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2K views40 pagesShort Stories 1
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
/ 40
Short Stories
for Creative Language Classrooms
Joanne Collie
and Stephen Slater
AMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY PRESS Contents
To the learner
Stories
The star
bby Alasdair Gray.
Strange animal
an African story re-told
by Alexander McCall Smith
Hannah
by Malachi Whitaker
Report on the shadow industry
by Peter Carey
Verbal transcription — 6 a.m.
by William Carlos Williams
The debutante
by Leonora Carrington
Important things
‘by Barbara L. Greenberg
Secrets
by Tim Winton
Dazzler
by Suniti Namjoshi
Misunderstood
an anonymous story
Shell songs
A letter from the Laird’s wife
by George Mackay Brown
The authors of the stories
Notes on the stories
Key
Tapescripts
To the teacher
Bibliography
21
3
38
a7
52
60,
65
83
a5,
2
94
7
tor
Themes
Escape from routine— Loneliness
The rich world of the imagination
Tolerance of others ~ The magic of music
Family relationships
‘Youthful anticipation ~ Social conventions
Unexpected turns in life — Regrets
Reality and illusion ~ Escapism
‘The search for happiness
Everyday concerns in crisis situations
Behaviour in emergencies
Cruelty beneath civilised behaviour
Reality and dream
Parents and children
‘What is important in life?
A child's vision of the adult world
Family breakdown and the need for love
Introverts and extroverts
Different ways of solving problems
‘Animals and humans
‘The importance of communication
Rich and poor
Intuition versus the intellect
People and nature Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Peter Donovan, James Dingle and Joanne
Currie of Cambridge University Press, and also Angela Wilde, Annie Cornford
and Barbara Thomas for their help.
The authors and publishers are: grateful to the following copyright owners for
Permission to reproduce copyright material. Every endeavour has been made
to contact copyright owners and apologies are expressed for any omissions.
Canongate Press plc for ‘The star’ and ‘Strange animal’. Carcanet Press Limited
for‘Hannah’, Rodgers, Coleridge & White Ltd. and the University of
‘Queensland Press for ‘Report on the shadow industry’ from The Fat Man in
History by Peter Carey, University of Queensland Press, 1974, © Peter Carey,
1974, New Directions Publishing Corporation for Verbal transcription —
6am’, © Willam Carlos Williams, 1950. Virago Press for ‘The debucante’,
© Editions Flammarion, 1978. Barbara L. Greenberg for ‘important things’
© Barbara L Greenberg. Tim Winton for ‘Secrets’. © Tim Winton, 1983.
Suniti Namjoshi for ‘Dazzler’. © Suniki Namjoshi. Collins, an imprine of
HarperCollins Publishers Limited for ‘Shell songs
The authors and publishers are grateful to the following illustrators and photo-
graphic sources.
Mustrators: Peter Byatt pp. 19.47, 71. _ Helen Humphreys: pp. 3, 9, 12, 21,
31. 33, 51, 62, 80. Nigel Paige: p. 37. Tony Watson: p. 2. Rosemary
Woods: p. 26.
Cover illustration by Rosemary Woods.
Photographic sources: p.I | Jafta Cards, Harare, Zimbabwe. _p. 38 (cop lef
War ond Corpses — Lost Hope of the Rich, 1932 by John Heartfield. Supplied by the
‘Archiv Fir Kunst und Geschichte Berlin. © DACS 1993. p, 38 (top right)
Perpewol Motion by René Magritte, Private collection, Supplied by The Bridgeman
‘Art Library, London. @ ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 1993. p. 38 (bottom
left}: Through Birds Through Fire But Not Through Glass, 1943 by Yves Tanguy.
Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, Minnesota. Supplied by The Bridgeman Art
Library, London. © DACS 1993. p. 38 (bottom right): Bird Pong, 1949 by
Leonora Carrington. Ex-Edward James Foundation, Sussex. Supplied by The
Bridgeman Are Library, London. © 1992 Leonora Carrington | ARS, New York.
p.44: Ronald Sheridan, The Ancient Art and Architecture Collection. _p. 46: Self
Portit 1936-7 by Leonora Carrington. Supplied by The Serpentine Gallery,
tendon, © 1992 Leonora Carrington / ARS, New York
wi To the learner
Reading @ good book in our own language is usually an enjoyable
experience. Sitting in our armehair, we float away into the totally different
world of the book - a world that is sometimes unpredictable, strange and
‘exciting. In this world, however, we can recognise situations that are like
ours at home and people who think and act like us. Quite often we feel as
‘though we are actually living in that world. The people we meet in its
pages become as familiar as friends.
Reading a good story in a language that is not our own can be like that
t00, even though it is a bit more of a challenge. It is our hope that you will
find the stories in this book interesting and rewarding - worth the effort of
getting to know them.
‘You will probably be reading these stories in a classroom first, rather
than in your own armchair. Working with other people in groups gives you
a lot of advantages: you can help each other with difficulties, and you can
share ideas, reactions, and interpretations. The classroom situation gives
you a chance to talk about what you have read and to compare ideas,
because everyone is exploring the same story. Of course, you can carry on
talking about a text after the class, over 2 cup of coffee or a bite to eat.
(On the other hand, you also need some time by yourself with a story.
You will want to make your own relationship with it. So after you have
read or heard stories in class and worked with them in groups, you might
like to re-read them on your own. The cassette lets you listen as you read,
if you prefer to do that.
In re-reading these stories we are sure you will understand aspects that
were not so clear before. Don't worry too much if there are words you
don’t understand, especially at first - quite often the meaning will become
clear as you talk about a story in class or re-read it at home, Whether you
read stories in your own language or in another language, you can get a lot
fromarcich or complex work even if at the end there are still aspects that
remain puzzling.
These stories have not been simplified or abridged for you. They are not
extracts but complete short stories. Some of the longer ones have been
broken up into smaller parts so that you can read them first in more
manageable ‘chunks’ if you or your teacher choose to.
Each story offers different creative development activities to choose from.
Sometimes these take you back to the text to extend your understanding
of it, sometimes they take you into a parallel situation or a creative one. To the learner
You are not expected to do them all, but to choose those that sem most
interesting. This is the opportunity to express your own ideas, and to find
‘out what others in your class think or feel
We have tried to give you a selection of stories that are varied and
come from different parts of the world. We hope that you will discover
two kinds of pleasure in becoming familiar with them — finding out how
different people are, and finding out how alike, in some ways, we all are
Happy reading!
fa babe
Suphe Sita The star
by Alasdair Gray
(A. What thoughts go through your mind when you gaze up at the star-
filled sky on a clear night? Look at the star and then talk about your
experiences with someone else in the class.
inginive,
whatare your tndugrtS?
your
‘piace in The universe?
rink about
Bo you
ash
B_ Here are the first and last sentences of this short story. What could it
be about? Together, discuss various possibiliti
First sentence of the story:
‘Asstar had fallen beyond the horizon, in Canada perhaps.
Last sentence of the story:
Teacher, classroom, world receded like a rocket into a warm, easy
blackness leaving behind a trail of glorious stars, and he was one of them. The star
Read the story for the first time and listen to it on the cassette,
A star had fallen beyond the horizon, in Canada perhaps. (He had an
aunt in Canada.) The second was nearer, just beyond the iron
works, so he was not surprised when the third fell into the backyard. A
flash of gold light lit the walls of the enclosing tenements and he beard a
low musical chord. The light turned deep red and went out, and he
knew that somewhere below a
star was cooling in the night air.
Turning from the window he
saw that no-one else had
noticed. At the table his father,
thoughtfully frowning, filled in a
football coupon, his mother
continued ironing under the
pulley with its row of underwear.
He said in a small voice, ‘A'm
gawn out.”
His mother said, ‘See you're
no? long then.”
He slipped through the lobby
and onto the stairhead, banging
the door after him
The stairs were cold and
coldly lit at each landing by a
weak electric bulb. He hurried
down three flights to the black
silent yard and began hunting
backward and forward, combing
with his fingers the lank grass
round the base of the clothes-pole. He found it in the midden on a
decayed cabbage leaf. It was smooth and round, the size of a glass
marble, and it shone with a light which made it seem to rest on a
Precious bit of green and yellow velvet, He picked it up. It was warm
and filled his cupped palm with a ruby glow. He put it in his pocket and
went back upstairs
‘That night in bed he had a claseehok. He slept with his brother who
was not easily wakened. Wriggling carefully far down under the sheets,
he opened his palm and gazed, The star shone white and blue, making
the space around him like a cave in an iceberg. He brought it close to his
eye. In its depth was the pattern ofa snowflake, the grandest thing he The star
had ever seen. He looked through the flake’s crystal lattice into an ocean
of glittering blue-black waves under a sky full of huge galaxies. He
heard a remote lulling sound like the sound in a sea-shell, and fell asleep
with the star safely clenched in his hand
He enjoyed it for nearly two weeks, gazing at it each night below the
sheets, sometimes seeing the snow-flake, sometimes a flower, jewel,
‘moon of landscape. At first he kept it hidden during the day but soon
took to carrying it about with him; the smooth rounded gentle warmth
in his pocket gave comfort when he felt insulted or neglected.
‘At school one afternoon he decided to take # quick look. He was at
the back of the classroom in a desk by himself. The teacher was among
the boys at the front row and all heads were bowed over books. Quickly
he brought out the star and looked. It contained an aloof eye with a cool
green pupil which dimmed and trembled as if seen through water.
“What have you there, Cameron?”
He shuddered and shut his hand
‘Marbles are for the playground, not the classroom. You'd better give
itto me?
‘I cannae, sir.’
{don’t tolerate disobedience, Cameron. Give me that thing.”
‘The boy saw the teacher's face above him, the mouth opening and
shutting under a clipped moustache. Suddenly he knew what to do and
put the star in his mouth and swallowed. As the warmth sank toward
his heart he felt relaxed and at ease. The teacher's face moved
into the distance. Teacher, classroom, world receded
like a rocket into a warm, easy blackness
leaving behind a trail of glorious
stars, and he was one
of them. The star
© Did you enjoy the story? Give it a score for enjoyment: from I (not
very enjoyable) to 5 (very enjoyable).
Find other students with the same score, Discuss your impressions of
the story. Find students with scores very different from yours. Can you
think of any reasons why your reactions should have been so different?
Dn groups of three, re-tell the story in spoken English, in ten sentences,
each person giving one sentence in turn.
E Here are the answers which one student gave when asked to say
whether the following sentences are True (T) or False (F). DK means ‘I
don't know’. In pairs, decide which answers you would change
‘Cameron had a deprived childhood.
Cameron didn't feel close to his brother,
Cameron's parents were insensitive.
The star was full of warmth and beauty.
The star made Cameron feel uneasy.
The teacher was firm but fair
Cameron lost consciousness.
IE Read the story again
F Concentrate on Cameron. What sort of boy does he seem to be?
Study the extracts below and decide what they suggest about
Cameron's personality. A few possibilities have been written in. You
‘can add to these or change them before you go on to the others.
Extract from ‘The star’ Quality suggested
A star had fallen beyond the horizon, in Canada | dreamer
perhaps. (He had an aunt in Canada.) a daydream
Turning ftom the window he saw thot no-one
else had noticed,
"He said in a small voice, ‘Am gown out” " Eimnidl
He slipped through the lobby and onto the
stairhead, banging the door after him | resentful
He slept with his brother who was not easily |
wakened. Wrigging carefully far down under the
sheets, he opened his palm and gazed.
He heard @ remote luling sound like the sound in
0 sea-shell, and fell asleep with the star sofely |
lenched in his hand. The star
He enjoyed it for nearly two weeks, gazing ot it |
each night below the sheets. |
‘At first he kept it hidden during the day but
soon took to corrying it about with him; the |
‘smooth rounded gentle warmth in his pocket gave
comfort when he felt insulted or neglected.
‘At school one afternoon he decided to take o
quick look. He was at the back of the classroom
in a desk by himself, |
"What have you there, Cameron?” ]
He shuddered and shut his hand.
‘You'd better give it to me. obstinake
‘Icannoe, sir”
‘Suddenly he knew what to do ond put the star in
his mouth and swallowed. As the warmth sank
toward his heart he felt relaxed and at ease. i}
‘Cameron lives in a tenement in Scotland. The discovery of the star
offers a marvellous new world. Find expressions in the story which
bring out this contrast and write them down under the headings
below. The activity has been started for you.
Words/expre
indicate poverty
ns which Wordslexpressions which
| indicate the rich new
| world of the star
beyond the, ime vaorks | a precious bit of
| green aad. yellows velvee
When you have completed your columns, compare them with
someone else's. Together try to decide what the marvellous world of
the star could be. Could it be a dream of escape? Freedom?
Friendship? Love? The star
Creative development
Here are some further activities for you to choose from,
Mime
Prepare a mime to be performed while the story is being read aloud. If you
can, select some suitable background music as further accompaniment to
your mime.
Writing a different version
Imagine you are another child in Cameron's class. Write your version of
the strange events chat happened in the class that day.
Rewriting the story
(The class is divided into two halves.) One half: rewrite the story for a
kindergarten class. The other half: rewrite it for a class of adult learners of
English at elementary level.
Role-play
Work in groups of three. First prepare, then act out the dialogue that
takes place between the schoolmaster and Cameron's parents after the
story has ended. Strange animal
an African story re-told by Alexander McCall Smith
Director of the
‘Schoo!
Director of ‘Administrative Marketing
Stuces ‘Manager Director
Secretaries Receptionist \
Overseas Publcty
Teachers Representatives Officer
A. This is the diagram of the organisation of a language school. It shows
the lines of responsibility in the school. With a partner, look at the
diagram and talk about it. Who tells who what to do in the school?
Does the diagram tell you who makes the important decisions?
you work for a company or another sort of organisation, would its
diagram be very different? If you are in a school, is it organised like
this?
B__ Now think of a family that has the following members,
child
mother (the
grandmother
grandfather
older brother
child's mother)
A
younger sister
father (the child's father)
uncle
aunt
older sister
Draw a diagram like the one above to show your opinion: which
smily should tell other people what to do? You can add
other members of the family if you like.
people in the far
Compare your diagram with those of others in your class, Discuss any
differences. Strange animal
© Look at the first paragraph of the story, With a partner, talk about the
boy. What do you think his feelings are about his situation?
GUIS Read the first part of the story and listen to it on the cassette.
Part one
T= were many people to tell that boy what to do. There was his
mother and his father, his grandfather, and his older brother. And
there was also an aunt, who was always saying: ‘Do this. Do that.’ Every
day this aunt would shout at him, and make a great noise that would
frighten the birds.
The boy did not like his aunt, Sometimes he thought that he might go
to some man to buy some medicine to put into her food to make her
Quiet, but of course he never did this. In spite ofall his aunt's shouting
and ordering about, the boy always obeyed her, as his father said he must
‘She has nothing to do but shout at you,’ the boy's father explained.
‘Ie keeps her happy.”
‘When I'm a big man I'l come and shout in her ear,’ the boy said. It
was good to think about that.
here was a place that the aunt knew where a lot of fruit grew. It was
a place which was quite far away, and the boy did not like going there.
Near this place there were caves and the boy had heard that a strange
animal lived in these caves. One of his friends had seen this strange
animal and had warned people about going near that place.
But the aunt insisted on sending the boy to pick fr
he went, his heart a cold stone of fear inside him. He found the trees
and began to pick the fruit, but a little later he heard the sound of
something in the bush beside him. He stopped his task and stood near
the tree iu ease the strange animal should be coming.
Out of the bush came the strange animal, It was just as his friend had
described it and the boy was very frightened. Quickly he took out the
Grum which he had brought with him and began to beat it, The strange
animal stopped, looked at the boy in surprise, and began to dance.
All day the boy played the drum, keeping the strange animal dancing.
As long as he played the drum, he knew that there was nothing that the
strange animal could do to harm him. At last, when night came, the
Strange animal stopped dancing and disappeared back into the bush
‘The boy knew that it had gone back to its cave and so he was able to
walk home safely. When he reached home, though, his aunt had
Prepared her shouting.
fo Strange animal
‘Where is all the fruit?” she shouted. Thinking that he had eaten it,
she then began to beat him until the boy was able to run away from her
and hide in his own hut.
The boy told his father the next day of the real reason why he hed
been unable to bring back fruit from the tree. He explained that there
had been a strange animal there and that he had had to play his drum to
keep the animal dancing. The father listened and told the story to the
aunt, who scoffed at the boy.
“There are no strange animals at that place,’ she said, ‘You must be
making all this up.
‘But the father believed the boy and said that the next day they would
all go to the fruit place with him. The aunt thought that this was @
‘waste of time, but she was not going to miss any chance of shouting, and
so she came too.
When the family reached the tree there was no strange animal. The
aunt began to pick fruit from the tree and stuff it into her mouth
Calling to the boy to give her his drum, she hung it on the branch of «
tree in a place where he would not be able to get at it easily
«You must pick fruit’ she shouted to the boy. ‘You must not play
drum in idleness.”
“The boy obeyed his aunt, but all the time he was listening for any
sounds to come from the bush. He knew that sooner or later the strange
‘animal would appear and that they would then all be in danger. Strange animal
D_ With your partner, talk about this first part of the story. Make notes
about the boy, the aunt and the father. You can use some of the words
in the drum if they seem appropriate
The boy
spirepa
cisver jadi:
Hint snmice |
dipiomabe setious|
The aunt |
jqnee
ie
!
The father |
E Decide what happens next ~ plan or write the end of the story.
Change parcners and discuss your endings.
(IES) Read the second part of the story and listen to it on the cassette.
Part two
When the strange animal did come, it went straight to the boy’s
father and mother and quickly ate them up. Then the aunt tried to run
away, but the strange animal ran after her and ate her too. While this
was happening, the boy had the time to reach up for his drum from the
branch of the fruit tree. Quickly he began to play this drum, which
made the strange animal stop looking for people to eat and begin to
dance. Strange animal
[As the boy played his drum faster and faster, the strange animal
danced more and more quickly. Eventually the boy played so fast that
the animal had to spit out the father and the mother. The boy was very
pleased with this and began to play more slowly. At this, the strange
animal’s dancing became slower.
“You must play your drum fast again,’ the boy's father said. “Then
the strange animal will have to spit out your aunt.”
“Do I have to?" the boy asked, disappointed that he would not be
allowed to leave the aunt in the stomach of the strange animal.
‘Yes,’ the boy’s father said sternly. ‘You must.”
Reluctantly, the boy again began to play the drum and the strange
animal began to dance more quickly, After a few minutes it was dancing
so quickly that it had to spit out the aunt. Then darkness came and the
strange animal went back to its cave.
‘The aunt was very quiet during the journey back home. The next
day she was quiet as well, and she never shouted at the boy agsin. Being
swallowed by a strange animal had taught the aunt not to waste her time
shouting; nov, all that she wanted to do was to sit quietly in the sun.
‘The boy was very happy.
So
Compare your reactions co the story. In groups, talk about any
differences between your endings and the story's ending,
Can you add anything to your notes about the boy, the aunt and the
father? Which person changes the most because of what happens in
the story?
Folk tales often tell us something about the values of the society they
come from. What values do you discern from your reading of this
story? Choose two or three from this list or write your own.
Social harmony in the family is of paramount importance.
Pride comes before a fall
Being eccentric or disruptive is not valued in the community.
Members of society must work together to ensure survival
Ie is important to respect elders.
Tolerance is essential in the family and in the community.
People must live in harmony with their environment.
Others
3 Strange animal
Creative development
Here are some further activities for you to choose from.
Representing the strange animal
Describe che ‘strange animal’ if you were going to draw the strange animal
for 2 book of folk tales for children, how would you represent it?
Creating a poster
Create 2 poster to be put near the fruit trees, warning people about the
strange animal and telling them what to do if they see it
Discussing folk tales
Sit in small groups and compare memories of folk tales you were told as a
child, Are there any folk tales in your culture in which either a musical
instrument has magical properties or someone is eaten (but doesn't
necessarily die)?
Dramatising the story for children
Dramatise ‘Strange animal’ for a group of children at nursery school. You
can choose one of these forms or one of your own.
a mime with a simple version of the story told at the same time
3 mime with questions at key points to encourage children to guess
what is happening
shadow puppets
a short one-act play
Writing a diary entry
Imagine thae you are the aunt, coming home after the day of the events
told in the story. Write an account of the day in your diary.
14 Hannah
by Malachi Whitaker
A © Listen to the cassette and try to remember a party you went to
when you were younger. When you are ready, compare your memories
with those of someone else in the class.
CIEE! Read the first part of the story and listen to it on the cassette,
a
Part one
he girl Hannah was seventeen, and she had made almost all that
array of cakes and pastries on the kitchen dresser. She stood
Jooking at them, her healthy pink face glowing with pride. She wore @
blue dress and a white apron, and her hair waved down her back to her
waist in a golden-brown shower.
“The party should be a lovely one. All the girls from her Sunday-
school class were coming, and four of the best-behaved boys as well.
‘Then there was to be the young man, Thomas Henry Smithson, the
one that all the girls secretly laughed at. Really, he was too
‘conscientious, too lumberingly polite for anything. His hats seemed
always small, his trousers tight, his boots big. But her mother liked him.
He helped to make things go, sang a few songs in a voice he called
baritone, and never lost his temper.
Hannah felt that she could put up with anything so long as Ralph
Wellings turned up. He was nineteen. A strange boy for the lite, fat,
jolly parson to have as his son! Hannah had heard that he was wild, but
he had never seemed wild to her. Sometimes they had met in the
twilight, and he had walked along by her side through Pennyfoot woods
to Hoyle’s farm and carried the dozen eggs that she had gone to feich
back with him in a sugar-bag.
Of course, you were supposed to be still a child at seventeen, but
Hannah didn’t feel exactly like a child. She could talk to Ralph Wellings
about the things she knew — the proper way to make candied toffee, the
books she had recently found in the attic, old books in which all the
letter esses were effs, the nicest hymn tunes. He never Jaughed at her,
and she found this refreshing. Hannah
She loved him very much, admiring his forehead, for some reason,
iost of all. It was high and white. His blue-black haiz, parted at the
Side, waved as beautifully as did hers, If we get married and have some
children, they're sure to have curly hai,’ she thought. She like, too, his
Aecked hazel eyes and his long fingers with their triangular nails: He
called her ‘nice child’, and always seemed glad to see her.
She took her entranced gaze from the cakes and went into the dairy
The house had once been a farm, and the cool, stone-shelved room wes
still called the dairy. One side of it was laden with food. There was
“hole, erumb-browned ham on a dish by the side of a meat-plate on
which stood a perfectly cooked sirloin of beef. Another dish held four or
Eve pounds of plump, cooked sausages. The trfles were ready, so were
the stewed fruits for those who liked plainer sweets, and there was more
cream, Hannah felt, than could possibly be used.
She ran out of the room, smiling with delight, to look for her mother
‘Are you getting ready, mother” she called
"Yes.
Her mother stood, bare-armed, in front of the oval mirror, a worried
look in her eyes, her mouth filled with steel hairpins. She had hes ekist
on, but her black satin bodice was flung over the curved bedrail
‘Aren’t you washed, child?” She seemed to speak harshly because of
the hairpins. “The company'll be here before we know where we are We
sh’ll have a rush, you'll see.*
‘Never mind, mother, everything looks lovely. I wish the party was
beginning just now.’
She ran out of the room and changed her dress in a perfect fury of
speed. Her face was clean enough, her hands white. What was the use of
‘washing over and over and over again? Now she was in the summer
pink dress that made her look older than ever before, ‘The skirt was
Aounced, and she jumped round ballooning it, running a comb through
her hair at the same time,
‘He'll ike: me, he'll like me, he will,” she chanted. And she ran across
‘e her mother’s room and flung herself panting on the great bed.
‘Hannah, Hannah, be a lady" cried her mother, rebukingly. ti
Hannah
B_ With a partner; fill in as many of the squares below as you can
| Appearance | Personality Interests
Hannah |
Thomas Henry Smithson
a 1 nef
Ralph Wellings |
Et
Compare your results.
Think again about the party you remembered. What details of your
party are like those described in the first part of the story: clothes!
Food and drink? Guests? Hannah's feelings of anticipation?
D. There are 23 lines left in this story. What do you think happens in
chose 23 lines? In pairs, make up a short ending. When you are ready,
tell your ending to another group and listen to theirs.
C1UED Read the first part of the story again and then read the second
part and listen to it on the cassette.
Part two
Hannah seemed to have been asleep for a long time. She woke slowly,
feeling the grey light on her eyelids. Her hands, gnarled and shrunken,
lay outside the blue-and-white coverlet. A shadowed white plait
straggled over one shoulder, thinning to a thread-tied end as it reached
her breast.
Ghe moved a little, opened her eyes, and moistened her lips. The
morning was sunny and stil. It felt warm, warm. She dozed a lite and
went on thinking of the party her mother had given when she was
seventeen, On that day Ralph Wellings had kissed her for the first time.
Unknowingly she smiled, The pink dress with its flounces, she
remembered that, too. How lovely it had all been.
She looked up when the door opened and frowned a little, seeing an
ugly, middle-aged woman with a paper-backed book in her hand
7 Hannah
‘Well, grandma,’ the woman ssid in a kind and cheerful voice, ‘Pye
been up a few times, but you were asleep. George is just going to the
Post Office in the doctor's car, so will you sign the pension forge He's
ina bit of hurry. PU help you up?
She put a soft wrap about the old woman's shoulders and supported
her while she wrote, ‘H-: ” she mouthed, then her attention was
attracted by something else for a moment. She stared at the completed
form and gave a fretful ery. ‘Oh, grandma, you've gone and done it
again! We sh'll have no end of bother. You've signed Hannah Wellings,
and your name's Smithson ~ Smithson ~ Smithson,’
E What do you think of this ending? In what ways is it different from the
one you created?
What could possibly have hppened between the first and second parts
Of the story? In small groups, chink of as many possible explanations as,
you can, then choose the one you like best.
Creative development
Here are some further activities for you to choose from
Discussing codes of behaviour
there kinds of behaviour that are acceptable, and others that are not, for a
A young girl can Hannah
Completing a script for a filmed version
Inmagine that ‘Hannah’ is going to be made into film. The director asks
you to write a summary of the missing parts of Hanna's Ife, so chat the
film script can be complete.
‘The director would also like to give the film a new name, which will tll
people more about the story. Choose an appropriate title
‘An original piece of music is to be composed for the final section of the
film, when Hannah, now an old lady, is dreaming of her youth. Which
musical instrument or instruments do you think would be most
appropriate? You can choose from this selection or suggest your own
Cymbals Oboe
Prono Piccolo Hannah
Writing a diary entry
Write Hannah's diary entry for the night after the party,
Writing a poem
Imagine that you are Hannah, Write a poem entitled ‘Regrets’ by
completing the following lines. You will see that the firse letter of each line
spell HANNAH whether you read the letters downers s+ OF upwards,
IF You prefer, you can write the poem about your omy regrets, using your
own name in the same way.
How 1 wish sna 7 so
20 Report on the shadow
industry
by Peter Carey
Oe
'A. Look at the words in the shape. Choose the three which, for you, best
capture the meaning of the word ‘shadow’. If you don't think the words
are suitable, add some of your own.
aor
image
jt grit
Sgn sun
: ot
usio” ah
“ sco ug" 7
si
as :
05 4
pee
7 j
Compare your choices with other students’. Give reasons for your
Choiees, Can you now agree on some essential features of 2 shadow,
perhaps using some of the words you chose?
The title contains the expression ‘shadow industry’. What could chat
be? Discuss possible explanations.
SJE] Read the first part ofthe story and listen to ie on the cassette.
21 Report on the shadow industry
22
ee
» fiend S. went to live in America ten years ago and I stil have
Mi letter he wrote me when he first arrived, wherein he
Gescribes the shadow factories that were springing up on the wees coast
and the effects they were having on that society, “You see people in dark
lasses wandering around the supermarkets at 2 am, There are great
boxes all along the aisles, some as expensive as fifty dollars bur sane of
them only five, "s always Muzak. It gives me the shits more than
the shadows. The peuple don’t look at one another They come to
browse through the boxes of shadows although the Packets give no
indication of what's inside. It really depresses me to think of people
Fone Cu at two in the morning because they need to try their luck with
a shadow. Last week I was in 2 supermarket near Topanga and I saw an
old negro tear the end off shadow box. He was arrested almost
immediately.’
AA strange letter ten years ago but it accurately describes scenes that
have since become common in this country. Yesterday I drove in from
the airport past shadow factory after shadow factory, large faceless
buildings gleaming in the sun, their secrets guarded by ex-policemen
with alsatian dogs
‘The shadow factories have huge chimneys that reach far into the sky,
chimneys which billow forth smoke of different, brilliant colours. It is
Said by some of my more cynical friends that the smoke has nothing to
do with any manufacturing process and is merely a trick, fake evidence
that technological miracles are being performed within the factories,
The popular belief is that the smoke sometimes contains the most
Powerful shadows of all, those that are too large and powerful to be
Packaged. It is a common sight to see old women standing for hours
outside the factories, staring into the smoke
There are a few who say the smoke is dangerous because of
Saréinogenic chemicals used in the manufacture of shadows. Others
avsue that the shadow is a natural product and by its very nature
chemically pure. ‘They point to the advantages of the smoke the
beautifully coloured patterns in the clouds which serve a¢ + reminder of
the happiness to be obtained frum a fully realized shadow, There may
be some merit in this last argument, for un cloudy days the skice above
Ont GHY are a wondrous sight, full of blues and vermilions and brilliant
Sreens which pick out strange patterns and shapes in the glouds.
Others say that the clouds tow contain the dreadful beauty of the
apocalypse. Report on the shadow industry
C_ Do you consider these statements to be True (T)or False (F)? DK
means ‘I don't know
T F DK
| The shadow industry probably started in ooag
America.
2. Boxes of shadows can be bought in ooo
supermarkets.
3 Shadows are made in factories that geo =O O O
thick, black smoke.
4 Shadow factories have not spreadtoother =O OO
countries.
5 Some people think that the smoke fromthe 1] O 0
factories is only for display.
0
6 Some people think the factory smoke oa
contains very powerful shadows.
7 tis lawful to open shadow boxes andletthe OO O
shadows escape
8 The shadows have a strong effect on people 1 O
9 People only buy them during the daytime. ooo
10 People examine the shadows before they by CT] OD
them,
11 Some people think the smoke contains ooo
chemicals that cause cancer.
12. Some people believe that shadows bring ooo
happiness,
2,
"The shadows are packaged in large, lavish boxes which are printed
with abstract designs in many colours. The Bureau of Statistics reveals
that the average householder spends 25 per cent of his income on these
expensive goods and that this percentage increases as the income
decreases
2B Report on the shadow industry
There are those who say that che shadows are bad for people,
Promising an impossible happiness that can never be realized and thus
detracting from the very real beauties of nature and life, But there are
others who argue that the shadows have always been with us in one
form or another and that the packaged shadow is necessary for mental
health in an advanced technological society. There is, however, research
to indicate that the high suicide rate in advanced countries is connected
with the popularity of shadows and that there is a direct statistical
correlation between shadow sales and suicide rates. This has been
explained by those who hold that the shadows are merely mirrors to the
Soul and that the man who stares into a shadow box sees only himself,
and what beauty he finds there is bis own beauty and what despair he
experiences is born of the poverty of his spirit.
D What contradictory information is there about the shadows? Write
Notes under these two headings
Arguments for shadows Arguments against shadows
Snr
‘What new feelings do you now have about shiadows?
24 Report on the shadow industry
=) Read the third and fourth parts of the story and listen to chem
on the cassette.
1 visited my mother at Christmas. She lives alone with her dogs >
poor part of rown, Knowing her weakness for shadows I brought her
reveral of the more expensive varieties which she retired to examine in
the privacy of the shadow room.
‘Ghe stayed in the room for such a long time that T became worried
and knocked on the door. She came out almost immediately, When 1
saw her face I knew the shadows had not been good ones.
“T'm sorry’ I said, but she kissed me quickly and began to sell me
about a neighbour who had won the lottery:
1 myself know, only too well, the disappointments of shadow boxes
for Talso have a weakness in that direction. For me itis something ofa
guilty secret, something that would not be approved of by my clever
friends,
1 saw J. in the street. She teaches at the university:
‘Atchah, she said knowingly, tapping the bulky parcel 1 had hidden
under my coat. I know she will make capital of this discovery, 4 hittle
piece of gossip to use at the dinner parties she is $0 fond of. Yet 1
suspect that she too has a weakness for shadows. She confessed as much
ta me some years ago during that strange misunderstanding she still
tikes to call ‘Our Affair’. It was she who hinted at the feeling of
emptiness, that awful despair that comes when one has failed to grasp
the shadow.
My own father left home because of something he had seen in 8 box
of shadows. It wasn’t an expensive box, either, quite the opposite © ®
little surprise my mother had bought with the money left over from her
housekeeping. He opened it after dinner one Friday night and he was
gone before T came down to breakfast on the Saturday He left a note
‘hich my mother only showed me very recently: My father was pot
good with words and had trouble communicating what he had seen:
‘Words Cannot Express It What I Feel Because of The Things I Save In
‘The Box Of Shadows You Bought Me.’
28 Report om the shadow industry
E
26
Make notes about shadows and the shadow industry, Decide whether
Your notes represent good things, bad things or neither good nor bad,
The activity has been started for you,
Good things | Bad things Neither good nor
about shadows about shadows | bad
oe Con gek the Pre
cheap ones | unpredictable
‘Work with a partner. Using your notes, summarise the effects of
shadows on the narrator and their family Report om the shadow industry
CUIES Read the fifth part of the story and listen to it on the cassette,
My own feelings about the shadows are ambivalent, ro say the least.
For here I have manufactured one more: elusive, unsatisfactory, hinting
at greater beauties and more profound mysteries that exist somewhere
before the beginning and somewhere after the end.
al
The narrator says their feelings about shadows are ‘ambivalent’ cha is
contradictory, But the narrator also claims to have manufactured one
more shadow. In what ways could this short story itself be like 2
shadow?
G Now that you have read the whole story, what are your impressions of
ie? Circle any of the reaction words below that are close to your first
impressions. Add your own reaction word(s) if you prefer:
ready wih dLepretiing a bit puzzling
Alea ut Oly isieed Comex idegs orang
fFstaAng diffieult Langroet mot bod
Find others in the class with similar impressions to your own. Discuss
the reasons for your choices.
2 Report on the shadow industry
ee
28
Read the story again.
1
Y friend S. went to live in America ten years ago and I still have
Mii etter he wrote me when he first arrived, wherein he
Gescribes the shadow factories that were springing up on the west coast
and the effects they were having on that society. “You see people in dark
lasses wandering around the supermarkets at 2 am. ‘There are great
boxes all along the aisles, some as expensive as fifty dollars but most of
them only five. There's always Muzak. It gives me the shits more than
the shadows. The people don’t look at one another They come to
browse through the boxes of shadows although the packers sive no
indication of what's inside. It really depresses me to think of people
Goi'g out at two in the morning because they need to try their luck with
8 shadow. Last week I was in a supermarket near Topanga and I saw an
old negro tear the end off a shadow box. He was arrested almost
immediately.’
A strange letter ten years ago but it accurately describes scenes that
have since become common in this country. Yesterday I drove fe from
the airport past shadow factory after shadow factory, large faceless
buildings gleaming in the sun, their secrets guarded by ex-policemen
with alsatian dogs,
The shadow factories have huge chimneys that reach far into the sky,
chimneys which billow forth smoke of different, brilliant colours, Ir is
Said by some of my more cynical friends that the smoke has nothing to
do with any manufacturing process and is merely a trick, fake evidence
{hat technological miracles are being performed within the factories
The popular belief is that the smoke sometimes contains the most
Powerful shadows of all, those that are too large and powerful to be
Packaged. It is a common sight to see old women standing for hours
outside the factories, staring into the smoke
There are a few who say the smoke is dangerous because of
carcinogenic chemicals used in the manufacture of shadows. Others
areue that the shadow is @ natural product and by its very nature
chemically pure. They point to the advantages of the smoke, the
beautifully coloured patterns in the clouds which serve as a reminds of
the happiness to be obtained from a fully realized shadow, There may
be some merit inthis last argument, for on cloudy day's the skice above
our city are a wondrous sight, fall of blues and vermilions and brillinnt
Breens which pick out strange patterns and shapes in the clouds Report on the shadow industry
Others say that the clouds now contain the dreadful beauty of the
apocalypse.
‘The shadows are packaged in large, lavish boxes which are printed
with abstract designs in many colours. The Bureau of Statistics reveals
that the average householder spends 25 per cent of his income on these
expensive goods and that this percentage increases as the income
decreases.
“There are those who say that the shadows are bad for people,
promising an impossible happiness that can never be realized and thus
detracting from the very real beauties of nature and life. But there are
others who argue that the shadows have always been with us in one
form or another and that the packaged shadow is necessary for mental
health in an advanced technological society. There is, however, research
to indicate that the high suicide rate in advanced countries is connected
with the popularity of shadows and that there is a direct statistical
correlation between shadow sales and suicide rates. This has been
explained by those who hold that the shadows are merely mirrors tothe
soul and that the man who stares into a shadow box sees only himself,
and what beauty he finds there is his own beauty and what despair he
experiences is born of the poverty of his spirit.
J visited my mother at Christmas, She lives alone with ber dogs in @
poor part of town, Knowing her weakness for shadows I brought her
several of the more expensive varieties which she retired to examine in
the privacy of the shadow room.
‘She stayed in the room for such a long time that 1 became worned
and knocked on the door. She came out almost immediately. When 1
saw her face 1 knew the shadows had not been good ones.
“I’m sorry,’ 1 said, but she kissed me quickly and began to tell me
about a neighbour who had won the lottery.
T myself know, only too well, the disappointments of shadow boxes
for I also have a weakness in that direction. For me it is something of a
guilty secret, something that would not be approved of by my clever”
friends,
T saw J. in the street. She teaches at the university:
‘Ahchah,’ she said knowingly, tapping the bulky parcel T had hidden
under my coat. I know she will make capital of this discovery, a little
piece of gossip to use at the dinner parties she is s0 fond of, Yet 1
Suspect that she too has a weakness for shadows, She confessed as much
23. Report on the shadow industry
Hen Some Years ago during chat strange misunderstanding she still
likes to call ‘Our Affair’. It was she who hinted at the feeling of