Post-reading:
1. Discuss the following questions with a partner:
a. Who are the people the reader is introduced to in this extract? Make a list and write down what you find out about them only from this extract.
b. What impression does Nick give of the situation? Give evidence from the text to support your answer.
c. Look at the map and from it, say what the ‘courtesy bay’ refers to, and why Nick calls it this.
d. Apart from Nick’s factual description of Gatsby’s house, what attitude does he have about it and its owner? How do you know?
2. What does this beginning suggest will be the conflict in the story?
3. What kind of person is Nick and will he be a good person to narrate the story?
Your teacher will ask for feedback from the class and go through the questions and answers with you.
Review of Cycle 2
You can use this self-assessment checklist to review what you have learnt.
| When listening and speaking I can | |
| Discuss questions with a partner | |
| Participate in a group discussion | |
| When reading and viewing I can understand | |
| Maps and photos | |
| An informative text | |
| A poem | |
| Extracts from a novel | |
| I can write | |
| Using the writing process | |
| Answers to questions | |
| Introductions and conclusions | |
| A paragraph | |
| A descriptive/expository/argumentative essay |
Introduction
Many different kinds of people become famous and are regarded as influential figures in history: politicians, explorers, inventors, and also writers, composers and artists. Often, they have made a difference and that is why they are famous. You will read about some of them in this cycle.
You will listen to a film review about a famous book which was adapted as a film, read biographical articles about a famous archbishop, a South African composer and a novelist. You will read a sonnet by Shakespeare, also a historical figure, as well as a short story and a review of a well-known novel. You will write your own biographical sketch of a famous person, and a review of a book.
A listening exercise
Pre-reading:
When you know what you are going to be listening to, your mind searches for certain facts as you listen. This helps you listen well. In the activity below, the text you will listen to is a review of the film version of Othello. Listen for the main points: who are the characters played by, what is the reviewer’s opinion of the movie? What other information is given? Most people read such a review to see whether the film is worth going to see. You can decide this too, when you have heard the review. Remember that the reviewer’s opinion is personal. Another reviewer might say something different. Focus on the elements of a review during reading.
Activity 3.1 - Listening for comprehension (individual and pair)
Listen as your teacher reads the review of the film to you. You can make notes as you listen.
A film review
OTHELLO (1995)
Rating (%): 79
Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Irene Jacob, Kenneth Branagh, Nathaniel Parker, Michael Maloney
Director: Oliver Parker
To condense Othello into a reasonable, two-hour running time, writer/director Oliver Parker has lopped approximately 50% of Shakespeare’s original text from the screenplay. Yet, even with so much gone, the movie remains faithful to the play’s central themes and conflicts, and the streamlined narrative is surprisingly easy to follow (well, as ‘easy’ as anything written by Shakespeare can be). For sheer impact, this Othello can stand side-by-side with the versions brought to the screen by Orson Welles (as restored in 1992) and Lawrence Olivier.
Laurence Fishburne plays the Moor, Othello, a gifted general who is commissioned to confront a Turkish army at Cyprus. Always by Othello’s side are his two right-hand men: Cassio (Nathaniel Parker) and Iago (Kenneth Branagh). However, for reasons that are never fully explained, Iago is not the faithful retainer Othello believes him to be. In fact, hatred bubbles just beneath Iago’s cool, rational exterior, and he has put a plan into action by which he intends to cause Othello’s downfall and shatter the relationship between the Moor and his devoted wife, Desdemona (Irene Jacob).
Othello’s ‘tragic flaw’ is his jealousy, and it is this quality that Iago exploits with his complex scheme. Much of the audience’s ability to identify with the characters is dependent upon the trio of central performances that grace Othello. It’s an entirely different experience to read the play or see a live performance than it is to view a cinematic rendition. The visual aspects of Parker’s production are especially noteworthy. Othello is dark, and makes creative use of light and shadow as only a motion picture can.
Laurence Fishburne, a black actor playing the black title role (in some of his various other film incarnations, Othello has been essayed by the likes of Orson Welles, Lawrence Olivier, and Anthony Hopkins – none of whom are black), gives a stirring and powerful interpretation of a man haunted by uncertainty about his wife’s faithfulness. Irene Jacob imbues Desdemona with far more vitality than she has had in any other movie version. Kenneth Branagh makes Iago a chillingly rational character whose acerbic asides to the camera draw the viewer into his plot, almost as an accomplice.
Certain Shakespeare purists will probably dismiss Parker’s Othello because of its sex scenes and liberal cuts. Such a reaction might be a mistake, however, since this director’s view of Othello’s tragedy has an unusual slant. Parker is careful to play up the love affair between the title character and his wife so that when the inevitable occurs, it has a more profound impact. When Othello declares, ‘My life upon [Desdemona’s] faith’, you believe him.
With this version of Othello, Parker wanted to create a Shakespearean film that anyone could see, relate to, and enjoy – a degree in English literature not being required. In many ways he has accomplished this. Othello has never been my favourite of the Bard’s plays, but, at times, I found myself engrossed by this adaptation. Using the visual aspects of film to enhance certain story elements, Parker has crafted a fine motion picture.
[Adapted from James Berardinelli, used with permission]
Post-reading:
1.Discuss the following questions with your partner.
a. What is different about this version, in terms of characters, to previous versions?
b. Does the reviewer tell the whole story of the play? Why or why not?
c. What is the reviewer’s view of the film and what are the grounds for his view?
2. Make a list of the elements of a review as shown in this example.
Your teacher will read through the review a second time so that you can