism. The different movements may be at work separately or
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all at once in a text. In other cases, these movements can offer you critical keys to open up a 21st-century (or earlier) text by giving you an idea of the kind of social/intellectual/political/artistic forces that might be at work in a text. These critical keys also offer some 5 questions you can ask, to find your way towards an interpretation. Its up to you to decide how you would like to try out these keys. Its possible to pick and choose among them, or to use all of them. They can help you to see modernist, postmodernist, postcolonial or feminist intentions in texts, or to encies ell rather upon excell A true critic ought to dw beauties understand and uncover aspects which discover the concealed than imperfections, to things may even have been unconscious to ch su rld wo nicate to the of a writer, and commu vation. the writer of a text. as are worth their obser ruary 1712. Joseph Addison, 2nd Feb Use the descriptions of the four -ism movements as an opportunity to develop your critical skills. 15 Your understanding of the movements will give you tools for prying open texts to see whats inside. The various literary texts, even quite challenging ones, can then reveal some of their secrets as you develop your intellectual muscle. Moreover, a close analytical reading of all the texts in these chapters will enrich your experi20 ence of 20th- and 21st-century culture. You will become better able to notice aspects of modernism, postmodernism, postcolonialism and feminism at work in the world around you, particularly in the movies or TV you watch, the music you listen to, or the art you observe.
Prompts for Critical Thinkers Can I distinguish between this text and another text ? analyze the theme of the text ? compare and contrast between this text and ? debate about something in this text ? argue for/against something in this text ? examine why ? relate this text to ? researchto discover about this text? assess the merits of this text ? critically evaluate this text ? judge (a character, an event, a technique) in this text ? predict (something about the text) ?
R e a d & R e act
1. What is the difference between evaluating and interpreting a
text?
2. How do critics work like scientists? How does their work
differ from that of scientists?

3. Why does Auden find the role of the critic useful? Summarize
his answers in your own words.

4. Why be so critical of a text? What can the act of criticizing do
for you?
1. The text lists some questions you could ask to help you
interpret a text. Can you think of any more useful questions?

2. What does Auden mean when he says a literary critic throws
light on the artistic process of Making? What can a critic tell us about the way an artist or writer creates?
3. Auden mentions that art relates to life, science, economics,
ethics and religion. Are there any aspects of your life that you have found that encourages deeper thinking about art?
4. Take a moment to count the number of different ways
Wo r d s h o p
Dictionary definitions
Dictionaries can give a wealth of information about a word, e.g. its various possible meanings, its pronunciation, its etymology, its typical appearance in collocations, its related words in other forms, its frequency of use in the language. The more up-to-date a dictionary is, the more likely it is to give relevant information about the word and its usage in the living language of today. The science/art of dictionary making was revolutionized a number of years ago by technology, when the huge electronic banks of English started to become usable for researchers and lexicographers (dictionary makers).
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critique the text ?
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information reaches you each day, including every different form of technology and human interaction you can think of. What skills have you developed to cope with the information tsunami this article mentions? How do you know what information is trustworthy and what is suspicious?
A good modern dictionary will supply actual examples from language banks of real use of the word, to help you gain a full understanding of how to use it, rather than just being told its semantics (the content of meaning that it carries). Examples will normally be listed in the order of frequency of their use, with the most frequently used meanings or types of usage given first. Whether using an online dictionary or a printed one, use it well when trying to investigate a word you want to add to your active vocabulary.
Focus on Music:
Closer To Fine
By The Indigo Girls
Use dictionaries to investigate the words criticism and curiosity. Find answers to the following questions:
1. How many different meanings of each are given? 2. Are the words pronounced similarly in American and British
English?
3. What other words are formed from the same root (what word
formations)?
4. Where do the words come from originally? 5. What typical collocations or idioms can you find? 6. What synonyms or near synonyms can you find?
An inkblot, or Rorschach test, can reveal your state of mind. A psychologist can measure and interpret what you perceive in the drawing to diagnose your personality.
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went to the mountains I went to the doctor, I ins , I drank from the founta I looked to the children s answer to these question Theres more than one line pointing me in crooked ce for some definitive The less I seek my sour The closer I am to fine.
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mething about my life Im trying to tell you so ite between black and wh Maybe give me insight e ever done for me And the best thing youv ly life after all life less seriously, its on Is to help me take my nger thats insatiable Well darkness has a hu ll thats hard to hear And lightness has a ca me like a blanket I wrap my fear around ur shores. k it, Im crawling on yo san I till ety saf of ip I sailed my sh
R e a d & R e act
r of philosophy I went to see the docto to his knee utin and a beard down With a poster of Rasp see a B-grade movie He never did marry or see through me ance, he said he could He graded my perform t my paper to the higher mind, go te tra os pr ars ye r fou t 5 I spen And I was free. went to the mountains I went to the doctor, I ins , I drank from the founta I looked to the children s answer to these question Theres more than one line pointing me in crooked ce for some definitive The less I seek my sour The closer I am to fine. 3 a.m. I stopped by the bar at e or possibly a friend To seek solace in a bottl st a board ache like my head again I woke up with a head been the night before Twice as cloudy as Id y. I went in seeking clarit went to the mountains I went to the doctor, I in , I drank from the founta I looked to the children go to the mountains We go to the doctor, we ntain , we drink from the fou We look to the children go through the workout We go to the Bible, we lookout and we stand up for the We read up on revival s answer to these question Theres more than one ed line pointing me in a crook ce for some definitive The less I seek my sour The closer I am to fine The closer I am to fine The closer I am to fine
1. What insight is the singer looking for in this song? 2. Look at the first verse of the song. How does the singer
describe the conditions of her life?

3. Look through the song and look for four sources of
information the singer goes to for help and clarity. What does she learn from them?
4. What finally gives the singer a sense of freedom and clarity?
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1. When the singer sings theres more than one answer to these
questions, what do you think these questions are?

2. What does it mean to see through someone? What do you
think that her doctor of philosophy (most likely one of her teachers) observed when he saw right through her?
3. This song lists many different sources of truth, like the Bible,
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university, fitness, and bars. What is missing in this list? Where else do people look for answers these days?
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Rasputin (18691916) bearded Russian mystic who influenced the latter days of Tsar Nicholas II and his family
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Re-read the Why Be So Critical text and compare its message to the message you find in the song. When is it helpful to be critical and to seek your source for some definitive? When is it helpful to just let things be, and to let go of your critical mind?
Writing
1. Critical review Auden appreciated critics who could, for
3. Marketing You are going to sell a favorite book/film/CD of
example, introduce him to authors or works of which he was unaware. Now is your chance to be that critic. Think of a rock song, film, television program or similar which you yourself appreciate, and which you would like to introduce to others, to make them aware of something they are missing. Write a short critical review of your chosen piece, enthusing about whatever aspects you yourself enjoy. Mention some of the points from the Prompts for critical thinkers (p. 148), to engage the attention of readers who like songs/films/programs etc. with a bit of depth.
2. Creative writing Imagine you are a writer/artist/singer/film or
yours at a market stall. Think of all the good things you want to say about it, and try selling it to a friend. Then you can listen to your friends sales pitch. Do you find one anothers sales pitches persuasive?
p. 245 Marketing
Reading
1. Skimming and scanning Although critics might seem to work
TV director, and youve just read a negative review of your most recently released piece of work. Write your diary entry, in which you let off steam, expressing your anger/disappointment at what the critic has written. You could imagine and cite some of the phrases the critic used, and hit back with words. Remember, you are writing this as a diary entry for yourself, so you can be as emotional and informal as you like!
like scientists they establish a method, focus on a specific question, pay careful attention to detail, and base their answers on evidence in the text, the conclusions they draw are never absolute. Skim and scan back through texts you have read earlier in Blueprint C, to try to find one on which you as a critic can draw absolute conclusions. Compare and discuss your selection with others in the class.
2. Source criticism Imagine you want to cite the extract about
p. 250 Skimming/scanning
critics from W H Audens The Dyers Hand in a report or essay. Do the necessary research to find out about this text and its publication, to be able to critically evaluate the text and answer some of the standard source criticism questions.
1. Interview Work in pairs, one of you as an Indigo Girl and one
as a TV or radio interviewer. Interview the singer about the song Closer to Fine, asking e.g. what inspired it and what certain parts mean or refer to, etc. The Indigo Girl can be free to invent answers!
2. Discuss freely with a partner the list of Prompts for critical
p. 246 Debate/discussion
thinkers (p. 148). Think of a book or film you both know, and see how many of the points in the list you can apply to it.
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Speaking
Modernism
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Challenging old 19th-century traditions
onstruct n as an attempt to rec Modernism may be see ce of God the world in the absen Bryan Appleyard
If you look at the word modernism, you will recognize modern within it. This word comes from the Latin modo which means just now and refers to what is contemporary, or in the present. It may seem like a long time ago, but our modern age actually began at the dawn of the 20th century. In a way, we need to see this time as still just now, since our present is profoundly affected by the events and ideas of this period. The First World War, for example, is crucial to our understanding of our present day. Modernism is the collective title given to the whole family of experimental and norm-breaking ideas developed to address a new century and a brutal war. The key ideas at work in modernism are a rejection of old traditions and a growing sense of doubt and unease. Modernists sought to shock, and to make people question older, accepted forms and values.
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The century celebrated scientific realism in art and in writing. Artists and writers like Charles Dickens, Henry James and Mark Twain prided themselves on creating realistic representations of the world around them using exacting detail and a carefully observant eye. Dickens famous story of Oliver Twist, for example, chronicles the struggles of an orphan who escapes a workhouse and meets a gang of pickpockets on the streets of London. Such true-to-life portrayals of working-class characters during Englands Industrial Revolution shone a light on grim social realities. In contrast, modernists were less interested in reflecting reality, and more interested in digging for what is concealed beneath the surface. This produced radical changes in the way art was made and stories were told.
Doubt and mistrust of authority
19th
Russian revolution in 1917 the Tsarist autocracy was overthrown by the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin
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It is easy to understand why modernists felt doubtful if you consider the startling changes taking place around them in the fields of politics and science. The Russian Revolution, for example, demonstrated the possibility of new political structures. Anti-colonial movements were testing the dominance of the British Empire both at home and in the colonies. Would the political status quo last into the new century? What would replace it? These questions troubled modernists.
World War I
The critics checklist for Modernism Challenging old traditions Doubt Mistrust of authority World War I Interest in psychology: especially the unconscious mind New narrative techniques: Stories are told from multiple points of view Stories are not told in chronological order Fragmentation: stories are told in disconnected pieces Use of gaps: parts of the story are left blank for you to fill in Uncertainty about language Stream of consciousness
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World War Is effect on Europes psyche was profound. The war shook not only conceptions of political power and empire, but also ideas of gender, psychology, violence and morality. While men were fighting in the trenches, women came to the fore in new social roles, such as working in weapons factories and abandoning their traditional role as homemakers. Official stories of heroism and valour in the war were undermined by true first-hand accounts of horrific carnage, brought home by photographs, journalists reports, and the soldiers themselves. These messages conflicted with the official line toted by political and religious leaders, and this created a sense of mistrust for many people. The violence of trench warfare, and the loss of an entire generation of youth in
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Freud (18561939) Austrian neurologist, founded the psychoanalytic method of psychiatry Einstein (18791955) theoretical physicist and philosopher, 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics
clouds of mustard gas caused people to question whether war is justified at all, and whether or not a benevolent God had a hand in the workings of the world. Artists and writers mirrored the raw and angry questions that arose from this sense of moral dislocation and abandonment. They attempted to answer this question: What is left when we can no longer tell right from wrong?.
Psychology and science raise new doubts
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Can artists express the truth?
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This growing suspicion, and the search for new ways of representing truths about the human condition, manifested itself in the arts. Photography could now replicate what we see with our eyes, so visual artists worked to discover new ways of representing truth. Works by artists like Picasso illustrate this effort to show the truth (or not) through many different angles at the same time. This is called Cubism.
Twisting time, fragments, multiple points of view, and use of gaps
Picasso's Guernica was painted in re sponse to the bomb warplanes in 19 37 ing of Guer nica, Sp , during the Span ain, by German an ish civ il war. The as it depic ts the su d Italian painting has beco ffering infl icted on me an iconic antiinnocent civ ilians war sy mbol, under attack.
In the sciences, new discoveries provoked difficult questions that asked, Who are we? What is time? What can we know to be true? and What does language really mean? In terms of who we are, Freuds revolutionary idea that we are guided by our unconscious minds pointed to an invisible world beneath our surfaces. Einstein introduced new understanding about the nature of time that even something as fundamental in our lives as time was not what we thought. Later came the uncertainty principle, showing us that close study of one piece of truth makes other aspects of that truth impossible to observe and measure. In addition, the new science of linguistics cast doubt over peoples acceptance of words and their meaning.
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Writers also needed to ask if art can reveal the truth. They invented new narrative techniques to explore this question. Many writers broke orderly 19th-century narrative techniques by twisting time, and no longer presenting a story in chronological order. They presented their narratives in fragments instead. Writers influenced by Modernism also experimented with multiple points of view having more than one character tell the same story in very different
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ways as if to tell us: Dont believe everything youre told heres another way of seeing it. Gaps became an important part of texts, where the reader is invited to seek out the real truth behind and between the printed words.
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R e a d & R e act
1. Explain in your own words what the text tells us about why
modernist writers rejected older, known formats.

2. What is the main shift in focus from late 19th century literature
Stream of Consciousness: another way to tell the truth
to the period of Modernism? (Writers turned from portraying to portraying )

3. Name some of the new techniques used by writers as they tried
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Writers also developed techniques to portray characters by looking inside their minds, rather than depicting outward physical appearance in detail. Techniques like stream of consciousness listened in on characters thoughts to portray their minds at work. Virginia Woolf and James Joyce were two of the earliest modernists to use this narrative technique inspired by Freuds new theory of the unconscious mind. They explored the idea that we can delve beneath a persons surface to understand them better. Standard narrative technique records what a character feels or says through an outsiders descriptions of what a character looks like, says and feels. In contrast, stream of consciousness narrative creates an inner portrait of a character by dipping directly into the stream of thoughts flowing through the characters conscious mind. Sometimes, the thoughts might appear to be unrelated or fragmented, and sometimes they might even reveal a glimpse into the deep subconscious mind of the character. The idea behind stream of consciousness is that we gain closer access to truth when we examine the workings of the mind, and not just what characters say out loud to each other.
Why study Modernism?
to demonstrate their new ways of thinking about art and truth.
1. Try an experiment with your own stream of consciousness.
Take five minutes to sit in complete stillness and observe the workings of your mind. Then, try to record what you have said to yourself. What kind of path do your thoughts follow?
2. World War I had a profound effect on modernists ways of
thinking about morality and authority. You, too, have lived during times when wars are taking place. How do you feel about wars going on in the world? Do you believe what the media or world leaders tell you about these wars? Why or why not?
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Modernisms ideas are challenging, and they are still hotly debated amongst artists and critics. As a reader, its important to know that these ideas mark the first literary and artistic movement of the 20th century, and they are still useful to describe the new century we now live in. Present-day writers are just as interested in questions of psychology, morality and doubt. An understanding of modernist techniques will strengthen your reading of contemporary literature.
Brian Appleyard says that modernism may be seen as an attempt to reconstruct the world in the absence of God. What do you think about the use of the word reconstruct here? Is it accurate? Why or why not?
Ulysses
By James Joyce
Ready to try out a modernist text? Take a deep breath. Below is a short extract from one of the first and most famous pieces of stream of consciousness writing, from James Joyces 1922 novel Ulysses. If you find it challenging, you are in good company: Ulysses is considered one of the toughest reads in English literature. So dont expect to get it immediately; just enjoy the experience of reading it! Intertextually based on Homers Odyssey, this book is rich in modernist innovation, using multiple points of view as well as stream of consciousness. The final chapter, from which this extract is taken, is one long interior monologue by Molly Bloom. Molly is a singer, and the wife of advertising agent Leopold Bloom. While Molly is identified as the counterpart to Penelope, Odysseuss wife, there is an important difference. Penelope was faithful to her husband during his long absence, but Molly has an affair with Hugh Blazes Boylan. Mollys 40-page monologue has no punctuation at all. One thought flows continuous ly into the next. From a punctuation point of view, it could appear that the monologue is all one long sentence, but the content can be broken up into clear thought units nevertheless.
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for I hate having a long wrangle in bed or else if its not that its some little bitch or other he got in with somewhere or picked up on the sly if they only knew him as well as I do yes because the day before yesterday he was scribbling something a letter when I came into the front room for the matches to show him Dignams death in the paper as if something told me and he covered it up with the blottingpaper pretending to be thinking about business so very probably that was it to somebody who thinks she has a softy in him because all men get a bit like that at his age especially getting on to forty he is now so as to wheedle any money she can out of him no fool like an old fool and then the usual kissing my bottom was to hide it not that I care two straws now who he does it with or knew before that way though Id like to find out so long
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as I dont have the two of them under my nose all the time like that slut that Mary we had in Ontario terrace padding out her false bottom to excite him bad enough to get the smell of those painted women off him once or twice I had a suspicion by getting him to come near me when I found the long hair on his coat without that one when I went into the kitchen pretending he was drinking water 1 woman is not enough for them it was all his fault of course ruining servants then proposing that she could eat at our table on Christmas day if you please O no thank you not in my house stealing my potatoes and the oysters 2/6 per doz going out to see her aunt if you please common robbery so it was but I was sure he had something on with that one it takes me to find out a thing like that he said you have no proof it was her proof O yes her aunt was very fond of oysters but I told her what I thought of her suggesting me to go out to be alone with her I wouldnt lower myself to spy on them the garters I found in her room the Friday she was out that was enough for me a little bit too much I saw too that her face swelled up on her with temper when I gave her her weeks notice better do without them altogether do out the rooms myself quicker only for the damn cooking and throwing out the dirt I gave it to him anyhow either she or me leaves the house I couldnt even touch him if I thought he was with a dirty barefaced liar and sloven like that one denying it up to my face and singing about the place in the WC too because she knew she was too well off yes because he couldnt possibly do without it that long so he must do it somewhere and the last time he came on my bottom when was it the night Boylan gave my hand a great squeeze going along by the Tolka
2/6 per doz 2 shillings and sixpence per dozen (old money system, abol ished early 1970s) The river Tolka flows through the north side of the City of Dublin
Every year on June 16th, Dubliners gather to celebrate Bloomsday by dressing up asJames Joyce and his famous characters from Ulysses.
1. a) How did you experience reading this text? Were you
comfortable? Challenged? Confused? A bit angry? b) What does Joyce want you to experience and understand about the workings of a persons mind as you read this?
2. Identify a passage in the Joyce text that gives you the sense you
are listening in to the mind of a woman rather than a man. How and why did you make your selection?
3. Apply the Critics checklist for Modernism to this text. How
many elements can you find at work here?
1. Look at the stream of consciousness on p. 129 from Virginia
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Woolfs To the Lighthouse. Unlike the Joyce text, you will find the thought units in clear, exact and correctly structured (though sometimes very long) sentences. Another difference is that Woolfs stream of consciousness is narrated by a third person narrator with access to the insides of characters minds, whereas in Ulysses we hear Mollys thoughts from her own mouth. Which of these types do you find easier to read? Try writing out part of Woolfs text without punctuation, as in Molly Blooms monologue. Does the text become easier or more difficult to follow? Which of these styles do you think imitates a type of consciousness which runs more in speech patterns, and which more in pure thought patterns?
2. Write a comparison between Mrs. Ramsay and Molly Bloom,
1. Try reading the text silently in your head like your own
stream of consciousness, and then aloud. Which do you find easier?

2. Write out parts of the text yourself, picking out complete
3. Mollys thoughts are centered around her husband. Try to find
parts where her thoughts wander away to something else, and see where she then returns more directly to the main stream of her thoughts.
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phrases or thought units you can recognize, and adding commas, dashes, quotation marks, question marks etc. where you think they fit. Does this help you to understand and follow the text? (Do not add any punctuation in your book, as this is likely to spoil the effect for future readers!)
based on what you learn about each character from these short excerpts. What do you think they might look like? What do they care about? What are they good at? What reasons do they give you to like them, or dislike them?
The Second Coming

By W. B. Yeats
R e a d & R e act
1. Choose one of the following images from the poem and try
W.B. Yeats was the first Irish writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. He wrote The Second Coming in 1920, and many modernists see the imagery in the poem as a response to the moral and political dislocation occurring in the world at that time. The title of the poem refers to the Christian idea that Jesus Christ will return to the world someday. Like most modernist texts, this poem will not reveal its meaning easily. Instead, focus on the feelings, impressions and ideas it offers you and see what kind of connections you can make with your new understanding of Modernism.
to create a visual representation of it (a sketch, a painting, a collage, for example): the falcon cannot hear the falconer, the blood-dimmed tide, a shape with a lion body and the head of a man, the indignant desert birds.
2. Find all the words in the poem that you think might have
Things Fall Apart title of a postcolonial novel by Chinua Achebe
something to do with religion and/or the Bible. Compare your answers with a neighbor and discuss why you chose them.
3. One of the key lines in the poem, things fall apart, the centre
cannot hold, produces an image of everything crumbling, breaking up into fragments, no longer having any central force holding it all together. What other lines in the poem can you pick out that echo or confirm this idea?
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
1. Look at the meaning of the word gyre. What shape does it
have? The gyre is symbolic of Yeats view of history, or the way time passes. Does he think time is linear? What is the alternative?
2. Why do you think the falcon cannot hear the falconer? 3. How do you interpret the line The best lack all conviction,
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while the worst/Are full of passionate intensity? What does this mean to you? Have you ever seen people acting this way? Describe what you mean.
4. What is the Second Coming, according to Yeats? What form
will it take?
5. What kind of relationship do you think Yeats has with
Spiritus Mundi Latin spirit of the world. Yeats believed that each human mind is linked to a single vast intelligence, causing universal symbols to appear in individual minds
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Christianity? Look at all the words you selected in Read & React 2, and identify which words tell us something about his attitude.
1. How does your own vision of the future compare with the one
presented in this poem? You can write about this, or choose another way to represent your answer through art or music. Be creative!
2. Some environmentalists have taken up the message in this
spelling for color, labor, favor, vise (relating to her adult life in the USA) yet the British word plaits (relating to her Britain-dominated childhood). This kind of code-mixing is not uncommon in the global world of postcolonial English.
poem to describe their own cause. How do you see this poem in the light of our present-day relationship with the environment?
3. Look through the critics checklist for modernism on p. 156.
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What modernist elements can you find at work in Yeats poem?
Put the following words into the right column for American/ British usage, and fill in any gaps you can in the columns. Learn from the answer key any differences you didnt know. (Note that in British English practise and license are verbs, whereas practice and licence are nouns. American English uses practice/licence in both cases.)
analyse, bangs, biscuit, braids, bum, center, cheque, chips, colour, crisps, diaper, elevator, fag, favor, freeway, freshman, a fringe, full stop, gasoline, grey, jewellery, labor, lorry, maize, mom, nought, organise, plaits, practise, programme, public school, quarreled, queue, sidewalk, sophomore, speciality, swede, theatre, toilet, traveller, Underground train, vacation
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American/British English
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In the wake of the globalization of English, few people today object to varying the use of American and British spelling. You can note variation between British and American spelling in Blueprint C, depending on whether the text has a more American or British basis. However, you might meet someone who does mind, and then it can be worth knowing some of the differences. Apart from spelling, some actual words can vary between American and British English, and you might find that in particular Americans will not understand you if you use the British word. If they do understand, they are rather likely to be amused by your funny use of English. In Britain, people are more exposed to American culture in films, TV and other media than vice versa, and so American English is generally understood and accepted. Even though second-language speakers such as students of advanced English are allowed to mix usage of American/ British forms, you are still advised to be consistent within any one text when you choose which spelling of a word to apply. You can easily find websites and spell-checkers to help you translate between American and British English. Most dictionaries these days will give both forms, and if online will usually provide both pronunciations for you to learn. The Focus on listening piece on p. 196 is a reading of an essay by Jamaica Kincaid. If you had the full essay text (see Teacher Book) in front of you, you would see that Kincaid uses American
Writing
Creative writing
a) Invent a character you might use in a short story. Jot down some basic personal facts and details, and then try writing a little stream of consciousness for that character in a certain situation. b) Develop this exercise with a partner/group. Each person invents a separate character in the way described, then reads anothers stream-of-consciousness extracts.
Post modernism
uth, There is no tr there are only opinions.
Nietzsche
c) See if you can then find ways of bringing these characters together into a narrative, writing collaboratively as a group, or writing separately and then comparing.
Modernism and Postmodernism, as the terms imply, have much in common. Each movement was triggered by a world war, and each was born into a time when it seemed there was no common system of values and where truth was relative. Postmodernism draws on many of Modernisms narrative techniques such as fragmentation, twisting time and chronology, and telling a story from multiple points of view. Like Modernism, Postmodernism is also skeptical about the connection between words and meaning.
Speaking
Arrange a reading of some of your groups own poems. Experiment, using different effects of pause, rhythm, volume, mood etc., maybe repeating the same poem in different ways. Try to be conscious of rhythm patterns, as discussed in the Wordshop on p. 125. Make sure you find ways of actively involving your audience.You can ask them to give you ideas for variations in reading a poem. You should certainly give them thought and reflection tasks, and ask them to give feedback. Some measure of your success in such a session is how much participation you win from your audience.
Poetry recitation
Follows World War II
Reading
Find an online review of the book Things Fall Apart, which took its title from Yeats The Second Coming. Read it through to see whether the reviewer in general recommends the book or not. Then read the review text more closely, picking out all words which are evaluative, and marking them as + or depending on whether the writer is evaluating an aspect positively or negatively. Did the number of +s and s add up to match your original general impression of whether the reviewer was recommending the book or not?
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Playful disregard for meaning Texts are fragmented Truth is relative Breaking of genre Decentering texts Intertextuality Question of language: what do words actually mean? Metafiction Blurry line between fiction and reality
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The critics checklist for Postmodernism
Who cares what it means? Truth is relative and fragmentation is fun
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Postmodernism has been called Modernism on steroids. It takes the premises of Modernism to new extremes and views the central lack of meaning with less gravity. For example, both movements are interested in fragments of reality. Virginia Woolfs To the Lighthouse (see p. 129) is a good example of a modernist text built on characters various fragmented thoughts. But where this fragmentation is seen as something tragic through a modernists lens, through a postmodern lens it is something to celebrate. Since the world is meaningless, a postmodernist would say, we should not pretend that art can (or should) make sense of it. Lets just have fun with this and experiment with literature, language, and ideas. Art should be liberated from the chains of meaning or truth.
Breaking the rules of genre
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and one text used another with respect for the original meaning, Postmodernism is irreverent, if not cheeky. It is saying, whose ideas are these anyway? I can take this and re-mould it, and even re-shape the meaning. Ha ha! Come and get me! Postmodern use of intertextuality shows that all texts are related in a web of ideas, and that there is no single central text. The ideas in a text, a postmodern author is saying, are fair game, and authors no longer have the ability to determine a central meaning in their own texts. For example, Tom Stoppards play uses two marginal characters from Hamlet to retell Shakespeares story from a new point of view. Hamlet is no longer the main focus of the play, and suddenly all the ideas are up for grabs. This process of questioning and overthrowing what is central in the text is called decentering a text.
Words words words! But what do they mean?
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Another playful aspect of Postmodernism can be found in the use of intertextuality. This occurs when an author re-uses or repeats material from another well-known work of art or literature in his or her own text. Think of how often biblical stories and references appear in other works. Moreover, contemporary music is full of intertextual references as one artist samples another. But whereas literature or art was once seen as pure and unchangeable,
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This problem with language and meaning has caused Postmodernism to focus on both the role of the writer and the role of the reader. The writing of postmodern authors often comments on the process of writing. This is called metafiction. It can appear in many differ-
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Instead of becoming frustrated with the lack of meaning, Post modernism delights in the opportunity to play with meaninglessness. In many cases, this playful aspect comes across through the breaking of genre, where the author evokes a readers expectations and assumptions about the standard framework for a type of literature, such as the romance novel or the mystery story. Then the author flips and turns the readers expectations inside out. You might think, for example, that you are reading a serious Shakespeare piece when you see the Stoppard excerpt from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead we include in this chapter. You will soon understand, however, that this isnt like any normal Shakespeare. Patterns are abandoned, characters do not behave as they are expecteded to, and endings twist. The reader finishes with questions, rather than answers.
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The celebration of meaninglessness plays itself out in the way a postmodern writer sees and uses language. Throughout postmodern literature, language is not to be entirely trusted. Think about the way a dictionary works. When you search for the meaning of a word in a dictionary, what do you find? More words! Words refer to words that refer to words. Where is the core of meaning? Can it ever be found? For a postmodernist, words cannot communicate exactly the same thing from one person to another. For example, the desk you have in front of you is quite unique. It may resemble the desk of the person sitting next to you, but it will have certain scratches which make it different from any other desk. Furthermore, if you wrote my desk on a piece of paper and sent it to someone who could not see your desk, it would be impossible for this other person to envisage an exact copy of your desk. This is the very problem postmodernists like to explore: all we have to work with are these subjective ideas in language. There is no stable or permanent reality anymore.
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ent ways. One example is a novel about a reader who is reading a novel (Italo Calvinos If on a Winters Night a Traveler). Another example can be found when authors themselves suddenly appear as characters in their own texts (Paul Austers City of Glass, John Fowles The French Lieutenants Woman). You can see another form of metafiction at work in the Stoppard excerpt when his characters notice that they are standing on a stage, with an audience watching them, and they make comments about this. When these instances of metafiction occur, you can sense the writers awareness of the readers or audiences role. The author acknowledges that the reader/audience is listening, observing, and collaborating in the production of the storys meaning and outcome. Some people can be disturbed by this suggestion that both the author and the reader are intruding on the text and producing its meaning. What makes it so disturbing is that the world has become so muddled that there is no distinction between fiction and reality. It boldly suggests that we are all fictional.
Why study postmodernism?
R e a d & R e act
1. What is the relationship between art and meaning, according
to a postmodernist?
2. How can it be said that Postmodernism is playful? 3. What is the problem with language, according to a
postmodernist?
4. What is the postmodernists problem with language? Explain in
your own words.

5. What does metafiction mean? Explain in your own words. 6. What is intertextuality? What is its purpose?
1. Do you agree with Nietzsches statement: There is no truth,
there are only opinions? Discuss.

2. Having read this discussion of the basics of postmodernism,
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Postmodernism follows closely on the heels of modernism, and its ideas are found at work throughout contemporary literature, art and film. Postmodernism can be delightfully silly, and it can be wonderful to be in on the joke when you understand what postmodern writers are saying about language and meaning.
thinking back, have you seen any postmodern films or read any books that could be called postmodern? If so, how do you think they fit the definition? For example, have you ever seen a film that mentions another film you know?
3. How do you think you react, as a reader, when you see that a
genre framework is being broken? Are you mostly frustrated, or do you also find it playful?
4. Do you agree that language is a prison? Why or why not?
In these last few chapters you meet many different -isms, and you can probably think of many more that are not mentioned here. When you are talking about the -isms, how does it sound? Would an English-speaking person easily be able to hear and understand what you are talking about? Pronunciation affected by your Swedish substratum may give them a problem. Say aloud Modernism, first in Swedish and then in English. In Swedish the sound starts to disappear around the -s, and the -m becomes just about inaudible. An English speaker might well hear just Moderniss, and think you are saying modernist. In English,
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substratum underlying level
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-isms
modern needs to be followed by two quite distinct syllables: iz-um. Note also that your voice should continue sounding all the way to the end of the word, to give a resonant z sound. To check whether you are vocalizing correctly, hold your fingers over your voice box as you say the word. Can you feel the vibration, the buzz all the way to the end?
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

By Tom Stoppard
You might have already heard of Tom Stoppard, since he won an Oscar for his screenplay Shakespeare in Love. This popular film intertextualizes and plays with the story of Romeo and Juliet.
Before this great success, Stoppard had another with his intertextualized version of Shakespeares Hamlet, in a play he titled Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
Working in a group, brainstorm to find as many ism words as you can. Then talk spontaneously about them, discussing their meanings and using the words as often as you can as you talk. Listen critically to one another, to hear plenty of nice buzzing izums!
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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two marginal characters, boyhood friends of Hamlets, who are summoned by the King and Queen to discover the reason for Hamlets strange behavior. In Hamlet they only have a few lines in the play, and there is a moment when the King seems unable to tell which one is Rosencrantz and which is Guildenstern. In Stoppards play, the two characters are forced to take centre stage, but they really have no clue whatsoever about what is going on at Elsinore. Unsure about what they should do or say next, they depend on brief appearances from Shakespeares characters (Claudius, Gertrude, Hamlet himself etc.) to give their lives some meaning. This inevitably leads to further confusion. While awaiting instructions, they entertain each other by placing bets and playing word games. In this scene, they have just been told about Hamlets strange behavior. A critical analysis of this scene will reveal the following postmodern elements: metafiction, fragmentation, playfulness, intertextuality and lack of a central meaning. See how many of them you can spot as you read.
ros: I cant remember What have we got to go on? guil: We have been briefed. Hamlets transformation. What do
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makes it bearable is the irrational belief that somebody interesting will come on in a minute guil: See anyone? ros: No. You? guil: No. (At footlights) What a fine persecution to be kept intrigued without ever quite being enlightened (Pause) Weve had no practice. ros: We could play at questions. guil: What good would that do? ros: Practice!
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you recollect? ros: Well, hes changed, hasnt he? The exterior and inward man fails to resemble guil: Draw him on to pleasures glean what afflicts him. ros: Something more than his fathers death guil: Hes always talking about us there arent two people living whom he dotes on more than us. ros: We cheer him up find out whats the matter guil: Exactly, its a matter of asking the right questions and giving away as little as we can. Its a game. ros: And then we can go? guil: And receive such thanks as fits a kings remembrance. ros: I like the sound of that. What do you think he means by remembrance? guil: He doesnt forget his friends. ros: Would you care to estimate? guil: Difficult to say, really some kings tend to be amnesiac, others I suppose the opposite, whatever that is ros: Yes but guil: Elephantine ? ros: Not how long how much? guil: Retentive hes a very retentive king, a royal retainer ros: What are you playing at? guil: Words, words. Theyre all we have to go on. (pause) ros: Shouldnt we be doing something constructive? guil: What did you have in mind? A short, blunt human pyramid ? ros: We could go. guil: Where? ros: After him. guil: Why? Theyve got us placed now if we start moving around, well all be chasing each other all night. (Hiatus.)
ros: (At footlights) How very intriguing! (Turns) I feel like a spectator an appalling prospect. The only thing that
guil: Statement! Onelove. ros: Cheating! guil: How? ros: I hadnt started yet. guil: Statement. Twolove. ros: Are you counting that? guil: What? ros: Are you counting that? guil: Foul! No repetitions. Threelove. First game to ros: Im not going to play if youre going to be like that. guil: Whose serve? ros: Hah? guil: Foul! No grunts. Loveone. ros: Whose go? guil: Why? ros: Why not? guil: What for? ros: Foul! No synonyms! Oneall. guil: What in Gods name is going on? ros: Foul! No rhetoric. Twoone. guil: What does it all add up to? ros: Cant you guess? guil: Were you addressing me? ros: IS there anyone else? guil: Who? ros: How would I know? guil: Why do you ask? ros: Are you serious? guil: Was that rhetoric? ros: No. guil: Statement! Twoall. Game point. ros: Whats the matter with you today? guil: When? ros: What? guil: Are you deaf? ros: Am I dead? guil: Yes or no? ros: Is there a choice?
guil: Is there a God? ros: Foul! No non sequiturs, threetwo, one game all. guil: (Seriously) Whats your name? ros: Whats yours? guil: I asked first. ros: Statement. Onelove. guil: Whats your name when youre at home? ros: Whats yours? guil: When Im at home? ros: Is it different at home? guil: What home? ros: Havent you got one? guil: Why do you ask? ros: What are you driving at? guil: (With emphasis) Whats your name?! ros: Repetition. Twolove. Match point to me. guil: (Seizing him violently) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU
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ARE? ros: Rhetoric! Game and match! (Pause) Wheres it going to end?
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1. Which lines indicate that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are
feeling confused? Choose three and explain.

2. What information are they sure about? 3. What strategy do they develop to deal with Hamlet? 4. Why wont Guildenstern agree to go after Hamlet? 5. Who introduces the word game, and how? 6. What are the rules of the game? How is the game scored? 7. Who wins the game?
Thoughts About the Person from Porlock

By Stevie Smith
Heres how the story goes. Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge published his poem Kubla Khan in 1816 as a fragment of only 54 lines. He claimed that he had been asleep in his chair, dreaming his fantastic vision of a paradise on earth. On awaking he started to write it down, when suddenly, ding dong. He was interrupted. The rest of his vision, which in his mind was an epic poem of great dimensions, vanished. The interrupter was a visiting person from Porlock. British poet Stevie Smith takes up the idea of the person from Porlock in her poem, which is at times funny and at times a meditation on escape.
1. Stoppard includes specific stage directions. Find the lines where
both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern approach the footlights (the lights marking the division between the edge of the stage and the audience). In the plays script, we are not told exactly whether they are looking at the actual footlights or the audience, or both, but their comments show a reaction to what they have observed. What are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern saying here about their position in the play, and what it means to be in the audience?
2. Why do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern distract themselves with
In Douglas Adamss Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency, a character who loves Coleridges poem returns to 1797 to stand guard at the poets door and prevent the famous interruption. He waits, but no one comes. He wonders if someone managed to slip past, so he knocks on the door. Oops. He has become the person from Porlock once again.
games?
3. If you were a film director, how would you want Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern to act out the word game they are playing?
4. a) When Rosencrantz asks shouldnt we be doing something
constructive? how does Guildenstern respond?
1. Refer to the Postmodernism checklist (p. 171) and identify as
many elements as you can in this text.

2. In Hamlet, after Hamlet seems to have gone mad, Polonius finds
him reading, and asks him what he is reading about. Hamlet says: Words, words, words. In the scene you have read here, Guildenstern also says: Words, words, theyre all we have to go on. What is the relationship between these two lines? What are Hamlet and Guildenstern saying about the function of words?
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b) What are they trying to tell us about language and meaning here?
Coleridge received the Person from Porlock And ever after called him a curse, Then why did he hurry to let him in? He could have hid in the house.
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Often I look out of the window Often I run to the gate I think, He will come this evening, I think it is rather late.
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It was not right of Coleridge in fact it was wrong (But often we all do wrong) As the truth is I think he was already stuck With Kubla Khan He was weeping and wailing: I am finished, finished, I shall never write another word of it, When along comes the Person from Porlock And takes the blame for it. It was not right, it was wrong, But often we all do wrong.
I am hungry to be interrupted For ever and ever amen O Person from Porlock come quickly And bring my thoughts to an end. I felicitate the people who have a Person from Porlock To break up everything and throw it away Because then there will be nothing to keep them And they need not stay. Why do they grumble so much? He comes like a benison They should be glad he has not forgotten them They might have had to go on. These thoughts are depressing I know. They are depressing, I wish I was more cheerful, it is more pleasant, Also it is a duty, we should smile as well as submitting To the purpose of One Above who is experimenting With various mixtures of human character which goes best, All is interesting for him it is exciting, but not for us. There I go again. Smile, smile, and get some work to do Then you will be practically unconscious without positively having to go.
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May we inquire the name of the Person from Porlock? Why, Porson, didnt you know? He lived at the bottom of Porlock Hill So had a long way to go, He wasnt much in the social sense Though his grandmother was a Warlock, One of the Rutlandshire ones I fancy And nothing to do with Porlock, And he lived at the bottom of the hill as I said And had a cat named Flo, And had a cat named Flo. I long for the Person from Porlock To bring my thoughts to an end, I am becoming impatient to see him I think of him as a friend,
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Rutlandshire small county in central England
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R e a d & R e a ct
1. What problem does Smith think Coleridge was really having when
Writing
1. Creative writing Work with a partner. One of you is Stoppard,
the person from Porlock interrupted him?

2. Who is this person from Porlock, according to Smith? Describe
him.
3. Make a chart where you identify which parts of the poem are
regular and rhythmic, and which parts read as fragmentary thoughts in plain verse.
4. Why does Smith say she longs for the person from Porlock? List
the other Smith. Write letters of apology, one to each of Shakespeare and Coleridge. Then read one anothers letters, and find a way of putting them together into one piece of postmodern writing. You might sketch a plot in which these two letters play a part.
2. Abstract Write a single short paragraph abstract of the
some of the reasons she gives in the poem.

5. Smith refers to the One Above who is experimenting. Who is
this? What is being experimented with? Why?
explanatory text on Postmodernism (p. 171). Your text should help an unknown person to decide whether or not it would be useful for them to read the full text, for a piece of research of their own.
3. Compare & contrast Write a short five-paragraph essay
p. 235 Abstract
1. What do you think the person from Porlock could represent for
Coleridge?
2. What do you think the person from Porlock represents for Smith? 3. Have you too ever longed to be interrupted, or released from an
in which you compare and contrast Modernism and Postmodernism, according to what you have learnt about these two movements in this and the previous chapters.
activity you were involved in? Why?

4. At times this poem is silly, and at times this poem is serious. Where
do you notice these transitions? What do you think Smith is telling us when she shifts between these moods?
5. What do you think Smith is really talking about when she admits
Speaking
1. Drama Rehearse the scene from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
these thoughts are depressing?

6. What is your own relationship with the creative process? What
are Dead out loud with a partner. Perform it for your classmates and compare the ways you interpret the lines. p. 182, on the game Questions as played by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Then, with a partner, try playing it. You can start with any mundane question. Can you keep it up for as long as a minute? You could ask a third person to be the referee, then change roles after each round.
3. Improvisation Working with a partner, decide which of you
1. Look at the critics checklist for Postmodernism. Which
postmodern elements can you find at work in this poem?

2. In these two postmodern pieces, Smith and Stoppard each
intertextualize a literary lion. Smith takes on Coleridge, and Stoppard takes on Shakespeare. Imagine that you are hosting a party where you invite all four writers. At the party, Smith will sit next to Coleridge and Stoppard will sit next to Shakespeare. What do you think they will say to each other? How will Smith and Stoppard explain what they have written to these older writers?
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will be Coleridge, and which the Person from Porlock. Decide between you who should play the Person from Porlock (e.g. a lost tourist, a friend, a person delivering something, a priest, an enemy, an alien from outer space), then improvise the scene. Afterwards, compare your version with what others in the class have come up with.
Postmodernism
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kinds of emotions do you experience when you are creating something (art, a piece of writing, building an object etc.)?
2. Improvisation Refer to your answers to Read & React 6,
Reading
1. Skimming, scanning Skim through Blueprint C to find other
p. 250 Skimming and scanning
poems, and then scan these poems to find examples of regular rhythmic patterns (poetic meter). You can refer to Read & React 3 p. 186, and compare patterns to those you found in Thoughts About the Person from Porlock.
2. Think, pair, share Read through the essay on Postmodernism
Post colonialism
Every day, we hear about globalization and observe how the combining and clashing of global cultures seems to define our world. You can see these effects of globalization in the kaleidoscope of faces on your city street, hear it in your music store, smell it in the local market, taste it in the newest trendy restaurant, and touch it on your computer keyboard. The diverse societies we live in are both the direct and indirect result of colonialism, since colonialism, essentially, paved the way for globalization. If European countries had not colonized vast territories around the globe, we might never have seen the levels of trade, exchange and migration that we see today. Even if your own country never colonized far-off nations, its development has been shaped by its proximity to, and trading relationships with, other European nations who held colonies.
kaleidoscope ever changing mix of bright colors diverse many and different Colonialism the control or governing influence of a nation over a dependent country, territory, or people (an action)
p. 251 Think, pair, share
again, and prepare a think, pair, share to present for a wholeclass discussion.
Covers the time both before and after a colonized country gains independence Examines the relationship between colonizers and colonized Occident/Orient distinction The Empire Writes Back Centre/margin Issues of gender, class, race or power Culture clash and hybridity Question of language who has the power to define what words mean? Intertextuality, especially using the colonizers important texts
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Postmodernism
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The critics checklist for Postcolonialism
What was colonialism?
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The first wave of colonial expansion began in the late century, when Spain, France, Portugal, Holland and Britain set sail to claim territory and trading rights in the Americas, Africa and Asia, where they found rich sources of export commodities like spices, slaves, gold, and furs. By the late 18th century, however, Britain and France had lost many of their colonies in North America. Meanwhile, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars focused more attention on Europe. By the late 19th century, imperial interests were rekindled when nations like Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium aggressively expanded their colonies around the globe. At the height of this Age of Imperialism, it was famously said that the sun never sets on the British Empire. By the beginning of the First World War, about 85% of the globe was controlled by only a few European countries.
What does postcolonial mean?
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distinction between Occidental (Western) and Oriental (Eastern) cultures. Westerners, he says, have always justified their colonization of other countries by creating a distorted and objectified vision of the people they colonized. Westerners, he argues, did not bother to understand the people they colonized as real, subjective people. This made it easier to paint themselves as better than the colonized people, who were in need of saving or betterment. His work focuses particularly on the colonization of Asian countries, so this is why he uses the term Oriental. He writes that the Oriental is always considered to be the other something mysterious, exotic, dark, emotional and inferior. By thinking about the people they colonized in these terms, it was easy for the colonizers to see themselves as the opposite: white, educated, reasonable and superior. Although Saids study focused on the relationship between the West and Asia, his ideas inspired study of the relationship between colonizers and colonized around the globe.
The Empire writes back: center vs. margins
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By the end of the Second World War, however, these empires had begun to crumble. India gained independence from British rule in 1947, and about a decade later, scores of African, Caribbean and Asian countries followed suit. The term postcolonial literally refers to the time after a country gains independence from colonization. But postcolonial critics are interested in the literary and cultural practices that arise to respond to, and resist, colonialism and imperialism both before and after a nation gains independence from its colonial rulers.
Colonizers and colonized
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Postcolonial literature often examines the relationship between the foreigners (usually white Western Europeans) who arrived to take over a colony, and the native peoples who already lived there. Texts often try to illuminate the points of view of both the colonizers and the colonized.
Occident vs. Orient: who is the other?
Gender, class, race and power

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Imperialism the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and 35 dependencies
The most influential book in the field of postcolonial studies is Orientalism, written by the Palestinian critic Edward Said in 1978. Said criticizes the set of assumptions and beliefs that draws a firm
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Postcolonial literature can explore a wide variety of issues, which all relate to the interaction between colonizers and colonized, centre and margin. One typical issue is how the powerful colonizing nations educational and religious structures have affected the culture and language of the original inhabitants. Another such issue is the confusion in attitudes towards gender, class or race, in areas where two or more very different cultures are living side by
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Postmodernism
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It is time for the Empire to Write Back, as Anglo-Indian writer Salman Rushdie once said. During the time of Imperialism, Europe positioned itself as the center of global political, social and cultural power, and its colonies found themselves on the margins. Postcolonial studies call for us to explore the power relationship between center and margin. In postcolonial literature, the voices of the marginalized can speak for themselves, and the assumptions about the position of white Westerners can be questioned and overthrown. When the Empire writes back, it is a chance for anyone who has lived at the outskirts of Empire finally to speak for themselves.
Who has the power to name?
Postcolonial writing shares many of its strategies with postmodern writing. Like postmodernism, postcolonialism is occupied with the question of language. In most cases, colonized peoples were forced to speak the white European language and to abandon their native tongues. Instead, white Europeans gave themselves the right to decide what words mean in the new culture. Postcolonial writers question this right to name and define meaning in a new culture, and often work to overthrow the colonizers language.
Why study Postcolonialism?
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side. England, for example, had some very different ideas about what makes a proper lady than some of its colonies like India or Jamaica might have had. Some postcolonial writers explore the question of whether it is ever possible to return to a precolonial past, to a time before the arrival of white Europeans.
Hybridity and intertextuality
This clash of cultures brought about through colonialism/globalization is complex and powerful, and it forces us to open our eyes to all the differences that can divide people, including race, religion, language, ethnic and gender identity. A study of Postcolonialism can offer us the critical tools to understand the roots of such differences in our modern society. The texts that follow in this chapter are examples of post colonial writers production, but postcolonial critical techniques can also be applied to earlier texts written from for example the standpoint of the colonial power. Your task then would be to use your postcolonial lens to critique the texts in question.
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The basic question of Postcolonialism is about hybridity or what happens when two cultures meet and are forced to combine. Is a new culture formed? What is taken? What is abandoned? Postcolonial writers are also very fond of intertextuality, and often playfully employ the colonizers texts to recreate new meanings in their own texts. An important postcolonial question is: what happens when a culture with its own religious system is colonized by a Christian culture? Native writers in Canada, Australia and New Zealand have worked to answer this question using texts that intertextualize the Bible.
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Postmodernism
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R e a d & R e a ct
1. After reading this text, explain in your own words what you
1. Look at the list of terms below. After reading this text about
think colonialism is.

2. What is the relationship between colonialism and globalization,

3. Why arent postcolonial critics interested exclusively in the
Postcolonialism, do you think any of them are problematic? Why or why not? What kind of a perspective on the world do these English terms reveal? Can you think of any more terms to add to the list?
summer vacation autumn/winter sales the mysterious Orient deepest darkest Africa ancient civilizations a primitive society east and west
2. Refer to the definition of Postcolonialism. Discuss who has
obsolete not in use anymore exerted to use authority, power, influence etc. in order to make something happen
time after a country gains independence? Look in the section what is Postcolonialism?
4. According to Edward Said, how did Occidentals see Orientals?
New Years resolution First world vs. Third World nations civilized vs. savage black vs. white skin Merry Christmas Happy Holidays
Why was this the case?

5. What does it is time for the Empire to write back mean?
Where did Rushdie find this expression?

6. List three different issues studied in postcolonialism. Why are
they important?
7. According to the text, what do Postcolonialism and
Postmodernism have in common? the power to assign these terms listed above and why this has become the case in our present global society. Do you think terms like these will eventually become obsolete?
3. Go back and read the essay on globalization in Chapter 1
1. List ten different nations you know to have been colonized,
and their colonizers. Do you know approximately when they gained independence?
2. Before the term postcolonial literature was coined, terms
like Commonwealth literature or Third World literature were sometimes used. Why do you think these terms are not considered appropriate any more?
3. In Sweden, who is at the centre of power, and who is
(page 31). This text refers to the Age of Imperialism, when nations exerted policies of colonial dominance over other nations. Is this age really over? Discuss.
4. Many people enjoy traveling to foreign countries. Have you
marginalized? Do you think this is going to change? How?

4. Think back to the time when countries regularly colonized
other countries. Clearly, there were no rules about how to interact with a new culture. With a partner, brainstorm a list of rules for cultural sensitivity. What should people think about when they are about to enter a foreign culture?
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Postmodernism
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ever been to a foreign country? What kind of relationship develops between travelers and the inhabitants of the host country? Can you see any links between travel and Postcolonialism?
Focus on Listening:
Lis t e n & R e act
On Seeing England for the First Time

By Jamaica Kincaid
Part I 1. How does Kincaid describe her childhood breakfasts? How
does she really feel about them?

2. Describe Kincaids fathers hat, using as much detail as you
In this powerful postcolonial essay, Jamaica Kincaid tells us that the space between the idea of something and its reality is wide and deep and dark. She illustrates this through her memories of childhood in Antigua, where she lived under the oppressive shadow of England and all things English. As an adult, she finally travels to England to confront its realities for the first time. Before you listen to the text, read the questions carefully. As you listen, jot down notes beside the questions to help you formulate your complete answers later. For an easier listening task, you can follow the word list on p. 262 as you listen. For more of a challenge, just take notes of anything you hear, including interesting or difficult words. Afterwards, look at the word list to see if any of your noted words match with the words in the list. Finally, use your notes to discuss the most interesting words you heard with a partner.
can remember. What do we learn about her life from this description?
3. What do you learn about the history of Antigua from listening
to this piece?
4. Kincaid tells us that I knew the names of their children, their
wives, their disappointments, their triumphs, the names of people who betrayed them, I knew the dates on which they were born and the dates they died. Who is she talking about here?
5. What do you learn about Kincaids childhood from listening
to this piece? Jot down notes, how you consider her family life, her schooling, the weather and the culture.
Part II 6. Kincaid tells us I saw that people rushed: they rushed to catch
trains, they rushed toward each other and away from each other; they rushed and rushed and rushed. Why dont people in Antigua rush the same way?
7. Kincaid describes her Antiguan neighborhood, called
The Ovals. The history of the street names is particularly significant. What do all the people who lived on Hawkins Street have in common?
8. What is Kincaids opinion of Christopher Columbus? 9. When Kincaid finally reaches England, how does she react?
Antigua xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxx xx xx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxx
Give a few examples.

10. What does Kincaid learn about the famous white cliffs of
Dover?
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Postmodernism
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3. Reconsider your answer to Reflect & Share 1 in the light of
1. Why is Kincaid so angry at England? Can you find any evidence
in the answers you wrote in the Listen & React sections?

2. Kincaid tells us that most of the labels on her clothes and the
objects in her life read Made in England. What do the labels on your clothes and objects read? What kind of relationship do you have with the place, or places, where your objects are made?
3. Why, according to Kincaid, was the statement draw a map of
globalization. Explain why most of Kincaids clothing and possessions were made in England. Why is it that most of your clothing and possessions are not made in England or even in Sweden? How has the world changed? How is it the same?
Further Studies
England, as she says something far worse than a declaration of war?

4. This text was originally published as an essay. Can you articulate
its thesis statement in your own words? Try to write it in one or two sentences.
5. Towards the end of the essay, Kincaid tells us that I may be
Do your own independent research about Antigua and its colonial past. How did the nation come to exist? When did it gain independence? Who are the people who live there and how do they make a living? What sort of culture do they have? Can you find any images of the country or its people?
capable of prejudice, but my prejudices have no weight to them, my prejudices have no force behind them. Do you find her to have prejudged England? Do you agree that her prejudices have no weight? Is she entitled to her opinions of England, or is she unfair?
6. Kincaid writes the space between the idea of something and its
Wo r d s h o p
Irony
reality is wide and deep and dark. Do you agree with her? Can you find any examples in your own life to illustrate this?
Irony has been a much-used device through many ages of literature, not least during and since the 20th century. Irony involves some kind of contradiction which might be amusing, surprising, or attacking. Literary use of irony is normally divided into three types:
Verbal irony contradiction of terms when you purposely say 1. the opposite of what you mean. This is much used in presentday conversation, e.g. Lovely weather, isnt it! when theres a blizzard blowing. Dramatic irony contradiction between what the audience/ 2. reader knows and what a character on stage/page knows. Much used by Jane Austen, who in her subtle writing seems to take her reader by the hand, saying, Do come and look at this ridiculous, pompous character, who thinks hes Gods gift to the women of England! Irony of situation contradiction between what the reader/ 3. audience or a character is expecting, and what actually happens, e.g. a teacher who has just been teaching his/her students about the importance of respecting speed limits when driving is caught for speeding on the way home.
1. Reflect on what you know about this text. Who is Jamaica
2. Blueprint C features several postcolonial women in the form
of Kincaid, Mary Tendo p. 196 and Bertha Mason p. 217. All three travel from far-away colonies to come to England. Design a chart to help you compare the three women. You can choose the categories for comparison yourself, but make sure you consider what they have in common and what makes them different. Which character do you consider to be the most successful as she negotiates her relationship with the colonizing nation? Which character do you most sympathize with? Why?
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When irony is used to be deliberately contemptuous or hurtful to someone, we can call it sarcasm.
Postmodernism
199
Kincaid? What is the overall point she is trying to make in this memoir? Given what you know, can you say how this text is postcolonial? Refer to the critics checklist on p. 189 and see what you can find in this listening piece.
Focus on music:
1. Do you detect any irony in that Kincaid said the white
cliffs of Dover were not so white after all? Much irony can be observed in Kincaids essay, particularly in the various instances of demonstrated differences between her childhood idea of England, and the reality of England she met as an adult. Use the word list on p. 262 to remind yourself of the content of what you listened to, and find as many instances of irony as you can. Say what kinds of irony you think they are verbal, dramatic or situational.
2. Be on the look-out for the three types of irony in texts
Somalia
By Knaan
Uh, yeah, Somalia Yeah, I spit it for my block, its an ode, I admit it Here the city code is lock and load, any minute is rocknroll And you rocknroll and feel your soul leavin Its just the wrong dance thatll leave you not breathin Im not particularly proud of this predicament but Im born and bred in this tenement, Im sentimental, what? Plus its only right to represent my hood and what not? So Im about to do it in the music, in the movies
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throughout this book (e.g. Trinkauss most ironic finding, Generation Me) as well as elsewhere.
Cut to the chase pan across to the face, Im right there Freeze frame on the street name, oops, wait a minute This is where the streets have no name and the drain of sewage You can see it in this boy how the hate is brewin Cause when his tummy tucks in, fuck, the pain is fluid So what difference does it make entertaining, threw it Some get high mixing coke and gun powder, sniffin She got a gun but could have been a model or physician So what you know bout the pirates terrorize the ocean To never know a simple day without a big commotion It cant be healthy just to live with a such steep emotion And when I try and sleep, I see coffins closin [repeat] Yeah, yeah, we used to take barbed wire Mold them around discarded bike tires Roll em down the hill on foot blazin Now that was our version of mountain bike racing, damn
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Postmodernism
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grammy American annual award for outstanding achievement in music, established in 1958
grammar education British secondary school education, concentrating on academic courses
Do you see why its amazing When someone comes out of such a dire situation And learns the English language Just to share his observation?
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Probably get a Grammy without a grammar education So fuck you school and fuck you immigration And all of you who thought I wouldnt amount to constipation And now Im here without the slightest fear and reservation They love me in the slums and in the native reservations The world is a ghetto with ministering deprivation My mommy didnt raise no fool, did she? I promise, I would get it and remain strictly loyal Cause when they get it then they let it all switch and spoil But I just illuminated it like kitchen foil
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So what you know bout the pirates terrorize the ocean To never know a simple day without a big commotion It cant be healthy just to live with a such steep emotion And when I try and sleep, I see coffins closin [repeat] Yeah, Somalia
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Postmodernism
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A lot of main stream niggas is yappin about yappin A lot of underground niggas is rappin about rappin I just wanna tell you whats really crackalackan Before the tears came down this is what happened
R e a d & R e a ct
1. Find the words I spit it for my block. What does this mean?
Writing
1. Critical review Watch the video of Somalia, and write a critical
Write it in your own words.

2. Find the references to piracy in the song. What do you know
about Somalias modern-day pirates? What has been your primary source of information?
3. Describe some of the typical activities for young people in the
streets of Somalia as mentioned in the song.

4. How does Knaan make reference to himself in the song? 5. What is his opinion of school and immigration? Why do you
review of it in a style appropriate for either a) a blog, or b) a serious newspaper/magazine, which comments on news and situations around the world. You could also do both types and compare your stylistic choices.
2. Compare & contrast Refer to Compare & Analyze 2 on p.198,
think he feels this way?
and write an essay in which you compare and contrast two of the postcolonial women in literary excerpts in Blueprint C.
3. Creative writing Take Jamaica Kincaids description of her
1. An ode is a poem written to be sung. Traditionally odes are
poems intended to praise or glorify something and convey a dignified, lofty feeling. Why does Knaan say that this song is an ode? Who does it praise or glorify?
2. Find the references to rock and roll in the song and explain
childhood education as a starting point, and imagine her or someone like her having continued similarly until the age of 18, and then applying to a British university. Be imaginative, and write her Personal Statement.
4. Abstract Write a single short paragraph abstract of the
how Knaan plays with the traditional meaning of the term. How is this postcolonial?
3. When he says this is where the streets have no name, to what
is he referring? Can you draw any postcolonial links here?
explanatory text on Postcolonialism (p. 189193). Your text should help an unknown person to decide whether or not it would be useful for them to read the full text for a piece of research of their own.
p. 235 Abstract
Speaking
topic: the space between the idea of something and its reality is wide and deep and dark. Tell of some event in your own life where you met a reality that was very different from the idea you had of it beforehand. Refer to Kincaids experience of England.
2. Prepared speech Prepare a speech where you explain the ways
you think that Postcolonialism has affected the society you live in.
p. 243 Prepared speech
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Postmodernism
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How is Knaan different from most of the commercially successfully American rappers he refers to in his song? How does he comment on them? How does his rap compare to other rap you know about?
1. Impromptu speech Give a one-minute impromptu speech on the
3. Debate Hold a formal class debate on the following resolution:
p. 246 Debate
To counteract the long dominance of literature by writers from colonial powers, all schools should ensure that at least half of the literature read by students for school work is written by writers from formerly colonized nations
Reading
1. Close reading Go back to the paragraph on p. 190 headed
Feminist Criticism
Gender fascinates us. Books, poems, art, theatre and film have always been preoccupied with the interplay between men and women. Both directly and indirectly, writers over the centuries have tried to untangle the mystery of what is male and female. What divides us? What draws us to each other? It is an undeniable fact that throughout most of our history, women have played second fiddle to men. Even today, we can question whether or not gender equality really has been achieved anywhere in the world. As with Postcolonialism, you can use the list below to help recognize and react to two types of texts: firstly, those that lack respect for females; secondly, those that are specifically written AS feminist texts, aiming to improve gender attitudes in the world.
Occident vs. Orient: who is the other? Practise close reading of this passage. Begin by ensuring that you fully understand all the words used, so look up any you are not entirely sure of. Then take each sentence in turn and translate it into your own language. Finally, close the book and write down in English your own explanation of the content of the passage.
2. Reading vs. listening Both examples of postcolonial literature
The critics checklist for Feminism Centre vs. margins of power Doubly marginalized e.g. lesbians and women of color On the lookout for patriarchy On the lookout for masculine language Stereotypical oppositions between male/female Portrayal of the female, especially her body Madonna/whore paradox
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Feminist Criticism
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in this chapter are listening texts. How is the way you listen to a text different from the way you read a text? Make a chart where you note down the differences between your reading process and your listening process. Consider some of these questions: what circumstances do you need to read effectively (A quiet room? A comfortable chair? Print that is easy to see? etc.) What circumstances do you need to listen effectively? (How does the speakers voice affect you? What sort of volume do you like? etc.) Which do you find easier, listening to a text or reading one? Why? What skills could you work on to be a better reader? What skills could you work on to be a better listener?
marginalized outside the norms which govern society
Center vs. margins
Like the postcolonial critic, the feminist critic is concerned with the relationship between the center and the margins of society. In this case, the center of society is the territory of white, heterosexual males, and the margins belong to females.
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argue that a new feminine language needs to be developed. Over the centuries, men have had the power to name things, so we have ended up with a vocabulary that excludes women, such as mankind, chairman, to master.
Stereotypical oppositions between male and female
Doubly marginalized: excluded by race and sexuality
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The margins can consist of several layers, where, for example, white women enjoy a position much closer to the center of power than women of color, who are doubly marginalized by their race and gender, or lesbians, who are excluded because of their sexual orientation.
Uncovering patriarchy
Masculine language has set up stereotypical oppositions between male and female: if men are active, then women are passive; if men are reasonable, then women are emotional; if men are like the sun, then women are like the moon, etc.
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Objects or subjects? Madonnas or whores?
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Who owns words?
Like postmodernism and postcolonialism, feminism is preoccupied with the questions of language and meaning. Feminist critics often point out that language is the domain of the masculine, and
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Feminist Criticism
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Feminist critics work on two fronts. They examine the portrayal of women in literature written by men to uncover evidence of oppression and patriarchy, and they also pay special attention to literature written by women, especially women who have been ignored or forgotten in favor of celebrating the great male authors of their time. The word patriarchy refers to the way our society has been governed by men, generation after generation. Keep in mind that it was only at the beginning of the 20th century that women in the West even gained the right to vote, let alone hold political office. But patriarchy can be found at every level of society; it is not just political but personal. The traditional family structure, for example, where the man is held up as the breadwinner and leader, is also evidence of patriarchy. In the business world, an examination of advertising will reveal the continual objectification of women. Through the long lens of history, any gender equality we have achieved in the past few generations is still in its infancy. It is also important to point out that any fledgling equality between women and men can only be located in a limited number of countries in the world, mostly in Europe and North America.
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Masculine language has also objectified the female body, seeing it from opposing points of view. Sometimes, a womans body is portrayed as an angelic vehicle of perfection (like the madonna, or Virgin Mary), and at other times, a womans body is portrayed like an animals: dirty and bestial. Feminist critics are concerned with exposing this paradoxical portrayal of women as either madonnas or whores. They call for a feminine language that describes the female body in realistic, positive terms, and demand that women are defined in literature as subjects, not objects.
Why study feminist criticism?
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If you can use a feminist lens to gaze at literature, you will become adept at identifying power relationships and the interplay be tween the center and the margins of society. Because Feminism is concerned with those who are marginalized and disempowered, it has paved the way for other theories that examine the position of outsiders in society. Feminist criticism gives readers tools they can use to pry open texts and look at the relationship between the genders as it is revealed in literature, and perhaps also in life.
R e a d & R e a ct
Look at the following examples and explain what problems you see.
Every student drove his car to school. Titles of professions: fireman, mailman, policeman. The nurse gave her patient a vitamin tablet. Early men were hunter-gatherers.
1. What does the text tell us that Feminism has in common with
Postcolonialism?
2. What does it mean to be doubly marginalized? What examples
of such groups are given in the text?

3. The text tells us that a feminist critic will typically look for
something hidden within a text being studied. What is she or he looking for?
4. In what way is the feminist critic especially interested in language,
and choice of words?

5. The so-called madonna/whore paradox is explained in the text.
It is actually not so difficult to use more gender-neutral constructions in English, and to avoid the kinds of sexist language you see in the examples above. Here are some suggestions.
Pronoun problems 1. Change singular nouns to plurals and use a gender neutral-
Describe in your own words these two very different male views of women and their bodies.
6. From reading this text, what is your understanding of patriarchy?
pronoun, or try to avoid the pronoun entirely: Instead of A President who cannot finish his term of office use A President who cannot finish the term of office
2. If you think you must use a singular adjective like each or
1. How much do you feel your own gender defines you? 2. Do you feel that men and women are equal in the society you live
in? If not, what needs to change?

3. Discuss the portrayal of the female body on TV and in magazines. 4. Some feminists have gone further to suggest alternative spellings
every, try to avoid using a pronoun: Instead of Each student must hand in his homework on Thursday, use Each student must hand in the assigned homework on Thursday.
3. When using a job title, try to eliminate the pronoun: Instead of
5. These days, it is not uncommon to hear young women say that
they are not feminists. Why do you think that feminism has such a bad rap? Have we gone beyond the need to worry about gender equality?
6. Is it OK for a man to be a feminist?
Be careful about using constructions like his/her, she/he, s/he. Although there is a trend towards accepting them, many readers still find them awkward and distracting.
Gender-neutral titles
Instead of sex-linked titles, try neutral titles.
Inclusive language, pronoun problems, gender-neutral titles

Wo r d s h o p
Fireman fireperson is awkward, but firefighter is not Policeman policeperson sounds silly, but police officer sounds natural Mailman mailperson seems awkward, postal worker does not Cleaning woman house cleaner, office cleaner, custodian are all preferable
Inclusive language
Feminists have often criticized the patriarchal nature of the English language. More than other languages, English does have a tendency to emphasize gender, and often to choose one gender over another.
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Feminist Criticism
211
that completely eliminate any reference to gender, such as womyn instead of women or herstory instead of history. What do you think about these more radical changes to the English language? Will they catch on?
The nurse gave her patient a vitamin, use The nurse gave the patient a vitamin.
4. When using the pronoun seems unavoidable, use both male and
female pronouns: Instead of A student should meet with his advisor, use A student should meet with his or her advisor.
More tips
Avoid using man as a noun when you are really referring to men and women.
Early men were hunter-gatherers. Rather, say: Early humans were , or Early men and women
Jane Eyre
By Charlotte Bront
The plot of Charlotte Bronts 1847 novel follows the form of a Bildungsroman, which is the story of a characters growth from child to adulthood, emphasizing the emotions and experiences which lead the character on their path to maturity. We meet Jane Eyre as a penniless orphan who spends a miserable childhood at a boarding school called Lowood. She is hired as a governess for the young Adele, who lives under the care of Mr. Rochester, the mysterious master of the Thornfield estate. Rochester is burdened by a dark secret, which provides most of the novels gothic suspense. Jane and Rochester fall in love, she with his frank and passionate manner, and he with her bright mind and independent spirit.
1. The following words are full of men or man. In some cases
the intended meaning has to do with a male human being, in others the man root has to do with hand (Latin manus), or some other quite different original mean ing. Look through the words to see how many you think can be seen as having patriarchal or male gender connotations, even if this is not an element of the words original meaning. E.g. even in todays world, many managers are men. Then you can use these words as a basis for a piece of satirical writing about gender. You could write this in the form of a poem, a short dramatic skit, or another creative format you choose yourself.
human, woman, manage, Amen, mangle, maneuver, mandate, mandatory, man-of-war, mango, manacle, man-hour, maniac, manicure, manipulate, mankind, mannequin, manners, manpower, manslaughter, manure, emanate, Manchester, amendment, mental, almanac, acumen, menstruation
2. No more man and men in commandments! Pretend you are
the inclusive language police, and invent words to replace all traces of man/men in the above list with something else. You might try to make them gender inclusive, using e.g. person, folk, being, or you could reverse the bias and substitute the men with female words, e.g. woman, girl. Have fun and be inventive!
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Feminist Criticism
213
emancipate, manuscript, semen, manufacture, adamant,
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On the eve of her marriage to Rochester, a strange figure breaks into Janes room and rips her wedding veil. The next day, the figure is revealed to be Rochesters wife, a mad Creole woman he married in Jamaica during the time he lived there, managing his fathers colonial holdings. The woman he calls Bertha Mason has been locked in the attic, under the care of an alcoholic servant, Grace Poole. When Grace Poole is asleep, the madwoman is able to steal her keys and wander through the mansion. On one night walk, she meets her visiting brother, Richard Mason, and attacks him. In this excerpt, Jane meets the nightmarish figure who has been haunting Thornfield.
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Feminist Criticism
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ou know this place, Mason, said our guide; she bit and stabbed you here. He lifted the hangings from the wall, uncovering the second door: this, too, he opened. In a room without a window, there burnt a fire, guarded by a high and strong fender, and a lamp suspended from the ceiling by a chain. Grace Poole bent over the fire, apparently cooking something in a saucepan. In the deep shade, at the further end of the room, a figure ran backwards and forwards. What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight, tell: it grovelled seemingly, on all fours, it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal: but it was covered with clothing; and a quantity of dark, grizzled hair, wild as a mane, hid its head and face. Good-morrow, Mrs Poole! said Mr Rochester. How are you? And how is your charge today? Were tolerable, sir, I thank you, replied Grace, lifting the boiling mess carefully on to the hob: rather snappish, but not rageous. A fierce cry seemed to give the lie to her favourable report: the clothed hyena rose up, and stood tall on its hind feet. Ah, sir, she sees you! exclaimed Grace; Youd better not stay. Only a few moments, Grace: you must allow me a few moments. Take care then, sir! for Gods sake, take care! The maniac bellowed: she parted her shaggy locks from her vis-
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age, and gazed wildly at her visitors. I recognized well that purple face, those bloated features. Mrs Poole advanced. Keep out of the way, said Mr Rochester, thrusting her aside: she has no knife now, I suppose? And Im on my guard. One never knows what she has, sir: she is so cunning: it is not in mortal discretion to fathom her craft. We had better leave her, whispered Mason. Go to the devil! was his brother-in-laws recommendation. Ware! cried Grace. The three gentlemen retreated simulta neously. Mr Rochester flung me behind him: the lunatic sprang and grappled his throat viciously, and laid her teeth to his cheek: they struggled. She was a big woman, in stature almost equalling her husband, and corpu lent besides: she showed virile force in the contest more than once she almost throttled him, athletic as he was. He could have settled her with a well-planted blow; but he would not strike: he would only wrestle. At last he mastered her arms; Grace Poole gave him a cord, and he pin ioned them behind her: with more rope, which was at hand, he bound her to a chair. The operation was performed amidst the fiercest yells, and the most convulsive plunges. Mr Rochester then turned to the spectators: he looked at them with a smile both acrid and desolate. This is my wife, said he. Such is the sole conjugal embrace I am ever to know such are the endearments which are to solace my leisure hours! And this is what I wished to have (laying his hand on my shoulder): this young girl, who stands so grave and quiet at the mouth of hell, looking collectedly at the gambols of a demon. I wanted her just as a change after that fierce ragout. Wood and Briggs, look at the difference! Compare these clear eyes with the red balls yonder this face with that mask this form with that bulk; then, judge me, priest of the Gospel and man of the law, and remember, with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged! Off with you now. I must shut up my prize.
R e a d & R e a ct
1. Why is Jane Eyres Bertha Mason locked in the attic of
Wide Sargasso Sea

By Jean Rhys
Thornfield?
2. How is Bertha Mason portrayed in Jane Eyre? List as many
words as you can find that are used to describe her.

3. How does Rochester compare Jane and Bertha in the Jane Eyre
Jean Rhys grew up on the Caribbean island of Dominica during the final days of Englands colonial rule. Born of a Welsh father and a Creole mother, Rhyss writing is informed by both European and West Indian sensibilities. When Rhys read Jane Eyre as a young girl, the figure of Rochesters monstrous Creole wife, Bertha Mason, remained fixed in her imagination. Years later Rhys said that she thought she should try to write her a life. The result was Wide Sargasso Sea, published in 1966.
excerpt?
1. Do you feel any sympathy at all toward Jane Eyres Bertha?
Why dont you think Bront allowed her any subjectivity here?
2. Can Jane Eyre be seen as a feminist text, from what you know
of the portrayal of a) Jane? b) Bertha Mason? c) Grace Poole? d) Rochester and his expectations of a life partner?
5
1. Look back at Feminist Criticism (p. 208) and explain in what
The first part of the novel is narrated by the young heroine, the beautiful but isolated Antoinette Cosway (her husband later insists on calling her Bertha). The white daughter of former slave owners, she is married off to a visiting Englishman, Rochester. Rochester narrates the second part of the novel, where he describes his arrival in the West Indies, his disastrous marriage and his view of Antoinettes descent into madness. The final section in the novel is again narrated by Antoinette, this time from her attic room at Thornfield.
way Bertha Mason is doubly, or even triply marginalized.

2. On p. 207209 we read how the feminist critic even pries open
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Feminist Criticism
217
older, classical texts with new tools, to uncover a) underlying assumptions of patriarchy and b) evidence of the oppression of women. Armed with these tools, what can you uncover in Jane Eyre?
n this room I wake early and lie shivering for it is very cold. At last Grace Poole, the woman who looks after me, lights a fire with paper and sticks and lumps of coal. She kneels to blow it with bellows. The paper shrivels, the sticks crackle and spit, the coal smoulders and glowers. In the end flames shoot up and they are beautiful. I get out of bed and go close to watch them and to wonder why I have been brought here. For what reason? There must be a reason. What is it that I must do? When I first came I thought it would be for a day, two days, a week perhaps. I thought that when I saw him and spoke to him I would be wise as serpents, harmless as doves. I give you all I have freely, I would say, and I will not trouble you again if you will let me go. But he never came.
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The woman Grace sleeps in my room. At night I sometimes see her sitting at the table counting money. She holds a gold piece in her hand and smiles. Then she puts it all into a little canvas bag with a drawstring and hangs the bag round her neck so that it is hidden in her dress. At first she used to look at me before she did this but I always pretended to be asleep, now she does not trouble about me. She drinks from a bottle on the table then she goes to bed, or puts her arms on the table, her head on her arms, and sleeps. But I lie watching the fire die out. When she is snoring I get up and I have tasted the drink without colour in the bottle. The first time I did this I wanted to spit it out but managed to swallow it. When I got back into bed I could remember more and think again. I was not cold. There is one window high up you cannot see out of it. My bed had doors but they have been taken away. There is not much else in the room. Her bed, a black press, the table in the middle and two black chairs carved with fruit and flowers. They have high backs and no arms. The dressing-room is very small, the room next to this one is hung with tapestry. Looking at the tapestry one day I recognized my mother dressed in an evening gown but with bare feet. She looked away from me, over my head just as she used to do. I wouldnt tell Grace this. Her name oughtnt to be Grace. Names matter, like when he wouldnt call me Antoinette, and I saw Antoinette drifting out of the window with her scents, her pretty clothes and her looking-glass. There is no looking-glass here and I dont know what I am like now. I remember watching myself brush my hair and how my eyes looked back at me. The girl I saw was myself yet not quite myself. Long ago when I was a child and very lonely I tried to kiss her. But the glass was between us hard, cold and misted over with my breath. Now they have taken everything away. What am I doing in this place and who am I? The door of the tapestry room is kept locked. It leads, I know, into a passage. That is where Grace stands and talks to another woman whom I have never seen. Her name is Leah. I listen but I cannot understand what they say.
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So there is still the sound of whispering that I have heard all my life, but these are different voices. When night comes, and she has had several drinks and sleeps, it is easy to take the keys. I know now where she keeps them. Then I open the door and walk into their world. It is, as I always knew, made of cardboard. I have seen it before somewhere, this cardboard world where everything is coloured brown or dark red or yellow that has no light in it. As I walk along the passages I wish I could see what is behind the cardboard. They tell me I am in England but I dont believe them. We lost our way to England. When? Where? I dont remember, but we lost it. Was it that evening in the cabin when he found me talking to the young man who brought me my food? I put my arms round his neck and asked him to help me. He said, I didnt know what to do, sir. I smashed the glasses and plates against the porthole. I hoped it would break and the sea come in. A woman came and then an older man who cleared up the broken things on the floor. He did not look at me while he was doing it. The third man said drink this and you will sleep. I drank it and I said, It isnt like it seems to be. I know. It never is, he said. And then I slept. When I woke it was a different sea. Colder. It was that night, I think, that we changed course and lost our way to England. This cardboard house where I walk at night is not England.
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Feminist Criticism
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R e a d & R e a ct
5. Jane Eyre has told her story, thanks to Bront, and Antoinette/
1. In the excerpt from Wide Sargasso Sea, how does Antoinette
feel?
2. What evidence in the text can you see that indicates she is
mad (mentally ill)?

3. What is Antoinettes perception of England?
Bertha has told hers through Rhys. Now it is Grace Pooles turn. Brainstorm in a group to find modern feminist ways of telling the story of Eyre, Mason and Rochester as seen through Pooles eyes.
6. Rhyss text is celebrated by feminists, postcolonialists and
postmodernists alike. Find elements of each critical approach in her text.
1. Do you feel sympathy for Antoinette in her attic room in Wide
Sargasso Sea? How does Rhys create her as a subject, rather than an object?
2. Look at the classroom around you, and describe how you
Further Studies
think you might see it if you were locked into it as a mental patient.
3. Rhys said that she wanted to write a life for Bertha
Mason. Are there any other characters in literature you have encountered who also should have their own stories told?
1. Now that you have read the Wide Sargasso Sea extract, go
Choose one of the four approaches to 20th-century literature: Modernism, Postmodernism, Postcolonialism, or Feminism. Find a writer that represents this movement and write an essay that describes their works and how their works fit the definition of the movement. For example, you could look at one of these Nobel laureates from recent years: Nadine Gordimer, Derek Walcott, Toni Morrison, V.S. Naipaul, J.M. Coetzee, Harold Pinter, Doris Lessing. Describe some of their major novels, short stories, poetry collections or dramas, and the ism ideas at work in their writing. This does not necessarily mean you have to read all their works, but perhaps you could look at some critical reviews and use this as a research basis.
back to the Jane Eyre extract and list anything you now see differently. of Rochester wanting to re-name Antoinette?
3. In their texts, both Bront and Rhys place strong emphasis on
Bertha/Antoinettes physical appearance. Find the parts of each text that deal with her appearance and discuss how the two authors describe the female body, bearing in mind what is said about portrayal of the female body on p. 209.
4. In the Jane Eyre text, Bertha Mason is a monster. But after
reading the Wide Sargasso Sea passage, do you think that Rhys goes too far and simply creates a victim? If not, how does she avoid this?
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Feminist Criticism
221
2. From a feminist critics point of view, what is the significance
Writing
1. Creative writing Use your work on man-words from
5. Report writing Advanced level in English has a focus on
Wordshop p. 212 to write a satirical poem on gender. Try to use alliteration, assonance, rhyme etc.
2. Creative writing Choose a classic work of literature to read.
Just as Jean Rhys or Tom Stoppard found marginal characters whose stories could be told from an entirely new point of view, find one yourself and write his or her story. You could for example begin by returning to what you did in Compare & Analyze 5 on p. 221, and try writing a little of Grace Pooles stream of consciousness.
3. Critical review Choose a film to review that could be defined
2. Debate Prepare and deliver a speech for/against one of the
4. Compare & contrast Write a short five-paragraph essay in

which you compare and contrast feminist and postcolonial criticism, according to what you have learnt about these two movements in this and the previous chapters.
following statements, or hold a class debate (see Speakers Corner pp. 243: Feminism is relevant in todays society; There is no truth, there are only opinions; A critic is a man who knows the way but cant drive the car (Kenneth Tynan 1966).
p. 246 Debate
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Feminist Criticism
223
as either modernist, postmodern, postcolonial or feminist. Give a brief synopsis of the plot, and then concentrate on explaining why you think the film follows one of these four movements. In addition to your critical analysis of the contents of the film, your review should also include an evaluative comment about the quality. Examples of films to look at: The Piano, The Quiet American, Beautiful People, The Hours, Magnolia, Smoke, The English Patient, Thelma and Louise, Bread and Roses, A Passage to India, Apocalypse Now, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, The Wide Sargasso Sea, Jane Eyre, Orlando, Avatar, Moulin Rouge, Shakespeare in Love, Romeo and Juliet, Short Cuts, Bright Star, Slumdog Millionaire, Bend it Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice, (a Bollywood production) An Education, Ten Things I Hate About You, Atonement, The Hours, Whip It.
reading not only fiction but also non-fiction, especially within your areas of study or other personal interests. Make an assessment of how much non-fiction reading you have done, and do some analysis of proportions of different types of reading, e.g. sports 20%, gossip 50%! Be prepared to comment in general on language and content, and what you have learnt from this type of reading. Show how this reading is useful to you with regard to your vocational or higher study plans for the future, as well as in the sphere of your private interests. Refer to one or two specific texts to illustrate points you make, and to demonstrate your source criticism skills (see p. 226). As always in reports, use as much formal and impersonal language as you can, though in this case you will of course need to use the pronoun I. Use subheadings, and be sure to distinguish clearly between fact and opinion.
p. 238 Report writing
Speaking
1. Impromptu speech Give a one-minute impromptu speech on the
topic: Some jobs are suitable for men, some for women, or on Gloria Steinems quote: There are really not many jobs that actually require a penis or a vagina, and all other occupations should be open to everyone.
Reading
1. Scanning By now, you have probably read most of the texts
p. 250 Scanning
in Blueprint C. Now, to practise your scanning skills, go back through the texts in this book and find any to which you could apply some of your feminist critical skills.
2. Close reading Re-read the extract from Jane Eyre, and find
any elements that seem to you to use an older language style than is common in writing today. Try to find both vocabulary and sentence structure examples. Do these elements make the language harder to understand? Suggest how these extracts might be written in todays English. Focusing on style elements in this way can aid your understanding of more difficult parts of texts.
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Blueprint C Version 2.

christina m c kay micke brodin jeanette clayton christopher webster

Things That Go Bump In the Night 45

Use of commas Subject-verb agreement Homophones, homographs and homonyms

Wherever You Go, There You Are 85

Neologisms -ships Metaphor and simile

Mind Your Manners 115

Poetic effects Puns Euphemisms, colloquialisms, slang

Feminist Criticism 207 Literary Criticism 145

Inclusive language, pronoun problems, gender-neutral titles

Blue Pages 225

English The International Shark?

1. Why is language a sensitive issue for most people, according to

this text? Do you agree? Why or why not?

1. Go through the eat words above, and put them in three

language? Why is this?

have a different identity when you speak English?

100 years time?

Synonyms and near synonyms

window of the help desk at Los Angeles railway station.

There Is No Word For Goodbye

1. Identify the two speakers in the poem and explain their

The House on Mango Street

relationship. Why is this relationship important?

other? What does it mean?

1. Why is there no word for goodbye in Athabaskan? Explain in

your own words.

Peters Projection World Map

find in this text.

her, based on the information given in the text.

1. Reflect on your own name. Does it have a meaning? If you

with your name changed since you were a small child?

English: a drop in the bucket?

1. In which of the three circles do you think the most growth is

circles of Eng lish.

1. In the text about the outer or extended circle, what do

1. Do you think this is an accurate way to depict the global

spread of English? What drawbacks or limitations do you see in Kachrus model?

etymology study of the origin and development of words

2. Do some research on the etymology of the listed words. What

polyglot using many languages; multilinguistic

The Gettysburg Address

1. What factors are stoking interest in English around the world,

according to the article?

1. The article mentions that Iran tried to ban certain English

Style and syntax

1. Why does Syme think it is necessary to write yet another

edition of the Newspeak dictionary?

Newspeak help to reduce the risk of thought-crime in his society?

1. Has Newspeak become a reality in our time? If so, how? Can

you think of any examples where a language like Newspeak is used?

Even the slogans will change. (The verb = will change)

1. Can Globish be considered a type of Newspeak? Argue for or

against such a notion.

Globalization A Hot Potato

of globalization as mentioned in the article.

according to the text?

according to the text?

1. Answer the questions in the first paragraph on p. 31 about

two cultures combining to form something new, in your own life?

1. Write a paragraph where you explore what the English

What connections can you see between globalization and Postcolonialism?

Imagery and idioms