Post by MissH on Dec 20, 2017 4:45:22 GMT -5
Choose a novel or short story in which the writer makes you feel sympathy for a character. By referring to appropriate techniques including theme, show how the author makes the reader feel sympathy.
Introduction – TART
In his short story “Remote”, Bernard MacLaverty explores the key theme of loneliness. He uses the character of an old lady to highlight this theme. The reader feels great sympathy for her and the situation she is in.
The plot is used by MacLaverty to make the reader feel sympathy for the lady. We find out that her husband committed suicide. What makes this tragedy even harder to bear is the fact that he did this at Christmas time. “He drowned himself in the Loch…On Christmas Day.” This tells us that this happy time of year has now become a sad and depressing time of year for the lady. Christmas is a time to be spent with family and friends but now each year, she will only be reminded of his suicide. This makes the reader feel a great deal of sympathy for her. She is now alone and isolated at this time of year. She is constantly reminded by decorations and music in town that it’s Christmas and this will be very difficult for her to deal with. MacLaverty makes the reader think about those who are alone at Christmas. I realise that it must be a difficult time of year for some people.
Another way in which MacLaverty makes the reader feel sympathy is the fact that the lady is physically isolated. She lives in a remote part of the island, far away from other people. She lives at the end of a “one track road”. The lady is physically isolated from the rest of the island. Her home isn’t very accessible. As she does not drive she finds it difficult to travel into the town and therefore must rely on lifts from strangers. On a symbolic level, her journey through life has only one inevitable destination as she grows older and that is death. It also suggests that she is on her journey through life on her own which adds to the sense of isolation in the story. This makes the reader feel sympathy for the old lady as she is so far away from everyone else and has no friends or family. I feel sad for her as she doesn’t have an easy life and she must be very lonely. MacLaverty makes the reader think about loneliness and the fact that some people have nobody to talk to.
MacLaverty further engages the reader’s sympathy when we see that the lady is socially isolated. She has no close friends or family and no meaningful relationships. “Chat was a thing you got out of the habit of when you were on your own all the time” This tells us that the woman is so used to being alone, that she has gotten out of the habit of having a conversation with someone. It reveals that the woman has been alone for a long time and spends most days feeling remote. It is really sad to think that someone could be so lonely that they have forgotten how to have a simple chat with a friend. She is now so worried about her poor social skills that she avoids visiting people and makes poor excuses to avoid them. This is a very sad fact that makes us feel sympathy towards her and her situation. It must be very difficult for her to spend so much time alone. I feel sorry that someone could be so lonely and cut off from society. The key theme of isolation is clear here. We can see that after her husband’s death, she is entirely alone.
To be continued - feel free to do this as a revision exercise.
Introduction – TART
In his short story “Remote”, Bernard MacLaverty explores the key theme of loneliness. He uses the character of an old lady to highlight this theme. The reader feels great sympathy for her and the situation she is in.
The plot is used by MacLaverty to make the reader feel sympathy for the lady. We find out that her husband committed suicide. What makes this tragedy even harder to bear is the fact that he did this at Christmas time. “He drowned himself in the Loch…On Christmas Day.” This tells us that this happy time of year has now become a sad and depressing time of year for the lady. Christmas is a time to be spent with family and friends but now each year, she will only be reminded of his suicide. This makes the reader feel a great deal of sympathy for her. She is now alone and isolated at this time of year. She is constantly reminded by decorations and music in town that it’s Christmas and this will be very difficult for her to deal with. MacLaverty makes the reader think about those who are alone at Christmas. I realise that it must be a difficult time of year for some people.
Another way in which MacLaverty makes the reader feel sympathy is the fact that the lady is physically isolated. She lives in a remote part of the island, far away from other people. She lives at the end of a “one track road”. The lady is physically isolated from the rest of the island. Her home isn’t very accessible. As she does not drive she finds it difficult to travel into the town and therefore must rely on lifts from strangers. On a symbolic level, her journey through life has only one inevitable destination as she grows older and that is death. It also suggests that she is on her journey through life on her own which adds to the sense of isolation in the story. This makes the reader feel sympathy for the old lady as she is so far away from everyone else and has no friends or family. I feel sad for her as she doesn’t have an easy life and she must be very lonely. MacLaverty makes the reader think about loneliness and the fact that some people have nobody to talk to.
MacLaverty further engages the reader’s sympathy when we see that the lady is socially isolated. She has no close friends or family and no meaningful relationships. “Chat was a thing you got out of the habit of when you were on your own all the time” This tells us that the woman is so used to being alone, that she has gotten out of the habit of having a conversation with someone. It reveals that the woman has been alone for a long time and spends most days feeling remote. It is really sad to think that someone could be so lonely that they have forgotten how to have a simple chat with a friend. She is now so worried about her poor social skills that she avoids visiting people and makes poor excuses to avoid them. This is a very sad fact that makes us feel sympathy towards her and her situation. It must be very difficult for her to spend so much time alone. I feel sorry that someone could be so lonely and cut off from society. The key theme of isolation is clear here. We can see that after her husband’s death, she is entirely alone.
To be continued - feel free to do this as a revision exercise.