The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

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Darleen Holland
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1 1. Look at the caption on the cover (sheet 1). It says the book is A Gothic horror story of quite exceptional quality macabre, bizarre and quite impossible to put down. Financial Times a) Which words give a positive image of the text? b) Which words are designed to raise a potential reader s interest? c) What information does the quotation give the reader? d) Look at the information on the back cover of the book and make a list of all the similarities and differences between each review. Then, work with a small group to come up with a possible explanation for these differences. Do you think the publishers chose the right quotation for the front cover? Why? 2. Now look at the contents page. a) Does it give any insight into the content of the novel? From the chapter titles, can you guess what the book will be about? In your group, discuss the possible content of the book, and agree the most likely theory before presenting your ideas to the rest of the class. b) Do you think the words used in each title create a specific atmosphere for the content of the book? c) Find the semantic field which the chapter titles fall into. d) What expectations does this raise? e) Below are some examples of provocative lexis. Explain the function of these words. The first example has been done for you. Sacrifice is a concrete noun, but used as an adjective here. A descriptive word with connotations of death. Bomb Skull Can you add any more examples to the list? N.B. Meaning may also be cumulative, for example A bunch of flowers takes on connotations of death because of the semantic field of the other chapter headings. f) What effect is created by the use of repetition/parallel structures in the chapter titles? 3. Graphics and typography. a) Look at sheet two, which shows the cover of The Wasp Factory and other examples of Iain Banks book covers. What do you notice about: i. the use of black and white ii. the typeface selected for the novels iii. the abstract and geometrical images which have been used iv. visual images? Page 2 of 6

2 b) What effect do these choices have on a potential reader? Do you think they encourage people to read the books, or not? Give full reasons for your opinions. c) In your opinion, do the visual images complement the effect created by the title or detract from it? Explain why you have reached this conclusion. d) Why do you think the publishers have followed a similar format for each novel? e) The Wasp Factory is classified as gothic horror. What subject matter and lexis might a reader expect from this genre? 4. Reviews. a) Read through the reviews of the novel (sheets three and four) and divide them into positive or negative reactions. b) Explain your decisions, and whether any difficulties arose during the task. c) What kind of lexis is used in the positive reviews, and how does it persuade potential readers to read the book? d) Which review is most persuasive, and why? e) What kind of lexis is used in the negative reviews, and how does it deter potential readers? f) Which review is the most negative, and why? g) Both positive and negative reviews have been included by the publishers. Why do you think they have done this? How do negative reviews sometimes help to promote a book? Extension tasks 1. Apply the same analytical exercises to a text of your choice. Present your findings to the class. N.B. When choosing your text, it would be helpful if you selected one for which you have strong feelings/opinions, or where there has been some controversy. 2. Design a front cover, contents page, back cover and reviews for a text of your choice. Produce a commentary on your work. 3. Research the effects of negative reaction and censorship on art and literature. You may like to begin your research with Lady Chatterley s Lover (D.H. Lawrence) or Relax (Frankie Goes to Hollywood) Page 2 of 6

Sheet 1 The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks Contents 1 The Sacrifice Poles 7 2 The Snake Park 22 3 In the Bunker 43 4 The Bomb Circle 62 5 A Bunch of Flowers 87 6 The Skulls Grounds

3 Sheet 1 The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks Contents 1 The Sacrifice Poles 7 2 The Snake Park 22 3 In the Bunker 43 4 The Bomb Circle 62 5 A Bunch of Flowers 87 6 The Skulls Grounds Space Invaders The Wasp Factory What Happened to Eric Running Dog The Prodigal What Happened to Me Page 3 of 6

Sheet 2 The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks Enter if you can

sixteen, and unconventional, to say the least.

brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental

after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or

I haven t killed anybody for years, and don t intend to

A mighty imagination has arrived on the scene Mail on

author s imagination; his brilliant dialogue, his cruel

Weirdly talented Daily Express A brilliant book, barmy

ABACUS Factory is a first novel not only of tremendous

4 Sheet 2 The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks Enter if you can bear it the extraordinary private world of Frank, just sixteen, and unconventional, to say the least. Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I d disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim. That s my score to date. Three. I haven t killed anybody for years, and don t intend to ever again. It was just a stage I was going through. A mighty imagination has arrived on the scene Mail on Sunday There s no denying the bizarre fertility of the author s imagination; his brilliant dialogue, his cruel humour Irish Times Read it if you dare. Weirdly talented Daily Express A brilliant book, barmy and barnacled with the grotesque New Statesman The Wasp ABACUS Factory is a first novel not only of tremendous promise, but also of achievement, a minor masterpiece Punch Page 4 of 6

5 Sheet 3 The Wasp Factory is a first novel not only of tremendous promise, but also of achievement, a minor masterpiece perhaps. There is no label. It is an obsessive novel, a bad dream of a book. Death and blood and gore fill the pages, lightened only by the dark humour, the surreal touches, and the poetry of the thing. There is something foreign and nasty here, an amazing new talent. Punch It is a sick, sick world when the confidence and investment of an astute firm of publishers is justified by a work of unparalleled depravity. There is no denying the bizarre fertility of the author s imagination: his brilliant dialogue, his cruel humour, his repellent inventiveness. The majority of literate public, however, will be relieved that only reviewers are obliged to look at any of it. Irish Times A first novel of such curdling power and originality that whether you like it or not and you may hate it the arrival of its author Iain Banks must mark the literary debut of the year. It s astonishing, unsettling and brilliantly written. Cosmopolitan As a piece of writing, The Wasp Factory soars to the level of mediocrity. Maybe the crassly explicit language, the obscenity of the plot, were thought to strike an agreeably avant-garde note. Perhaps it is all a joke, meant to fool literary London into respect for rubbish. The Times Iain Banks has written one of the most brilliant first novels I have come across for some time. His study of an obsessive personality is extraordinary, written with a clarity and attention to detail that is most impressive. One can only admire a truly remarkable novel. Daily Telegraph A silly, gloatingly sadistic and grisly yarn of a family of Scots lunatics, one of whom tortures small creatures a bit better written than most horror hokum but really just the literary equivalent of a video nasty. Sunday Express No masterpiece and one of the most disagreeable pieces of reading that has come my way in quite a while, but scoring high for pace, narrative control and sheer nasty inventiveness. Iain Banks must be given credit for a polished debut. Enjoy it I did not. Sunday Telegraph Page 6 of 6

6 Sheet 4 What of this bloodstained tome? Is it loathsome? Certainly, it contains a more extensive and detailed catalogue of carnage than even the average horror novel. There is much torture, a lot of killing, a lot of slavering foulness. Yet the book is in no sense either corrupting or remotely pornographic. For one thing there is a note of manic utterly over-the-top humour about even the worst of the violence that effectively robs it of its power to sicken. You can t laugh and throw up at the same time. Secondly, it could not be said that the violence is casual or unnecessary. But there is nothing to force you, having been warned, to read it; nor do I recommend it. The Scotsman The surest way to make an impact with a first novel, if not the most satisfactory, is to deal in extremes of oddity and unpleasantness: so in The Wasp Factory, we have some ghoulish frivolity and a good deal of preposterous sadism. Unfortunately the novelist s satiric intention is overwhelmed by his relish for exorbitant brutalities. A literary equivalent of the nastiest brand of juvenile delinquency: inflicting outrages on animals. TLS If a nastier, more viscous or distasteful novel appears this spring, I shall be surprised. But there is unlikely to be a better one either. You can hardly breathe for fear of missing a symbol, or a fine phrase, or a horror so chilling that your hair stands on end. Infinitely painful to read, grotesque but human, these pages have a total reality rare in fiction. A mighty imagination has arrived on the scene. Mail on Sunday A repulsive piece of work and will therefore be widely admired. Piles horror upon horror in a way that is certain to satisfy those readers who subscribe to the currently fashionable notion that Man is vile. Evening Standard Any resumé is bound to read like a cross between Charles Addams and the d.t.s, but there s a potential here when the author has starved and wormed it. Observer If you are squeamish or easily frightened, then leave The Wasp Factory severely alone. The novel is saved from sheer beastliness by its black humour and its message. Read it if you dare. Daily Express A Gothic horror story of quite exceptional quality. It is macabre, bizarre and impossible to put down. There is a control and assurance in the book, an originality rare in established writers twice the author s age. This is an outstandingly good read. The Financial Times Page 6 of 6

List four things about Alfred from this part of the Source. [4 marks]

5 MARK SCHEME KS3 ENGLISH LANGUAGE PAPER 1 Section A: Reading 0 1 Read again the first part of the Source from lines 1 to 6. List four things about Alfred from this part of the Source. [4 marks] Give 1