Practise Activities

Forest Winter

('Old.' He looked at the cylinder...A-hum-a-hum-a-hum!)

1. The Nilsam's live a long way from the nearest town in a place with lots of trees and wild animals. That as well as the darkness of night falling gives the scene a sinister feeling.-"The sun was well down but the tops of the karris were still visible in sillouhette and he could still make out the skeleton of the old water tower."

The main character, Jerra, is shown to have classic masculine values in needing to protect his family and in needing to do it himself.-"For a moment he considered going to the boss for help; it was only a moment."

He is also shown be greatly panicked though.-"He was afraid that breaking of things had let that old helpless panic get back into him."

The preoccupations of this passage are struggles of working class australians and Masculinity.

 

2. It is apparent that Jerra is feeling scared and desperate to save his wife by the dark foreboding and negative language and the insight into his panicked inner dialogue.

 

3. The language is in 3rd person and partially omnisient (to Jerra). The language also has a lot of negative connotations.-"how long had it been since they were happy?"

 

4. This passage shows the point in which Jerra realises his wife really could die. Innitially he held out the hope that he would be able to save her with the ventolin he found. but that was dashed when he found out it was expired.-"Months too old; it was likely useless, perhaps dangerous- he didn't know. 'Oh. God.'"

 

5. One of the signinficant images in this passage is the childs song. Usually this would be used to calm a distressed child and although the baby is distressed Jerra is mostly singing to try and calm himself.

 

6. The tone of this passage is dark and filled with tension and despair. this is created through language such as "The child screaming", "pendulous, tearing respiration", "A scream rose in him, like the night the baby was dragged hollow-chested from her."

 

 

The Strong One

(When she got back, she heard little sqeals of glee...It's time to go Jerra.')

1.  The main character in this story is Rachel. She is trying to make a new start for her family and is clearly shown as the stronger of the two parents, trying to find anyway to get her family in comfort.

The scene is a caravan park with the implication that it is mach like many they have stayed in previously.

the preoccupations are the need to look out for ones family and the trappings of the past.

 

2. It is clear that Rachel is determined to make a new start for her family. this is shown in her exploration and acceptance of any way to get more money and make her families life more comfortable.

 

3. The language of this piece is serious but also contains hope and determination.-"but i'm better now"

 

4.  The end of this passage shows a change in Rachel. She has made a decision and she is going to stick by it.

 

5.  One of the images in this passage is Jerra's family, they are a symbol od a past he would rather forget.

 

6. The tone of this passage is of determination and hope and new begginings. This is created partly by the context of the passage and partly by language such as "It's time to go, Jerra." , "I really want this" and "I applied. Sent it just now."

 

7. In the first passage Rachel was shown as broken, weak and ill. in this passage however it shows her regaining her strength and confidence, and her determination.

 

8. In the first passage Jerra was leading the family and taking care of them but in the second it is Rachel who is making the decisions and trying to earn money. Also before they had become contented with being on the dole but now they want more.

 

9. These developments show that the family is becoming stronger and more determined to make their way in the world

Tim Winton-Minimum of Two

1. Choose a character from one of Winton's novels or stories and discuss the way in which he or she is presented as displaced or marginalised. To what extent is the character's status presented as a difficulty and to what extent is it an advantage?
In Gravity Jerra Nilsam is displaced because he is grieving his fathers death while everyone else is celebrating. it makes him feel angry that no one else remembers or understands why he is unable to celebrate. His displacement due to his grieving means he sees every part of the party in a pessimistic fashion but it also allows him to reflect on how his friends and his life have changed.

2. Discuss the spiritual elements in one of Winton's texts. How do you interpret the nature of the spiritual universe presented or hinted at?
In Bay of angels a man is waiting for his friend to tell him what is troubling him, as he waits he notices a lot about the area they are sitting in. he comments that 'We always come back to the water. When things happen' hinting that the place, or just the water itself holds a spiritual connection to the two friends.

3. Discuss the role of environment and landscape in one of Winton's texts. What is the nature of the relationship between characters and their environment?
In The water was dark and it went forever down The girl is using the landscape to escape her mother's drinking. Her mother says 'All a person needs is a bit of land' but the girl realises all she needs is a bit of water and she can swim away from the hopelessness that her mothers alcoholism instills in her.

4. Discuss the male characters in one of Winton's novels or stories. To what extent do they conform to traditional stereotypes of masculine behaviour and to what extent do they depart from these?
In Nilsam's Friend the two characters show different masculine behaviors. Jerra Nilsam is married with children while his friend is soul searching, still looking for his family. Jerra shows a protectiveness over his family, especially his young son. but he also shows a sort of restlessness in the way he hangs onto every word of his friends tale. Nilsam's friend is roaming far and wide looking for something he can't name but always coming back to the same spot

5. Examine the representation of children in one of Winton's texts. Discuss the extent to which they are shown as understanding less than adults or the way in which they are presented as possessing different, even superior, insights into experience from those of adults.
In the Water was Dark and it Went Down Forever The girl doesn't understand why her mother is an alcoholic or why she says that "all a person needs is a bit of land" but while exploring a island home to many birds she discovers a personification of the food chain she has learnt about in school which leads her to believe that she, as the next generation, can't let her mother, as the previous generation, drag her down.

6. In The Edge of the World Winton makes an interesting remark about what he perceives as Australians' changing attitudes to the working classes and the way this change is reflected in language. A person, he says, who would have once been described as a "battler" is now labelled a "loser". Winton's characters are frequently of the working class. From your knowledge of his work describe and comment upon his interpretation of working class Australian values.
Winton, who's father was a cop got two perspectives of working class Australians  Firstly his own family and secondly the families his dad had to deal with every day. From this he has obtained a unique viewpoint of the working class, both the good and the bad. One value that always comes out in his Stories of the working class is the need to protect ones family. another is the need to become better as shown by Rachel when she applies for university in The Strong One.

7. A critic in The National Times described Tim Winton's work as follows: "his fiction is full of care, in all three senses - of craftsmanship, of moral concern, and of a sobriety before the facts of life." Discuss this view of Winton's work with reference to two or more of his novels or stories.
Winton's work comes across as care of craftsmanship in the way his stories are represented, in the words he chooses. he often describes his characters as the boy or the woman giving his stories the sense that they could happen to anyone. As for care for moral concern this is definitely shown in The Water Was Deep and it Went Down Forever. The girls choice to abandon her mother would definitely be considered immoral by many but Winton has the girl justify her decision in that her mother is an alcoholic wreck and according to nature the weak ones are killed first and she doesn't want to get dragged down with her mother. Although the readers probably still think her decision immoral it gives an insight into the girls choices and influences and causes the reader to wonder if there is any situations where that would be morally acceptable. Care for sobriety before the facts of life are clearly shown in all his stories in the way he calmly, almost monotonically described pain, grief, injuries or illnesses. This is shown in the story Blood and Water where Rachel experiences a difficult birth and Jerra is on the verge of panic.

Twelve Angry Men-Act 1

The generation of tension in the play.

The first source of tension is the set, the weather is stifling and the room is small and provides no relief from the heat. The weather continues to be a point of tension through out.
Another source of tension is that many of the jurors don't wish to be there and would like to move on quickly.
The heavy responsibility of the sentence they must pass also creates added tension in some of the jurors while others seem to think lightly of it

The first person to create tension is the 8th Juror as he stands alone against the others who thought there was no argument to be had against the boys guilt. The 8th Juror continues to be the main source of tension as he is unable to explain his reasoning to the other jurors.
The 10th Juror in reply to this says some very judgemental things and the 9th Juror takes offence. It's then the 10th Juror's turn to take offence as the 8th Juror questions why he believe the witness but not the convicted when the reason he didn't believe the boy was because of where they lived.
The debate continues on like this with the 8th Juror, the 10th Juror, the 3rd Juror and the 7th Juror the main sources of conflict. This escalates into the end of Act 1 where the 3rd Juror has just fallen into the 8th Juror's trap and say he will kill him.

As seen with the 10th Juror and the 8th Juror, the main conversation type that generates tension is when one questions what another has said.

The progression of the narrative

The first characters introduce are the jurors, you learn a little bit about each of them in the minutes before the debate begins such as where they work, how they view this particular trial or trials in general and whether or not they are baseball fans In these moments the 8th Juror, who is a major contributor to the story line of the play seems quieter and more withdrawn then the rest. As the debate begins you learn more about each Juror and how their lives and previous experiences are impacting how they view the trial.

Each of the Jurors had their own personalities and views and while most were polite some were not. A lot of the jurors sank into the background, only being heard from in a particular part of the debate then receding again. Some of the characters were vocal throughout the play and these include:
8th Juror: He was unwilling to send the boy to his death without first confronting all the doubts in his mind, this makes him seem courageous and gallant with a strong conscience and the belief that anybody can make a mistake. If it had turned out the boy was guilty, however, he probably would have come across more as persnickety.
3rd Juror: He holds a strong belief that in this case the facts speak for themselves and the lawyers have proven the boy is guilty beyond a doubt. He doesn't accept that anyone else could see any differently to what is so blatantly obvious to him. this shows that he has great faith in the justice system and wants to see the boy condemned. Later it is revealed that the 3rd Juror is not quite as unbias as he seems, an unpleasant parting with his son has left him bitter.
7th Juror: He is a huge baseball fan and has tickets to game that evening so want the jury to reach a conclusion as soon as possible. he is very opinionated and is not afraid to say so. unfortunately he rarely provides evidence for his views instead waiting for someone else to make a point he can jump on.

The Jury Debate is slowly changing from an almost unanimous vote of guilty to a half/half vote. As the debate continues it gives the jurors the chance to examine any doubts they may have had during the court case that they thought were too petty to matter.

Predictions regarding the plot development

In Act 2 I think the next subject to be discussed will be about the woman witness, her claim to have seen the murder is one of the strongest pieces of evidence given so it is sure to come up in defence of guilty soon.

The next juror to change his mind will be, i think, the 6th Juror. He seemed convinced by the proposition of the 8th Juror that the elderly gentleman most likely did not see the boy running down the stairs as he said but assumed it was so when he heard the boy as he tried to open his door.

Possible viewer responses to the action and character development

In the days when this play was written the audiences would have been able to relate to this play as many would have done, or known someone who had done jury duty and would be able to pull on that reference. Additionally because there is such a wide variety of characters every member of the audience would have been reminded of people they knew by at least 3 or 4 of the characters. The fact that these jurors don't have names helps with that.
Audiences in these times might be more shocked by some of the comments made in the play as they would seem old fashioned but nonetheless the relatableness of the different characters remains

The most noticeable differences between Australian and American audiences is that Australia doesn't have a death sentence so they are likely to be on the side of the 8th Juror before the play even reaches the point of the vote.