Practise Writing Consicely - Tyler Plasschaert

Text Questions

Outline two ways in which Pilkington gives you a sense of perspective in the first 8 lines of the text. [2 marks]

In the first 8 lines Pilkington talks about the emotions he feels, seeing the comfortable room he was given makes him happy. He also mentions the familiarity of the smell of his environment. These both give us good perspective on how he feels here in the moment.

Identify two ways in which the author makes the description of the toad killings memorable. [2 marks]

The author makes the skinning memorable by going on for a long time. He talks about the process and the man's skills in many more sentences than he needs to to help drive it home. He also compares it to a popular video many people might have seen, making it effective to tie it to pre-existing memories.

Select two examples of humor from the text and analyse the effect of each on the reader. [4 marks]

At the beginning he talks about the goldfish and how he isn't sure if they are there "for company or for a snack." This is an absolutely absurd thing to think about it so it subverts the expectations and makes for a good joke. Another moment in the passage is when he talks about the Chinese eating things before they even have a chance to move. This puts a twist on a phrase already used right before that many people have heard of about them eating anything that moves and so it makes the reader recall that for a humorous "got it" moment.

Film Questions

Outline two ways in which sound plays a role in this scene. (Do not include comments on the use of voice-over here). [2 marks]

The playfulness of the music help make this scene seem casual but it has enough wackiness to it to make it seem more unusual rather than happy. The crunching and squelching of foods also helps with the unusual tone in that they are generally uncomfortable noises.

What is the overall effect of the voice-over in this extract? Select two examples of voice over commentary and analyse their effect on the viewer. [4 marks]

The voice over helps make the scene seem very casual through Pilkington's diction and general speech mannerisms. The way he remarks about what he is eating in comparison to everyone else and cracks jokes at the excessive amount of sticks used to carry food is very laid-back and familiar, allowing the audience to relax and laugh at the fool he is making himself out to be.

Outline two ways in which Pilkington makes the scorpion eating scene humorous through his spoken language in the scene. Give an example of each. [4 marks]

Pilkington sounds very exasperated in this scene which makes it much more humorous as the scene goes and and he becomes fed up with all the examples of weird things he is seeing. He also comments about the irony of him eating chips and how in this situation he is the weird one who isn't eating what everyone else is.

[15 minutes timed]