Refugees Blues

[January 2012] How does the writer try to make the reader sympathise with the refugees in
the poem?
In your answer you should write about:
 the challenges the refugees face
 the reactions of the narrator to their situation
 the contrasts in the poem
 the use of language.

The challenges the refugees face

they are homeless there's no place for us
they have no official status “If you've got no passport you're officially
dead”
people who might help are coldly unhelpful Went to a committee; they offered me a
chair/Asked me politely to return next year
ordinary people regard them with fear and "If we let them in, they will steal our daily
hostility bread"
they have become the target of politicians It was Hitler over Europe, saying: "They
must die"
they are outnumbered and unprotected Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro:
Looking for you and me
even the weather is against them Stood on a great plain in the falling snow

The reactions of the narrator to their situation

The narrator’s reactions are finely nuanced We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot
and play an important part in making the go there now.
reader sympathetic. There are many possible Saw the fish swimming as if they were free:
interpretations of his feelings and the same Only ten feet away, my dear, only ten feet
quotation may be explained in different away.
ways: Saw a door opened and a cat let in:/But they
 acceptance of their fate; resignation weren't German Jews, my dear, but they
 matter of fact tone, almost wry, weren't German Jews.
 suggest underlying bitterness Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro:
 barely concealed anger Looking for you and me, my dear, looking
 increasing fear for
 increasing sense of hopelessness, you and me.
 despair But where shall we go to-day, my dear, but
 remains affectionate to his partner where shall we go to-day?
repetition of my dear throughout the poem

[June 2015] How does the writer create sympathy for the refugees in the poem?
In your answer, you should write about:
• how the refugees are treated
• how the refugees feel
• contrasts within the poem
• the writer’s use of language.

How the refugees are treated

The refugees as displaced people do not even “some are living in holes:/Yet there’s no
have access to the poorest homes place for us”
Their identity seems to have been taken away “Old passports can’t do that”, “you’re
along with their passports; being stateless is officially dead”
equated with being dead
The refugees are let down by the people they The negligent and at times hostile treatment
meet by those who could help, such as the consul,
the committee and the speaker at the public
meeting
It seems that they are eventually being hunted “Stood on a great plain in the falling snow…
down in a bleak landscape ten thousand soldiers... looking for you and
me”
The consul is unsympathetic and aggressive “banged the table”, “you’re officially dead”
The committee members are ineffective and “offered me a chair”, “asked me politely to
seemingly unconcerned about the urgency return next year”
and severity of the refugees’ situation
The speaker at the public meeting is hostile “If we let them in, they will steal our daily
and uncaring, blaming them for the economic bread”
situation
Hitler is menacing (威脅的) and is presented as “It was Hitler over Europe”, “They must die”
almost omnipresent (無所不在)
People seem to treat animals better than the “Saw a poodle in a jacket”, “Saw a door
refugees opened and a cat let in”
The soldiers are relentless ( 持 續 的 ) in their “Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro”
pursuit

How the refugees feel

Alienation (疏遠) and displacement “there’s no place for us”, “not one of them
was ours”
The affection the refugees have for each “my dear”, “But we are still alive”
other and the fact that at times they still seem
to make the best of the situation
The use of the blues form It is a form often used to evoke sympathy for
people who are suffering hardship and
oppression
The uncertainty of their existence “But where shall we go today”
Their worsening predicament throughout the The poem moves from the refugees being
poem displaced to their being actively hunted by
ten thousand soldiers
Sense of foreboding (不祥預感) and fear “thunder rumbling in the sky”
The fear is made explicit; the refugees as “They must die”, “We were in his mind”,
German Jews are Hitler’s potential victims “looking for you and me”, “But they weren’t
German Jews”

Contrasts within the poem

Between a past that was happy and Once we had a country and we thought it
prosperous and a present that offers nothing
fair, /Look in the atlas and you'll find it
there:/We cannot go there now…
between the natural order – which renews – …there grows an old yew, /Every spring it
and officialdom (官場) - which denies life blossoms anew:/old passports can’t do that…
between pampered ( 縱 容 ) animals and Saw a door opened and a cat let in:/But they
deprived weren't German Jews…
humans
Between the freedom of wild animals and saw the birds in the trees; /They had no
enslaved humans politicians and sang at their ease…
The privileged and the underprivileged  “Some are living in mansions, some are
emphasise the refugees’ isolation living in holes/Yet there’s no place for us”;
“a thousand doors:/Not one of them was
ours”
The contrast between those who have power The encounters between those in authority
and status and those who have nothing and the refugees
Between dreams and reality Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand
floors…Not one of them was ours
Between the isolation of the couple and the Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro:
masses of the forces opposed to them Looking for you and me…

The use of language

Simple, conversational style engages the Went to a committee; they offered me a
reader directly chair; Asked me politely to return next year
Repetition of key words and clauses Yet there's no place for us, my dear, yet
emphasises their plight and conveys their there's no place for us.
misery
Use of direct speech “If you’ve got no passport you’re officially
dead”, “If we let them in, they will steal our
daily bread”, “They must die”
Language with religious associations Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro:
 makes them Christ figures (flight Looking for you and me, my dear, looking
 into Egypt) for you and me. "If we let them in, they will
 is used ironically (the Lord’s Prayer) steal our daily bread"
Term of endearment used throughout “my dear”
Use of negatives, usually following initially “no place”, “not one of them”, “they
positive images weren’t”, “we cannot go there”, “can’t do
that”
Ballad (a poem narrating a story in short Three-line stanzas, with rhyming couplets
stanzas)/blues form followed by third line in which the second
half of the line echoes the first half. (Many
possible examples such as “We cannot go
there now, my dear, we cannot go there
now.”)
Omission of personal pronoun in many lines Evocative of the blues form and conveys a
sense of the narrator directly addressing the
reader, evoking sympathy. “Saw a poodle in
a jacket”
There is a universal quality about the poem Although the refugees are German Jews and
the poem is very much placed in its historical
context, there is a sense that the couple could
stand for all oppressed and displaced people.
“But they weren’t German Jews”, “They
weren’t the human race”
The use of juxtaposition (the fact of two Many examples throughout
things being seen or placed close together
with contrasting effect)
images drawn from nature emphasise the In the village churchyard there grows an old
inhumanity and cruelty of their treatment yew,/Every spring it blossoms anew:/Old
passports can't do that
animal images underline the cruel Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin
discrimination – shows how they are
regarded as sub-human
the reader’s perspective is that of the couple; Went down the harbour and stood upon the
you observe from their viewpoint quay,/Saw the fish swimming as if they were
free:

the couple are presented as symbols of They weren't the human race, my dear, they
suffering humanity weren't the human race

An Unknown Girl
[June 2015] How does the writer present the meeting with the unknown girl?
In your answer, you should write about:
• how the writer describes the unknown girl
• the writer’s feelings about the unknown girl
• how the writer describes the place
• the writer’s use of language.

How the writer describes the unknown girl

She is painting a henna pattern from a nozzle This is repeated and described in detail in the
poem, “a wet brown line/from a nozzle”
How she is dressed She is in “satin-peach” clothes
She is young She is described throughout as a “girl”
The girl is skilled at her job, although she “icing my hand,/which she steadies with
does not earn much money hers”, “for a few rupees”, “very deftly”
She may be earning very little, as she has to “evening bazaar”, “ for a few rupees
work during the evening, for very little
money
The girl is linked to her environment and to The repetition of “in the evening bazaar… an
her occupation; we only see her in one place unknown girl is hennaing my hand”
and doing her job

The writer’s feelings about the unknown girl

There is a mysterious quality about the girl “unknown” is repeated four times,
heightening this mystery
She admires the girl and her henna patterns “very deftly”, “a peacock stretches its lines”,
“I have new brown veins”, “soft as a snail
trail/the amber bird beneath”
There is a sense that the writer may never “with my hands outstretched/longing for the
really get to the heart of the real India, which unknown girl”
she desires to do and which the girl
represents
There is a further sense that, on another level, The girl is mentioned in her Indian context
the girl could be a symbol of India or the and at the end of the poem appears to be
essence of India linked to Indian identity

How the writer describes the place

The colour and excitement of the setting Use of colours and a sense of things
changing; the appeal to the senses of sight,
touch and sound: “brown”, “satin-peach”,
“colours”, “amber”, “wet”, the girl touching
the writer’s hand and steadying it on her
knee, “soft”, “furious streets are hushed”
The Indian context “evening bazaar”, “people who cling to the
side of a train”
Candidates may contrast this with a sense of “Dummies… with their Western perms”,
a Western influence “Banners for Miss India 1993”, “neon”
Candidates may identify that there is a sense “When India appears and reappears/I’ll lean
of identity evoked by the place and the event across a country/with my outstretched hands”

The use of language

Repetition of particular phrases,
with “In the evening bazaar… an unknown girl is
variations hennaing my hand”
Use of metaphor “icing my hand”, “a peacock spreads its
lines”, “the amber bird”
Use of colours and light “satin-peach”, “brown”, “amber”, “neon”,
“Colours leave the street /float up in
balloons”
Use of similes “like people who cling to the side of a train”,
“soft as a snail trail”
Use of personification “Dummies in shop-fronts/tilt and stare”, “the
furious streets”, “When India appears and
reappears”
Lexis which places the poem in its Indian “bazaar”, “hennaing”, “rupees”, “kameez”
context
Juxtaposition of East and West “neon bazaar”
Interesting use of verbs and adjectives, “squeezes a wet brown line”, “icing”,
creating images “spreads its lines/across my palm”, “canopy
me”, “clinging/to these firm peacock lines”,
“shadow-stitched”, “satin-peach”
Use of onomatopoeia “squeezes”, “hushed”, “scrape”
Use of free verse Evident throughout poem
Structure Series of images, punctuated by repetition of
central event

The Arabian Nights

[January 2015] How does the writer interest the reader in the story?
In your answer, you should write about:
 the character and actions of Sultan Schahriar
 the character of Scheherazade and what she plans to do
 the thoughts and feelings of the grand-vizir
 the use of language.
The character and actions of Sultan Schahriar
Kind/generous to his brother “it was a real grief to Schahriar”; “Schahriar
cut off the country of Great Tartary… and
made his brother king.”
Schahriar’s relationship with his first wife, “Now the Sultan Schahriar had a wife whom
after which he feels bitter and betrayed; love he loved more than all the world…”; “with
then betrayal, the scandal ( 誹 謗 )and her the deepest shame and sorrow that he
execution accidentally discovered … that she had
deceived him completely…”; “order the
grand-vizir to put her to death”
Near madness after his wife’s adultery “The blow was so heavy that his mind almost
gave way”
He may be viewed as a despotic (專制的) ruler, “he was quite sure that at bottom all women
barbarous, vengeful and violent; he may also were as wicked as the sultana…” “So every
be viewed as misogynistic (厭惡女人) evening he married a fresh wife and had her
strangled the following morning”; “this
barbarous practice”
How he is viewed by the townspeople “This behaviour caused the greatest horror in
the town, where nothing was heard but cries
and lamentations.”
How he greets the news that Scheherazade is “The Sultan received this news with the
being offered to him as a bride greatest astonishment.”
How he reacts to meeting Scheherazade “was amazed at her beauty…”; “he asked
what was the matter…”; “Schahriar
consented to Scheherazade’s petition.”

The character of Scheherazade and what she plans to do

Intelligent and brave “clever and courageous to the highest
degree”; “I am not afraid”
Well-educated and beautiful Broad education; “beauty excelled”
Self-sacrificing and selfless; presented as a “I am determined to stop this barbarous
saviour, standing up for the rights of women; practice of the Sultan’s, and to deliver the
patriotic girls and mothers from the awful fate that
hangs over them.”, “service to my country”
Self-assertion ( 堅 持 己 見 ); natural authority; This is apparent in the exchanges she has
relationship with her father and sister with her father and her sister (many)
Determined and persistent “determined”, “obstinate”, “resolved”, father
“yielding to her wishes”
Stoical “If I fail, my death will be a glorious one, and
if I succeed I shall have done a great service
to my country.”
Detailed explanation to Dinarzade Expressed in calm, controlled language
Scheherazade’s petition to Schahriar and his The fact that Scheherazade deliberately
reaction places herself in danger and cannot really
anticipate Schahriar’s agreement interests the
reader
While the overall purpose of Scheherazade’s “deliver the people from the terror that reigns
plan is stated, precisely how this will be over them”; the sense of the unknown
achieved is left uncertain in the passage interests the reader
The thoughts and feelings of the grand-vizir
Scheherazade is his favourite daughter “Her father had given her the best masters in
philosophy, medicine, history and the fine
arts…”; she “was his delight and pride”; “I
can refuse you nothing…”
Loyal, dutiful and obedient He obeys the Sultan despite his misgivings.
“If the Sultan was to order me to plunge a
dagger in your heart, I should have to obey.”
Reluctant but feels compelled to do his duty “The poor man fulfilled his task with
reluctance, but there was no escape…”
His dilemma “If the Sultan was to order me to plunge a
dagger in your heart, I should have to obey.”
Feels horror at the thought of losing his “starting back in horror…”; “What a task for
daughter a father!”
His despair and sadness at going to the palace “in despair, the grand-vizir was obliged to
give way, and went sadly to the palace…”
Grief-stricken “still bowed down with grief…”

The use of language

Use of complex sentences Examples are found throughout the passage
Use of superlatives “best monarch”, “greatest happiness”, “finest
dresses”, “most beautiful”, “greatest horror”,
“deepest shame”, “best masters”, “beauty
excelled”, “highest degree”, “greatest
astonishment”, “most pleasant”
Use of archaic (古代的) language “we read the praises of one of the kings of
this race”, “chamber”, “bade”, “Sire”
Use of dialogue, including forceful and Exchanges between Scheherazade and her
dramatic language, often accompanied by family and Schahriar between the grand-vizir
exclamations and Scheherazade
Use of language to do with power, authority “dynasty”, “king(s)”, “monarch”, “empire”,
and its Eastern setting “dominions”, “kingdom”. “sultana”, “grand-
vizir”, “his highness”, “your highness”,
“Sire”
Use of language to do with punishment “law of the land”, “put her to death”, “your
head shall pay forfeit”
Formal language befitting ( 適 合 ) a courtly “Schahriar consented to Scheherazade’s
setting petition”
Occasional use of alliteration “prosperous and powerful”, “surround her
with splendour”
Free indirect discourse (間接敘述) “he was quite sure that at bottom all women
were as wicked as the sultana, if you could
only find them out, and that the fewer the
world contained the better”
Negative and emotive language Use of the word “unhappy” to include
meaning of “unfortunate”; “shame”,
“horror”, “awful fate”, “death”, “anguish”,
“terror”, “grief”, “sadly”, “sad fate”, “poor
man”
Words and structures repeated, to enhance “fresh”: Dinarzade’s words repeat what
storytelling techniques Scheherazade has told her to say
Use of opposites “subjects loved… neighbors feared”, “girl
married and a wife dead”, “instead of the
blessings… the air was now full of curses”
Use of inversion; repetition enhances “replied he”, “said Scheherazade”, “returned
storytelling technique the grand-vizir”, “answered Scheherazade”,
“cried the grand-vizir”, “replied she”, and
throughout the rest of the passage.

The Necklace
[May 2014] How does the writer try to interest the reader in The Necklace?

In your answer you should write about:

 what life is like for Madame and Monsieur Loisel before the reception
 the night of the reception
 what happens after the loss of the necklace
 any other interesting use of language

What life is like for Madame and Monsieur Loisel before the reception
homely, down-at-heel life, dissatisfaction of “made unhappy by the run-down apartment”
Madame Loisel
Madame Loisel’s dreams and ambitions Her long daydream, contrasting her modest
present with images of luxury, wealth and
status
satisfaction of Monsieur Loisel, invited to the “highly pleased”, “brandished”, “instead of
reception; deflated by Madame Loisel being delighted…tossed peevishly”
Monsieur Loisel’s more modest dreams and “setting aside just that amount to buy a gun
ambitions and finance hunting trips”
excitement and anticipation just before the “She threw her arms around her friend,
reception kissed her extravagantly, and then ran home,
taking her treasure with her”

The night of the reception

Madame Loisel is admired by everybody “was a success”, “prettiest woman there,
elegant, graceful, radiant, and wonderfully
happy”, “All the men looked at her”, “All the
Cabinet secretaries and under-secretaries
wanted to waltz with her”
complex sentence/paragraph mirroring “She danced ecstatically…a woman’s heart”
Madame Loisel’s dance and feelings
coming back to reality “a commonplace coat violently at odds with
the elegance of her dress. It brought her
down to earth…”
even before the loss of the necklace, there is “they walked sadly to their apartment. For
a sense of sadness and anti-climax her it was all over, while he was thinking that
he had to be at the Ministry at ten.”
the loss of the necklace “The necklace was no longer round her
throat”, “panic”, “thunderstruck”
What happens after the loss of the necklace
Frantic ( 狂 亂 的 )search for necklace and the “tried anywhere where the faintest of hoped
strain of this led him”, “the appalling catastrophe which
had befallen them”, “hollow cheeked and
very pale”,
Monsieur Loisel’s realization of what lies “the grim poverty which stood ready to
ahead pounce”
the effect on their health “both ill with worry and anxiety”; “aged five
years”, “looked old now”
life of poverty “the grindingly horrible life of the very
poor”, “moved out of their apartment and
rented an attic room”, “heavy domestic
work”, “working-class woman”, “counting
every penny”,
Madame Loisel’s meeting with Madame “still young, still beautiful and still
Forestier: the contrasts between them attractive”, “common woman”
eventual recognition, showing how much “But my poor Mathilde, how you’ve
Madame Loisel has changed changed!”
dialogue Madame Loisel’s pride and the gradual
unfolding of what has happened
final irony, ending in ellipsis “imitation necklace…five hundred franc…”

The use of language

Form Overall structure: one of contrasts and stages
in life. Early life; married life before
reception; reception; loss of necklace and
aftermath; life of poverty for ten years; final
meeting at end of story. Short story form.
Omniscient (無所不知的) narrator, with particular
focus on Mathilde Loisel
importance of outward things; symbolism clothes and the necklace
language associated with rich and poor “refinement and luxury”, “There’s nothing so
humiliating as to look poor when you’re with
women who are rich”, “grindingly”
language associated with money and social “minor civil servants”, “hierarchy”, “rank nor
class; language associated with opulence class”, numerous mentions of money;
“elegant dinners, gleaming silverware, and
tapestries”, “silent antechambers hung with
oriental tapestries”
rule of three “no dowry, no expectations, no means of
meeting”, “sad, worried, anxious”, “elegant
dinners, gleaming silverware, and tapestries”,
“Her hair was untidy, her skirts were askew,
and her hands were red”, “still young, still
beautiful, and still attractive”
negatives and language associated with “unhappy”, “sad”, “no dowry, no
negative feelings expectations, no means of meeting”, “sad,
worried, anxious”, “weep tears of sorrow,
regret, despair and anguish”
simile connected with social status “I’ll look like a church mouse”
personification “hackney cab…as if ashamed to parade their
poverty”, suggestive of impending poverty
for the Loisels; “the grim poverty which
stood ready to pounce”
use of dialogue dialogue reflects concerns over social status;
initial exchanges contain down-to-earth
language of Monsieur Loisel contrasted with
the more melodramatic language of Madame
Loisel; staccato dialogue after necklace is
lost reflects the desperation of the couple
pathetic fallacy (謬論) “empty grate, her mind a blank”
irony “But it was only an imitation necklace”
sentence structure Example of long paragraph with complex
sentences reflecting Madame Loisel’s
thoughts and dreams towards the beginning
of the story; shorter, blunt sentences to
demonstrate shock and to move the narrative
on elsewhere
rhetorical questions (設問) “what would she have thought? What would
she have said? Would she not have concluded
she was a thief?”, “What might have
happened had she not lost the necklace? Who
could tell?”
exclamations, showing Madame Loisel’s “Life is so strange, so fickle! How little is
thoughts, but also authorial comment needed to make or break us!”