Genre: The author’s comment - Pearson Education · 2019-06-21 · edges Genre: Different genres 2 Look at the extracts below from Fighting Back.Which of the genres listed at the
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Authors write novels for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes they write for their own pleasure orbecause they have a good idea. Some authors are very aware of their audience (who they arewriting for). This could be teenagers, adults, people with particular interests or everyone.
1 What other reasons do you think authors have for writing?
2 Below is a list of genres. Add four more to the list.
horror _________________________________
romance _________________________________
comedy _________________________________
thrillers _________________________________
historical _________________________________
Some novels have a commentary in them from the author, about his/her work. In FightingBack Catherine MacPhail comments:
I always wanted to be a writer, but growing up in a working class family
background in the west of Scotland, with a widowed mother and three sisters,
being a writer was a dream I thought could never come true. It was only after my
youngest child was born that I started sending stories away.
I wrote every kind of story, from horror to romance, but began to realise I had a
knack for writing comedy. I thought I’d found the kind of writing I wanted to do,
until my daughter Katie was bullied at school and I wrote my first children’s book,
Run Zak Run. Now I love writing for children too.
Type of story or ‘genre’
3 a In the commentary above, underline the type of genre Catherine MacPhail thought shehad a ‘knack for writing.’
b Do you think her first children’s book was this type of genre? Underline the words thatled you to this conclusion and explain why they did.
2edges Genre: Different genres
Look at the extracts below from Fighting Back. Which of the genres listed at the bottom ofsheet 3 do they seem to come from? (There are more genres listed than extracts so you needto think carefully about which match correctly.)
. . . she aimed her handbag against the wall. Unfortunately, it missed thewall. It did hit the removal man though. Caught him full on the mouth justas he was coming in carrying the television set. He let out a yelp anddropped the TV.
I could have a telescope out here. Stargaze. Up thirteen flights, I was closeenough to them. I might even become a famous astronomer. I peered atthe moving bead of light. A UFO? I followed its course across the sky.
I was choking with the thick acrid smoke. Too afraid to move. Mumreturned and threw more towels on the flames. She glanced at me. ‘KERRY!’I had seldom heard such force in her voice. ‘Get more towels NOW!’
That made me move. I ran to the cupboard, pulling towels from the pileand running back to the bathroom with them. Mum had the bath runningand I threw the towels into the water while Mum carried each one, soaking,back to the blaze.
1 From what you have learned so far about genre, the information you have about FightingBack from Catherine MacPhail’s comments and the extracts you have read, what kind ofbook do you think Fighting Back is likely to be?
Write a paragraph below to explain whether you think it fits into a particular genre. Youcan mention more than one kind of genre if you wish.
Story openings give us clues about what will happen in the rest of the story. Use the tablebelow to record the clues you found in the extract on sheets 5 and 6 and note down whatthe clues suggest. The first one has been done for you.
Clues What the clues suggest
I could tell by the taxi driver’s expressionthat he wished he had an ejector seat formy mother. She had done nothing but shoutat him since he’d picked us up at our oldhouse.
Kerry’s mother can be irritating.She is also feeling the stress of themove.
Exploring openings and setting thescene: Capturing the reader’s interest
In the early chapters of a novel the writer sets the scene so that the reader is given a strongsense of the story to follow. In this way the reader’s interest is raised and then kept.
Read the scene below from Chapter 2 of Fighting Back, where Kerry and her mother are lookingaround the new home they have just moved into, then answer the questions on sheet 9.
Page 5
Mum tore a loose edge of peeling wallpaper and the whole strip fell down. She
wailed. ‘And we’re stuck with this!’
‘It’ll look better once it’s been decorated.’ I tried to soothe her. ‘And we’ve got a
balcony’.
We had thrown open the balcony doors to let some air into the place, and I
pointed to the magnificent view. The river like glass, and beyond the purple
Argyll hills with the Sleeping Warrior, the mountain that looked like a soldier at
rest, clearly outlined against the sky.
‘We could sit out there and have breakfast.’ I smiled. ‘Very continental.’
‘Where are we going to sit? On top of this satellite dish? And what’s it doing
there? Or hadn’t you noticed it?’
It would have been hard not to notice it. Lying askew out there, taking up most
of the room. It looked as if a flying saucer had crashed-landed on our balcony.
I sighed. I hated it when she was like this, and had only been trying to change
her mood. It wasn’t working. Mum was getting angrier by the minute.
5 Using the extract above and the extract on sheet 8, discuss with a partner what you thinkwill happen next. Try to think of three different possibilities.
i ____________________________________________________________________________
Writers need to bring their writing to life by creating images in the reader’s mind. One way to dothis is to use similes. A simile compares one thing with another by using ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Read the following simile from Chapter 1 of Fighting Back (page 2)
1 What is Velcro? What does it feel and look like?
2 Think of two more adverbs to replace ‘furiously’ and ‘anxiously’ so that the meaning of thesentence is shifted. For each one, explain how the meaning has changed.
She ______________ tore a loose edge of peeling wallpaper. . .
The meaning has changed _______________________________________________________
Exploring openings and Setting thescene: Using language
Read the extract below, noting the underlined words.
Page 5
1 A-E are examples of similes, verbs, adverbs and adjectives. Write down which you thinkeach one is in the table below.
2 In the extract, find examples of the following and underline them:
a simile – underline it in red
b verb – underline it in blue
c adjective – underline it in green.
A
B
C
D
E
Mum tore a loose edge of peeling wallpaper and the whole strip fell down. Shewailed. ‘And we’re stuck with this!’
‘It’ll look better once it’s been decorated.’ I tried to soothe her. ‘And we’ve got abalcony’.
We had thrown open the balcony doors to let some air into the place, and Ipointed to the magnificent view. The river like glass, and beyond the purpleArgyll hills with the Sleeping Warrior, the mountain that looked like a soldier atrest, clearly outlined against the sky.
‘We could sit out there and have breakfast.’ I smiled. ‘Very continental.’‘Where are we going to sit? On top of this satellite dish? And what’s it doing
there? Or hadn’t you noticed it?’It would have been hard not to notice it. Lying askew out there, taking up most
of the room. It looked as if a flying saucer had crashed-landed on our balcony.I sighed. I hated it when she was like this, and had only been trying to change
her mood. It wasn’t working. Mum was getting angrier by the minute.
When we read a novel we build the characters in our minds, not only from the writing but alsofrom our own knowledge of different character types.
Below are some descriptions of characters from Fighting Back. Complete the table by writingdown their characteristics? Think about what they say or do and what others think of them, aswell as how they are described. Underline useful words. The first has been started for you.
Ali clapped his hands together with remorse for OldBilly. ‘To think he lay dead in that flat for three days –and none of us knew it.’
She looked at me and pressed a dirty-nailed finger toher lips. ‘Keep quiet if you know what’s good for you.’
Who on earth did this girl think she was? AlCapone? And, then, as bold as anything, she beganslipping bottles of shampoo into her pockets.
The wom a n’s smile grew wi der, and I saw her teeth weres t a i n ed with nico ti n e . ‘ Pret ty wee thing, Tess told meyou were .’
Te s s . The men ti on of that name sent shivers down mys p i n e , and I knew at that mom ent who this woman was.
‘She really nice. She just can’t get over Dad leaving us.Having to sell our house, and not having enoughmoney to buy another. Having to move here – thatwas the last straw.’
His face flushed with anger. Maybe he was trying tobe helpful, and I wasn’t taking him seriously at all.‘Let them get you!’ he snapped. ‘Then you’ll see howbad they are.’
Student sheet
15edges Character and setting: The villain
The extract below reveals several characteristics about Tess Lafferty and also gives informationabout her appearance.
There was a movement beside me, and I turned quickly to find a girl atmy back. She had long dark hair tied in a ponytail, and she was wearinga very expensive designer jacket.‘What’s your name?’ she asked me. She was smiling and I smiled backat her.
‘Kerry Graham.’ This girl was just about my age. Thirteen. Maybe, Ithought hopefully, she would be a friend. It would be nice to think thatby the time we’d moved in I’d made my first friend here.
‘I’m Tess Lafferty,’ she said, and another couple of girls appearedfrom behind the van. ‘These are my mates.’
She lifted a fragile glass vase from one of the boxes. ‘Nice,’ she said.I caught my breath. ‘Could you be careful with that . . . it’s Italian.’‘Ooooh, ever so posh, ‘ Tess Lafferty laughed, but there was nothing
funny in the sound. ‘Italian, is it?’ I gasped as she threw the vase in theair, then caught it deftly. She laughed again and so did her friends.
‘Put that back!’ I looked around for someone, one of the olderwomen, to tell her to stop. But it seemed as if they were already movingoff. Almost as if they were afraid to watch.
But that was silly. What would they be afraid of?I grabbed the vase and pulled it from Tess Lafferty’s clutches. Caught
unawares, she wasn’t pleased.‘Gimme that back!’ she said, as if it was hers, as if it belonged to her.‘I think you’d better get away from this van.’She snarled. She really did, baring her teeth, moving close to my face.‘Don’t you give me orders, Graham.’I glanced at the women who were left. Why were none of them
telling her off?Tess moved in closer, grabbed the front of my coat, spat the words at
me. ‘Nobody gives Tess Lafferty orders.’ Then she threw me away fromher and Mum’s favourite Italian vase slipped through my fingers. Itcrashed to the ground and splintered into a thousand pieces.
Over the next couple of days, I was glad to see that Sandra stayed well out ofMum’s way, and so did Tommy Telfer. I was even gladder about that.
Ming, however, couldn’t resist talking about it. He thought it was a great laugh.‘You can’t really blame her. You maw was trying to steal my maw’s boyfriend.’‘Is your maw Sandra the Strangler?’ I asked.That really amused him. ‘That’s the very lady!’‘I can’t believe you think mum would be interested in Tommy Telfer.’‘Ach. Tommy’s OK. He’s been going out with her for a while but my maw’s not
talking to him now.’‘I would say we did your mother a favour then.’‘She was upset. She was paid off at the factory, and when she heard about
Tommy and your mother . . . boy, was she mad.’‘So that makes it alright then – to try to strangle my mum?’The idea of this seemed to amuse him even more.‘You definitely bring out the best I people. See, you and your mother Kerry . . .
you certainly know how to make friends.’
Mum and I had a lovely day shopping for a new television. Everything seemedso much better once we were off the estate, Mum was better too, brighter,happier.
‘You know, Kerry, I’ve never bought a television by myself before. Your dadalways did it.’
Dad. He was always there, in the back of her mind. Everything she didreminded her of him. However, I think she enjoyed choosing the exact model shewanted.
‘It will come with instructions?’ she asked the amused assistant. ‘Because I’mnot very technical.’
‘We’ll plug it in. And switch it on, Mum.’ I assured her. ‘You’ll soon learn.’The television was to be delivered on Monday. And Mum decided to have a
18edgesNarrative: Who’s telling the story?(continued)
celebration tea in honour of the occasion. It was to be a late tea, however, becauseI was always late home on a Monday taking an extra class Mum had insisted on.
I was dragging my schoolbag behind me as I wandered across the estate afterschool. All at once, I remembered the new television which was to be deliveredtoday, and life seemed worthwhile again. I began to hurry.
The estate seemed deserted, quieter than I’d ever seen it at night. I took theshort cut over the children’s playground, and as I did, I heard one of the swingsbegin to creak as if someone had just a sat in it. I looked back. The swing wasgoing to and fro, but no one was on it. I glanced around. There was no one to beseen. The sun was going down, the gloom was descending. I suddenly wantedhome, and away from here. I turned away, ready to run, and this time it was theroundabout which began to turn creaking with rust.
No one was there either.My heart beat so fast I thought I was going to burst. The Lafferty boys. It had
to be them! I could imagine them leaping out at me, swinging their baseball bats.I began to run. As I headed straight past the slide they leapt out at me. Not the
Lafferty boys, but Tess, and a few of her friends.I stopped dead. Nowhere to go. Tess was barring my way.
Student sheet
19edgesNarrative: Who’s telling the story?(continued)
Read the extract on sheets 17 and 18 and then answer the questions below.
1 The extract is divided into three main paragraphs. Who are the characters involved in each ofthe paragraphs?
2 Which of these characters is telling the story?
3 The story is told in the first person. Find an example in the extract.
There are both advantages and disadvantages of writing in the first person.
Main advantages
• We feel closer to the narrator because it seems as if the narrator is speaking directly to us.
• We get one character’s point of view in depth.
Main disadvantage
• We can only experience the story from one person’s point of view.
4 Kerry experiences different kinds of feelings in the third paragraph. Sum these up in twosentences.
Despite the main disadvantage of writing in the first person, we do gain an insight into othercharacters’ feelings and opinions through the dialogue.
5 What do you find out about Sandra and Tommy Telfer from Ming’s words in the first paragraph?
Sharpen PunctuationSometimes we abbreviate words or phrases by using capital letters.
1 Find an example in the passage and say what it means.
2 Do you know its origin?
3 Now imagine that Kerry is sending Ming an urgent text message saying that she needs hishelp because Tess and her brothers are laying in wait for Kerry. (You must decide whereKerry is texting from.) Write the text message using abbreviations and then re-write it in full.
20edges Narrative: Tess Lafferty’s point of view
The main disadvantage of writing in the first person is that we can only experience the storyfrom one person’s point of view.
Read the extract below (which is told through Kerry’s eyes) and then answer the questionson sheet 21
I was dragging my schoolbag behind me as I wandered across the estate afterschool. All at once, I remembered the new television which was to be deliveredtoday, and life seemed worthwhile again. I began to hurry.
The estate seemed deserted, quieter than I’d ever seen it at night. I took theshort cut over the children’s playground, and as I did, I heard one of the swingsbegin to creak as if someone had just a sat in it. I looked back. The swing wasgoing to and fro, but no one was on it. I glanced around. There was no one to beseen. The sun was going down, the gloom was descending. I suddenly wantedhome, and away from here. I turned away, ready to run, and this time it was theroundabout which began to turn creaking with rust.
No one was there either.My heart beat so fast I thought I was going to burst. The Lafferty boys. It had
to be them! I could imagine them leaping out at me, swinging their baseball bats.I began to run. As I headed straight past the slide they leapt out at me. Not the
Lafferty boys, but Tess, and a few of her friends.I stopped dead. Nowhere to go. Tess was barring my way.
Student sheet
21edgesNarrative: Tess Lafferty’s point of view(continued)
Discuss with a partner how different the description might be if it was told through Tess Lafferty’seyes. Think about:
• Tess’s character
• where she might be when Kerry walks through the playground
• how she would describe Kerry.
Now write the description from Tess Lafferty’s point of view.
Progress Check Look back at what you have studied in this unit. Write a short advice leaflet for students inYear 5 on creating character and setting. Think about:
• what a character might look like
• what a character’s personality might be like
• where and when a story might be set.
Your advice leaflet should:
• be written in simple language
• be no more than one side in length
• have headings and sub-headings.
22edges Exploring tone: Understanding tone
The term ‘tone’ refers to the mood created in a story. For example, a story about life in avillage may be written in a serious, frightening, humorous or gentle tone, it even might be allof them.
1 Fighting Back has a range of tones. Read each extract carefully and decide whether thetone is serious or humorous and why.
For the next few days all was quiet, so quiet I could almost forget all aboutthe Laffertys. I met another of our neighbours. Mr McCurley, who lived inthe flat opposite. He came out of his door very quietly and gave me a verytiny smile. He was a big giant of a man who wore a cardigan and alwayscarried a shopping bag. Mum said he looked weird and I was to keep wellclear of him. Ming, however assured me he was one of the nicest men on theestate. He did the shopping for all the old pensioners who couldn’t get outand if he didn’t talk to us it was only because he was shy.
I looked at Tommy. He was having trouble trying to figure out how to plugit [the television] in. He had a bag of tools with him and from it he extractedsomething that looked suspiciously like a toasting-fork. He stuck it inside theback and there was a sudden spark and a distinct smell of burning.
‘Ah-ha,’ he murmured.
Tess shrugged her shoulders. ‘Give me room, girls,’ she said. And I couldalmost have laughed. She looked so stupid. ‘You see Kerry Graham. I’m goingto tell you something, and you better remember it.’ She paused, as if shewanted the words to sink deep into my memory. ‘You just don’t know whatyou’re up against when you tangle with me and my ma.’
I made my way towards the ‘The Wee Chippy’. The name was emblazoned inblack above the shop, except the C was missing so it actually read: ‘the WeeHippy’. I couldn’t help smiling as I walked inside.
The lift was covered with graffiti advertising the local gangs. Each one soundedworst than the last.
Every time the doors slid open I expected the lift to be invaded by a gang ofwild men, who would overpower me and steal my chip money.
I LSE
Student sheet
25edges Exploring tone: Altering the tone
The extract below from Fighting Back has a serious tone. Study the underlined words andannotations.
Page 20
By replacing the underlined words we can easily alter the whole tone of the writing.
1 a Change the underlined words to make the tone humorous.
b Try to think of real names and use alliteration. Make several attempts and choose the best.
2 Now create your own comic scene. Write about 300 words. You could think of your own orchoose from these:
When we are reading a story we sometimes experience a sense of growing excitement or‘suspense’. We are not quite sure what will happen next and we want to find out.
Read the extracts below from chapters 17 and 18, then answer the questions on sheet 27.
Extract 1 (Chapter 17)
Page 60
Extract 2 (Chapter 18)
Page 61
I awoke in the middle of the night. The house was silent. But something hadawoken me. What?
There was no sound. Nothing. It was my imagination. I turned over, ready togo back to sleep when it hit me.
The smell. Smoke! I could smell smoke! The flat was on fire!
I scrambled out of bed, shouting, racing for the front door.‘Mum! Mum!’ I screamed. When I saw the front door was ablaze I really began
to panic. How we were going to get out? Mum was bleary-eyed as she opened thedoor of her bedroom, but her eyes snapped open when she saw flames. Herscream joined mine.
‘What are we going to do?’ I yelled at her.I ran to the balcony and threw open the doors. Ming was already in his
pyjamas. His face was chalk-white.‘Fire!’ I screamed at him. ‘Our house is on fire!’‘My maw’s already called the fire-brigade.’‘We can’t get out, Ming,’ I couldn’t keep the panic out of my voice. ‘The front
door’s blazing.’He reached out a hand. ‘Come on then. Over here.’I think my heart stopped beating then. I was sure of it. I looked down. Thirteen
floors. I couldn’t. I knew I couldn’t jump from my balcony to his.‘Come on!’ He screamed at me through clenched teeth. ‘I’ll get you. I promise.’His hands were already reaching out to me. Both of them, thrust towards me.
’Jump, Kerry,’ he said, his voice urging me. ‘I promise I’ll not let you drop.’For a moment, I almost did. I almost reached out and leapt for his hands. Then
I thought of Mum here in the flat and I began to back away, shaking my head. Iwas staying with Mum, no matter what.
3 Create suspense by writing your own short text of between 100–200 words. Choose from thefollowing scenes or think of your own:
a being chased down a long corridor in a disused factory
b trying against time to prevent a major computer crash
c struggling towards a lifeboat in a storm
d being trapped in a dungeon with no obvious means of escape.
I watched as he clambered up, his hands gripping the edge. The roof was steep.Too steep. He was struggling for a foothold. I could hear his shoes scraping thetiles. Slithering down. Faster. Faster. Then suddenly his grip loosened.I stared horrified as he plunged over the side.
Kerry and her mother are not getting on well after the arson attack on their flat.
Read the extract below and on sheet 31, then answer the questions on sheet 32.
Mum just couldn’t come to terms with the fire. For the next couple of days shelay on our couch, drinking tea. The television had almost broken her, the fire hadfinished the job. The Laffertys had won.
All she wanted was out of here.‘If your father was here, we could go to him. After all, it’s your safety I’m
thinking about. Only for him, you wouldn’t be here – it’s all his fault anyway.’‘It’s not, Mum,’ I tried to tell her. ‘It’s the Laffertys. That’s the only people who
are to blame. If you have to blame someone, blame them!’That only made her angry. ‘Oh, of course, don’t say a bad word about your
wonderful father!’ The same conversation over and over again. Always finishingwith: ‘It was her next door that started that fire.’
But it wasn’t it. Ming assured me of that.‘What are we going to do, Ming?’‘It’s over, Kerry,’ he answered. There was even a hopelessness in Ming’s voice I
didn’t understand.It was as if something really awful was hanging over us. I had never felt so
depressed in all my life.Our door was mended. They even sent people to clean the flat for us. But
nothing helped. Mum still lay along the couch, her eyes rimmed with red, neverchanging out of her dressing-gown. It was me who had to go to Ali’s for anythingwe needed. It was me who had to venture out, even though I was terrified I mightbump into the Laffertys. Mum couldn’t do anything except cry, and blame Dadfor everything that had gone wrong for us.
I prayed every night for Dad to come back for us. I missed him, wanted to talkto him so much. He had always been there for me, a tower of strength whenever Ineeded him. He wasn’t here now, and I needed him more than ever. I almost feltlike throwing darts at his picture too.
Then one day I came in from school and there was Mum on the couch withthe duvet cover pulled up around her.
Influencing the readers: Kerry and herMother (continued)
Page 68–70
‘You’ll have to go down to Ali’s. We need milk, and something for the tea,’ shemurmured.
All at once I decided I wasn’t going to take it any more. I sat in the chairacross from her. ‘No,’ I said.
She turned to me very slowly. ‘What?’‘I said no. Why didn’t you go down and get something? You’ve been in all
day.’‘I’m never going out there again, unless it’s to leave this place.’‘But I have to go, is that it? I have to go out and risk seeing the Laffertys, is
that it?’She waved her hands about to shut me up. She didn’t want to talk about
it. But I did.‘I don’t care what you do,’ she said.‘I know that,’ I shouted at her. ‘As you long as you can lie in here and lock
yourself away, you don’t care what happens to me!’She suddenly sprang into life. ‘I tell you what! Why don’t you run back to
your daddy? I’m sure he’ll cook up a nice meal for you.’‘He always did! I yelled. And it was true. How often could I remember Dad
coming in and him and me in the kitchen making a meal? He was a good cook.Had he only learned because Mum wouldn’t?
‘Well, just pop over to America and live with him – I hope the swim acrossdoesn’t tire you out,’ she snapped at me viciously.
‘I wish I could,’ I screamed at her. I was crying now. Couldn’t stop myself. Hewanted me to.’
In the extract the Lafferty family are sometimes referred to in the plural, ‘Laffertys’. Adding‘s’ is the most common way to create a plural. However some nouns form different plurals.
We add ‘es’ to make plurals for words ending in ‘x’ , ‘ss’, ‘ch’ and ‘sh’.
For example: box/boxes.
Most words ending in ‘f’ or ‘fe’ change to ‘v’ before adding ‘es’ to make plurals.
For example: shelf/ shelves
Create the correct plurals for these words from the extract.
Think of two other plurals ending is ‘es’ and two ending in ‘ves’.
The reader never meets Kerry’s father. He is presented to us through Kerry and her mother’s eyes.
1 Highlight evidence in the quotes that tell the reader about him.
2 Complete the table below. The first one has been started for you.
3 Sum up the differences between Kerry’s attitude and her mother’s attitude to Kerry’s father.
4 Which point of view would most reader’s side with and why?
What Kerry and her mother think The impression given of Kerry’s father
Responsible for Kerry and her mother’sgrim situation.
‘If your father was here, we could go to him.After all, it’s your safety I’m thinking about.Only for him, you wouldn’t be here – it’s allhis fault anyway.’
He had always been there for me, a tower ofstrength whenever I needed him.
He wasn’t here now, and I needed himmore than ever. I almost felt like throwingdarts at his picture too.
How often could I remember Dad comingin and him and me in the kitchen making ameal? He was a good cook. Had he onlylearned because Mum wouldn’t?
‘Well , just pop over to Am erica and live wi t hhim – I hope the swim ac ross doe s n’t ti re yo uo ut ,’ she snapped at me vi c i o u s ly. ‘I wish Ico u l d ,’ I scre a m ed at her. I was crying now.Co u l d n’t stop mys el f .’ He wanted me to.’
A story is not only a series of events involving different characters, it also usually has a maintheme or themes. Themes are the ‘big ideas’ that run through a story and which the author isinterested in exploring. For example being bullied at school.
Read the extracts below and on sheet 35 from Fighting Back. As you read, search for words thatgive you clues about the themes then record the key words from the extracts on sheet 36.
Remember:
• the same theme may turn up in different extracts
• there may be more than one theme in the same extract.
Extract A
Page 2
Extract B
Page 5
Extract C
Page 17
I looked up at the fifteen floors of the high tower block and shuddered. Itlooked threatening, frightening, and at that moment I would have doneanything to be going back to my old house, my old bedroom – home.
I sighed. Dad leaving us had hurt me too, though it seemed a long time agonow. I blinked back tears. No use crying, I told myself. Anyway, mum didenough of that for both of us.
Sadie blinked, confused. I saw her look at Tess. Tess glared back at her, butshe didn’t look frightened. It was if she was threatening Sadie with just thatlook.
‘The family is well known, shall we say, in the area. Villains. We’ve alwayshad trouble with them. The father’s already in prison. The mother’s themoneylender up here. Ma Lafferty, as she is commonly known. She has acouple of sons, real bad boys. Everybody’s a little scared of them.’
A couple of weeks later we were invited to Sandra and Tommy’s engagementparty. Sandra was resplendent in shocking pink and Tommy had a new setof false teeth.
The police woman tried to pull her away, but Tess stood her ground. Tryingstill to make me afraid. I remembered all the threats she’d made, all thetimes she had made me afraid. And I couldn’t resist saying it.‘You see, Tess, you just didn’t know what you were up against when youtangled with me and my mum.’
1 When you have read the extracts on sheets 34–5, record the key words that give you cluesabout the themes, in the left hand column of the table below. In the right hand column, makenotes about the key words. The first one has been done for you.
2 What do you think the main themes of Fighting Back are?
Writers sometimes include an epilogue after the main story is over as a way of telling the readerswhat happens to the characters afterwards.
You are going to read the first part of the epilogue in Fighting Back followed by some questionsto help you focus on the way the writer has used language for effect. This is followed by a writingtask to show what you have learned in the unit. You should show clearly how to use:
• similes
• interesting verbs and adjectives
• short sentences
• other techniques to create suspense and a comic tone.
The story so far. . .
Ma and Tess Lafferty have trapped Kerry’s mother in the basement launderette in order to attackher. When Kerry realises what has happened she attempts to intervene. Ming, in the meantimehas alerted his mother, and the whole estate decides to deal with the Lafferty’s once and for all.Eventually the police arrive and Ma Lafferty and Tess are taken away.
EpilogueA couple of weeks later we were invited to Sandra and Tommy’s engagementparty. Sandra was resplendent in shocking pink and Tommy had a new set of falseteeth.
‘Pity he didn’t get a set that fitted,’ I whispered to Ming.He only giggled. ‘Och, he’s not so bad, Tommy. He’s good with the pocket
money.’‘Where is your mother? Sandra asked for the third time. I think she was getting
a wee bit fed up waiting for her. She and Mum were now on talking terms. Butfriendly? I don’t think they would ever stretch to that.
‘She’ll be here in a minute, Mrs Ramsey.’ I had been saying the same thing forthe past fifteen minutes. What was keeping my mum?
‘Maybe she’s changing into something more comfortable.’ Ming suggested in awhisper. He laughed. ‘A human being, for instance.’
In spite of everything that had happened, Mum was still getting on everybody’snerves. Ali had given her a job in his shop, though how long it would last wasanybody’s guess. She would refuse to serve anyone who didn’t ask for what theywanted in perfect English.
‘I think I was sent here for a purpose, Kerry,’ she told me as if she was MotherTeresa of Calcutta.
Everybody else thought the purpose was to drive people up the wall.I still had high hopes that Ali fancied her. Half the estate hoped so too. They
saw it as a way of getting rid of her.Because we weren’t moving. Not yet, anyway.Just when everyone on the estate was ready to bring out the banners and wave
us goodbye, Mum had discovered that someone had died in the other flat too.‘I mean Kerry!’ she told me, disgusted. ‘Is that all they ever offer us?’Funny. I didn’t mind staying. Not now. Not with the Laffertys gone.And gone for good.The Laffertys were finished.
Funny. I didn’t mind staying. Not now. Not with the Laffertys gone.And gone for good.The Laffertys were finished.
4 Write a continuation of the epilogue (about 200 words) telling the reader what else hashappened to Ma and Tess Lafferty. Use some of the techniques you have developed in thisunit. Remember you will need to tell the story from Kerry’s point of view, in the first person.
Follow the steps on the guidance sheet (sheet 41) ‘Step by step’ to help you.
For a while I thought Ma Lafferty would come back and begin her reign ofterror again. However, as the same time as she had been holding my mother inthe launderette, others on the estate had taken advantage of her empty house andransacked it. The stack of benefit books she had taken from people who owed herhad been left for the police to find, and had led to more charges against her. But,more important, Ma Lafferty’s little black book, the one with all the names of thepeople who owed her money, had disappeared, and along with it her power onthe estate.
• Has Ma Lafferty gone to prison yet? Is she still awaiting trial? How is she dealing with her newsituation?
• What has happened to Tess?
Step 2
When you have some ideas about what has happened, think about how you will write it. Whattechniques will you use? Remind yourself of the techniques covered in this unit:
• using effective similes, verbs adverbs and adjectives
• combining dialogue and interesting narrative detail
• writing in a comic tone by using such techniques as exaggerated alliteration, comic names andabsurd links.
• using short sentences to build up suspense or vary the pace for effect.
Step 3
Spend some time thinking about where you will use these techniques.
• If you use dialogue you will have to think about who talks to whom – Kerry and Ming are themost obvious possibilities.
• If you use dialogue you should use interesting narrative detail. (See the work you did underNarrative Techniques.)
• When you are focusing on character, remember that you can create characteristics throughthoughts, behaviour, dialogue, and descriptive detail. You may decide to introduce a newcharacter of your own.
Step 4
Write a first draft for your epilogue concentrating on what has happened.
Step 5
When you have finished your first draft read through it again carefully. Look at the list of techniquesabove to check you have used them all. Make changes to your first draft to introduce any missing orineffective techniques.
Step 6
Finally, when you are satisfied with your work, write out a final version.