by Vernon Scannell
They did not expect this. Being neither wise nor brave
And wearing only the beauty of youth's season
They took the first turning quite unquestioningly
And walked quickly without looking back even once.
It was of course the wrong turning. First they were nagged
By a small wind that tugged at their clothing like a dog;
Then the rain began and there was no shelter anywhere,
Only the street and the rows of houses stern as soldiers.
Though the blood chilled, the endearing word burnt the tongue.
There were no parks or gardens or public houses:
Midnight settled and the rain paused leaving the city
Enormous and still like a great sleeping seal.
At last they found accommodation in a cold
Furnished room where they quickly learnt to believe in ghosts;
They had their hope stuffed and put on the mantelpiece
But found, after a while, that they did not notice it.
While she spends many hours looking in the bottoms of teacups
He reads much about association football
And waits for the marvellous envelope to fall:
Their eyes are strangers and they rarely speak.
They did not expect this.
How are the figurative language used in the poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?
1) By a small wind that tugged at their clothing like a dog
The poet used both personification and simile to describe the wind. These expressions showed that the wind was disturbing the travelers by 'tugging'.
2) Only the street and the rows of houses stern as soldiers.
Simile is used here by the poet to show that the travelers are strangers to the area, seeing the houses as 'stern soldiers'.
3) Midnight settled and the rain paused leaving the city
Personification is used here to show that midnight has come and the rain has stopped.
4) Furnished room where they quickly learnt to believe in ghosts.
Symbolism is used here to show that the room the travelers' room were uncomfortable and tend to give them an uneasiness.
5) Their eyes are strangers and they rarely speak.
Metaphor and symbolism is used here by the poet. Both of these devices show that the travelers were unhappy with their current situation.
Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words.
I like this poem because it shows a the difficulty of some people leading a life. The poem starts with a couple arriving at a foreign city. Their arrival was not a good one as it was raining and makes it hard to move around in an unfamiliar place. They only found a place to stay at after the rain has stopped. Even so, the place that they found was not comfortable. I also believe that they were in financial trouble and the 'marvellous envelope' could be their salary. The financial problem could also well be the reason for them ignoring each other.
I like this poem because it shows a the difficulty of some people leading a life. The poem starts with a couple arriving at a foreign city. Their arrival was not a good one as it was raining and makes it hard to move around in an unfamiliar place. They only found a place to stay at after the rain has stopped. Even so, the place that they found was not comfortable. I also believe that they were in financial trouble and the 'marvellous envelope' could be their salary. The financial problem could also well be the reason for them ignoring each other.
(103 words)
They Did Not Expect This
The Book that Made an Impact in My Parents' Lives
Once, I asked my mother about the book that impacted her the most. After thinking for a while, she said she once read a book about a Taiwanese boy when she was in primary school. The book was written based on a true story and it was very touching. The title of the book 汪洋中的一条船, or 'He Never Gives Up'.
This book tells of a young boy in Taiwan. When this boy was born, his had crippled legs. As his family was poor, they thought of abandoning him as he was a great burden. However, his mother banished the idea and continued to raise him up.
Because of this physical disability, he cannot walk or run. Everyday, he crawls to school from his home. Even though it was very difficult, he continued to go to school. Sometimes, his friends carried him around on their backs. He moved around like this until he graduated university.
Besides having a hard time in his school years, he had to cope with the pressure of working and adapt to adult life. Because of his determined and hardworking attitude, he finally succeeded and earned a lot of money. He also got married and had a family.
My mother said that she learnt a lot of values from this book. It can also teach us how to face problems and never give up. A movie was also made based on this book and was screened in 1979.
My favourite character in Village by the Sea
My favourite character in Village by the Sea is of course Hari, the main character of the story. I like how he wields the responsibility to support his family. He stopped going to school just to work in the farm and do other jobs to earn a living for his family.
After failing to earn money in Thul, he even went to Bombay himself to find work there. He was also determined to save as much money as possible by not spending his hard-earned money. Besides working hard, he also has a keen interest in learning new skills.
He met an old watchmender who taught him the skills of watchmending. Within a short time, he has mastered the skill and started earning money throught watchmending. Hari was also a kind-hearted person. When he heard of Mr. Panwallah, the watchmender, being sick, he was very worried over him. He took an afternoon off and went to visit the old watchmender.
As can be seen throughout the whole story, he also rarely fights or argues with anybody. He is very independent and hardworking. This is why he is my favourite character in Village by the Sea.
Village by the Sea
During the first few weeks of English lessons, our LA teacher told us to buy a few novels required for our classes. It was then that I first laid my hands on this novel 'Village by the Sea' by Anita Desai. I liked the cover art. It depicted a village in India, which I have never seen before.
As the Term 2 Literature exam nears, I started to read it. It tells of a young boy named Hari, whose father and mother were both incapable of supporting the family due to various reasons. The problem of the dysfunctional family was worsened as Hari's father was violent due to excessive drinking. Besides affecting his health, Hari's father also incurred great debts.
As Hari becomes more confused and angry by the situation, he finally ran off to Bombay in search of jobs and to run away from the unhappy problems at home. In Bombay, he found a job and worked very hard. He also never spent any of his hard-earned money, instead saving them to bring it home. Besides working at a restaurant, he also learned the skill of watchmending. After some time, he finally went back to his home and started a new life. His father was roused from this drinking stupor and apologised for his actions. Hari's mother was also cured after staying in hospital.
The part that I like most in this story was Hari's stay in Bombay. Besides the interesting storyline and turn of events, this part teaches the readers a lot of moral values. Hari's determination to save as much money as he can without himself spending it is a good example. We should all save money and resources and appreciate what we have. Imagine people living in poverty who do not have sufficient food everyday, while we throw our food down the drain just simply because we cannot finish it. Hari is also an independent and hardworking boy, being able to adapt himself to the hard life while working in Bombay.
I recommend this book to readers of any age. This book certainly tells us a lot about industrialization with its effects and also poverty.
England 6-0 Andorra
A routine win for England.. 6-0. Hopefully they will do well after qualifying for FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Their perfect qualification of 7 wins in 7 games really makes people optimistic.
The scorers of the match are as follow:
- Rooney 4
- Lampard 29
- Rooney 39
- Defoe 73
- Defoe 75
- Crouch 80
Rich Real Madrid and Red Crisis
A few days ago, Real Madrid sealed a transfer that shocked the world (at least me). They managed to buy Brazilian international Kaka from AC Milan for £56 million. It was hard to believe. Why did AC Milan sell their playmaker?
As if that was not enough, a few hours ago, I learnt the news that Real Madrid (again) bought Manchester United midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo for £80 million, which would make Ronaldo the most expensive player in football history.
Just within one week, Real Madrid bought 2 players and it cost them around £136 million!!! Wow... Imagine that amount of money, what could you do with it?
With Real Madrid spending big, Liverpool instead are having some troubles. Rafa Benitez has said that he would not walk out on Liverpool during this times, and with financial problems, cannot buy top-flight players. Hopefully the problems can be solved and Liverpool can win the Premier League next season. :)
IMU Course
Without me knowing, my sisters registered me for a Student Exploratory Workshop at IMU (International Medical University). The workshop lasted for 2 days. It was a chance to learn a lot of new things, particularly in the medical field.
There were 17 participants in the workshop. Besides me, the rest of the participants were at least 15 years of age, some even waiting for universities to accept them! Imagine how scary it was when I first arrived there... Even so, it was fun attending the workshop with them.
The lecturers/professors there talked a lot about career prospectives and what they do in their field. I don't like the career part. It was not suitable for me. The field that most interested me was medical bioscience. But then, the researcher kept on talking about his experiences and giving advices, we all ended up with sore legs standing for over an hour.
Overall, I think the camp was not a waste of time (money probably, it cost RM150). Hopefully in the future there will be similar camps (with reduced cost, of course). I really advise any of you to join this kind of workshops. You most probably won't fall asleep (some do, however).
