The Testament of Gideon Mack Textual analysis practice

“The Testament of Gideon Mack” Textual analysis practice

Remember In the Scottish Text part of the Critical Reading paper in the exam you are given an extract from the novel and you then have to answer different textual analysis questions using your knowledge and understanding of the novel, themes and the different techniques used by James Robertson. We are going to be doing a number of activities to further prepare you for this part of the exam.

Practice textual analysis for the prelim In this extract (chapter 22, pages 163 -164), Gideon and John are returning from the hospital where Gideon has just identified the body of Jenny, who has been killed in a car accident.

Question 1 - 3 marks Summarise the different ways in which Gideon reacts to the death of his wife in the extract.

• He wants to see where the accident took place. • He snaps at John when he tries to comfort him. • He is almost completely silent during the journey. • He breaks into tears when he later meets Elsie.

Question 2 - 3 marks Look at lines 1 -12 (down to “I hope you’re right”). • What is the mood or atmosphere between Gideon and John? • How does the writer use language to create this mood?

The author creates a tense or uncomfortable mood. “we hardly spoke” This emphasises that there was a very awkward and uncomfortable or tense atmosphere between them as neither men knew the right words to say in the situation and didn’t want to make matters worse by saying the wrong thing.

Question 3 - 4 marks Read from “There are two routes. . . ” down to “. . . I said nothing”. Explain how the writer conveys that Gideon tries to control his emotions.

• “I said nothing” Gideon keeps silent as he does not want to allow John to hear the grief and sadness in his voice. • “ stared into the darkness” Gideon cannot bear to look John in the face as it might cause him to break down and show his immense grief.

Question 4 - 2 marks Read from “Elsie met us. . . ” down to “. . . horrible fairy tale”. How does the writer use language to convey how Gideon’s emotions have changed since the start of the extract?

“horrible fairy tale” is a metaphor. Gideon is comparing the tragic death of his wife to a fairy tale. Just as a fairy tale is fictional and makebelieve, so too does the death of his wife not seem to be real to Gideon.

“children lost in the forest” This emphasises that Gideon is starting to feel vulnerable, helpless and alone.

Question 5 - 8 marks By referring to the extract and elsewhere in the novel, explain how the writer depicts Gideon’s relationship with women.

Step 1 - from the extract • Find one piece of evidence from the extract and then clearly explain it, making sure that you answer the question. (Quote plus comment).

From the extract “we both started crying” This emphasises that although Gideon did not feel that he could open up to John about his true feelings, he felt comfortable enough in Elsie’s company to show his grief by openly weeping for his dead wife.

Step 2 - commonality • Find one piece of evidence from the extract and then clearly explain it, making sure that you answer the question. (Quote plus comment). • Now, explain how this links/connects to somewhere else in the text (outside the extract).

Commonality “we hardly spoke” This conveys the fact that Gideon did not seem to feel any strong emotional reaction to the death of his wife, and he seems unaffected by the tragedy. This suggests that he didn’t care for her like a husband should. This links to earlier in the novel where Gideon tells us that he married Jenny not out of love but because he felt like it was the right thing to do.

Step 3 - from the rest of the text • Identify a piece of evidence from elsewhere in the text and clearly explain it, making sure that you answer the question. You have to do this two times, but I would suggest three. You do not quote here.

From the rest of the novel Gideon did not have a very strong relationship with his mother. For example, she was not very affectionate with him as a child and when she grew elderly and ill, he rarely visited her in the care home.

Lorna Sprott was in love with Gideon but he did not share the same feelings. For example, she regularly would hint to him that she wanted a romantic relationship but Gideon felt uncomfortable and pretended not to notice/feigned ignorance.

Gideon developed a very good friendship with Catherine Craigie. For example, he would regularly visit her and have intimate conversations and he felt comfortable revealing the fact that he was Agnostic and that he had discovered the Stone.