AO4: - Base Therapy (1-4) Evaluate texts critically and support with appropriate textual references Read the source text lines 1-34 about a woman who goes into a jeweller s shop. A present for a Good Girl Nadine Gordimer On an afternoon in September a woman came into the jeweller s shop. The assistants, whose bodies had contrived, as human bodies doggedly will, to adapt the straight, hard stretch of the glass showcases to a support, sagged, hips thrust forward, elbows leaning in upon their black crepe- de-chine covered stomachs, and looked at her without a flicker, waiting for her to go. For they could see that she did not belong there. No woman in a frayed and shapeless old Leghorn hat, carrying a bulging crash shopping-bag, decorated in church bazaar fashion with wool embroidery, and wearing stained old sandshoes and cheap thick pink stockings that concertinaed round her ankles, could belong in the jeweller s shop. They knew the kind; simple, a bit dazed, short-sighted, and had wandered in mistaking it for the chemist s two doors up. She would peer round stupidly, looking as if she had stumbled into Aladdin s cave, and when she saw the handsome canteens of cutlery, with their beautifully arranged knives spread like a flashing keyboard in their velvet beds, and the watches in their satin cases, and cool, watery preening of the cut glass beneath its special light, she would mumble and shamble herself out again. So they stood, unmoved, waiting for her to go. But, uncomfortably, she didn t go. She advanced right in, half defiantly, half ingratiatingly she gave a little sniff to herself as if to say: Come on, now! Well, why shouldn t I and put the shopping-bag down on the counter. Then she gave the hat a pull, and stood waiting, not looking at the young ladies. But still they did not move. Their half closed eyes rested with faint interest upon the crash shopping-bag, as upon some fossil discovery. The third assistant, who was sitting at the table threading wedding rings in order on a velvet rod, pushed the rings aside and got up, thinking, with as much crossness as lethargy could muster, Well, someone must see what the old creature wants. Yes? she said. It was already in the woman s mouth; as a child comes threshing up out of water with bulging cheeks, and lets out all its mouthful of breathlessness and enthusiasm in one great gasp, she said: Good afternoon, miss, there s a green bag in the window, miss in the corner, right down near the front. I want to get one for my daughter, she s always talking about a green one - and I wondered, you see, it s really only for Christmas, but I thought and her pupils, that seemed to swim like weak small fish in the colourless wetness of her eyes with their underlids drooping down in a reddish peak, darted wildly. Like a beggar exhibiting valuable sores, she smiled on a mouth of gaps and teeth worn like splinters of driftwood. You want the green handbag in the window? asserted the assistant, looking up, then down. 1
Give straightforward opinions and make straightforward judgements. Support your ideas with simple reference(s). Task 1 Understanding the statement Read the statement written in italics below. How many parts are there to the statement? Highlight the different parts in different colours Underline key words in the statement A student, having read the extract, said that they thought the shop assistants were extremely unpleasant. The reader feels sympathy for the customer. Task 2 Understanding the question A student, having read the extract, said that they thought the shop assistants were extremely unpleasant. The reader feels sympathy for the customer. To what extent do you agree? In your response you could: write about your own impressions of the characters evaluate how the writer has created these impressions support your opinions with quotations from the text. To what extent means how far do you agree with the statement? To decide this, you will need to read and understand the source. It is usually easier to agree with the statement. Select some quotations from the list below that show agreement with both parts of the statement. Or choose your own by highlighting the source. 2
The assistants sagged They looked at the woman without a flicker, waiting for her to go The assistants could see she did not belong there No woman in a frayed and shapeless old Leghorn hat, carrying a bulging crash shopping-bag, decorated in church bazaar fashion with wool embroidery, and wearing stained old sandshoes and cheap thick pink stockings that concertinaed round her ankles, could belong in the jeweller s shop. They knew her kind; simple, a bit dazed, short-sighted, and had wandered in mistaking it for the chemist s two doors up. She would peer around stupidly She would mumble and shamble herself out again The assistants stood, unmoved, waiting for her to go The customer advanced right in, half defiantly, half ingratiatingly The customer gave a little sniff to herself to say: Come on, now! Well, why shouldn t I - Their [the shop assistants ] half closed eyes rested with faint interest upon the crash shopping-bag, as upon some fossil discovery. A third assistant thinking with as much crossness as lethargy could muster, Well someone must see what the old creature wants. Like a beggar exhibiting valuable sores, she smiled on a mouth of gaps and teeth worn like splinters of driftwood. Commented [d1]: 3
Task 3 Making a judgement How many quotations have you found that agree with part one of the statement? How many quotations have you found that agree with part two of the statement? You should now be able to decide to what extent you agree with each part of the statement. Try to finish the paragraph below, stating your judgement about the statement. Use the words in the statement to help you: For example: I agree with the student. There is a lot of evidence in the text to show. I also agree that the reader would feel Support your ideas with simple reference(s) Make simple comments about the author s methods You now need to use quotations to support the judgements you have made. Go back to your highlighted quotations. You have probably highlighted more quotations than you can use in the time you ve got to answer the question. When selecting your quotations, remember that the other skill you have to show is a clear understanding of the author s methods. Remember: Choose quotations that you understand. Choose the clearest quotations to support your view. Choose quotations that allow you to talk about methods. 4
Task 4 Annotate the quotations below (or choose your own if you prefer) to show that you understand the author s methods. Use the first one to support the first part of the statement and the second one to support the second part of the statement. Focus upon the effect of specific words and phrases. An example has been done for you. Example: verb thrust forceful confidence verb sagged unattractive posture slumped lazy The shop assistants were extremely unpleasant sagged, hips thrust forward, elbows leaning upon their black crepe-de-chine-covered stomachs verb leaning lazy 5
Noun Adjectives The shop assistants were extremely unpleasant. They They knew the kind; simple, a bit dazed, short-sighted, Adjectives highlight. Adjectives highlight. The reader feels sympathy for the customer because she seems to be rather poor. List emphasises No woman in a frayed and shapeless old Leghorn hat, carrying a bulging crash shopping-bag, decorated in church bazaar fashion with wool embroidery, and wearing stained old sandshoes and cheap thick pink stockings that concertinaed round her ankles, could belong in the jeweller s shop. Adjectives highlight. Statement - No woman could belong in a jeweller s shop 6
Task 5 Writing an evaluative response to the statement Using the paragraph below or your own, you now need to prove what you have said. Remember, the question asked to what extent do you agree? The phrases below might help you to show that you strongly agree with the statement. Can you think of any more? List them below. Clearly Obviously There is little doubt that It is without question that Write two paragraphs responding to both parts of the statement. Use your annotated quotations. A student, having read the extract, said that they thought the shop assistants were extremely unpleasant. The reader feels sympathy for the customer. Example I agree with the student. There is clearly a lot of evidence to show that the shop assistants are extremely unpleasant. I also totally agree that the reader would feel sympathy for the customer. For example, the writer tells us that the assistants looked at the customer without a flicker. This metaphor shows that they are ignoring the customer. The fact that they are waiting for her to go suggests that they see her as an inconvenience. This, in turn, makes the reader feel a lot of sympathy for the customer because she is being poorly treated. Underline the words and phrases that show the extent to which you agree with the statement Task 6 Evaluate clearly the impact upon the reader Nearly there! 7
Once you have written your paragraphs, think about the last skill that is assessed the impact upon the reader. Has the writer been successful in convincing the reader that the shop assistants are unpleasant and that the customer deserves the reader s sympathy? Thinking about the quotations you have just analysed, consider what the writer was trying to make the reader understand, think or feel about the characters. Did the writer s chosen methods allow this to happen? Add a few sentences to the paragraphs you have written explaining what you consider to be the impact upon the reader. For example Example I agree with the student, there is a lot of evidence to show that the shop assistants are extremely unpleasant. I also agree that the reader would feel sympathy for the customer. The writer tells us that the assistants looked at the customer without a flicker. This metaphor shows that they are ignoring the customer. The fact that they are waiting for her to go suggests that they see her as an inconvenience. This, in turn, makes the reader feel sympathy for the customer because she is being poorly treated. Commissioned by The PiXL Club Ltd. This resource is strictly for the use of member schools for as long as they remain members of The PiXL Club. It may not be copied, sold, nor transferred to a third party or used by the school after membership ceases. Until such time it may be freely used within the member school. All opinions and contributions are those of the authors. The contents of this resource are not connected with, nor endorsed by, any other company, organisation or institution. PiXL Club Ltd endeavour to trace and contact copyright owners. If there are any inadvertent omissions or errors in the acknowledgements or usage, this is unintended and PiXL will remedy these on written notification. 8