WoNdErLaNdE3

Monday, July 28, 2008

Last set of notes for MFTS - revision 2

Refer to p21 of your book.
--- “He was very brisk and animated, like a person organising games at a children’s party”
---“brisk and animated” – this shows his eagerness about performing the bet.
---“like a person organising games” – he is also very systematic and knows exactly what to do

Is there any indication that the Man may have participated in a similar bet before?
--- Yes
--- According to the narrator, “He never hesitates…knows exactly what he needs and how to arrange it.”
--- From the text you can see that the Man knows:
-how much to hammer in the nails,
-how tightly to tie the string around the boy’s wrist,
-how the boy should clench his fist and leave his little finger sticking out
-how high to hold the chopper above the boy’s finger

What creates the suspense?

Refer to p23 of your book.
--- The description of how the boy lights his lighter the 1st time – almost as if we are visualising this in slow-motion.
--- The boy waiting for 5 sec before striking the lighter the 2nd time – this slows down the action and makes us anxious whether it will light again.
--- Also, no one else says anything except for the narrator - this silence adds to the suspense.
--- The boy watches his lighter intensely; the Man also watches the lighter while holding on to the chopper.
--- The 3rd - 7th successful times that the lighter lights – this sudden quick pacing makes our hearts race
--- The detailed description of the boy using his thumb to strike the lighter before the 8th attempt – again, slow-motion, and we’re wondering if it will light

The old woman’s entrance

--- She suddenly rushes forward, shouts and shakes the Man vigorously
--- This heightens the excitement in this scene (climax).
--- You can tell that her entrance and the way she handles her husband roughly have an impact on the others.
--- The boy unties his hand from the table while the English girl and narrator stand there saying nothing.
---They are shocked and not sure how to respond to her sudden entrance.

He’s truly crazy!

--- From what the old woman tells us, we learn that the Man is crazy because he was supposed to be “put away somewhere” (referring to a mental institution)
--- Also, we learn that he is very addicted to gambling – he had chopped off 47 fingers and lost 11 cars.
--- Yet he never learnt to stop or control himself.

Questions about the ending

--- Why aren’t the 3 characters angry at the old woman?
--- How do you feel towards the old woman?
--- Has your impression of the Man changed?

by The Class:1E3 at 11:47 PM |