POEMSDulce Et Decorum Est Wilfred OwenThe Man He Killed Thomas HardyDeath of A Rainforest Cecil RejendraThe War Against the Trees Stanley KunitzA Quarrel Between Day and Night Omar Mohd NoorCrabbed Age and Youth William Shakespeare

SHORT STORIESCinderella Girl Vivien Alcock Naukar Anya SitaramThe Landlady Roald Dahl

NOVEL AND DRAMAHoles Louis SacharAn Inspector Calls J.B. Priestly

EXAM FORMATQuestion A (5 marks)

1. Gather all points from the extract relating to the question.2. Answer using points from the extract ONLY in details. 3. Justify the meaning behind the poem line by line for poems section only.

Question B (8 marks)

1. Answer in regard to the story.2. If the question is a ‘yes or no’ question, make a stand, ex: I agree/disagree.3. Elaborate each point by explaining the 5Ws and how’s.4. Give example of an incident for each point.

Question C (12 marks)

1. Answer in relation to the mundane things of the story, ex: do comparisons and give general notions.

2. If the question is a ‘yes or no’ question, make a stand, ex: I agree/disagree.3. Elaborate each point by explaining the 5Ws and how’s.4. Give example of an incident for each point.5. Deeper analysis and justification.

DULCE ET DECORUM ESTWilfred Owen

Dulce et docurum est: sweet and honourable to die for your country.

The brutality and the devastation of war in a world which believes that people who die in a war are heroic. The poem deals with stark reality of what it means to live one’s life in honour of one’s country.

“Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,” and “knock-kneed, coughing like hags,” portray the feelings of tired and exhausted soldiers as they kept going to survive, “men marched asleep” and “drunk with fatigue.”

“Deaf even to the hoots of disappointed shells that dropped behind,” soldiers are used to the sound of bombs that drop to the ground.

“GAS! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,” a sense of urgency, panic and helplessness when confronted with a sudden explosion of gas.

“But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,” the persona’s friend who couldn’t get his gas helmet on time succumbs to the poison gas, “as under a green sea, I saw him drowning.”

THE AFTERMATH: “In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,” the persona’s nightmares of his friend’s death but he couldn’t do anything.

“He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning,” the images of the his friend’s death that the he would never forget.

“And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,” his friend’s eyes are in too much pain, “like a devil’s sick of sin.”

“Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,” finally his death arrived as his lungs filled with tear gas.

Soldiers dying in such excruciating circumstances is liken to incurable cancer, “obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,” does not go well with the idea of being sweet and honourable to die in a war.

“In some smothering dreams you too could pace,” the persona’s expectation towards those people at home who upholds the continuance unawareness of war’s realities.

“My friend, you would not tell with such high zest (proud and confident),” “the old Lie: Dulce et decorum est,” it is not sweet actually sweet and honourable to die for your country.

The persona is traumatized by what he had seen in the war and told others that if only they knew what he or soldiers experienced, they wouldn’t say that dying for one’s country is honourable.

THE MAN HE KILLEDThomas Hardy

Keywords:1. You don’t know who your friend is2. The senselessness of war3. War dissolves friendship4. License to kill in war

The issue of war’s ability to change the relationship between people as there is a thin line between friend and foe. The lack of respect and compassion over the death of a fellow human being.

“Had he and I but met, by some old ancient inn,” they would’ve met at a bar to have some drinks, “sat down to wet right many nipperkin (alcohol).”

“But ranged as infantry,” they enlisted themselves as soldiers from different countries.“And staring face to face,” they found themselves in the same situation. “I shot at him as he at me, and killed him in his place,” the persona shot the man to death so he could live considering he would’ve been killed if he hadn’t shot first.

DILEMMA: The persona thinks his action was wrong, thus he tried to come up with a good reason on why he must did what he had done.

“I shot him dead because – because he was my foe, just so: my foe of course he was,” the only reason was because the man was his foe but wasn’t convinced, “that’s clear enough; although,” because he still would’ve become friends with the man if he wasn’t in that situation, war.

They both enlisted themselves as soldiers because they had no money and properties left to continue living, “was out of work – had sold his traps – no other reason why.”

“Quaint and curious war is,” war is strange because humanity doesn’t exist and it seems alright to kill because in war, you are either the friend or the foe.

“You shoot a fellow down,” soldiers kill in war whereas, “you’d treat, if met where any bar is or help to half-a-crown,” they would’ve treat or help each other if they’ve met at any bar, the total opposite reaction compared to being in a war.

DEATH OF A RAINFORESTby Cecil Rejendra

The whole poem is a process which leads to the destruction of the environment and men’s blatant disregard of nature in favour of money.

“I wrestle with a rhinoceros, but no words will come,” no one is doing anything to save the nature.

“I hear tall trees crashing, wild birds screeching, the buffalo stampeding,” written in present continuous tense to show that destructions are still on-going.

“Entrepreneurs yam-seng-ing,” man’s blatant disregard of nature in favour of money. “But no words will come,” said in a sense of helplessness and hopelessness because although the environment had been desecrated, no one is taking any actions.

“I hear of press conference, of petitions, of signatures, of campaigns and lobbying but no words will come,” even if there were actions, they were not enough.

THE AFTER-EFFECT: “The rhino is boxed and crated, merbok and meranti are gone” and “an orphaned butterfly surveys the wounded jungle,” shows that nature, specifically the floras, are complaining but no man is saying or doing anything.

THE WAR AGAINSTS THE TREESby Stanley Kunitz

Stanza 1“Sold his lawn to standard oil,” the man has sold his land for a good price (wealth).“Joked with his neighbours come to watch the show,” the man is not concern but joked with his neighbours as the event is referred to a ‘show’.

“While the bulldozers, drunk with gasoline, tested the virtue of the soil,” the bulldozers are tearing up the man’s lawn, uprooting the trees.

“Under a branchy sky,” indicates that this parcel of man’s lawn has tons of trees as the branches seem to cover as much part of the sky when perceives on the ground.

The bulldozers are personificated as sloppy males, “drunk with gasoline,” who force themselves on women as they test the “virtue of the soil” and are not concern with the soil’s quality but with what lies beneath the soil, “by overthrowing first the privet-row,” as suggested that beneath the soil contains petroleum.

Stanza 2As the bulldozers have taken taken out what would be the first line of defense, “overthrowing the first privet-row,” are now taking out the second life of defense, “forsythia-forays and hydrangea-raids,” which is analogous to machine guns protected by lines of troops, “preliminaries of war”.

“So freshly lopped and maimed,” described to show that the trees are likened to human beings akin to the beheading of trees and hacking of limbs from their torsos (trunks), an occurrence in human-to-human war.

“Against the great-grandfathers of the town,” the trees are humanised as the offensiveness of the destruction is heightened.

Stanza 3“The struck and struck again,” the destruction continues.“Each elm (old grown tree) a century went down,” as the trees are considered as monuments of a civilization.

Stanza 4

“All day the hireling engines charged the trees,” as the bulldozers dig up tree after tree and proceed to hacking the soils, “subverting them by hacking underground” which also causes destruction of the habitat of soil-animals, “rampages through his halls”. ‘His’ being the animals such as grubs, “in grub-dominions,” and moles, “dark summer’s mole”.

“Till a northern seizure shook,” falling trees are likened to be having a seizure as their leaves (‘northern’) shake before the trees topple and fall.

“Those crowns,” indicates that the trees are again linked to humans as they are kings with crowns when standing but are subservient subjects when felled, “forcing the giants to their knees,” as if they are on their knees, begging.

Stanza 5The larger picture of the effects of destruction on both the presence and absence of trees and lands:

“I saw the ghosts of children at their games,” the persona imagines the children of the past (‘ghosts’) who grew up playing in the tree shades, “racing beyond their childhood in the shade,” during the presence of trees.

“The green world turned its death-foxed page,” the persona imagines the nature only exists in books as the persona turns a worn-out (‘death-foxed’) page, perhaps reading about the nature’s history in the absence of trees.

“I watch them disappear,” which could indicate that either the children are crippling to an old age/death or the era in which the children live, the 1950s, are flourished with suburban developments, “into the suburbs of their grievous age”.

The word ‘suburbs’, short term for ‘suburban’, shows a kind of environment where trees are cut down and substituted with housing developments. It can also represents a place where the people grow “grievously” into old age because they become isolated and preoccupied with raising children and maintaining property.

Stanza 6

“The club-roots bared their amputated coils,” as the roots are exposed (‘amputated’ from the soil) after having to be ripped off of the soil. The persona compares the huge snarls of roots to “raw gorgons matted blind,” a mythological female creature with snakes for hair that turn those who are looking at them into stone (Medusa).

“In the rear-view mirrors of the passing cars,” the drivers pass through the destructed land are glancing for a “one witness-moment, caught,” in their rearview mirrors, giving the scene no more than a passing or backward glance on their way to other scenes which are more concerned.

CRABBED AGE AND YOUTHby William Shakespeare

The poem deals with the idea of how difficult it is to accept aging. It can seen at two levels:

1. The wall within oneself as one ages (inabilities).2. The conflict between the aged living with youth.

Crabbed age is a period of time in life when one becomes incapable of things and the inability to live together with youth, “crabbed age and youth cannot live together,” because of the physical, emotional, mental and social differences.

“Youth is full of pleasure, age is full of care,” youth is fun while age is cautious.“Youth like summer morn, age like winter born,” youth is lively while age is idle.“Youth like summer brave, age like winter bare,” youth is exciting while age is dull.“Youth is full of sport, age’s breath is short,” youth is active while age is inactive.

“Age, I do abhor thee, youth, I do adore thee,” the persona’s contradiction of life.“O! my love, my love is young,” the persona thinks he is still capable of loving because he’s still vibrant, amorous and passionate about love.

“Age, I do defy thee; O! sweet shepherd, hie thee,” the persona fell in love with a young lady and protest his age for preventing him to love her. The ‘shepherd’ refers to the lady’s lover which the persona wants him to be gone.

“For methinks thou stay’st too long,” the persona dwells in an old age, though he doesn’t want to accept it. He knows there is no point in fighting it.

A QURREL BETWEEN DAY AND NIGHT

Omar Mohd Noor

Metaphorical meaning: The conflict between day and night of how the night lures and holds more temptations as night-time activities are more seductive and dominating.

Literal meaning:Humans loosing priorities in life and the constant struggle between good and evil.

“Night proposed to day, ‘I’ll take twelve hours, and you take twelve hours’, day had to accept it for there was no alternative,” it is a geographical fact.

“Or night will take twenty four hours of fear of dream-thoughts fastening us to deep darkness forever,” nightmares in the night when asleep is compared to evilness that would take over one’s life when good and evil or right and wrong aren’t equal.

“But night cannot be trusted, it wanted the stars, moon and all citylights,” the attraction of night; refer to metaphorical meaning.

“That is why I fear the night always bringing dream-thoughts making one hungry in the chest,” the loss of focus on one’s duty withdrawels symptoms of longing for something or having too much of something. Evilness leads to emptiness.

“The next morning, a bad prelude to a working day,” as night activities are too long, the next day is all upset and one would not be able to perform well as night had made one to lose track of time and priority.

Conclusion: Night often lures us to do activities when we’re supposed to be resting. This badly effects our performance for the next morning.

CINDERELLA GIRLVivien Alcock

Keywords:1. Peer pressure2. Friendship and relationship3. Do not judge a book by its cover

Edward succumbs to peer pressure. He had never kissed and was beginning to feel left out. He wanted to date and kiss Bella merely because she was popular, “I want to kiss Bella.” His friend, Michael, proved that Edward doesn’t have his own stand, “You always want to do what other people do.” He thought he couldn’t date Meg because his mother would have a fit and everybody at school would tease him.

Edward and Meg’s friendshipThere was something Edward liked about Meg, a sort of warm glow, a friendliness. Edward did look at Meg quite often although he wasn’t sure why. They would stay together, talking or watching their local team play football. He always looked forward to seeing her.

Edward knew how Meg got smudges on her face. He saw her trailing her fingers over the ledges of the buildings, stroking the dusty plastic dog outside the pet shop, then pushing her unruly hair back from her face with sooty hands.

Edward offered to write her a poem one day, “I’ll write you a poem if you like, not that I’m any good at it.” A phrase from his poem: “Your mermaid eyes are flecked with a gold and green.”

Edward thought Meg is a Cinderella girl, “What she needs is a fairy godmother, a pumpkin and a prince.”

He asked Meg as his date for the end of term’s summer disco in the assembly hall. Meg arrived with a big silver car, wearing a sea-green dress. Her long brown hair was sleek and shining, earring sparkled in her ears and there were silver buckles on her shoes. “Don’t I look posh? I hardly know myself. Mum and my sisters took me in hand. They’ve been longing to do it in ages, but I wouldn’t let them.”

She was no Cinderella, after all. Edward thought she was beautiful and felt a moment of an odd pang of loss. He didn’t want the laughing, untidy, romping Meg who’d not wanted to grow up gone for good, “Don’t change too much,” he said to Meg.

He noticed a small smudge of eyeblack on left cheek and bent down to kiss her without thinking about those people who were watching. He didn’t care what they thought. **Nobody was going to tell him what to think any longer, nor choose his friends for him. It was as if the kiss had broken a spell and set him free. He finally realized that this was the girl he had always liked.

** Edward’s character development. Why changes is necessary.

Meg’s character“That great bush of hair, I bet she never combs it. And her face is often dirty. As for her clothes, she came to school yesterday with those horrible green trousers of hers done up with safety pins!” said Bella.

Meg laughed a lot and the smaller kids loved her. She was young for her age, a big untidy girl with shaggy brown hair. She still climbed the trees, rolled down the steep grass and played football with primary school boys.

Her family loved her. She dressed and acted the way she was because of her own volition, “Don’t I look posh? I hardly know myself. Mum and my sisters took me in hand. They’ve been longing to do it in ages, but I wouldn’t let them.”

Bella’s characterBella is pretty and popular whom a lot of boys claimed would let you kiss her in the cinema or in the bushes behind the cycle shed. Bella likes to play with Edward’s heart. She would always say, “I dunno. I might. Ask me again,” every time Edward asked her to go out on a date with him. When Edward ignored her finally after she repeatedly rejected his offer, she didn’t like it. She wanted the attention.

Bella dislikes Meg. She thinks Meg is too rough, too noisy, too grubby. She casually mocked Meg’s appearance, “Doesn’t she look stupid when she runs? Look at that smudges on her face! And what on earth does she think she’s wearing? That cardigan’s hideous! And it’s coming unraveled at the sleeve.” “She’s an utter mess.”

Edward’s characterEdward’s mother likes people to look nice, “It only takes a little effort to look clean and tidy, and it makes all difference to what people think of you. Remember that, Edward.” He knew she didn’t approve of Meg.

Even though Edward had already found out Bella could be spiteful, he didn’t want to start again with another girl even if he didn’t really love Bella. He was used to being in love with her, used to asking her out, even used to being refused.

Nevertheless, it hurt his pride that Bella kept refusing him and went out with several other boys who were not better looking or more amusing or in any way nicer than he was, but he didn’t mean to be conceited. Michael thought Bella is daft.

Edward became moody and thought there was something wrong with him that Bella not wanting to go out with him. He asked Meg, who was sitting in her favourite tree, “Have I got halitosis or do my feet stink?”

THE LANDLADYRoald Dahl

1. Cautiousness2. Obsessions3. Suspicion

Billy Weaver was a 17-year-old, pursuing to be a successful businessman. He travelled from London on a slow afternoon train and reached Bath about nine o’clock in the evening. The air was deadly cold. A porter in the train station suggested Billy to “try The Bell and Dragon” as he pointed down the road when Billy asked for a fairly cheap hotel not too far away from there.

The settingAlong the wide street, there were no shops except neglected identical tall houses on each side with porches, pillars and steps going up to the front doors which looked as if they were once had been very swanky (luxurious) residences.

Billy saw the BED AND BREAKFAST notice propped up against the glass of the window pane with green curtains and a vase of pussy-willows (flower). He peered through the glass into the room and saw fire burning in the heart (fireplace), pretty little dachshund (dog) curled up asleep, pleasant furniture, baby-grand piano, a big sofa, several plump chairs and a parrot in a cage.

He thought the place would be a pretty decent place to stay in but he argued with himself that a pub would be more congenial (suitable) because there would be beer, people to talk to and good bit cheaper price. Besides, he was tiny bit frightened of

boarding-houses. The name itself conjured up images of rapacious (greedy) landladies and powerful smell of kippers (smoked fishes).

After dithering in the cold, he decided to take a look at the pub before making up his mind. As he was in the act of stepping back and turning away from the window, a queer thing happened. His eyes were caught and held in the most peculiar manner by the small BED AND BREAKFAST notice, holding him, compelling him, forcing him to stay where he was and not to walk away from the house. Next thing he knew, he was climbing the steps to the front door and reaching for the bell.

He pressed the bell and at once, before he even had time to take his finger from the bell-button, the door swung open and a woman was standing there. She gave him a warm welcoming smile and said pleasantly, “Please come in.”

The compulsion, or more accurately, the desire to follow her into the house was extraordinarily strong. Billy became more interested to stay as the lady mentioned the charge for the night, “Five and sixpence a night, including breakfast. Do you desire egg for breakfast? It would be sixpence less without the egg.”

The landladyShe seemed terribly nice. She was about 45 – 50 years old with round pink face and very gentle blue eyes. She has small, white, quickly moving hands and red finger-nails (Billy noticed when she was setting down the tea-tray).

“It isn’t very often I have the pleasure of taking a visitor in my little nest. I’m inclined to be just a teeny weeny bit choosy and particular. Everything is always ready day and night in this house, just on the off-chance that an acceptable young gentleman will come along. It is such a great pleasure when I open the door and see someone standing there who is just exactly right. Like you,” she smiled at him with pale lips and her blue eyes travelled slowly all the way down the length of Billy’s body, to his feet, and up again.

The first-floor landing was hers, the second was all his. The landlady led Billy to his room, a small but charming front bedroom and the morning sun would come right in the window. She had prepared hot water-bottle between the sheets for comfort, “And you may light the gas fire at any time if you feel chilly.”

Billy’s lack of suspicion and cautiousnessBilly thought the landlady was slightly dotty (crazy) but he couldn’t care less as the extremely cheap charge and warm cosy feel in the sitting-room did its charm. There were no other people staying there at the moment as there were no other hats, coats, umbrellas or walking-sticks in the hall. Still, Billy remained unsuspicious.

The landlady looked earnestly into Billy’s eyes and said, “I’m so glad you appeared. I was beginning to get worried.” Billy was asked to sign the guest-book in the sitting-room on the ground floor. The landlady appeared to be slightly off her rocker but it didn’t worry Billy in the least. She was not only harmless but she was also quite obviously a kind and generous soul.

The guest-book was lying open on the piano and he read the two other entries over two to three years ago on the page: Christopher Mulholland, Cardiff and Gregory W. Temple, Bristol. Both names were slightly familiar to him and in some peculiar way, they both appeared to be sort of connected together.

The landlady came in the room with a large silver tea-tray in her hands and set it down on the low table in front of the sofa. “Come over here now, dear, and sit down beside me on the sofa and I’ll give you a nice cup of tea and a ginger biscuit before you go to bed.” She placed his teacup on the table in front of him.

Both of them started sipping their tea, neither of them spoke but Billy knew she was looking at him. Her body was half-turned towards him and he could feel her eyes resting on his face. Now and again, he caught a whiff of peculiar unpleasant smell that seemed to emanate directly from her person. Pickled walnuts? New leather? Or was it the corridors of a hospital? Hydrosulphuric acid for the taxidermy. The tea tasted faintly of bitter almonds and he didn’t much care for it.

“Mr. Mulholland and Mr. Temple never left. They’re still here on the third floor, both of them together. Mr. Mulholland was seventeen and his teeth weren’t quite so white. Mr. Temple was actually twenty-eight, though I wouldn’t have guessed it if he hadn’t told me. There wasn’t a blemish on his body. His skin was just like a baby’s,” told the landlady.

Billy later learnt that the parrot and the dachshund, little Basil, were preserved by the landlady herself, “That parrot had me completely fooled when I first saw it through the window from the street. I could have sworn it was alive.” He realized that these animals had all the time been silent and motionless. Billy complemented the landlady for her expertise in taxidermy, “Good gracious me, how absolutely fascinating!” he stared with deep admiration at the little woman beside him on the sofa.

As Billy questioned, “Excuse my asking, but haven’t there been any other guests here except Mr. Mulholland and Mr. Temple in the last two or three years?” The landlady gave Billy another gentle little smile and replied, “No, my dear. Only you.”

Conclusion: Billy Weaver wasn’t cautious and suspicious towards his surrounding. He was naïve and ignorant of what would harm his well-being in the middle of the unknown, isolated area. It had been considered that he didn’t care much because he was desperate to find shelter from the cold winter air. He had also been travelling in a train from London to Bath, thus, it was clear that he was in need of comfort and rest. The BED AND BREAKFAST seemed to offer that during his desperate moment.