H/W for Monday 23/1/12• Paragraph 1 - Introduction – must have 5

key points (see wall).

• Paragraph 2 – Summary – why did Fergal Keane write the letter. (way of coming to terms with grief and guilt)

• Paragraph 3 and 4 – analyse 1st section of letter (paragraphs 1-3). Point quote and comment on narrative voice, tone, setting, imagery and/or word choice

Paragraph 3 and 4

Have at least one point / quote / comment for each of the first 3 paragraphs

You could mention that Fergal Keane conveys his experience through a series of anecdotes and a personal narrative style. The letter can be divided into 3 sections which deals with 3 different stages of the relationship

This section must be at least 200 words. No more than 300 words.

Idea 1

This letter is extremely personal due to the first person narrative voice and the anecdotes that Keane shares in this text. The letter opens in the present tense in the family home. ‘I can hear your snores rattling down the stairs to our ruined sitting room.’ The present tense makes me feel as though I am there and experiencing this event. Moreover the setting is significant as a ‘sitting room’ has connotations of being safe. However, the use of the word ‘ruined’ is symbolic as not only is the room ruined but a family has been destroyed…

Idea 2

The letter opens in the family home days before Fergal Keane’s 12th birthday. It is Christmas and although associated with a pleasant time of year we discover that ‘among the broken chairs’ and ‘the overturned Christmas tree’ that the house represents the parents relationship – broken and destroyed. In the second paragraph we discover the cause of the break up as the father is ‘dead drunk’ and we realise through the metaphor ‘spinning in your own wild orbit into another year of dreams’ that Keane’s father is a deluded alcoholic. However, the tone is one of regret as the paragraph ends ‘Oh my actor father time was, time was we swallowed those lines but no longer’. The clever use of pun on the word ‘swallowed’ and the informal ‘Oh’ emphasises Keane’s disappointment that things have not worked out differently.