EngLit

Teacher · Administrator Data inscrierii: 26/Mar/2008 Mesaje: 471

III

Francois remembers his Childhood with Philida and the Stories about the early Days of Zandvliet before MaJanna married into the Brink Family

Yes. To Philida I would promise anything, ever since we were children. She was the first person I really wanted to be with. By the time I was about eight, so she must have been eleven or thereabouts, I already had the habit of filling a wooden barrel in the kitchen with hot water from the hearth so that she could take a bath while I kept watch at the outside door, because I didn’t want anybody to see her without clothes. As if that could make much difference! Her poor little dresses were just rags and tatters. Philida with the cut and bruised feet, barely a toe or nail unscathed, covered in dust and dirt and chickenshit and cowshit, but I still remember how carefully I used to hold them in my hands and rub lard on them and how much she liked it. Such small, thin feet, but she could run like a steenbokkie if she wanted to. What I wished above all else, and what I kept promising her for years and years, was to give her a pair of shoes. I’d have loved to make her a pair with my own hands, it’s a skill Pa taught me, one of the few things I can really do properly.

IV

In this Chapter Philida’s Thoughts continue to dwell on Zandvliet and the House of Ghosts and Cats in which she lives with her Ouma Petronella

One day, I know I’ll no longer be here, I’ll be far away in a place of my own, a place like Zandvliet but different, with Frans and Kleinkat, and our children, just us, free for always and always, and with shoes on our feet.

Of course Zandvliet will still belong to Oubaas Cornelis Brink, it’s a white man’s farm, and we are only the hands that work here, the feet that tread the grapes in the big vat, or churn up dust on the wide yard around the longhouse, we are the backs that bend until they feel like breaking, we are the necks that get throttled, the stomachs that get hollow from hunger, and mine are the hands that keep on knitting and knitting and honest-to-God never stop knitting

XXVI

A Chapter about a Day that is as blue as all Others while it is also completely different

For years it has been hovering like a smell in the sky, a heavy smell that could make you drunk and light-headed. A smell like young wine or must in a farmyard. But even when hope turned to knowledge, it was not yet ready to be believed and accepted. For too long it has soaked into one’s flesh and blood and sinews and deep into the marrow of one’s bones. Now, suddenly, it is there and, God knows, true. Monday, the first of December, in the Year of Our Lord, 1834.

The slaves are free. (...)

For Philida the day begins in an ordinary enough way with getting up early, feeding her children, and then going to sit in the back garden and watch how the street slowly comes to life. (...)

But at first sight this day, the first of December, 1834, is no different from any other day.

In the end Philida becomes tired of staring up at the sky.

(André Brink - Philida)

Text F consists of 3 fragments from different chapters from the same novel, Philida by André Brink.

By using your detective skills and relating the information from the three chapters, find out:

diana.bad · Trimis: 30/01/2015 17:56 Titlul subiectului:

F1: The narrator of the chapter III, chapter IV and chapter XXVI isn't the same person because in the chapter III we have the "I" as a textual sign ,which is the main character, in the chapter IV the narrator tells us about it like "in this chapter Philida's Thoughts continue to dwell...", and for the chapter XXVI I found as a textual sign "A smell like young wine or must in a farmyard." which could be the narrator's feelings about "a Day that is as blue as all Others while it is also completely different.".

F2: In the chapter III as a character I found "Fracois" which is french, a young boy. :-)

F3: In the chapter IV as a character I found "Philida" which I think she is british and is a young becoming lady.
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F7: Yes, I think that the short chapter summaries written in italics help the reader to identify narrators.
_________________
Diana

Laczay Oana Alexandra · Dunker Data inscrierii: 19/Oct/2014 Mesaje: 21

Anne Com · Trimis: 02/02/2015 14:30 Titlul subiectului:

F1. In my opinion this text is like a story within a story because there is one narrator who introduces the short Chapter summaries and lets another character to become a narrator at his turn. Thus, in Chapter III the narrator is a boy who talks about Philida: ''I kept promising her", ''She was the first person I really wanted to be with". In the fourth Chapter, the character from Chapter III becomes a narrator; the events are presented from the Philida's perspective: ''I know I'll no longer be here, I'll be far away in a place of my own." In Chapter XXVI the narrator is not a character, he is the one who manages all the story line. He presents a conclusion, an overlook of events until a present day: "For years it has been hovering like a smell in the sky, a heavy smell" and ''Now, suddenly, it is there and, God knows, true. Monday, the first of December", he also gives a general fact of what has happend during the years: ''The slaves are free.(...)", and he presents Philida's course of life: ''For Philida the day begins in an ordinary enough way".
F2. The narrator of Chapter III is also a character; his name is Francois and he is a mature man when he remembers his childhood with a girl who he loved. He could have been a poor boy because he spent his childhood near his lover who was from the lower part of society: she had rags on her, was very dirty, did not have shoes, and was all bruised.
F3. The narrator is Philida who is now an ambitious mother. It looks that she is going to become a fugitive because she can no longer accept to be treated badly: ''I'll no longer be here, I'll be far away in a place of my own [...] free for always and always". She dreams of a better and of an independent life. She may represent the silent cry of a slave.
F4. As I said in the first answer, the narrator is not a character; he is the narrator who can see every character's perspective (like a camera supervising the events).
F5. The narrator of Chapter XXVI has the most access to the objective information because he is not a part of the characters' life.
F6. These narrators share a life together, so they have an image of what they think or going to do.
F7. I think that these short Chapter summaries helped the reader to identify from whose perspective the story was told; this is like in plays, where each dialogue has the speaker name written in front of it.
F8. This narratorial situation is very advantageous in a text where the events are not chronologically presented. This method also offers an overview of what is going to happen in that Chapter.

Gabriela Cozma · Trimis: 03/02/2015 11:26 Titlul subiectului:

F1. In my opinion, these chapters hasn't the same narrator, because, for example, in chapter III we have the first person as a textual sign "I would promise" , "I was about eight", "I can really do properly", here the narrator is Francois who remembers his childhood. In chapter IV, we can see that the narrator is Philida, who talk about her feelings, her thoughts: we have also here the textual sign of the first person: "I’ll be far away in a place of my own" and the third person(singular): "Zandvliet(...)it’s a white man’s farm" and plural: "we are only the hands that work here", "we are the backs that bend...". And finally in the chapter XXVI, the narrator's voice speaks through the actual author: Andre Brinks who share his feelings about the actions made by the characters: "For Philida the day begins in an ordinary enough way with getting up early", "In the end Philida becomes tired of staring up at the sky."

F2. The narrator of the third chapter is Francois, who is also a character by using the textual sign of first(sg.) person in the text: "I still remember how carefully I used to hold them in my hands"

F3. The narrator of the fourth chapter is also a character in the story, name Philida. And here, we also find the using of the first person(sg.) :I know I’ll no longer be here"

F4. The narrator of the chapter XXVI isn't a character in the story, it's just the narrator's voice who speaks through the actual author, Andre Brinks: "For Philida the day begins in an ordinary enough way"

F5. I think that the narrator of the chapter XXVI has most access to objective information because it's about the author of the text, he knows everything about the actions, the characters, he's an omniscient author. And also, the fourth chapter has access to objective information, because he has the outside perspective of the Philida's life

F6. I think that nature of the relation between the Narrator III and Narrator IV is a cordial relationship, for friendship

F7.Yes, even if we could tell who's the narrator from the text itself I think that the short Chapter summaries written in italics help the reader identify these narrators faster

F8. The advantage be to have such a narratorial situation is that we surely have several points of view of the story, numeroase choices to interpret the story.

Aura Costin · Rookie Data inscrierii: 27/Ian/2015 Mesaje: 7

F1:
I think that each chapter had a different narrator.The narrator of the third chapter is Francois and he tells us about his childhood memories,the fourth chapter has Philida as a narrator and the narrator of the XXVI is a different person.
F2:
The narrator of the third chapter is Francois,a french boy.
F3:
The narrator of the fourth chapter is Philida and she is also the main character of the story.
F4:
The narrator of the chapter XXVI is not a character in the story, it's just the narrator's voice who speaks through the actual author, Andre Brinks.
F5:
The narrators from chapter III and XXVI have more acces to objective information because they have the outlook from outside of Philida's life.
F6:
I think that nature of the relation between the Narrator III and Narrator IV is a cordial relationship.
F7:
Yes, I think that the short chapter summaries written in italics help the reader to identify narrators.
F8:
The advantages of having a narratorial situation would be that of having the events presented in a chronological way.