Fearless By Janice Galloway PreReading What does the

‘Fearless’ By Janice Galloway

Pre-Reading What does the word Fearless make you think of? What do you think the story will be about?

In the exam you must be able to write a brief summary of your text. Plot In your group discuss they most important aspects of the story. Decide points. on 5 main plot

Plot Fearless’ general abuse in community The women’s attitudes to Fearless The (lack of) reaction from the men. She kicks Fearless = turning point/climax. The outcome of her actions

Fearless Summary – paragraph by paragraph 1. We are introduced to Fearless and what people do when they saw him. 2. Galloway gives us a description of Fearless. She goes onto tell us that people didn’t look at him but still manages to convey that he is a mysterious character. 3. The villagers assumed he was a tramp and judged him for his living conditions. 4. Fearless behaves aggressively particularly to women. His name is used to frighten children. The men in the town think he is amusing and don’t care about the fact that he harasses women. The women are scared of him and are under social pressure to accept the way they are treated by Fearless and the local men in general. 5. The paragraph described how she looked at Fearless and of how she feared him.

Fearless Summary – paragraph by paragraph 6. The narrator and her mother were facing the window when Fearless walking up the street. Fearless stopped and looked at them both. The young narrator was eventually so filled with rage she turned around and stared at him. 7. Unable to stop herself, she lashed out, kicking him in the shins. The young girl got a fright after kicking Fearless. Then was given into trouble for her actions. 8. It was a long time ago but she still hears the clink and drag sometimes. She also still hears her mother warning her about Fearless and the problems people like him cause.

Who is the protagonist? Who is the antagonist? Check Understanding Describe the character of Fearless. Describe the community in the story. What lessons did the adults teach children? What is the message of this short story?

‘Fearless’ When referring to the text ‘Fearless’ we must use inverted commas. However, they are not needed when referring to the character of Fearless. Possessive form of Fearless is Fearless’ E. g. The actions of Fearless are despicable. Fearless’ actions are despicable.

Author vs. Character Galloway is the author but also the narrator of this story. Although this is a fiction text it is based on a time in Galloway’s own childhood in 1950’s Glasgow When we refer to author we simply use Galloway When we refer to the character we use ‘young Galloway’. Exception: the final paragraph of the story is in present time and therefore Galloway is no longer a child.

Title The title is always important. Why is ‘Fearless’ a good title for this story? • Discuss in your groups.

3 meanings: Fearless = literally the name of the male character. TITLE (PUN) Fear less = by the end, she has come to fear men less. Fear less = as a child she lost her fear for a moment. Galloway clearly tells the reader that this was beyond her control. “Every part of her being was rejecting this male oppression. And it still does. . ”

Theme The theme is the ‘big picture’ idea in a text. E. g. What the text is about. Discuss themes we can see in ‘Fearless’.

Themes Gender Division Inequality Violence Alcoholism Misogyny (the hatred of women)

We will focus on gender inequality and issues surrounding this. Using a highlighter find and highlight 10 quotes that you could associate with this.

Choose 3 of the quotes…

Choose 3 of the quotes…Now ANALYSE Even years later, nothing has changed. The words choice ‘still’ highlighting it’s a continuing problem and ‘something’ suggesting that there are many men like Fearless. But I still hear something like him; the chink and drag from the closemouth in the dark, coming across open, derelict spaces at night, blustering at bus stops where I have to wait alone The use of a list after the semi-colon indicating the many different places that a women should fear. Predators can lurk where it is dark or abandoned.

Gender divide may look at both sides. Galloway focuses on Fearless’ hatred of women by describing an atrocious character for whom we have nothing but dislike. By immersing the reader in young Galloway’s hatred (through first person narration and through her use of personal pronoun “you”) we identify with the point she is making. THEMES

The setting is extremely important because the experiences the characters have are closely shaped by the immediate environment that they find themselves exposed to. Setting In your groups discuss the setting of the story. Think about the wider setting as well as the more obvious settings. How do you know what the setting is? (i. e. quotes)

SETTING 1950 s West of Scotland (Saltcoats) Many of themes in the story are associated with Scotland during this era. ‘Fearless’ suggests the importance of place in its relation to identity. Male-dominated and misogynistic society where women were almost second-class citizens; looked down upon. “volatile maleness of the whole west coast legend” (p. 25)

Characterisation of Fearless Some ways to explore a character:

Characterisation of Fearless Some ways to explore a character: Speech Thoughts Effect on Others Actions Looks

How can we use this to examine the character of Fearless? S A T E L

1. In paragraph two we are given a thorough description of the character of Fearless. Comment upon the effectiveness of Galloway’s language in this paragraph. Use at least two examples. 2. Galloway is quick to point out that Fearless wasn’t a tramp in paragraph three. Outline the reasons for her opinion. 3. Choose three words or phrases from page 24 that show domineering Fearless was considered. Explain your choice. 4. Galloway compares Fearless to other characters on pages 24 & 25. Why are these comparisons effective? Characterisation

NARRATIVE STANCE Narrative stance is the viewpoint from which we are told the story. Think about the point of view of narrator in this story. In your groups discuss why this might be important. Try to link the narrative stance back to themes of the story.

Internal narration First person NARRRATIVE STANCE Female perspective Child’s perspective

Galloway uses more than one tense in ‘Fearless’. TENSE In your groups, identify each tense and explain why it has been used.

TENSE: PAST AND PRESENT First person narrative, mostly re-telling of childhood event therefore past tense: “when I was wee…” She changes in the middle to bring story to present day “It was a long time ago. ” Galloway changes her tense to show that she STILL has hatred for men; still believes men feel they are superior to women.

Social Conditioning Social conditioning refers to the process of training individuals in a society to behave in a manner approved by the society in general. In your groups discuss the social conditioning that occurs in this story.

People are expected to behave in a certain way in Fearless’ company. Fearless teaches the people in society how to behave. He does this through his abusive actions if they do not behave in the ‘correct’ way. The other adults in society teach the children, especially girls, to fear Fearless. They do this by behaving the ‘correct’ way themselves and using Fearless as a threatening image. SOCIAL CONDITIONING

Allegory and Symbolism - The use of a symbols (concrete objects) to represent an abstract idea or emotion. E. G. A red rose symbolises love. Allegory – A story which uses many interconnected symbols in such as way that in nearly every element of the narrative has a meaning beyond the literal level.

Fearless is a symbol for men of this time, and to a lesser extent, men of present day. We know this because she calls Fearless’ behaviour “it” throughout. This use of the plural pronoun helps to make the reader aware that Galloway is not simply referring to one person, but that this is a universal experience. The narrator herself, therefore, becomes symbolic of women and she gives the message that women should not give in, submit, but should “kick like a mule”. SYMBOLISM in Fearless

The allegorical story, can be read either literally or as a symbolic statement. Allegory Literal story: Conflict between young Galloway and Fearless Allegory: Conflict between men and women