Short Story - QWERTYUIOP by Vivien Alcock (Worksheet)

Sequence Me!

Short Story - QWERTYUIOP by Vivien Alcock

Characters

 There are 6 characters in the Short Story QWERTYUIOP... this entry will be the notes and a little bit about the characteristics of each and every characters in QWERTYUIOP! (^_^).

Short Story - QWERTYUIOP by Vivien Alcock

THEMES AND MORAL VALUES.

1.             THEMES :

A)   The Struggle for Survival : Lucy would not give up her position as the secretary and struggles to overcome the problems she faces with the electric typewriter.

B)   Understanding  other people’s problems : Mr. Darke shows his understanding of the problem Lucy is facing and supports her by praising her bravery and providing her with a big bottle of correction fluid she would need to complete typing her letters.

C)   Compassion for other people : Lucy recognizes the feelings faced by Miss Broome and her Uncle Bert and shows her understanding and compassion towards them. Because of this Lucy manages to overcome the problems she has with both of them.

2.             MORAL VALUES :

A)   Be kind to others especially to those less fortunate : Lucy is both kind and sympathetic towards the ghost of Miss Broome and her Uncle Bert. She realizes that both these people feel rejected and lonely. Lucy shows her kindness by showing the ghost of Miss Broome that the reason why the company gave her a retirement is because they worry about her health.

She also gives assurance to Uncle Bert that she and her mother want him to live with them as part of their family.

B)   Work hard to gain success : Lucy is determine to be successful in her new job. Even though the ghost of Miss Broome interrupts her typing, she continues to type the letters although she has to stop regularly to correct the mistakes. In the end Lucy manages to complete a small number of letters which she leaves on Mr. Ross’s table.

C)   Be strong when faced by problems : Even though Lucy faces problems from the ghost of Miss Broome, she still remains strong. Even after realizing that she was fighting a ghost she decided to continue fighting and not let the ghost scares her away.

QWERTYUIOP - The Plot & Worksheet

As I had posted the plot on QWERTYUIOP for the previous entry, so this post will actually explain to you guys about the significant of plot... (^_^)~ there will be a fancy note or worksheet for you guys to fill it up and have it as a portable examination notes!

Remember! Right click and save on the christmas tree for printed version and fill it up guys!

Short Story - QWERTYUIOP by Vivien Alcock

        QWERTYUIOP      (Synopsis)

          ‘QWERTYUIOP’ by Vivien Alcock is about a young graduate, Lucy Beck who has just finished her ‘O’ levels at Belmont Secretarial College. Being a slow typist, her principal has no confidence that she will find a job.

            Fortunately, she is offered a job by Mr. Ross, the Manager of Ross and Bannister’s. On her first day in office, as she sets down to work, she encounters peculiar incidents . Later, she  discovers the ghost of Miss Broome, a previous long-time secretary, who now haunts her typewriter.

            Towards the end of the story, Lucy gets rid of the spirit, which is adamant in holding on to her position as the company’s secretary. She communicates with ‘Miss Broome’ through the typewriter and suggests that Mr. Bannister who has  passed away needs her service ‘up there’ and bids her farewell.

1.  The plot in the story comprises of the following :

A) EXPOSITION :

       The main character Lucy Beck is introduced as an underachiever that even her principal of Belmont Secretarial College Mrs. Price has low expectations of her. Even her mother is shocked when Lucy gets the job as a secretary.

            Lucy finds trouble typing her first letter as the typewriter keeps typing the wrong word  ‘     

            QWERTYUIOP ‘ which is the top line of letters on the keyboard of a typewriter.

B) RISING ACTION :

          She uses liquid paper to erase the mistakes but the typewriter keeps typing the words of    

          warning that is meant to scare Lucy away like the other new secretaries before her. 

          Lucy remembers bits and pieces of the warning given by the janitor Harry Darke. When she    

          realizes that she is dealing with the supernatural, Lucy gets up and runs to the door

          However, she soon realizes that she needs to face up to her fears as she does not want to  

          continue living life as a poor person. She then goes back to her table to complete the letter.

     C) CLIMAX :

    The ghost of Miss Broome becomes angry when Lucy is adamant in staying as the new secretary. The ghost then rocks the electric typewriter making it scream and shake, snapping the keys of the machine like castanets.

      Lucy ‘ fights ’ with the machine for a whole hour as she continuously attacks it using lots of correcting fluid. She tries to erase all the mistakes that the typewriter has produced.

   D) FALLING ACTION :

     Lucy’s letters that she manages to type out are accepted and signed by Mr. Ross. The next morning, Mr. Darke tells Lucy everything about the late Miss Broome. Lucy recognizes Miss Broome’s loneliness and desperate need to belong. She feels sympathetic towards Miss Broome who according to Mr. Darke, has no family that would own her.

      The revelation of the feeling of loneliness and being unwanted leads her to understand Uncle Bert better. She realizes that he too is feeling lonesome and unwanted.

    E) RESOLUTION :

      Lucy calls a truce with Miss Broome when she shows her some kindness and com passion. Lucy tells her that Mr. Banister her boss truly values her and still needs her now that he has also passed on.

       Lucy types a goodbye note for Miss Broome. Mr. Ross becomes very happy with Lucy’s work and Mr. Darke respects Lucy for her bravery in facing up to the ghost of Miss Broome.

Short Story - QWERTYUIOP (Vivien Alcock)

       Vivien Alcock (1924 – 2003) was an author of childrens’ books. Born in Worthing, West Sussex, in England, her family moved to Devizes in Wiltshire when she was aged 10. She then studied at the Oxford School of Arts.

       She was married to author Leon Garfield, with whom she adopted a daughter, named Jane after Jane Austen. They met during World War II, when Vivien was an ambulance driver. Her first book was The Haunting of Cassie Palmer which was followed by The Monster Garden and others.

(From Wikipedia.org)

QWERTY KEYBOARD?

       Invented by Christopher Latham Sholes in 1875

       Name derived from the first six letters in the second row on English language computer and typewriter keyboards.

       He actually rearranged the typewriter keyboard so that the commonest letters were not so close together (from alphabetical order to qwerty!) .Thus they would not clash together and jam the machine.

In The Midst of Hardship - Worksheets

After we've gone through with the poem 'In The Midst of Hardship' ... It's time for exercises!!

Remember ...you can either right click and save or you can answer it in the comment section... I will help you to correct and check on your work. (^_^)~

Things that you need to know about....

In the Midst of Hardship

is a poem that reminds us that life has its ups and downs.

People are faced with great difficulties during natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes.

They encounter hardship, pain and even death.

However, the natural disaster will eventually subside. Life will go on.

Instead of lamenting over the painful experience, the villagers in this poem choose to be grateful to be alive.

They still have their home and each other.

Life will go on, they will get over the hardship together and resume their lives.

Literal and Figurative Meaning.

Setting

           

Theme

                                           


                                        Lesson Learnt         

                                                   

The Poem - In The Midst of Hardship (Latiff Mohidin)

At dawn they returned home

their soaky clothes torn

and approached the stove

their limbs marked by scratches

their legs full of wounds

but on their brows

There was not a sign of despair

the whole day and night just passed

they had to brave the horrendous flood

in the water all the time

between bloated carcasses

and tiny chips of tree barks

desperately looking for their son’s

albino buffalo that was never found

They were born amidst hardship

and grew up without a sigh or a complaint

now they are in the kitchen, making

jokes while rolling their cigarette leaves




For your information this poem was translated from Bahasa Malaysia and this is the Bahasa version! 

Dalam Bencana

       Mereka pulang ke rumah
waktu subuh hari
dengan pakaian robek basah
menghampiri api tungku
lengan mereka penuh calar
kaki mereka penuh luka
tapi di kening mereka
tidak kelihatan rasa kecewa

       Sehari semalaman
mereka mengharungi banjir
berendam antara bangkai ternakan
dan serpihan kulit tumbuhan
kerbau balar si buyung
masih belum ditemui.

       Mereka dilahirkan dalam bencana
tidak ada keluhan dan kutukan
kini mereka berjenaka di dapur
sambil menggulung rokok daun.

1978

In The Midst of Hardship - Latiff Mohidin (The Poet's Background)

Form 4 poem.

Before we go in depth with the poem 'In The Midst of Hardship' we should know the poet background first!

 Born in 1941 in Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan.

A charismatic and multi-talented person, being an accomplished artist, poet, writer and thinker.

 His first art exhibition was at the age of 10 in Singapore.

 He earned the titles of ‘boy wonder’ and ‘the magical boy with gift in his hands.’

Latiff studied art in Berlin, Germany, as well as in France and America.

 He began publishing his poems in the 1960s.

He captures the feelings elicited by natural environment in his art and poetry.

 Latiff’s sensitivity to lines, shapes and colours is evident in both his art and poetry.

Held numerous exhibitions locally and abroad and has received numerous awards, both in Asia and Europe.

His most recent written work is an anthology Sajak – Sajak Lengkap (1963-1994).

His most recent artistic work, Latiff Mohidin: Journey to the Wetlands and Beyond is a detailed study of his drawing.

Things that you need to know about.... (Worksheet 2 & 3)

He Had Such Quiet Eyes...

The Poem - He Had Such Quiet Eyes. (Worksheet)

He had such quiet eyes

She did not realise

They were two pools of lies

Layered with thinnest ice

To her, those quiet eyes

Were breathing desolate sighs

Imploring her to be nice

And to render him paradise

If only she’d been wise

And had listened to the advice

Never to compromise

With pleasure-seeking guys

She’d be free from “the hows and whys”

Now here’s a bit of advice

Be sure that nice really means nice

Then you’ll never be losing at dice

Though you may lose your heart once or twice

To give a clear explanation and help you guys to understand, you can now learn it with Poetry in Illustration!

He Had Such Quiet Eyes - Bibsy Soenharjo (The Poet's Background)

Form 4 poem.

Before we go in depth with the poem 'He Had Such Quiet Eyes' we should know the poet background first!

ž                 Bibsy Soenharjo was born in Jakarta on 22 November 1928. Bibsy and her siblings were homeschooled and each was encouraged to pursue their own interests. She had a particular fondness for literature and, after returning home from a four-year stay in Japan, Bibsy began writing her first prose in 1957, and then poetry in the 60s.

ž               The Literary Review, an international quarterly published by Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, USA, published her first four literary pieces in their Autumn and Spring Editions in 1967 and 1968 respectively. In 1967 also, her poem, “Jakarta, March 1967” was published in the Australian magazine Hemisphere, while ”Setelah Gerhana Bulan” (After the Eclipse of the Moon) was published in Gelanggang, an Indonesian cultural magazine now defunct.

ž                 Her poems have appeared in bilingual anthologies, with her Indonesian works translated into English, Dutch and Japanese and her English poems into Indonesian and Dutch. She continued to write prose pieces in Indonesian that appeared in Jakarta dailies under the pen name Nuspati. Bibsy Soenharjo now lives in Jakarta with the youngest of her three sons, Haryo, his wife Sutji and their children.

Introduction to Poem

Poem:
Creative work through the use of words arranged in a particular format or style. The words are arranged in lines or in stanzas.

There are many aspects to study in a poem. Let’s look at three important aspects:

1. Subject
2. Theme
3. Tone of a poem

Understanding the Art of Poem.

The poet writes a poem on a SUBJECT to express his or her ideas, feelings or to discuss an issue. The THEME is the main idea the poet highlights or conveys to the readers. The TONE of the poem indicates the feelings or moods of the persona.

Now let’s see how poets use words to express meannings

The Use of Words in Expressing Meanings

Poets choose words carefully, meaningfully and cleverly to express their ideas,thoughts, feelings or emotions, and reflections. The words are arranged in a particular way (either in lines or in stanzas) to convey the poets’ intentions of writing the poem. Poets use personas (human or non-human characters) to be the medium to “talk to the readers’.

IMAGERY
Imagery is chosen words or phrases that involve our five senses. These words and phrases give us a picture-like experience in our mind.
Our five senses are:

1. The sense of touch (We use our fingers, hands to touch).
When something touches or comes in contact with our skin we can feel it; warm air, cold water…

2. The sense of sight (We use our eyes to see).
When we see something we recognise it. We can identify colours, objects, people, lights…

3. The sense of hearing (We hear with our ears).
When we hear a particular sound, we would know what the sound is or where it is coming from. We can hear music, people’s voice, a tone from a musical instrument or sounds made by animals.

4. The sense of taste (We taste with our tongue).
When we eat snacks or a plate of noodle, we can taste the food we eat. From the taste we know whether the food is spicy, sweet, salty, tasty, bitter or sour.

5. The sense of smell (We use our nose to smell).
When we use perfumes, we smell fragrant or pungent. Using our sense of smell we know that something is burning or overcooked. We also know what smells pleasant and what makes us close our nose!

Poets use imagery to make us experience what the persona in the poem is experiencing. This makes the experience become more realistic or alive. Thus, we remember the experience, as we feel, we too share the experience through our own senses.
Here are some examples of how poets use imagery to work on our senses:

Imagery	Words and phrases used in the Poems
Sense of touch	‘creeps in this petty pace’ in Life’s a Brief Candle ‘Clay and wattles made’ in The Lake Isle of Innisfree
Sense of sight	‘crowded morning clinic’ in The Dead Crow ‘midnight’s all a glimmer’ in The Lake Isle of Innisfree
Sense of hearing	‘bee-loud glade ’ in The Lake Isle of Innisfree ‘I hear lake water lapping ’ in The Lake Isle of Innisfree
Sense of smell	‘a dead crow ’ in The Dead Crow
Sense of taste	‘a hive for the honey bee’ in The Lake Isle of Innisfree