Answering more questions on “The Pearl” for SPM 2010/ English/ Literature Component

Dear Form 5 students, since your examination is just around the corner, I have written the answers to 5 more questions in order to aid you…

1.    Based on the story that you have learned, write about the HOPES of ONE of the characters. WHAT DID THE CHARACTER DO to achieve his/her hopes? Support your answer with close reference to the text.

“The Pearl” by John Steinback is a novel that reveals the power of hope living in people. Kino, a poor pearl diver, begins to have great hopes after the discovery of the pearl of the world, so in order to fullfill his hopes, so became an ambitious, aggressive and determined person in order to protect the pearl before selling it.

Kino became an ambitious person when he tried to sell the pearl in order to fullfill his hopes to bring his wife, Juana, their baby, Coyotito out of the clutches of poverty, discrimination and hardship. Kino hopes to educate Coyotito through formal education, marry Juana in a proper ceremony in church, buy himself a rifle- Winchester carbine, and a harpoon. The doctor pretended to cure Coyotito from his scorpion bite, in order to get the pearl, but Kino is alert to protect the pearl and hid it. When the pearl buyers tried to cheat him, he took all the effort to protect the pearl, as he wanted a higher price for the pearl. He became too ambitious and is willing to go thru all the difficulties to sell the pearl for a better price.

Writing dramatic narration for SPM English Paper 1, section B:

When we plan to write a narrative essay for the coming SPM examination , English Paper 1, section B: Continuous Writing, we have to bear in mind of making our essay exciting and impressive. The first thing  to do is study the question carefuly, understand the scope of the question, then draw a rough plot from the beginning , rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. 

Then we should decide the theme, moral values, characters and scenes of events. The theme of the story is the central message and the moral values are the lessons that we learn from the story. In order to make our story alive, name the settings/places of our story, then descibe the scene of the place. 

Understanding Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

Introduction: Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare is poem where the persona who is immensely in love with his beloved, deeply admires his love and compares her with summer. The comparison is done based on the beauty of summer’s day and its wonders. However, the persona finds his belove being more beautiful than summer and its elements; the sun, flowers, nature’s movements, and the summer of his heart and life is and will be forever beautiful and warm. Besides that his beloved’s beauty is eternal. Life is full of meaning to the persona as the beauty of his life remains forever. Even as summer fades, the love of his life will remain intact as long as people are alive to read and appreciate the beauty of his beloved in the poem.

Describing how the main character managed to raise awareness to the readers in The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Question: Reading a novel will leave the awareness to the readers. Based on the novel you have studied, describe how the main character managed to raise awareness?

 Answer:

Based on the novel, The Pearl by John Steinbeck, the main character who managed to raise awareness to the readers is Kino. Kino, is a poor Mexican Indian pearl fisher who lives with his wife, Juana and their baby, managed to raise awareness  by being a memorable, determined and remorseful character. Kino managed to be a memorable character as he reveals a very dramatic characterization from being a very loving and caring father, he changed into a very aggressive person due to the pearl he found. 


Kino, took all the effort to dive into the sea after Coyotito, their baby was stung by a scorpion.  Being a poor pearl diver who strives for a hard life made Kino’s character a touching one.  He managed to find a big, beautiful pearl of the world, but unfortunately his dreams of leading a better life lead only to tragedy. He was cheated by the pearl buyer, attacked by the attackers and followed by the trackers. His personality changed as the pearl stayed longer in his hands,

The themes and moral values in “The Pearl” a novel by John Steinbeck

the themes and moral values of THE PEARL

Hope this notes I wrote about the novel, The Pearl,

will be beneficial to all our dear form 5 students for the coming SPM 2010

THE THEMES  IN THE PEARL..........

1.       Family love and loyalty

The theme of family love and loyalty is expressed through this close-knit family and conveyed throughout the story in the following textual evidences:

Ø  Kino showed his fatherly love when he desperately tried to look for a pearl in order to treat his son. Kino hears a song- The Song of the Family- which reinforces the feeling of warmth and safety of being a part of the family.

Ø  Juana showed her motherly love when she is willing to suck out the poison /venom from her beloved baby’s shoulder. Juana insists to follow Kino off to the ocean as she wants to prepare poultice, a traditional cure made of seaweeds. When Kino killed the intruder, Juana gives Kino strength and makes him feel like a man again.

Ø  The family bond is extended to include Apolonia and Juan Tomas’ four children. When Kino’s house is burnt down and they are in trouble, Juan Tomas and his whole family are there to support and give them shelter.

The strong bond of the family love and loyalty is sometimes threatened in several events in the novel by the presence of the pearl. However, it still survives till the end of the story. 

William Shakespeare's immortal work of arts....

This small book was the first attempt at a collected edition of all Shakespeare's non-dramatic verse, including the sonnets. There are fewer than fifty surviving copies in the world.

A literature teacher said Willliam Shakespeare's literary  works captured the hearts of aristocrats and commoners alike.The king of literature, William Shakespeare studied only till 4th class and could not receive proper education due to poverty. But inspite of this he became king of literature and provided numerous new words to English language. A genius. Shakespeare wrote about 154 sonnets, most of them dedicated to his patron and friend, Earl of Southampton and some dedicated to a mysterious lady called dark lady with whom the poet was desperately in love but who betrayed him. There is reference to WH and dark lady in his poems and It is generally assumed that WH means William Herbert and Mary Fetton is the dark lady. The sonnets of Shakespeare are autobiographical and tell a story which is personal to the poet. The sonnets addressed to the Earl talk about immortality of art while as the sonnets addressed to dark lady talk about immortality of love..”

The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost’s poems are  very interesting as they touch the nature revealing an appealing atmosphere and inviting comfort .  The Road not taken is of his poems which have themes that are related to us..... as we walk on the pathway of our lives.

Synopsis:

This poem is about the poet who is enjoying his walk in the woods. He came to a point where the road branched into two. He had to make a choice to choose which road to travel, so he stood there wondering which one to take. Then , he decided to choose the less travelled one. He hopes that he can return on the other day and explore the other road.  However, he did not get the chance to do so as the road he choose took him further and further in life. After many years, he looked back and ponders about his decision he had made many years ago. The choice he had made many years ago have brought a great influence upon his life(shaped his life) and eventually making him the man he is today.

evaluating characters in drama....undeniably pleasurable

Characterization is the means of a writer to describe, reveal or develop a character for a reader. The writer uses many techniques to bring out the characterization of a character through the use of language. A writer’s use of language is by the application of imagery, metaphor, simile, and other kind of figurative language which are also used by the writer in the text to portray the characters’ traits besides using the dramatic devices such as humour, foreshadowing, irony, pun, suspense and slapstick. Thus, the writer uses application in his description of narrational voice, presentation of the character’s action, speech and thoughts to reveal the characterization of the characters. Besides that, often remarks and comments by other characters and how other characters act, react, think about him will also throw light on his personality and character traits. The use of language in Gulp and Gasp Drama by John Townsend in defining characterization in the play is beautifully displayed. John Townsend uses some of the combination of the techniques mentioned above to dramatically bring out the characterization of Rose, Percy, Lord Septic and Crouch.

Character and characterization in Gulp and Gasp (based on the Drama by John Townsend)

ROSE

Characteristics: Poor and humble

Textual evidence:

She lives in poverty and sells flowers for a living. The hardship that she is going through made her lead a simple, humble and homely life. When she came to sell the flowers at the railway station, she has not eaten for 3 days and she is greatly hoping to earn some coins. Her house is in a very poor condition and the attic room has dry rot.

Characteristics: Blind and innocent

Textual evidence:

Rose is blind due to the flames at the match factory owned by Lord Septic. She has to lead a hard life as she lost her eye sight. Though she is blind, she is honest in earning money for living and her deed of working as a flower girl reflects her innocent attribute.

The unobtrusive eyes that obstruct……………

I wish to share my taughts and reflections on one of the poems for my Form 4 students :

He has such quiet eyes

The first stanza reveals a woman’s life of attraction………. when she looks into the eyes of man, as he has such quiet eyes. His quiet eyes look so in offending and harmless to the extent that she was unaware of the two pads of lies= hidden, mysterious, enigmatic secret which can be illusory and misleading. If she is aware it would be easy to break the layered with thinnest ice and the man’s true nature of being a heartless man will be visible to her. The eyes are alive and pleading her renders him the pleasure his craves. Thus, the eyes mesmerize her and made her be so enamored without realizing it is a game of deceiving love by pleasure seeking guy.

As for the second stanza, it reveals the woman’s life of regrets ………after going through hurting and painful moments which ruin her reputation. She regrets for not listening to advice and act wisely to avoid pleasure seeking guys. If she had been deep-thinking, she would have resist the temptation and avoid the man who uses his eyes to lure her. Thus, she would have freedom from soul-searching questions due to her inadequacies if she had adhere to the advice of not to please a man who lures her.

The third stanza is a friendly advice from the poet to women to be careful when there are men who tend to be ‘nice’ to them. Love is like a gamble, be strong to face any consequences when we face love. Evaluate the man’s sincerity and trustworthiness in relationship in order to taste the true love.

Exploring and unveiling the insights ……..

It is an amazing experience exploring and unveiling the insights of the open-ended questions for short stories and poems during literature revision classes with my students in SAAS and my tuition students. It is inspiring when some of my Form 4 Amanah students prepared their answers in advance on the worksheets I gave them the previous week, and when they join in the discussion. I’m also inspired by my Form 4 Dynamic students, as usual being enthusiastic and responsive and not forgetting my Form 4 Harmony for being more attentive and it’s really touching when more and more students bringing their books and dictionary. Thank you to all of you for creating the blissful atmosphere during the literature lesson…you all are truly inspiring and awesome students!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Opening our eyes, hearts, minds and souls

This is my third week teaching in SAAS, I'm beginning to see the different attitudes of my From 4 Amanah, Form 4 Dynamic and Form 4 Harmony students..........

Form 4 Harmony consists of 48 students…….. drifting away in their own world, lack of self confidence, so dependable on teachers in learning. A problem class with no interest in English, but I accept them as a group of needy students ..........SOS...... they must be saved from drowning...... It’s a real challenge but a real joy to see them beginning to open their eyes…..hearts, minds and souls…….

Form 4 Dynamic has 40 students……….very attentive and responsive. They are willing to learn to be the best. Observing their actions, speech and thoughts is really inspiring.It really touches my heart each time when I watch them taking the initiative to break the shell and try to speak in English…….it’s a real joy to see them opening their eyes………..hearts, minds and souls………..

What shall I say about 4 Amanah which consists of 34 students? ????? Being a class in the top ranking doesn’t mean you can take things for granted……….be careful………you wouldn’t want to be like the hare in the aesop’s fable~The Hare and the Tortoise~………so open your eyes, hearts , minds and souls too………

Khalil Gibran said: “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”

QWERTYUIOP

I wrote this Literature component for secondary schools/short stories/Qwertyuiop/ revision notes specially for my students in Form 4 Amanah, Form 4 Dynamic and Form 4 Harmony of SMK Sultan Abdul AzizShah, Kajang and also for my tuition students. I'll write on the poems when I have the time, if God wills.I hope this revision notes i wrote will benefit my students and the others.

QWERTYUIOP (Vivien Alcock)

SYNOPSIS

‘QWERTYUIOP’ is about a poor, young graduate named Lucy Beck who has just finished her ‘O’ levels at Belmont Secretarial College. She is a slow learner herself but she is determined to find a job in order to get out of poverty. Fortunately, she is offered a job by Mr. Ross, the Manager of Ross and Bannister’s. However, she begins to face problems from her first day of work. She encounters many peculiar incidents when she starts using the electric typewriter. Whenever Lucy types, the words “QWERYUIOP” which is on the top lines on the keyboards will keep on appearing. She is determined to keep on her job, so she tries to overcome her fear. Later, she finds out that there is a spirit lingering around the office. She finds out from that Miss Broome, a former secretary of the late Mr Bannister was forced to retire after working for forty-three years. That was why the spirit of Miss Broome is adamant in holding on to her position as the company’s secretary. Towards the end of the story, Lucy tries to get rid of the spirit that has been haunting that place for many years. She assured Miss Broome that the late Mr Bannister needs her in the afterlife. She managed to convince Miss Broome to leave and finally she could maintain her job.

roses among thorns?

Drama is introduced in the new KBSM literature component for 2010 for the lower and upper secondary together with new poems and short stories. Rumplelstiltskin by Angela Lanyon is used for the lower secondary while Gulp and Gasp by John Townsend for the upper secondary. Will it be roses or thorns for the teachers as well as the students? It all depends on the teachers approach and the students acceptance. 

Opening the door to the world of creative arts

Teaching literature is a challenging task if our students are not interested in it. Teachers have to give room to the students and opportunity to express their view and thoughts and appreciate their involvement. Feedback and comments from teachers do not have to be always positive, there are times we need to response to the students answers by asking them to support their stand with more textual evidence. Literature is pieces of creative writing, which can be also valued as work of arts, that can arouse interest in reading and also enhance language competency. Cultural models, language models and personal growth models for teaching literature can be applied when we teach literature in order to stimulate their interest and develop the cognitive and affective domains of the students.

“Teaching literature is a subject, and a difficult one. Doing it well requires scholarly and critical sophistication, but it also requires a clear idea of what literature is, of what is entailed in reading and criticizing it. It requires, in fact, some very self-conscious theorizing. But beyond the questions that ought to feed any serious critic’s sense of what doing literature might mean, there are questions about the relation between such sophistication, and the necessities of the classroom: what, how, and when are students more likely to learn?" (Levine,2001:14)

discovering the hidden “pearls” in “The Pearl”

I truly enjoy teaching my form 5 tuition students “The Pearl” ,a novel by John Steinbeck and it’s an amazing experience for me. At first most of my students who attended my class did not like literature, especially the novel. It was a challenge for me but I accepted it as God’s test for me. I tried to look through the rose tinted glasses, and I put more effort to bring the life to the literature lesson. I wrote a brief synopsis and concise summaries of the six chapters of the novel for my students to read .Then I told my students that we can never love this novel by just holding it; so we have to read it, explore it, go inside it, and imagine that we are there with them. I told them to put their love in what they are reading, and as they read the novel, I asked them to observe the characters and the way they talk, act and interact with other characters, and take note of the sequence of events from the beginning, rising action, climax, falling action and ending. Then I discussed with them the characterization of the characters. “ Insight into characters in literary texts could also derived directly through the characters’ actions, speech and thoughts. A character’s actions, speech and thoughts in any situation would throw light on his personality and character traits.”(Edwin,2004) I love to hear their different opinions regarding the characters of Kino, Juana, the pearl buyers, the doctor, Juan Tomas, Apolonia, the priest and the trackers. The most interesting part is when the students tried to bring out the theme of the novel together with the moral values and lessons that they have learned, they finally discovered the situational irony in the novel. 

a broken heart withered of love………………

One of the novels used in the lower secondary for Literature in English is “The Phantom of the Opera” by Gaston Leroux. However, the students use the abridged version by Jennifer Bassett which is more simplified. I love to discuss with my Form 2 tuition students (from the lower secondary schools around my area) regarding their perception about Erik as the evil character and share my own reflections regarding him with them.

Erik or the opera ghost is considered as the evil character in the novel as he did evil things like dropping the chandelier on the opera audience and killing Joseph Buquet. He even kidnapped Christine an opera singer and forces her to marry him as he is deeply in love with her. On the other hand Christine is in love with Roaul. Raoul tried to search for her as he is also deeply in love with her too. Erik trapped Raoul and tortured him in the room of mirrors in order to make him face death. However Christine felt pity on Raoul when Erik showed her what Raoul was going through.She eventually told Erik to let go Raoul and she agreed to marry Erik. When Christine kissed Erik, he was so touched as even his own mother never kissed him. Then he began to realize that love cannot be forced, so he let go Christine to be with Raoul her lover and this incident made him face his failure to love and being loved…………………….

love for the sake of love~King Lear

A writer’s use of language in a text by the application of imagery, metaphor, simile, and other kind of figurative language can portray the characters’ trait besides using the other figurative language such as paradox, personification and hyperbole. The writer uses application in his description of narrational voice, presentation of the character’s action, speech and thoughts to reveal the characterization of the characters. Besides that, often remarks and comments by other characters and how other characters act, react, think about him will also throw light on his personality and character traits.

I’m truly impressed by the use of language which is beautifully displayed in “King Lear” by William Shakespeare in defining characterization in the play. The characterization of King Lear and his three daughters, , Goneril, Regan and Cordelia are portrayed starting from the event of the love test King Lear started in order to test his daughters’ sincerity of love for him. King Lear who was eccentric nature was also being impulsive from his words “fast intent”. 

Inner beauty goes beyond physical beauty………….

“My mother is the most beautiful woman in the world” is a Russian Folk Tale by Reyher, Rebecca Hourwich, which has a very touching message behind the simple tale. The setting of the tale is at the wheat field, where the villagers were harvesting the wheat. At that time, Varya, a little girl who was lost went searching for her beloved mother.The villagers around her felt pity of her and kept asking her how does her mother look like. She gave an innocent description of her mother by saying: “ My mother is the most beautiful woman in the world.” They searched for her mother, and brought forth many beautiful woman for her to identify, however each time they brought one, she will deny. 

a dream of freedom ….a reality at last……

I was truly amazed when I read the famous speech “I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He presented his inspiring speech on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. His speech moved the hearts of those who listened attentively as he used rhetorical method which is the art of persuasion in speaking and writing. Besides that, he also used metaphors, repetition and inspirational thoughts in his speech. The theme of the speech is expressed throughout the speech through identification and racial equality & uniting, historical background, repetition and regarding certain situation that should be corrected. The power of his speech educated, inspired, motivated the black Americans specifically and the whites generally as he managed to stir the will and determination to uphold humanity and release the sense of freedom by breaking the racial sentiment that disunites and cause discrimination.

The internal and external conflicts .....

I found “Shooting An Elephant” an essay by George Orwell, as a very interesting essay which reflected his personal thoughts and experience, combined with his political views. Orwell 's metaphoric descriptive words enliven the story, and arouse the readers to read on. The themes of conscience, culture clash, prejudice and tolerance blends well in Orwell’s narration. Even though he is European, he is against imperialism because it’s unfair and oppressive. The internal and external conflict faced by him is revealed throughout the narration of the story. Being a sub-divisional police officer in a town in Burma was a real challenge to him as Europeans are unwelcomed in the country. One day, he was ordered to do something about an elephant which was ravaging the bazaar and caused havoc in the neighboring villages.

a candle that lights along

I felt that reading the autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., a black American, is truly inspiring and motivating as he is a key personality in the civil rights movement in America, who fought for freedom and equality for all people. His strive to bring the message of peace and love , being like a candle that lights along, bringing new hope and joy in the lives of those in need. . He led campaign after campaign in the streets of America to uphold the sense of humanity and legal protection among the poor and also the black Americans. At the age of 39, he was shot in the neck by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee, on 4^th April 1968 when he was leading a protest against low wages and the terrible working conditions faced by sanitation workers. Although his struggles lasted for only a few years until his death, the inspiration of bringing peace and love continues to live on…….

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. said:

"I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their tired bodies, education and culture for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and non-violent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land 'and the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.' I still believe that we shall overcome."

determined dreams.........

Dreams by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

This is another poem written by Langston Hughes, which conveys the message of the need to have the determination to accomplish whatever we aim or strive for in life . In the first stanza, “Hold fast to dreams” implies that a person needs to continue to believe in his ability and aim for what he visualizes for his future success. Then Langston Hughes personifies life, by stating that life is a broken-winged bird if one let the dreams die. It means a person will meet failure if he let go his dreams before accomplishing his desired aims in life. He will also lose his strength to move on physically, emotionally or spiritually to make his dream become a reality. In the second stanza, “Hold fast to dreams” is repeated again to emphasis on the importance of being a person who has mission and vision in life. Langston Hughes personifies life once again by stating “ Life is a barren field, frozen with snow" if dreams go. It shows that there is no harvest to reap as when he let go his dream, life will become unproductive, making it fruitless and meaningless.

pessimist or optimist?

James Mercer Langston Hughes, an African American was a poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright and columnist. His writings are categorized as marginalized literature in the marginalized ethnic group and he voice out issues and concerns from his life experience. I feel that his poem “Cross” is showing his vision of future generations, who practice multi-ethnic marriage, which has actually become a reality these days. The same situation occurs in Malaysia where we have multi ethnic marriage, so this poem can also be suitable to be taught in Malaysian secondary school where students have background knowledge on this matter. Multi ethnic marriage occurs in their family circle or in the society around them. The poem reflects the persona’s frustration from racialism and arouses us to contemplate what will happen in the future if discrimination prevails. The persona is as though wanting the readers to ponder on the consequences of practicing racialism in the society which will not only cause internal conflict in a person but also external conflict and to decide whether to be pessimist or optimist when facing the reality in life before turning into dust.

Cross by Langston Hughes

My old man's a white old man
And my old mother's black.
If ever I cursed my white old man
I take my curses back.
If ever I cursed my black old mother
And wished she were in hell,
I'm sorry for that evil wish
And now I wish her well
My old man died in a fine big house.
My ma died in a shack.
I wonder where I'm going to die,
Being neither white nor black?

love : pleasure or pressure?

Erica Mann Jong’s writing on literary text is categorized as marginalized literature for feminist writings .The rose in the poem written by her symbolizes love, pleasure, beauty. The persona received the love from a man but she was waiting to let the love bloom in her heart. By the time the love flows into her heart, she realizes the man’s love for her is beginning to fade. So, the persona tried to preserve the love she received from him but it perished as time moves on. She suffered the lost for years with pressure. She hopes for pleasure from the love she once received, so she took the effort to make it alive, but love was not lasting for her, turning from pleasure into pressure. In the last 2 stanzas I feel that the persona has reached to a reflecting and contemplating stage,in order to console herself, after going through bitterness of a love that has perished.

The Rose by Erica Mann Jong

You gave me a rose
last time we met.

I told myself
if it bloomed
our love would bloom,
& if it died--

O I did not

consider

the possibility.

It died.

Though I cut
the stem
on a slant
as my mother
taught me,
though I dropped
an aspirin
in the water,

it hung its head
like a spent cock
& died.

It stands
on my desk now--
straight green stalk,
blood-red clot
of bud
drooping
like a hanged man's
head.

Does this mean
we are doomed?
Does this mean
all lovers
are doomed?

O my love--
I have not read roses
as amulets
in seven years. . . .

Which doom
is worse?
To love
& lose?

Or to lose
love
altogether
& not care
whether roses

live or die?