Synopsis Of The Novel ' Madame Ratignolle '

Good morning/afternoon Mr Leete and class. Today i will be speaking to you about ‘The Ratcatcher’s Daughter’ by Pamela Rushby and the themes included in it. The themes are Death and Burial Customs, Female rights, the Black Death, Wealth, class and education, and racial prejudice. Today though I will speak about Female rights and the Black Death.

CHAPTER 2: There is a talk with Michele and Maria at the start. Michele finds Fillipo, there is a lot of description of Michele finding him. Michele at this point is horrified, he tries to talk to him but gets even more scared. Michele has a second talk with Maria, Michele says he is going to run away from home, but in the end of the conversation he went home. At the end of this chapter you get a very good description of Mama.

Write an essay that explains how the incident or character is related to the more realistic of plausible elements in the rest of the work. Avoid plot summary.

The story seizes the reader’s attention straightaway as Ava conveys that this is her and her sister’s first summer alone. Immediately, readers are asking questions-why are these girls alone? Should they be alone?-and they read more to be recompense with answers. The diction subtly aids to pique interest such as, “. . . the Chief slurred.”, implying speech impediment or inebriation. This small detail provokes readers to question, just in the first paragraph, the Chief’s parental fitness and what sort of situation the girls must be in if they must feed alligators. As some of these questions are answered, such as how the sisters live in a gator theme park, more questions are raised-what will the ghosts do to Ossie? What will the Bird Man do to Ava? What is Ossie planning? The reader is drawn to what is going on with Ava and what will happen to her, prompting further reading. (Part of this intrigue is provoked by Russel’s rendering of Ava as the storyteller, as we get an idea of who she is from the first paragraph). Also, all questions are answered in due time and the information that readers need to know is given. This story could have easily become convoluted, as it pairs a supernatural element and must also provide enough setting (such

18. The author gives you some insight into the way she organized her notes (p. 60). What does it say about the process of writing this book? She chooses to alternate between chapters of Lia's story and its larger background-the history of the Lee family and of the Hmong. What effect does this create in the book?

The chapter titles are ’The Carew Murder Case’, ‘Incident of the Letter’, ‘Remarkable Incident of Dr Lanyon’, ‘Incident at the Window’, ‘The Last Night’. Whereas from chapter nice onwards as the narrative is resolved the tension decreases, in fact the chapters all called ‘Dr Lanyon’s Narrative’ and ‘Henry Jekyll’s full statement of the case’. Some chapters are flashbacks and are events which happen before but are placed after, therefore it is non-linear. This creates confusion in the reader, but it also clears some of the doubts because of the unexplained information in the novel.

The book is organized in a topical manner. Which means that the chapters appear in collections of stories revolving around a specific topic, rather than in a chronological order. Some of these chapters revolve around her education, her siblings, and what happened after her interpreting session in the psychologist’s office. As mentioned before, she stopped interpreting. In fact, she stops doing much of anything as she contemplates her unhappy childhood. But soon after this event, her sister’s wedding is planned, and she is forced to confront her past at the wedding. She enjoys herself, but resents that she still needs to interpret for her parents.

1. I believe that the most crucial element to the plot in this chapter is the scene in which the characters present are having a party in the apartment.

By using descriptive words and phrases to help us imagine the characters and setting the readers are drawn further into the suspense. Beginning with the descriptions of the carnival, usually a joyous time, it is not so joyous but mostly dark with the vision of “[dusk] one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival

10) Why did the ‘Lynch Mob’ go home? What main point do you think the novelist hoped to make by introducing this episode into the story?

of the author and why he or she wrote the novel. In this case, one must delve into the lives of

Chapter 1 is more of an introduction to some important characters. We learn that Mr. Pontellier isn’t around often, and isn’t much of a family man. We meet Edna and Robert, who have a seemingly romantic connection. This chapter will likely affect the story as the relationship between Edna and Robert continues to build and cause turmoil. In Chapter 2 we learn that Edna and Robert are both aesthetically pleasing, and that Robert is not wealthy because he rolls his own cigarettes. Robert reveals he will be traveling to Mexico at the end of the summer. This chapter affects the story because Robert’s trip to Mexico will deeply affect Edna and their relationship. In Chapter 3 we learn that Mr. Pontellier and Edna’s relationship isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Mr. Pontellier leaves for the week even during their summer vacation to work, so he is rarely around. This chapter will affect the story because the problems in their marriage will contribute to Edna’s development as an individual. Chapter 4 reveals more about Edna to the reader. We learn she is not a “mother-woman”, meaning she doesn’t put her kids or spouse before herself. We also learn she is the lone non-Creole around, and is not comfortable talking about sex, unlike the Creoles. This will play into the story as a whole because Edna’s feelings of distance from the Creole community will play into her growth as a character. Chapter 5 reveals more about Robert, and how every summer he devotes his feelings to a woman,

Chapter one titled, “No Name Woman”, is an example of the narrator referring to her mother’s talk-stories and a prominent illustration of incorporating the past into the present. This talk- story is culturally based to express information about the past. In “No Name Women”, the narrator explains that her mother, Brave Orchid, would use the stories to give lessons on life that would stick with her children. She represents a bridge figure with one foot in the past, her Chinese culture that she relays on to the family and one foot in the present, her assimilation to American life. The bridge that Brave Orchid acts as brings together the two cultures and allows her to incorporate the family’s Chinese history into their present

The mother begins to rebel against tradition by taking an active role in educating and freeing herself. Through her radio, telephone and trips out with her sons she develops her own opinions about the world, the war, and the domination and seclusion of woman. She loses her innocence as a result to her new knowledge and experience.

1. Interpreter of Maladies: Think about the status and the role of children in this story: most obviously the fact that Bobby is illegitimate, but also that Tina and her mother (Mina) have rhyming names, that Mr. Kapasi became an interpreter because of his son 's illness and remains one to support his growing family. Think also about the relationships that seem skewed because the adults are acting like children: Mr. Kapasi thinks the Dases are “all like siblings,” that “Mr. and Mrs. Das behaved like an older brother and sister, not parents.” Similarly, Mrs. Das thinks Mr. Kapasi is old enough to be her father, or, as she puts it, “You probably have children my age.” That is, she is uncomfortable when he defers to her, and she thus (unwittingly?) insists that he think of her as a child. How does thinking about children and about the relationships between parents and children in this story help you determine the story 's theme?