ANTHOLOGY B SHORT

STORIES
SIGNIFICANT CIGARETTES: ROSE TREMAIN

jonathan Peel JLS 2017

 GENRE

• NOT A SHORT STORY

• AN EXTRACT FROM A NOVEL (THE ROAD HOME)

• WHAT DIFFERENCES MIGHT WE BE LOOKING FOR IN TERMS OF STRUCTURE AND

NARRATIVE IN AN EXTRACT AS OPPOSED TO A COMPLETE SHORT STORY?

jonathan Peel JLS 2017

 STIMULI

• WHAT KIND OF SITUATIONS CAUSE PEOPLE TO LEAVE THEIR COUNTRIES TO SEEK

A NEW LIFE IN A FOREIGN ENVIRONMENT?
• HOW WOULD YOU HOPE TO BE RECEIVED IN THIS SITUATION?
• WHAT WOULD BE YOUR BIGGEST FEARS?
• IF YOU HAVE EVER SPENT TIME IN A FOREIGN ENVIRONMENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN
YOU DID NOT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE, HOW DID YOU FEEL?

jonathan Peel JLS 2017

 SCASI AS AN APPROACH

• SETTING
• CHARACTERS
• ACTION
• STYLE
• IDEAS

jonathan Peel JLS 2017

 SETTING

• LOCUS:
• WHERE IS THIS PASSAGE SET (PHYSICALLY)?
• WHAT IMPLICATIONS ARE THERE BECAUSE OF THIS SETTING?
• CAN YOU FIND ANY MOMENTS IN THE TEXT WHICH SUGGEST THAT CHARACTERS
FEEL TRAPPED IN THIS SETTING?
• CAN YOU FIND LANGUAGE HINTING AT MOMENTS OF BEAUTY OR HOPE IN THE
LANDSCAPE OF THEIR JOURNEY?

jonathan Peel JLS 2017

 CHARACTERS

• LEV AND LYDIA

• WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG FOR THEM TO REVEAL THEIR NAMES?
• THINKING ABOUT CHARACTERS: (FIND AS MANY AS YOU CAN)

What troubles Lev? Evidence

Leaving home ‘staring out at the land he was leaving’

What is Lev Hoping for? Evidence

jonathan Peel JLS 2017
 CHARACTER: WHAT CAN YOU ADD?
Lydia

Feels trapped teacher Initiates speech

‘I began to imagine
I would die seeing Knows more than Apologetic, not
confident
these things. I Lev using imperatives
didn’t want this’

jonathan Peel JLS 2017 Language and

literature - cultured
 LEV: WHAT ELSE?
Travelling
because of
sadness

Needs money to
Trapped and
desperate Marina has died support a 5 year
uncomfortable
old daughter

‘then they would ‘He had to ‘when his wife…

‘the long agony ‘If only we were He’d found no
be herded back distract himself was dying…’
of it’ storks…’ work at all
onto the coach with something’ ll44ff

jonathan Peel JLS 2017 Nicotine addict is

trapped
 ACTION

• WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS?

• HOW DOES TREMAIN GIVE THE SENSE OF THE JOURNEY TAKING PLACE?
• FIND THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE EXTRACT.
Time passes Topic sentence to indicate this

jonathan Peel JLS 2017

 ACTION

• LEV REMEMBERS
• LEV AND LYDIA TALK
• LEV RUMINATES ON HIS POSSIBLE FUTURE

• WE NEED TO LOOK AT EACH SECTION AND FOCUS ON THE LANGUAGE USED TO

TELL BOTH THE BACK STORY AND TO HELP US TO UNDERSTAND THE
CHARACTERS.

jonathan Peel JLS 2017

 LEV’S FEARS AND MEMORIES 1

• LL14-37: CAN YOU FIND EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT LEV IS LONELY
AND POSSIBLY NOT READY FOR A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP?
• WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF THE SIMILE ON L18?
• HOW IS PATHETIC FALLACY USED TO HEIGHTEN THE SENSE OF PESSIMISM IN HIS
PREDICTION FOR HIS FUTURE?
• CAN YOU FIND OTHER EXAMPLES OF HIS PESSIMISM?

jonathan Peel JLS 2017

 DIALOGUE

• WHO IS THE FIRST SPEAKER IN DIRECT SPEECH AND WHAT DO THEY SAY? WHAT DOES TREMAIN SUGGEST
ABOUT THEIR CHARACTER BY HER CHOICE OF LANGUAGE?
• TO WHOM DOES LEV FIRST SPEAK IN DIRECT SPEECH: WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS? WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF
THIS ELEMENT OF BACKSTORY BEING TOLD IN THIS WAY?
• BETWEEN LEV AND LYDIA, WHO:
• INITIATES THE LONGER CONVERSATION – WHY?
• WHO DOMINATES THE EXCHANGE?
• WHO IS SEEKING HELP AND WHO PROVIDES IT?
• WHAT DO YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE SENTENCE LENGTHS?
• WHO SPEAKS LAST AND WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF THEIR FINAL STATEMENT?

jonathan Peel JLS 2017

 FRETFUL

• LL 117-128
• THE SENTENCES BECOME FRACTURED AND SHORT IN THIS SECTION. HOW DOES
THIS REALTE TO LEV’S STATE OF MIND?
• CAN YOU FIND EXAMPLES OF HEIGHTENED LANGUAGE SUGGESTING HIS
MENTAL STATE?
• HOW IS THE RHETORICAL QUESTION USED IN THIS SECTION?
• ON 129 LYDIA IS ‘IMMERSED IN HER ENGLISH BOOK’ HOW DOES THIS EMPHASISE
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO CHARACTERS?
jonathan Peel JLS 2017
 IDEAS

• THEMES TO PURSUE:
• ALIENATION AND LONELINESS
• NEVER-ENDING TRAVEL
• DESPERATION
• ENGLAND AND THE ENGLISH- LEV VIEWS ENGLAND AS HIS ‘HOPE’. WHAT
SIGNIFICANCE CAN BE FOUND IN HIS READING OF THE £20NOTE? WHO IS THE
MOUSTACHIOED GENTLEMAN DEPICTED AND WHAT SORT OF ENGLISHNESS DOES
HE REPRESENT?
jonathan Peel JLS 2017