Extract number 6: the institution.

• The employees and Ben

From « Ben had been taken to a place in the North of England » to « he would
not have gone to work ».  What are the boy’s and girl’s feelings, opinions and
Group 1 attitude toward Ben? Were they professional when they
• The institution’s building: handled Ben at the institution?
 What imagery is developed in the extract? To what extent  Why did the girl and boy insist on piling a lot of blankets
does it contribute to set up the atmosphere? on Ben in the car?
 How did they consider Ben as?
 From what you know of the future of the children kept in
this institution, what symbolism could be contained in the
underlined expression? → “a large solid building of dark
Group 2
stone”
• The institution’s working
• Harriet and Ben
 What does this sequence of description tell us about the
 What kind of physical contact had Harriet had with her son
atmosphere and the way the institution work? → “ring for
so far?
attendance/ she rang and waited / she rang again /
 What can you tell about the evolution of Harriet’s attitude
nothing happened”.
in this passage?
 What comment can you make out about the hygiene? The
 What exactly shocked Harriet: the treatment in the
reason why the children live in these conditions? The
institution or Ben himself? Why?
personnel’s work?
 What about the personnel’s behavior towards the  What are Harriet’s feelings towards Ben? Why does
Harriet call Ben an “alien”?
children, as seen through Ben’s example?
 What “nature” is the girl thinking about? What does this
• The two employees
tell us about the bond between Harriet and her son?
 What do we learn : about the social origin of the boy and
Compare with Victor Frankenstein’s creature and his
girl? About the level of qualification of the boy and girl?
relationship with his creature.
What can we deduce about their roles and level of
 Why did Harriet feel the urge to say Ben didn’t recognize
responsibility in this institution?
her?
 Why do the young man and girl look so tired?
• Ben
 What “fate” is the girl angry at? Hers or Ben’s? Why?
 Why do the personnel have to force Ben into a straight-
 Why should the girl feel hopeless? Why sould the boy feel
jacket? Find other elements which confirm your
desperate?
explanation.
 What is the girl worried about?
 What is the symbolism of Ben’s lolling or protruding
 Why does the narrator insist on the personnel’s smoking?
tongue?
What is she trying to tell us?
 What can you tell about the colour symbolism of this
• The employees and Harriet
extract?
 Why did the boy keep laughing at Harriet?
 Symbolically speaking, what does Ben’s departure from
 Why is one form used rather than the other in the the institution look like?
following sentences? →”she was being given a warning/  The narrator specifies that Harriet arrived home with Ben
I’m sick of being told I don’t understand → active or at eight: considering that Harriet’s pregnancy for Ben
passive? lasted 8 months, is it possible that the number has a
 Why do the girl and boy keep repeating Harriet doesn’t symbolical meaning here? Which one?
understand? What doesn’t she understand? What does the  The children are described as monsters and freaks. To
personnel think of Harriet’s attitude? what extent are they different from or similar to Ben?
 The building where ben stays is compared to a cave. Does
it have a particular symbolical meaning? Is the meaning
the same from the beginning to the end?
 What does the institution’s building look like?
 What imagery emerges from these phrases below? Do
they have a symbolism that could be relevant to describe
Ben or the situation here?
→ “grey wintry rain/ Water squelched under foot/ the wet
dark “
 From all the remarks above, can you think of a legend of
the Greek mythology, other myths, legends that could be
applied to Ben and this institution? Why is it interesting?