Thursday, June 12, 2014

Gros Jean

"Ti-Jean and His Brothers" is a very rich play in all the aspects one would expect. There is comedy and tragedy as well as the effects of music, sound and light. In the play we also see how the english language has evolved in such a way as to complement the culture of the caribbean. Ti-Jean and His Brothers is an engaging and enjoyable play.
The comical aspects of the play permeate the entire story. The comedy mainly comes into play during the interaction between the Devil and each of the three brothers. When Gros Jean is working for the planter the Devil, as the Planter, deliberately goads Gros jean by calling him by all sorts of names except his own. Soon after the Planter enters he says : "Thats right Gros Chien, Gros Jean, Gros Jean, Sorry". The Planter goes from calling Gros Jean, Joe, to Mac, to Gros Chien, to Charley, back to Mac, then to Horace and then francis, Joe again, Henry and ends with Benton then Mervin near the end of the scene. "You're worth more to me, Benton than fifty men. So you should smoke, after all. And such a pleasant disposition, always smiling. Just Like a skull. But Remember Mervin, I'd like you to try and finish this, you see I have a contract and the harder you work the more I . . . ". The humour would be more apparent if one was actually visualising the way it would be acted on stage. The Planter would probably say the different names in an absent minded fashion while Gros Jean gets more and more frustrated. Gros Jean would probably feel as if his identity was in jeopardy. Identity is very important to Gros Jean, this is illustrated by the various references he makes to his strength, something he considers integral to his identity.
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Monday, June 9, 2014

Ti-Jean and His Brothers (Act one)

Act One
Chorus
Acts as narrators.
Introduces the central characters
Comments on the action

Stage Directions
The opening stage directions reveal the setting of the play (location, time of day, weather), introduce the chorus and the mother (characters) and hints at the theme of poverty.
Stage directions add to characterization: how Gros Jean walks, how the creatures react, etc.
Show how props and sound effects/music are used.

Props
Related to poverty – empty bowl, bare table
Props are used to indicate the brothers’ jobs (faggots and fishing line) and also interest (books)

Music
Characterization: Gros Jean performs an exaggerated march to music.
A drum roll and comic quatro introduce Mi-Jean, and the mother is introduced with “sad music on flute.”
The mood and music change again with the entrance of the devil and his servants: cymbals, shrieks, thunder.
Bolom enters with the sound of wind, rain and insects.
Bolom later imitates the crying of a child.

Lighting
It is a dark rainy evening.
Red for the devil.
Blue for Bolom.

Comprehension Questions
Act One
1.
How were stage directions used at the start?
2.
Do you agree with Gros Jean’s decision to leave with telling anyone goodbye? Explain.
3.
What is the effect of Mother’s comment: “Woman life is so. Watching and losing.” Give an example of her watching and one of her losing.
4.
The mother says, “The arm which digs a grave/ Is the strongest arm of all.” What does she mean? Whose arm is the strongest in the story based on what she says?
5.
Comment on the use of literary devices in the mother’s speech in the same section.
6.
What advice does Mother give Gros Jean? Does he obey? If no, explain.
7.
What is the dramatic effect of Gros Jean’s song?
8.
Who is the Old Man? How do you know?
9.
What advice does the Old Man give Gros Jean? His mother gave him the same advice.
10.
What does the Old Man say counts in the world? Which is Gros Jean interested in?
11.
What is Gros Jean attitude toward the Old Man?
12.
What is significant about the following statement: “He’ll (Planter) work you like the devil”?
13.
According to Gros Jean is the shortest way to success?
14.
How does the planter successfully anger Gros Jean? List his strategies.
15.
What do the stage directions reveal about Gros Jean and the planter?
16.
Discuss fully the characterization of Gros Jean. 

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Ti-Jean and His Brothers (prologue)

Introduction
Playwright:
Derek Walcott
Born in St Lucia
Wrote the play in New York in 1957

The Play:
The play is a folk fable. It incorporates the African storytelling tradition and St Lucian rituals like the Christmas black mass dances.
The play uses “the ancient choric device.”
“The mood is playful and festive.”
A Jamaican reviewer interpreted the play to be about the struggle against colonialism.

Prologue
The Prologue:
introduces the characters
introduces the conflict/plot
introduces the setting
introduces the themes
Chorus
Acts as narrators.
Introduces the central characters
Comments on the action

Stage Directions
The opening stage directions reveal the setting of the play (location, time of day, weather), introduce the chorus and the mother (characters) and hints at the theme of poverty.
Stage directions add to characterization: how Gros Jean walks, how the creatures react, etc.
Show how props and sound effects/music are used.

Props
Related to poverty – empty bowl, bare table
Props are used to indicate the brothers’ jobs (faggots and fishing line) and also interest (books)

Music
Characterization: Gros Jean performs an exaggerated march to music.
A drum roll and comic quatro introduce Mi-Jean, and the mother is introduced with “sad music on flute.”
The mood and music change again with the entrance of the devil and his servants: cymbals, shrieks, thunder.
Bolom enters with the sound of wind, rain and insects.
Bolom later imitates the crying of a child.

Lighting
It is a dark rainy evening.
Red for the devil.
Blue for Bolom.

Comprehension Questions
Introduction
Pages 3-8
1.
Who is the dramatist?
2.
Where was he born?
3.
Where did he write the play?
4.
When was it written?
5.
What type of play does the dramatist call Ti-Jean and His Brothers? (page 4)
6.
What African tradition influenced the play?
7.
What St. Lucian rituals contributed to the play?
8.
Which ‘characters’ form the chorus?
9.
How is the mood of the opening scene described on page 6?
10.
“Intuitive” is used in the introduction to describe Ti-Jean. What does the word mean?
11.
How did the Jamaican reviewer interpret the play? (page 7)
Prologue
1.
How were stage directions used at the start?
2.
Describe the setting. (Read the entire Prologue first.)
3.
Identify two allusions/references to traditional theatre.
4.
Why was Ti-Jean placed in the moon?
5.
Describe each of the brothers.
6.
How do the stage directions and props help in their characterization?
7.
Contrast the music played for the entrance of Mi-Jean and then for the mention of his mother.
8.
Describe the boys’ mother.
9.
Describe the entrance of the devil and his fiends. How is the mood changed again?
10.
How is the stupidity of Gros-Jean and Mi-Jean revealed? What is the effect?
11.
What is the relationship between the two brothers and Ti-Jean?
12.
What two things do they compare him to?
13.
How is the music for Bolom’s entrance described? What other sounds are heard?
14.
Who is Bolom?
15.
How are the mother’s kindness and wisdom revealed?
16.
Why was Bolom sent?
17.
What role do the animals play?
18.
How is the end of the Prologue suspenseful?
19.
Why do you think the dramatist needed a prologue anyway?
20.
What is the effect of the song “Give the Devil a child for dinner”?
21.
Research the history of St. Lucia to explain why French was used.

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Saturday, March 1, 2014

Easter Term Six Weekly

LANGUAGE

The exam consists of 40 questions, both multiple choice and short answer.
Students will be tested on:
- comprehension (main idea, setting, characterization etc.)
- types of imageries
- literary devices
- mood and tone
- adverbs
- adjectives
- synonyms


LITERATURE

 This paper will be divided into 3 sections

Section A - matching the elements of poetry with their definitions (the project should help with this)

Section B - fill in the blanks (stanzas)

Section C - multiple choice questions on "My Parents", "Ana" and an unseen poem
                - identify a literary device and comment on its effectiveness.

*students should know the content of each poem, the various examples of literary devices in each and they should be able to identify examples of various literary devices and be able to comment on their effectiveness.
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"Ana" by Mark McWatt

“Ana” is about two conflicting images of Ana: how her father (the speaker and a poet) expects and hopes she will behave and how she actually does. In the first stanza, the speaker is a proud father of a baby girl and imagines her playing peacefully in a garden. The second stanza (one line) describes the scene as a “calm and quiet” one. It establishes the contrast between the first stanza and the third in which a rambunctious girl creates a chaotic world for the speaker. In the third stanza, the speaker confesses he has given up his ‘dream’ which was described in the first stanza. The finally stanza mirrors the calm and quiet world of the first stanza, as the speaker describes how peaceful she is when she is asleep.

Themes: Hardship, poverty, determination, ambition, class.
Structure: Free verse poem with five stanzas
Tone: 1st, 2nd and 5th stanzas: proud, happy and peaceful. 3rd stanza: angry, aggressive and pitiful (and like a fool/Daddy does it again). 4th stanza: resignation
Mood: happy, peaceful, and chaotic

Literary Devices:
  1. Metaphor
Line 9: “world of green” – youth
3rd – 5th stanzas (in particular lines 22, 48, 49) monkey and wild animal - Ana
  1. Simile
Line 42, 43 – “And yet when she is curled in sleep,/ like a comma”

  1. Alliteration
Line 6, 18, 25
  1. Imagery: (throughout) 23-26, 34-35, 46-49
  2. Bracketed Asides: lines 20, 22
Asides are conventionally used in drama when the actor speaks in an undertone or to the audience without the actors on the stage hearing. It is used similarly in poetry. The speaker may be communicating something to the reader that the other personas in the poem will not hear. In addition, it carries a certain undertone, usually sarcasm. 

Comprehension questions:

  1. What is the speaker’s occupation?
  2. How did he imagine his daughter would behave?
  3. How does she actually behave?
  4. Identify the nouns, verbs and adjectives that show her behaviour.
  5. What metaphor is used to emphasize her behaviour?
  6. What is the speaker’s attitude towards his daughter? Give evidence from the poem.
  7. Do you think she is aware of how he views her?
  8. Does the speaker think she will ever behave the way he wants her to? Give evidence from the poem to support your answer.
  9. When does the speaker find that his daughter matches his expectations of her?
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“My Parents”


“My Parents” is about a son who is forbidden from playing with other children by his parents. Although he desperately wants to be their friends, his parents’ directives and the vast differences in their personalities and conduct make it difficult.

Themes: Youth, rejection, bullying, class.
Structure: The poem is written in three quatrains.
Tone: Disappointed, fearful
Mood: Sympathetic, fearful

Literary Devices:
  1. Simile
Line 2 – “who three words like stones”
Line 5 – “their muscles like iron”
Line 9/10 – “they sprang…/Like dogs to bark at my world”
  1. Metaphor
Line 7 – “the salt coarse pointing”
  1. Alliteration
Line 4: “climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams.”
  1. Repetition
Lines 5, 7: “I feared…”
  1. Imagery
Line 5: “muscles like iron” (Tactile)
Line 7: “salt coarse pointing” (Tactile, Gustatory)

Similes are the major literary device used. They are primarily used to describe the physical appearance and actions of the “rough” children.

Comprehension questions:

  1. How are the boys described in stanza one?
  2. Give details of their physical appearance as well as their behaviour.
  3. Select the verbs and adjectives which describe the energy of the boys.
  4. What fears does the speaker tell about in stanza two?
  5. Why do you think the words “tigers” and “dogs” are used to describe aspects of the boys’ behavior? (Diction)
  6. How is the speaker different from the boys?
  7. The poem does not give us much information about the speaker’s world at home. What could you infer about the speaker’s parents, home and lifestyle?
  8. Which line expresses the speaker’s attitude to the boys? (Tone)
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Literary Devices

Steps for Discussing the Significance and Effectiveness of a Device:
  1. Identify the device.
  2. Explain the device. If it is a metaphor or simile, what is being compared?
  3. Does it make sense?
  4. How does it contribute to the meaning of the poem? Or the tone? Or the mood? Or the rhythm or rhyme?
Example:
“Jealousy is a monster
Creeping up from behind.”

Response:

One device used in those lines is metaphor. The feeling of jealousy is compared to a monster. It is a good comparison because jealousy is a negative feeling and a monster is also something evil. It is also effective because the use of ‘monster’ (diction) suggests that the speaker has a negative attitude (tone) towards jealousy and this causes the reader to want to avoid it also. 
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