5. I, Spy

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

I, Spy

VWO 4 Literature

Before we start

Let's see what you remember from previous poems.

Rank the poems from most negative to most positive.

Most negative

Most positive

Dulce Et Decorum Est

Does It Matter?

In Flanders' Fields

The Soldier

Let's continue

I, Spy
by Graham Greene

Let's read the text together

1. In which perspective is the story written?

1. first-person perspective
2. third-person perspective
3. omniscient perspective

Explain your answer

Class discussion.

Explanation

We only see what Charlie thinks, feels and sees.

2. Who are the other characters
in this short story (besides Charlie)?

Other characters

• Charlie's mother
• Charlie's father
• The two men who accompany Charlie's father
  
  
• The policeman outside (he can be ignored, so forget him!)

What are the two elements that you need to describe when talking about setting?

3. What is the setting of this story?

Discuss in pairs or groups of three.

What is the setting of this story?

Explain your answer

Class discussion.

What is the setting of this poem? (time)

WWI during the night

• zeppelins
• Huns (nickname for Germans during WWI)
• a searchlight passed across the sky

What is the setting of this poem? (place)

A tobacconist's shop in England near the shore

• the tobacconist's shop his father kept down
• wind blew from the sea
• he would be in Norwich

4. Charlie and his father are quite similar. Give three examples from the text to underpin this statement.

Discuss in pairs or groups of three.

Correct answer:

• They both hold their collars in the same manner
• They both talk in proverbs
• They both do things in the dark they should not do

5. Connect the descriptions to the relationship

Charlie and his father.

Charlie and his mother.

Charlie's father and Charlie's mother.

not (very) good

bad

good

5. Explain previous answers.

Discuss this in pairs or groups of three

Explanation

Charlie and his father: bad

• "he did not love his father; his father was unreal to him"
  
  Charlie and his mother: good
• "for his mother he felt a passionate demonstrative love"
  
  Charlie and his father: not (very) good
• He leaves the shop without saying goodbye to his wife.

6a. Charlie's father enters the shop with two men. Who are they?

Bowler hat

Belted mackintosh

6b. What have they done to his father?

6c. What do you think is going to happen with Charlie's father?

1. He will be probably thrown in jail.
2. He will probably be deported to Germany.
3. He will probably be executed.
4. He will probably get a fine.

6c. Try to find the clue to previous answer in the final three paragraphs.

Discuss this in pairs or groups of three

The clue

One of the policemen says: "While there is life.."
This is a hint that Charlie's father is going to die.

6d. Why is this going to happen?

Discuss this in pairs or groups of three

Correct answer:

Charlie's father was a German spy.

7. Why do you think he used these proverbs?

Discuss this in pairs or groups of three

Why?

So he does not have to deal with / think about the situation (his oncoming death).

8a. Why is this surprising?

Discuss this in pairs or groups of three

Well..

His relationship wasn’t that good / he didn’t really like his father.

8b. Why is it understandable?

Discuss this in pairs or groups of three

Well..

He saw that they were actually quite alike and maybe understood what was going to happen to his father.

9. To whom does
the title refer?

The title refers to:

Both Charlie and his father.

• Charlie was spying on his father in the shop
• His father was a German spy.

I think I understand this story well enough for the test.

Yes

No

Continue

If you have answered yes, focus on your week task.

If you have answered no, please let me know what you do not understand (yet).