HSC Trial notes Module B PDF

Preview

Summary

Download HSC Trial notes Module B PDF

Description

Module B- Close Study of Literature Prescribed Text- ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ composed by Mark Haddon Characters - Christopher Boone - Siobhan - Ed Boone(Father) - Judy Boone (Mother) - Mrs Shears - Mr Shears (Roger) - Mrs Alexander Themes - Search for meaning in life - Importance of affirming relationships to assist and enable personal growth. - Recognising and respecting the dignity of all people regardless of abilities and disabilities Unusual Features - Chapters ordered in Prime numbers - Pattern of the chapters. Chapters where Christopher digresses from the situation, intertwined with chapters of him developing the plot. - Use of Symbols and Visuals - First Person Narration - Appendix for Math equations and solutions - Rewriting brand titles, logos, signs etc. - Illustrating his thoughts and conscience perspective - Use of Math formulas Quotes from Chapters 2-157 - “I do not like people shouting at me. It makes me scared that they are going to hit me or touch me and I do not know what is going to happen.” (Chapter 2) - “I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.” (Chapter 19) - “ I asked father ‘Are you sad about Wellington?’ … Then he said ‘Yes Christopher you could say that. You could very well say that.’” (Chapter 41) - “Mother died 2 years ago.” (Chapter 43) (Short Sentence) - “Mother died two weeks later.” (Chapter 53) (Short Sentence) - “It takes me a long time to get used to people I do not know.”(Chapter 67) - “The supper was baked beans and broccoli and two slices of ham and they

-

were laid out on the plate so that they were not touching” (Chapter 79) “4 red cars in a row made it a Good day, and 3 red cars in a row made it a Quite Good day” (Chapter 47) “Then he made me stand up and walk to the bathroom. And I didn’t scream. And I didn’t Fight. And I didn’t hit him.” (Chapter 157)

Chapter Summaries

Chapter 163

● ● ● ●

Julie (Christopher’s first teacher ) told his parents that he would always have difficulty understanding another person's point of view. Christopher says that a mind is like a complicated computer. Feelings are just a picture in what will happen now or later. Pictures in your mind are your emotions Quotes: “...I decided that it was kind of a puzzle, and if something is a puzzle there is always a way of solving it.”

Chapter 167 ● Father apologises for lying about mother and hiding the letters ● Explains his emotions when mother left him ● Confesses to killing Wellington ● Christopher loses trust and plots to leave ● Quotes: “...because I couldn’t trust him even though he had said, ‘Trust me’ because he had told a big lie about a big thing.” Chapter 173 ● Christopher sleeps in the garden that night ● He hides from his dad when father comes to look for him in the shed ● He went to Mrs. Alexander’s house to watch Toby and states that he will go to London to live with another ● He panics and runs back home, takes his bag fills it up with food, clothes, mah books and takes his father's bankcard ● Quotes: “And the thought of going somewhere on my own was frightening.” Chapter 181 ● He explains that he must memorise every physical detail of his environment ● New places can cause his mind to crash like a computer ● He would memorise exact number of objects, colours, and there placement. ● Good at his logic to detail ● Quotes: “I see everything” Chapter 191 ● Waits in the entrance of the station. He feels sick from the crowd and the smell of the tunnel . ● His head aches as the pictures of the numerous signs in the public ● A policeman approaches and questions Christopher. Policeman escorts him to an ATM where Christopher extracts cash for his ticket. ● He has now board the train to London ● Quotes: “...and I hadn’t been frightened when I was with the policeman but I turned round and I saw he had gone now and I was scared again.”

Chapter 193 ● Christopher used to make timetables for all his toy trains and even for himself ● He includes his daily timetable

7:20am

Wake up

3:30pm

Catch school bus home

7:25am

Clean teeth and wash face

3:49pm

get off school bus at home

7:30am

give Toby food and water

3:50pm

have juice and snack

7:40am

have breakfast

3:55pm

give Toby food and water

8:00am

put school clothes on

4:00pm

take Toby out of his cage

8:05am

pack school bag

4:18pm

put Toby in his cage

8:10am

read book or watch video

4:20pm

watch television or a video

8:32am

catch bus to school

5:00pm

read a book

8:43 am

go past tropical fish shop

6:00pm

have tea

8:51am

Arrive at school

6:30pm

watch television or a video

9:00am

school assembly

7:00pm

do maths practise

9:15am

first morning class

8:00pm

have a bath

10:30am

break

8:15pm

get changed into pyjamas

10:50am

art class with Mrs Peters

8:20pm

play computer games

12:30am

lunch

9:00pm

watch television or a video

1:00pm

first afternoon class

9:20pm

have juice and a snack

2:15pm

second afternoon class

9:30pm

go to bed.

● ● ●

He explains that time is not like space but instead the relationship between events and is not a fixed relationship Christopher likes timetables because they makes sure that he does not get lost in time Quotes: “And this is why I like timetables because they make sure you don’t get lost in time.”

Chapter 197 ● The claustrophobic environment in the train reminds Christopher of when the school bus broke down. ● The policeman from earlier appears and tells him that Christopher’s father is looking for him and the policeman will take him back to the station at the next stop ● Christopher wets his pants and goes to the bathroom ● He climbs into the middle shelf and hides behind a suitcase . The policeman comes in looking for him and doesn’t spot him ● Christopher remains there. ● Quotes: “...and it was dark, and there was no one in there with me and I couldn’t hear people talking so I felt much calmer and it was nice.”

Chapter 199 ● Christopher thinks that people believe in God illogically because they don’t realise that unlikely things can happen by chance. ● He explains the three conditions needed to create life 1. Replication 2. Mutation 3. Heritability ● He mentions humans are animals only with a more lucky evolution and that one day an animal would evolve to be smarter than humans or humans would die out and leave another creature to be the best animal . ● Quote: “And these conditions are very rare, but they are possible, and they cause life.” Chapter 211 ● Christopher leaves his hiding place on the next stop and he notices a policeman in the next carriage so he exits the train. ● He decides he doesn’t like policemen anymore ● He follows the sign that says information and asks if he is in London. He is informed he is in London. He asks for directions to his mother's address. ● Quote: “And I thought I can do this because I was doing really well and I was in London and I would find my mother” Chapter 223 ● He looks at an ad for Malaysian dream holiday ● He mentions that he doesn’t understand the point of holidays as you can explore new things where he is. ● Quote: “And I think that there are so many things just in one house that it would take years to think about all of them properly.” Chapter 227 ● Christopher sits for five hours on the platform before noticing Toby ran away. He spots Toby in the tracks and climbs down onto it to get him. A train approvals and a man quickly pulls him back. He screams at Toby for being reckless and a lady comes offering assistance. They both leave after Christopher turns them away. ● He boards the train until Willesden Junction where he gets off. ● He purchases an atlas to get to his mother's address. ● When he reaches he rings the doorbell but no one is home so he sits to wait. ● He hears his mums voice and approaches her. He pushes her away as she tries to hug him so they touch hands and Christopher tells her about his frightening journey. ● He mentions father killed Wellington and lied that she had died from cancer ● The police arrive and says father reported Christopher as a runaway. ● They ask Christopher if he wants to stay with mother or father and he chooses mother. ● He then wakes up in the middle of the night to fathers screaming. Father comes in crying and apologising. Christopher refuses to touch him. Father is escorted out by police. Quotes: “...and then he held up his right hand and spread his fingers out in a fan so that I

could touch his fingers but I didn’t because I was frightened.” Chapter 229 ● Christopher dreamt of a virus that nearly killed everyone on earth. ● The virus is very contagious and you can catch it just by looking at someone even if they are on TV ● However only people left are like him because he does not look at faces, ● He likes the dream because he can go anywhere, he can drive and he can bump into things because it won’t matter. When he awakes from the dream he feels happy ● Quotes: “...and then the dream is finished and I am happy” Chapter 233 ● While he stays at mothers apartment, mother argues with Mr Shears on how long he can stay ● Mother takes leave from work so she can care for him ● Christopher informs mother he must return home to take his A Level tests. Mother is aware that this may not be possible ● Christopher leaves the apartment in the middle of the night to walk, and mother finds and screams and makes him promise to never do it again. ● Mother is fired from her job ● Mother insists that his A Level tests be postponed ● Christopher sports five red cars in a row followed by four yellow cars in a row which messed up his system ● Mother informs Christopher that his A Level math test is postponed to next year and he screams. ● Mr Shears and mother argue more ● Next morning mother and Christopher leave to go back to Swindon and explained that if they stayed someone would have gotten hurt. ● They arrive in father’s house, when father arrives he argues with mother. ● The next day she takes him to school . She runs into Mrs Shears and a little confrontation. ● Next day he takes his A Level tests ● Christopher still doesn’t trust his father and is reluctant to communicate with him ● Mother and Christopher move out with her finding a new job and being kicked out by father ● Christopher stays at fathers every afternoon but locks his doors so father doesn’t come in. ● Toby dies at 2 years and 7 months ● One day after school father pleads with Christopher to trust him. In order for that trust, he gives Christopher a new puppy. Chris names her sandy. ● His relationship with father improves as he stays at fathers some nights now. ● He buys a book to study for his next set of A Level tests. ● Quotes: “I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery of who killed Wellington and I found my mother and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything.”

Band 5/6 Response

An engaging text will skillfully blend ideas, language features, and form to generate a considered response. Discuss this statement making close reference to your prescribed text. Paul Trad

The statement of “An engaging text will skillfully blend ideas, language features, and

form to generate a considered response” is correct in regards to ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ by Mark Haddon. Throughout this novel, Mark Haddon uses a variety of distinctive features such as visuals, digressions, and chapters ordered in prime numbers to allow the audience to develop their understanding of individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome. The protagonist of Christopher is unique as he showcases the symptoms of Asperger’s. He is fifteen years old, and highly intellectual in the fields of mathematics, and science. However, he struggles in social situations. He discovered a dead dog called Wellington with a garden fork in it. The mystery of the dead dog, entirely caused Christopher to realise more about himself, and the people around him. The search for meaning, importance of trust in affirming relationships, and respecting and recognising the dignity of all, regardless of ability and disability are all themes which become evident throughout Christopher’s adventures. Mark Haddon blended in the unusual protagonist of Christopher, and the plot starting with a dead dog to make it an entirely engaging text. Throughout the novel the theme of the search for meaning becomes obvious. From the very first chapter Christopher is trying to search for meaning. This is evident when Christopher states “I stroked the dog, and wondered who had killed him, and why.” Christopher in this instance wanted to investigate the person who had killed Wellington. Throughout the novel, Christopher makes it clear that he enjoys searching for things, and enjoys being a detective. Evidence of this is the constant literary allusions Christopher makes to Sherlock Holmes. These allusions are language features which make the aspirations of Christopher, and enjoyments of Christopher evident. Christopher finds meaning through prime numbers. He in fact states “Prime numbers are like life, they are logical, but you could never work out the rules.” Christopher using a simile to compare prime numbers to life showcases how he uses logic in his world. Another feature evident throughout the novel is the pattern of the chapters including frequent digressions, and plot developments. The digressions usually involved Christopher giving personal insight. These digressions were symbolic of Christopher's mind in chaotic situations. An example of this is in the midst of discovering his mother is still alive. He started to speak about why he hates the colours yellow, and brown. Overall, the theme of the search for meaning was seen through the features of frequent digressions, and the order of Christopher’s thought process. These ideas, features, and forms entirely allowed for an engaging text. Christopher’s persona throughout the novel made the theme of the importance of trust in affirming relationships evident. Christopher’s relationship in the beginning with his father was quite strong as Ed Boone allowed Christopher to hear things he wanted to hear. Evidence of this is Christopher asked his father “Are you sad about Wellington?... And he said ‘Yes Christopher, you could say that. You could very well say that’.” The repetition of “You could say that” reinforces that father doesn’t want to hurt Christopher. Siobhan is Christopher’s teacher and she has a profound

relationship with him. She also seems like the only person who understands him. This is exemplified when Christopher states “Siobhan understands. Whenever she tells me not to do something, she tells me exactly what it is.” Siobhan understands how Christopher interprets the world, and this causes her to be a formative influence on him. One way Christopher affirms relationships is through trust. The importance of trust to Christopher is seen in the last Chapter where Ed states “You have to learn to trust me… And I don’t care how long it takes.” Ed Boone wants to reestablish his relationship with Christopher to allow him to grow, and wants to grow as a father. The theme of affirming relationships to enable personal growth was seen through numerous language features such as repetition, dialogue, and Christopher’s persona. Respecting, and recognising the dignity of all, regardless of ability or disability is the main theme of the novel. This theme was seen numerous times in the manner of Christopher is spoken to. Evidence of this is Mrs Alexander who is Christopher’s neighbour acknowledging Christopher’s mathematical intellect. She states “I’m sure you will do well in A level Maths.” Moreover, Christopher also is aware that he has certain problems. An example of this is where he states “I used to have lots of behavioral problems, but now I don’t have as many anymore because I’m more grown up.” Mark Haddon uses certain ideas carefully to showcase how individuals perceived Christopher. Towards the end of the novel Mr Shears tells “Christopher, you only think about yourself.” However, the audience has juxtaposed views on this as they see Christopher showcasing constant empathy towards his pet rat Toby. In the last page, Christopher states “And I know I can do this, because I went to London on my own. And I discovered who killed Wellington. And this means I can do anything.” Repetition of “And I” reinforces that Christopher has started to recognise his own dignity, and self belief. The theme of respecting, and recognising the dignity of all regardless of disability, or ability was a reason to why it was an engaging text. In conclusion Mark Haddon’s ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ consisted of numerous features, and forms which made it an engaging text. The distinctive features of frequent digressions, order of chapters, and an unusual protagonist made the themes throughout evident. Overall, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ is engaging due to “Blended ideas, language features, and forms.”...