children’s laughter as they play
In parks with flowers where dust now swirls
In strong-walled homes with warmth and light.
But for tonight Jabavu sleeps.
Jabavu sleeps. The stars are bright.
| Post-reading | |
| 3. | The word “cold” is used three times in the first stanza to bring home to us how hard life is in Jabavu township in winter. What other words make us feel sorry for the people in Jabavu? |
| 4. | The coldness in this poem is described as though it were a living person or creature (personification). What do the words “creeps” and “invades” tell you about how the people experience the cold? |
| 5. | The second stanza is a message of hope. List the differences between Jabavu now and Jabavu as it will be in the hoped-for future. |
| Pre-reading | |
| 1. | How would a boy who is bullied feel about the bully? |
My parents kept me from children who were rough
Stephen Spender
My parents kept me from children who were rough
And who threw words like stones and who wore torn clothes.
Their thighs showed through rags. They ran in the street
And climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams.
I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron
And their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms.
I feared the salt coarse pointing of those boys
Who copied my lisp behind me on the road.
They were lithe, they sprang out behind the hedges
Like dogs to bark at our world. They threw mud
And I looked another way, pretending to smile.
I longed to forgive them, yet they never smiled.
stripped – took off their clothes
salt coarse – “salt” may refer to salty taste of tears or the expression to rub salt into an open wound; “coarse” to be rude
lithe – strong, able to move easily
| Post-reading | ||
| 2. | Explain what is meant by “children who are rough”. | |
| 3. a) | Write out the common rhyme that starts, ‘Sticks and stones …’ Does the rhyme express the same view as the poem? Consider the simile in the poem “throwing words like stones”. Refer to the poem to explain your answer. | |
| b) | List in point form the other things the boy fears. | |
| 4. | Copy the table below into your books then fill in the columns, using information from the poem. The first row has been done for you. Add more boxes if you need them: | |
| The speaker's clothes, strength, words he uses | The clothes, appearance, strength, words used by the boys who were rough |
| ClothesSmart clothes, clean and never torn | ClothesRagged clothes |
| Behaviour | Behaved rudely |
| Way he spoke | Way they spoke |
Important elements of a short story
A short story is a short work of fiction. Fiction is prose writing about imagined events and characters. Some short stories can be quite long. If a short story is a long one, say fifty to one hundred pages, we call it a novella.
When readers read a short story, they must be able to
identify the characters in the story;
determine the place where the story takes/took place;
relate the events or plot of the story;
determine the time when the events take/took place.
What makes a good short story? Combining the five key elements that go into every great short story: character, setting, conflict, plot and theme.
A character is a person, or sometimes even an animal, who takes part in the action of a short story or other literary work. A short story usually has only one main character. Because of it being so short, there is not much room for character development. At a critical moment, a character revelation or development can take place, thereby revealing the inner life of the character.
Characters can be introduced to the reader in more than one way, namely
| a) | by describing the characters directly; |
| b) | through the characters’ behaviour, in other words their actions; |
| c) | through what the characters say and think, in other words their dialogue and line of thought; |
| d) | through name-giving: the character’s name can also describe the character; |
| e) | what others say about the character. |
The setting of a short story is the time and place in which it happens. Authors often use descriptions of landscape, scenery, buildings, seasons or weather to provide a strong sense of setting.
A plot is a series of events and character actions that relate to the central conflict.
The conflict is a struggle between two people or things in a short story. The main character is usually on one side of the central conflict. On the other side, the main character may struggle against another important character, against the forces of nature, against society, or even against something inside himself or herself (feelings, emotions, illness).
The theme is the central idea or belief in a short story. The short story usually has only one motive or main idea. Ask yourself: What is this story really about?
In present-day short stories, the main character often also narrates the story in the first person.
| Pre-reading | |
| 1. | What are the main differences you can think of between KwaZulu-Natal and the mining areas of South Africa? Make a list. |
| 2. | Have you ever had to move because your father changed his job? How did you feel about it? In thinking about this question, consider what excited you, what worried you, and what perhaps mixed these feelings. |
| During reading | |
| 3. | As you read through, make a list of the differences between the surroundings of the house where Lindi now has to live and the countryside around her former home. |
The feather
Jenny Robson
Ugly! So ugly!
Lindi stood in the garden of the red-brick house. She stared around in horror. The grass was dull yellow and lifeless. Patches of dull red earth showed between the thin dry blades. The few trees were all thorn-trees,
