The Telegram BY IAIN CRICHTON SMITH HIGHER Iain

The Telegram BY IAIN CRICHTON SMITH HIGHER

Iain Crichton Smith He was born in Glasgow, but moved to the Isle of Lewis at the age of two He and his two brothers were brought up by their widowed mother in a small crofting town He went to student English at the University of Aberdeen He served in the National Service Army Education Corps, then went on to become a teacher in 1952 In 1977 he retired to become a full-time writer

Reading the story – first reading Read through the story ‘The Telegram’. What happens in the story? Write a summary. Comment on: o The characters o The setting o The plot

Characters Fat woman/Sarah: born in the village, does not like thin woman, described as stupid, large and lazy, emotional, gossip, lacks determination Thin woman: viewed as an outsider, strong, poor, sacrificed things for her son, doesn’t like to show emotion, bit of a loner Elder: dressed in black, powerful, delivers the news of deaths, emotionally affected by the death of his own son

Setting Set is an unknown Scottish crofting village Set during WW 2 Set in the thin woman’s house as the women look out the window and watch the elder’s progress through the village Remote location

Plot Two women are having tea with each other as they look out of the window and watch the elder approaching with a telegram. The two women do not like each other and this is made clear through their conversation where they criticise each other. Both women are becoming increasingly worried that their son is dead, but deal with this fear is very different ways At the end it is clear the elder’s son was dead and that he just kept walking away from the village because he couldn’t face telling his ill wife.

Reading the story – Language Read through the story ‘The Telegram’. Underline any words that you don’t understand Look up their meaning and write this in the jotter or on the story

Reading the story – Language Read through the story ‘The Telegram’. Highlight any words/imagery that describe the following things § Characters § Setting § Feelings

Clues that the story takes place during WWII ‘The Telegram’ ‘Bismark’ ‘Reverberations from a war fought far away had reached it’ However, themes/issues raised are easily transferable to today’s wars in Iraq, Afghanistan… The family members or loved ones of those fighting abroad face constant anxiety and worry

Anonymity in ‘the Telegram’ The fact that the village is not identified adds to the idea that War is universal in its effects This is also why the women remain nameless and why they are contrasting characters – to show that War can affect anyone

‘The Telegram’ and Symbolism “This was a bare village with little colour and therefore the yellow was both strange and unnatural. ” ‘local elder, clad in black’ – Represents The Grim Reaper ‘the house to which the telegram was directed’ – made to sound like a weapon ‘a strange missile pointed at them from abroad’ & ‘left desolation just like any other weapon’ – continues the idea that the telegram is a weapon

Reading the story – Symbols Read through the story ‘The Telegram’. Make notes on the importance of the following symbols and how they are described §Colour §Telegram §War/Death

Clues that it is set in a remote Scottish village The names used give the village a distinct Scottish feel ‘unwillingly attended’ school ‘only been there for thirty years’ The narrative reveals that the town/village is narrow-minded and insular Shows that the thin woman is treated with contempt due to the prejudice which exists in little villages like this one

The Fat Woman ‘fat domestic bird’ – the imagery here implies she belongs to the village, as well as conveying her physical appearance ‘The fat woman’s son was an ordinary seaman’ – her son is less successful and poorly educated – ‘left school at the age of fourteen’ – because she isn’t driven or ambitious This is probably similar to others in the village ‘lived in the village all her days’ ‘And then she added without thinking’ & ‘confused tone’ – indicates that she is not particularly intelligent

The Thin Woman ‘more aquiline, more gaunt…more like a buzzard’ – imagery is used here to show her frail physical appearance but also to convey the idea that she is foreign to this village ‘the thin woman’s son was a sub-lieutenant in the navy’ – her son has achieved more than most in the village because of her ambition and sacrifice ‘the thin woman was ambitious’ & ‘not popular in the village’ ‘she was an incomer’ – not accepted even though she’d been there ‘thirty years’ ‘I made sacrifices…I lived on a widow’s pension…’ – she shows a little anger at how she is viewed in the community and attempts to justify herself ‘The thin woman continued remorselessly as if she were pecking away at something she had pecked at for many years. ’ – Continues the bird imagery used earlier but this time suggests that she has grown tired of the village’s perception of her and will not let it continue

Their feelings toward each other: dialogue and Focalisation “It’s different for the officers” – The fat woman’s dialogue shows a degree of jealousy here, as if the higher status of the thin woman’s son will save him ‘the thin woman was thinking that the fat woman was very stupid’ – The focalisation shows the thin woman’s contempt for the fat woman ‘Most of them could have better afforded to send their sons and daughters to university but they didn’t want to be thought of as snobbish. ’ – More focalisation to reveal that the thin woman knows why they dislike her but thinks that most of them are selfish

Their feelings toward each other: dialogue and Focalisation ‘It was difficult to know what she was thinking of…Her mind was vague and diffused except when she was thinking about herself. ’ – Through focalisation again, the narration here reveals that the thin woman thinks the fat woman is both selfish and stupid ‘No matter how you tried you never could like thin woman. She was always putting on airs. Mayor indeed. ’ – The writer continues to use focalisation effectively to reveal the fat woman’s resentment toward the thin woman as she perceives her to be a snob ‘Why did she want to be better than anyone else? ’ – The question shows that she cannot understand the thin woman’s motivations There is a clear conflict between them in terms of how they see things

Their feelings toward each other: dialogue and Focalisation ‘But the thin woman didn’t gossip much. ’ ‘you couldn’t feel at ease with her’ ‘She sipped her tea, her little finger elegantly curled in an irritating way. ’ By revealing more of the fat woman’s contempt for the thin woman’s attitude and mannerisms, the writer brings the tension between them to a climax

Answers 1. “They were like two birds” 2. “fat domestic bird”, “aquiline” and “buzzard” 3. Fat woman – fat, home-loving, nosey Thin woman – thin, illlooking, nosey 4. Reverberations- continuing effects shown by saying “reached it” and “much had gone on” 5. Colon introduces an explanation of the effects of war that the village had experienced. 6. The young men had joined the navy and many of them had drowned abroad. 7. WW 2 – it mentions the “Bismarck” which was famous during this period and says “war fought far away” which fits in with the locations in WW 2.

Answers 8. Word order – ending in “did not know” 11. Metaphor - “it was a weapon”, describing the telegram as a damaging further emphasises the remoteness of the village, futility of the loss of their aspect of war sons, far removed from the war 12. This extended metaphor is continued 9. Metaphor – compares war to a plague, throughout the paragraph, illustrates that shows that it affected all families in the women blame to telegram, news of village, widespread death, unable to stop the deaths wound them, “shoot the it, unable to understand it messenger” 10. Colour of death/mourning which 13. Fat woman’s son: ordinary seaman, links to his delivery of the news od the death of sons/creates an appearance like had to salute thin woman’s son, left the grim reaper school at 14 Thin woman’s son: officer, higher rank, went to university, more pay

Answers 14. It is a village, remote, cows are 17. Speaking quickly, trying to disguise their wandering about, it is a small feelings of nerves/fear, feeling unwell at place, not busy, not many people thought their sons could be dead. 15. Thin woman: outsider, widow, guarantee the safety of her own son ambitious, sent son to university. 18. To and save her family from heartbreak Fat woman: native, dislikes the thin woman 19. Repetition/symbolism/metaphor – suggests that she has to constantly 16. Telegram is yellow, it stands out repeat her justifications for her behaviour in the village because everything to chip away at the women’s prejudice. else is quite dull, seems unnatural

Answers 20. Lack of control, speed, desperation, no pause, frantic prayer – feel sympathy and understand her emotions 23. Fat woman sees the truth of the thin woman, sees her vulnerability and realises she has had a hard life. 21. Simile – compares her touch to beginning 24. Repetition of “she saw” and mention of of a relationship, kind act, first time she “extra vision” emphasise that it is like the has experienced kindness from her, first time she is seeing the real her. potential for close relationship 25. Elder walked alone without knowing 22. Fat woman: pray, cries, hysterical, where he was going, tried to escape the emotional. Thin woman: firm voice, hides truth. “not knowing where he was going”, emotions, holds herself together, strong. “search of his son” etc show he is confused

Themes The themes of any text are important to understand it fully. The main themes of “The Telegram” are: 1. 2. 3. 4. Death/War Relationships Isolation Conflict For each of those 4 themes list quotations and events from the story that in your opinion link to this theme. Also if you identify any other themes you can add them to your notes

Analysing a quotation 1. Look for any techniques (similes, metaphor, alliteration etc. ) 2. Explain what the writer tells us in this quotation 3. Describe how it is important 4. Pick out any specific words from the quotation that stand out and explain what they mean 5. Be as detailed as possible

Analysing a quotation example “It came on them as a strange plague” The metaphor compares the war to a disease epidemic. Just as a plague is a contagious disease which usually causes widespread death so too the war is causing death for a large number of families in the village and gives the illusion of spreading throughout the village and failing to leave a family untouched. Also the word choice of “strange” suggests that this war is unusual and indescribable for the families of the village and something that is not compatible with their normal, peaceful way of life. Therefore, this quotation is significant because it illustrates that even though this village is remote and cut off from the world and did not expect to feel the impact of the war; this disaster is defying expectations and having a significant and widespread negative impact as it causes an unstoppable wave of death spreading throughout the village and causing increasing fatalities.

Analysing a quotation 1. “as if she were pecking away at something she had pecked at for many years” –metaphor, word choice, repetition 2. “O God save my son” – punctuation, word choice, repetition 3. “It was like first love” – simile, word choice 4. “it was as if she had an extra vision” – word choice, metaphor 5. “Walking like a man in a daze” – simile, word choice, use of verb 6. “a somnambulistic wandering” – word choice x 2 7. “strange missile pointed at them from abroad” – metaphor, word choice, use of verb 8. “It picked a door and entered it, and left desolation…” – sentence structure, word choice 9. “her lips pressed together, White and bloodless” – word choice, word order

Essay writing What is the title asking you to do? What initial thoughts do you have about how “The Telegram” shows this? What evidence could you use to back up your ideas?

How to Write a Higher Critical Essay G. SCOTT - CHS

Know your stuff Have a clear understanding of your main texts. Choose two you are confident in and use third as a back up. If you know your texts you should be able to quote the important parts. Memorise at least 10 quotes per text! You may not use this many in your final essay but you need the flexibility. G. SCOTT - CHS

Choose the correct question Know the main themes of your text and the motivations / actions of your main characters. Read all the questions and highlight possible choices before deciding on which one to do. G. SCOTT - CHS

Plan Yes plan! Create a quick and simple plan explaining what your essay will look like. Don’t go into unnecessary detail. Take the time to collect your thoughts and select relevant information. This will help you in answering the question. G. SCOTT - CHS

Answering the Question This is where we lost marks in the Prelim. Think of it like this: you are answering a question in the form of an essay. You are not just writing an essay! Read all of the question, not just the first sentence. You are answering the full thing! G. SCOTT - CHS

Answering the Question 2 Refer to the question in your introduction to show the marker you mean business. In each paragraph / section refer to the question – topic sentence & linking sentence. Refer back to the question in your conclusion again to end on a high. If you don’t answer the question you will get a 9 – no matter how good your essay is! G. SCOTT - CHS

Introduction �Identify the text and author �Use words from the beginning of the question and explain why the text is suitable for the question. �Include a couple of sentences that summarise the text – this should relate to theme and the question, not the main events. �Refer to the words from the second part of the question and explain what the essay will look at to fulfil the task and answer the question. G. SCOTT - CHS

Example ''Nineteen Eighty Four'' by George Orwell is a novel which makes use of symbolism. The story follows Winston, the main character who lives in a dystopian society and wants to stand up to the totalitarian government named The Party to re-gain individual freedom. Orwell skilful use of symbolism along with theme, setting and characterisation helps express his opinion and enhance the reader’s appreciation of the text as a whole. G. SCOTT - CHS

Main body of your Essay Your answer should be split into paragraphs and should follow the following pattern: Point Evidence Analysis Relate to question G. SCOTT - CHS

Topic Sentences The first sentence of each paragraph should make it clear to the marker what your paragraph will be about. Example 1 – The prologue of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ introduces theme of fate. Example 2 – The opening scene of ‘Macbeth’ establishes an atmosphere of mystery and evil, which is developed in the rest of the play. G. SCOTT - CHS

Providing Evidence You must use quotations. They are the evidence you are using to back up your answer. Without strong quotations you do not have a strong answer. You should use one main quotation per paragraph but, for top marks, you can include smaller additional quotes if they help further back up your point. G. SCOTT - CHS

Comment / Analysis Explain what quote means and how it answers the question Look at individual words and phrases which further improve your argument Look at how this quote relates to theme You should know what you plan on saying about your quotations. As you have learned them thoroughly you know why they are important to your text and what they show. Explain this to the marker. Remember to relate your analysis back to the question! This is essential. G. SCOTT - CHS

Statement, Context and Evidence In addition, Orwell uses the paperweight, bought by Winston in the novel, to symbolise the importance of hope. Winston likes the fact that the paperweight, useless in a world without paper and books, is proof of a past much different to the present. It represents Winston’s utopia away from the dystopian society in which he now lives. He dreams of a future as simple as this object and describes it as: “The room he was in, and the coral was Julia's life and his own, fixed in a sort of eternity at the heart of the crystal'' G. SCOTT - CHS

Analysis Winston sees this object as symbolically representing a safe place for himself and Julia where they can be free from the party’s totalitarian society. He believes that they both belong in the past where they could express their opinions and have individual freedom. Winston is also taking a big risk by keeping the paperweight and this shows his rebellious streak. The use of the word ‘eternity’ highlights Winston’s desire to be with Julia forever which shows his love and devotion towards her. However, at the end of Part Two the paperweight is smashed by members of the Party who have found Winston and Julia’s secret hiding place. This symbolises the fact that an all-powerful, totalitarian government can never be defeated. When the paperweight smashes so do Winston’s hopes and dreams. The reader realises that once a group have managed to get complete control of you there is no way to defeat them. This reinforces Orwell’s message that we must ensure we remain vigilant in terms of knowing the people ruling over us and not allow those who govern us to have unlimited control over us. G. SCOTT - CHS

Linking One of the main reason your should plan your essay is so that it flows nicely. Go from one idea to another similar one so it is easy for the marker to follow. Use a linking sentence to build bridges between your ideas. Use knowledge of linking questions from close reading to help here. G. SCOTT - CHS

Link words / Linking Expressions Continuing an idea ◦ In addition ◦ Moreover ◦ Furthermore ◦ In the same way ◦ Similarly Making a different point ◦ However ◦ Nevertheless ◦ On the other hand ◦ In contrast G. SCOTT - CHS

Link words / Linking Expressions Drawing a conclusion ◦ Therefore ◦ Consequently ◦ As a result of this ◦ Thus ◦ In sum However, only use these at the start of a new sentence! G. SCOTT - CHS

Conclusion Your conclusion should: ◦ Follow on logically from what has been said ◦ Refer back to the question ◦ Sum up the main points in the essay. G. SCOTT - CHS

Spelling and punctuation �This is very important. One of the main areas you are marked on is technical accuracy. �If you continually spell words incorrectly or miss apostrophes you will lose marks. �If you are unsure of how to use a specific punctuation mark learn before you go in. Ask a member of the English Department if you are stuck. �If there are difficult words you know you will use in your essay learn them before going in. If you are in the exam and can’t think of how to spell a word, don’t use it. G. SCOTT - CHS

Critical Essay Focus Signpost Question Choose a prose work (fiction or non-fiction) in which setting is an important feature. Explain how the writer creates setting, and go on to show this feature contributes to your understanding of the text as a whole. Need to relate setting to how theme is revealed/ developed Need to weave a description of the setting throughout

Further Critical Essay Questions P&N 2014/15 Choose a novel or short story in which there is a troubled or uneasy relationship between two central characters. Explain the reason(s) for the state of the relationship and discuss how this adds to your understanding of the central concern(s) of the text.

Further Critical Essay Questions P&N 2016/17 Choose a novel or short story which explores an important social or moral or political issue. Explain, with reference to appropriate techniques, how the writer uses features such as character, incident, setting, structure to explore this issue.

Further Critical Essay Questions SQA 2017 Choose a novel or short story which has an effective opening or conclusion. With reference to appropriate techniques, explain why the opening or conclusion is effective and discuss how it adds to your appreciation of the text as a whole.

Further Critical Essay Questions SQA 2018 Choose a novel or short story in which important human values are explored. With reference to appropriate techniques, explain how these values are explored and discuss how this adds to your appreciation of the text as a whole.