Task 39

Part 1

I thought that the 4th excerpt was the most interesting one because of its layout. It kind of like gives a point example explanation using each paragraphs making an even bigger paragraph. Also usually when authors tend to go on they make you lose track, but this piece was different since it has the different mini points splitting the whole thing up making it seem small.

Part 2

The beginning of the end – contradictory but it still makes sense.

The End. The end is to be as glorious as the beginning. We have to finish with style as many would say. So the day started as normal – me struggling out of bed- I went to the bathroom and performed my daily rituals of having a shower, having breakfast and brushing my teeth. Everybody else was already up and full; but my dad was the only one who was fully ready. The rest of us got ready eventually; and as usual I was the last to wake up, but the first to get ready and to wait by the door. We finally got out and walked to the bus stop; but instead of the usual knowing where to go, this time we had no idea what we were doing next; I mean of course we knew that our final destination for that morning was to be ‘La Grande Mosque de Paris’ to pray the sacred Friday prayer, but how to get there was a mystery. So time went by and with a lot of help from people and signs we eventually reached the street on which the great mosque was; however we knew suddenly that there was something unusual going on, well for starters the police searched our bags before we down the street. Then we found out that the mosque was closed – why I hear you ask, well I don’t know, nobody knows to be honest; many stories but I doubt any are true- so we ended up going back the way we started.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The end of the end- you savor your last moments like they’re the only thing you could ever want.

When we got home my little sister could finally be let loose. My mother kept stressing; ‘we are going to be so late and your not even caring’ she said that as if she was about to cry. My dad only gave the soft reply of ‘everything is going to be fine, don’t worry honey, everything would go as God planned’; and on that note my cousin came in, as if playing a rehearsed scene. He came in with a look of determination in his face, ready for what he was going to do next.

* * * * * * * * * * *

You plan. God plans. And only what God plans becomes the future. – a famous Muslim saying

We had such luck with the bus and we found the train waiting for us at the station. Everything was going as planned, well that was until we reached the train’s third stop that‘s when everything started going wrong, the train would stop at each station for 10 minutes at least.
Then the worst thing happened when we got to the Eurostar station. We missed the train. The first thing that came to my head at that moment was ‘we were all planning to go to England that day, but it was God’s plan for us to stay one more night in France and in the end his way was our present then’ and my memory of France now.

Task 39 - The End

Part 1
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Gou
I chose A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary fot Lovers because this excerpt out of the four excerpts is funny and quite amusing. I liked the way Xiaolu Gou makes spelling mistakes purposely shows us that the person doesn't know proper English. In his writing he shows us that England is very complicated and an expensive place to live in. Xiaolu Gou made you want to read more and kept us wanting more.

Part 2
The END.....
The day had come..... where everyone in year six were leaving primary school were and moving to secondary school. Everyone was gathering up all the years work to take home for memory. Their were many children crying, weeping hysterically on the teacher's shoulders about the fact they don't want to leave primary school and go to secondary school because the older kids will bully them.

It was time to say our goodbyes to our teachers and classmates it was getting very emotional and a tear came pouring out my eyes.

I knew my year has end and we won't be the oldest in school anymore more like the opposites , we all in year six were going to go to a brand new school where are friends most likely will not go.

It was an end and a brand new beginning.

Task 39

Excerpt: The Big Sur by Jack Kerouac

I particularly enjoyed this excerpt the most as to me it really stood out with the varied syntax and sentence structure. Instantly switching from super long 3 line sentences to a few words reflects and emphasises very much on his perhaps raceyness and uncertainty - we can even possibly imagine him saying this in real life. I think that this sort of effect added a sort of somewhat realism about the play, even if the story itself seemed to not be genuinely realistic. However, this contrast between the actually storyline and the realism in which it was written seems to be very effective, as the reader is able to engage and relate to situation - even if they had not been there themselves. I also think this fitted in with the actual theme and dramatic effect of the play as a whole as it shows sometimes that maybe words can show the seriousness of an issue. The occasional tense sense was also a bit hard to follow at times, presumably as it was done deliberately to get the reader to focus harder on the story to represent that things were not as simple as they seemed? Overall a good exerpt that really kept in touch with the reader.



The End

It was dark. I unknowingly entered the pitch black hole of darkness I would forever be trapped in. I looked around for help... there was no sign of humanity. Where was I? How had I allowed myself to get here? I looked around. I saw nothing. An empty street with empty hearts... I could hear it in the obstinate silence. I looked up to see a star. Mum would tell me when I was younger that by looking up at star I'd find a guardian angel to set me free, and to show me the light. She was wrong. This isn't a fairytale. This is a walking deathtrap inviting me along for the thrill. There isn't any thrills here though. I am alone... away from home. Just not in the zone. I wondered what Mum would think of me now. I looked out to see a car; shiny, headlights on - completely unaware. Breaks at the ready I heard them screech before I even heard myself think. Silence.

Task 39

Opening 2

“Big Sur”,most of the time, seemed quite unorthodox and unique from many of the writing styles I have witnessed before. Kerouac’s constant switch from present to future tense slightly confuses reader, this effect is then compounded further by his withholding of details about the “City” and “Billie”, and perhaps he does this purposely in order to provoke the reader’s yearning for more feeling. Also within the extract, there are monumental amounts of hyphens, these seem to dictate the direction of the story and reveal his state of mind.

The End
I lay in the slimy, dark trench hoping to god that it would end soon. The sky an impenetrable, thick, smoggy grey with the earth a prominent foul, green vein dug into the field. Larry was on hand, cursing and firing into the misty land of No Man’s, my hand trembled as I aimed into the oblivious fog hoping that it would catch an unsuspecting soldier in the chest-I could only think about that at the time- my eyes were straining out of the tight-fitting sockets to see across but in no succession. The camouflaged battle of Italian and English bullets colliding in such flamboyant fashion proved more than I could handle.
I slouched back down onto the ever damp trench with only my M1 to console my mental wounds, I turned my head to see Miles clutching at his chest in utter desperation to stem the flow of the ever valuable, vital ruby liquid mercilessly gushing out of the 2mm gap. My breath felt heavy, and with each one I could see the soul’s of my comrades floating their way up to this supposed “heaven”. I now awaited the inevitable order of “Charge!” so that I could at last be reunited with my brother in arms Miles. The sky cringed and contracted a deep, jet black touch and with that came the furious thunder bolts of Zeus, the dust settled, we could see our enemies, they could see us, yet we were all helplessly staring at the living, breathing sky. “Charge!”. Our sergeant had made the call, there would be no time for us to think, he says jump we say how high, I clambered over the barriers and made my way manoeuvring round the cups that lay imprinted on the battle field. We could see our foe, I mounted my spear with my right hand, and tightly clenched onto the M1 with the left, meter by meter we were approaching, my mind was a total mess but I had no time to regroup, my body was fully prepared and immediately reacted.

The End

Part 1.

For my first part of Task 39, I have decided to analyse Xiaolu Guo's 'A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers'. This piece exploits the common misconception 'Bigger is better'. By deconstructing the previously 'flawless' English language Xiaolu practically eliminates all elements of cliché that could potentially threaten this piece. By utilising the language defect present in this character the whole idea of 'show not tell' is automatically incorporated, the reader automatically decrypts the protagonist's story, then rebuilds it to match his/her exacting specifications. In the second part of this story however, we are violently jolted out of the comfortably lackadaisical mindset we have now adopted. The story suddenly increases in body. We find out about how the immigrant protagonist seeks ways to support her parents back in china, and how the clear clash in cultures is clearly affecting him/her. For all these reason and more, 'A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers' has influenced me most.





Cap-tiv-i-ty (Kap-tiv-i-te)
n. pl. cap-tiv-i-ties
The state or period of being imprisoned, confined, or enslaved.

Some say the end is just the beginning. I can't see how that would apply to my situation.

The unforgiving torture of self-insanity gnaws at what precious little there is left of my inner control. These walls crudely scarred my perception on life long ago. I warn you, what is left of me now is far from desirable, attractive and by now means preferable. Rehabilitated? Institutionalisation leaves me debilitated.

The walls cry ever marked glossy white tears, The floor sometimes cracks under expectations to preform and from time to time The old fabric chairs sometimes let out a cry of desperation for a new beginning. For they know I will eventually meet my end.

I seek no solace, I need no strife, all I want is to live my life. I can't. Deemed as mentally unstable I indulge in the comforts I have left. Sometimes my companions will present themselves on the rubber plant beside my bed. They watch, with microscopic expression, then disappear like a figment of my imagination. But why will you think me mad?

Her rubber-clad hands will occasionally throw a rope from the path of sanity, yet my hands are incapable of utilising any form of grip. Disregarded, she begins the chemical attack on what could once be loosely confirmed as a mattress, her mouth will expel Korma-Flavoured carbon dioxide into mine, I embrace it whilst i still can. She hearkens to the beacons of folderol that the creature beside me will provide, she bellows a barotonic chorus in perfect synchronisation. He is left willingly overcome.

My time here is nearly over. I like to think I'll go out with a bang, a flash of lights and a flurry of attention. Real rock 'n' Roll, you know? Truth is I was never capable of kicking up such a fuss, never will be. Not now anyway. Incapacitated by a crippling truth I should have accepted long ago. It's too late now. My time came waltzing by long ago.

Some say the end is just the beginning...

Task 3

Part 1-A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers

This extract was very hilarious. I enjoyed it a lot. The writer used spelling mistakes to show that character did not know how to speak English.

Is unbelievabal, Heathlow Airport

The writer also made sentences not make sense for the same reason.

I feel little criminal but I doing nothing wrong so far. My English so bad.

I also liked the way it used the dictionary to show the definition of alien to start the story. It makes the reader want to read on. That’s what happened to me however it is only an extract.


Part 2 The End

Tension and nervousness began to spread around the room very easily. The room was completely quite except for the fidgeting with pens and pencils. Today was the day to see if all my hard work paid off. Today was the last day we were taking our GCSE’s. We were doing the last English GCSE test. I sat in the 4rth row facing the window. I was hoping badly that the topic would be autobiographies as I am really good at them. When Mr. Harrison finished handing the paper he said not to touch them and listen. As usual he was going to say his speech about cheating in a test and consequences, disqualifications and all of the test stuff. As soon as he finished he asked us to start. Surprisingly, it was autobiographies and we had to write about ourselves, our family and our achievements throughout our life.


I was the first one to finish, so I checked my work over and over again.
A month later when I got my results, I knew that all the hard work paid off in my exams as I got good results. That was The End of the hard work and exhaustion I went through, now it is time to rest.

The End

Part 1

I liked 'A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers by Xiaolu Guo' the most because I found it the most interesting piece. I liked the way that the writer would use one word and base a little scenario around that one word. I feel that this technique goes successfully with the storyline and is a very original and creative way to tell a story.

Part 2

End

End it. He said. Whatever the cost, just end it. I want you and only you; we don’t need this right now.
Easy for him to say. It’s only been a couple of days but I kind of got used to the idea. It gave a meaning to my life. Not that I wasn’t happy before but this was a little bonus. My life was complete. I didn't need anything else.

“Look we can’t afford it right now.”
“We’ll get through it. I know we can.”
“With what? Shirt buttons? I’ve had to cut down on them too.”
“ So you expect me to...”
“Look babe. I know it’s hard but we’ll get through this…like we always do...we’re a ...team. A team. It is the right choice. We’ll go tomorrow and end it. Simple”

Simple. Just end it. It. It could be a ...there’s no point thinking even about 'it'.

“I’m not going through with it. I can’t”
“ We might as well get out the cardboard boxes because that’s what will happen.”
“Don’t be silly-“
“Silly. You’re the silly one. How many times-“
“Look we’re a team. We’ll manage-“
“No we won’t. If it’s not gone by the end of the week, there is not team. End it or we’re through.You're on your own.”

End it or we’re through. I don’t think the protesters can call me selfish now. I mean I’m the one that is going through the pain. Physically and emotionally. I just hope that it is just two pills and nothing more. Two pills. The End.