Short Story - QWERTYUIOP by Vivien Alcock (Worksheet)

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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. (^_^)~