"On the Rainy River" & "Enemies"

• Engels
• Upper Secondary (Key Stage 4)
• GCSE

Lesson objectives 

Consider the use of imagery and the choices authors make

Consider a descriptive passages within a chapter 

Write a response paragraph and consider an example response

"Friends" and "Enemies" 

Descriptive passages 

An author needs to communicate to the reader or listener. He or she needs put the reader into a position of understanding and one of the most effective ways to do this is to describe the person, scene, event or object in such a way that the senses are stimulated.  

Imagery 

Questions a writer may ask him or herself

• How can I use a fresh comparison to help the audience see, smell, hear, feel or taste what I or my narrator is experiencing? 
  
• What different methods could I use to organise this description? 
  
• How will this description help me to achieve my overall purpose for this piece or chapter? 
  

Decapitated 

eviscerated 

hocks

carcass

maneuver (manoeuvre)

2. This description relies on imagery, language that appeals to the senses. Quote passages from this extract that appeal to as many senses as possible: 

Touch = tactile imagery 

Sight = visual imagery 

Taste = gustatory imagery 

Smell = olfactory imagery 

Hearing = auditory imagery  

3. Why does the author use this descriptive passage in this chapter? What is the purpose in including it? How does it connect to the main thesis or theme identified in this chapter? 

1. Write a one of two sentence summary of the pig passage. From, "I spent the summer of 1968 working in an Armour meatpacking plant ...draft notice tucked away in my wallet." p.43 - 44

Usually a author will use a descriptive passage to describe a person, a place or an event. This can slow the pace of the action down. 

Semantic field = war imagery 

1. What words, used in this extract, foreshadow the experiences and equipment of warfare? 

Lesson objectives 

Introduction interactive chapter presentation - parameters 

Events in "On the Rainy River" 

Write a response paragraph and consider an example response

"Friends" and "Enemies" 

Silent reading 

Answer in your exercise book 

1. What is an extended definition ? 

2. Explain what an analogy is 

3. Explain what a metaphor is 

4. Name all the 5 forms of imagery that appeal to our senses 

5. What is polysyndeton?

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Liability 

Word of the day

Liability (n) - the fact that someone is legally responsible for something/ something or someone that causes you a lot of trouble, often when that thing or person should be helping you 

Sue always manages to upset somebody when we go out - she's a real liability.

The army denied liability but agreed to make an out-of-court settlement.

Chapter 

First presentation on Monday 9th March 

Concepts HL Lang Lit 

The Things They Carried 

Literary work specific concepts

friendship or relationships, trauma, storytelling, responsibility, guilt

Seven IB concepts for English language and literature 

Concepts IB English A 

Identity, Culture, Creativity, Communication, Perspective, Transformation, Representation 

Key passages 

Questions you can ask yourself to identify a key passage: 

Does this scene/passage change the direction of the story?

Does this moment reveal crucial information about a character?

Does this section connect directly to a recurring, central theme?

Does this moment create a strong emotional, intellectual, or visceral response in the reader? 

Identity 

The language of a text can be an expression of a writer's identity. Texts, in turn, can play a role in shaping the reader's sense of identity. Who are you and how do you see yourself fitting into the world around you? Are there any texts or characters with which you can identify? Why? What do these texts and characters say about you? What do they say about their authors?

source: Philpot Education 

Culture 

A text can be a window into another world. It may be a window into the time and place in which the author wrote, reflecting his or her cultural values or beliefs. Texts, in turn, can also shape the values and beliefs of a culture. Words, after all, can change the world. Literature is the stuff of culture, like art in a museum. Take any text and ask yourself: How does this text reflect the culture in which it was written? How has this text influenced cultures around the world?

source: Philpot Education 

Creativity  

People have a capacity to design, create, build and grow things. Writers write texts for readers to read. Communication is an act of creativity, because it starts with a writer’s choice of words. And there are, after all, over a million words to choose from! Take any text and ask yourself: What choices did the writer have to make? Why did the writer write this text?

source: Philpot Education 

Communication  

People have a capacity to design, create, build and grow things. Writers write texts for readers to read. Communication is an act of creativity, because it starts with a writer’s choice of words. And there are, after all, over a million words to choose from! Take any text and ask yourself: What choices did the writer have to make? Why did the writer write this text?

source: Philpot Education 

Perspective 

A text can give its readers a new perspective on life. Perhaps this is because every text is written from a perspective or point of view, and this perspective may not be the same as the reader’s. In a sense, words, characters and camera shots offer you a new way of seeing the world around you. Take any text and ask yourself: How does this text offer you a new perspective on the world? 

source: Philpot Education 

Transformation 

Texts can change over time. Texts can influence other texts. Texts can transform readers' understanding of the world. Many texts have been transformed into new texts. For example many novels have been turned into movies. Take any text and ask yourself: How can this text be transformed for a different audience? How has this text transformed me? 

source: Philpot Education 

Representation 

Writers use language to show readers a version of the world. Writers make choices when representing people, places and things in their texts. They do this to make us think about the ways in which the world works. Take any text and ask yourself: How are people and ideas represented by the author of this text? Why are they represented in this way?

source: Philpot Education 

1. What are the narrator's plans before he receives the draft letter?

2. Describe in detail the narrator's job at the Armour meat-packing plant.

3. At what game does Elroy Berdahl often beat Tim O'Brien?

4. How does O'Brien spend his time at Tip Top Lodge? Be specific.

5. What is the EMERGENCY FUND?

6. Explain the significance of the Rainy River fishing trip?

Write one paragraph analysing the use of the passage about the Armour meatpacking plant as a device within the chapter. 

1. Construct a topic sentence that can be debated and include the topic, thesis or theme of this chapter and the reason O'Brien uses this passage. 
   
2. short summary of the content of the passage. 
   
3. two, three or more quotes from the passage to support your TS.
   
4. analysis of the evidence and a discussion at to the reason why O'Brien included this passage and the intended effect on the reader.
5. Link to your TS

Put your paragraph in your class notebook in Teams in the tab for The Things They Carried .

O’Brien includes a descriptive passage of an Armour meatpacking plant within the chapter, “On the Rainy River” to foreshadow some of the sensual experiences of war and the narrator’s eventual decision to adhere to the draft and fight in Vietnam. The passage describes O’Brien’s summer job which involves eviscerating blood clots from the necks and chests of decapitated pigs. This descriptive passage is placed just after he receives his draft letter and before he decides to attempt to dodge the draft by fleeing to the Canadian border. The olfactory imagery used to describe that O’Brien would “go home smelling of pig” and the smell was a “dense greasy pig-stink”, allows the reader to imagine the smell of blood and death that resulted from “standing for eight hours a day under a lukewarm blood-shower”. As O’Brien has the “draft notice tucked away in [his] wallet”, the association is made to the smells of war, combat, and death. Additionally, tactile imagery is employed to suggest to the reader the physicality of warfare and the exertion required by the soldiers. The “heavy” machine that O’Brien manoeuvres is at least “eighty pounds” and this together with the references to “trigger”, “muzzle” and “gun” aid in conveying the focus of this chapter which is the decision to go to war and foreshadows the likelihood of death and bloodshed.

O’Brien includes a descriptive passage of an Armour meatpacking plant within the chapter, “On the Rainy River” to foreshadow some of the sensual experiences of war and the narrator’s eventual decision to adhere to the draft and fight in Vietnam. The passage describes O’Brien’s summer job which involves eviscerating blood clots from the necks and chests of decapitated pigs. This descriptive passage is placed just after he receives his draft letter and before he decides to attempt to dodge the draft by fleeing to the Canadian border. The olfactory imagery used to describe that O’Brien would “go home smelling of pig” and the smell was a “dense greasy pig-stink”, allows the reader to imagine the smell of blood and death that resulted from “standing for eight hours a day under a lukewarm blood-shower”. As O’Brien has the “draft notice tucked away in [his] wallet”, the association is made to the smells of war, combat, and death. Additionally, tactile imagery is employed to suggest to the reader the physicality of warfare and the exertion required by the soldiers. The “heavy” machine that O’Brien manoeuvres is at least “eighty pounds” and this together with the references to “trigger”, “muzzle” and “gun” aid in conveying the focus of this chapter which is the decision to go to war and foreshadows the likelihood of death and bloodshed.

Speaker 

1. Who is the speaker (poetic persona)? 
2. How do you know? Find some evidence. Do not look outside the text to define the speaker. 

Purpose

• Why has the author written this poem? 
  
• What message (theme) does he want to convey? 
  
• Take notes - (do not annotate for technique yet)
  
• Write on the left of the poem topics, concepts, ideas, interesting words that encapsulate some of the big ideas in the poem. 
  

Emotions 

1. What tone and mood do you perceive from the poem? 
   
2. Be as specific as possible in naming the tone and/or mood of the poem. Use the tone and mood vocabulary provided. 
   
3. Do you see a tonal shift? If so, name the different tones. 
   

Authorial choices 

1. Figurative language = Figurative language is a type of communication that does not use a word’s strict or realistic meaning. Comparisons (similes, metaphors, analogies) and exaggerations are the most common. 
   
2.  Imagery - visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, gustatory, kinaesthetic (movement) 
   

Authorial choices 

1. Language - connotations, denotations, diction choice, register, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronoun usage, semantic field, alliteration, assonance, sibilance etc. 
   
2. Rhythm and sound - alliteration, assonance, sibilance etc. Half rhyme, end rhyme, internal rhyme, eye rhyme, repetition, asyndeton, polysyndeton, parallelism etc
3. Structure - , enjambment, end stop lines, stanzas, punctuation to help rhythm. 

Thesis statement 

• Topic sentences (3 body paragraphs - extra time students 2 body paragraphs) 
  
• Quotations to support all points. Do not repeat your point or use more than one quotation to support the same idea. 
  

Complete reading "On the Rainy River" 

When you are finished ask me for a poem and complete this table in your exercise book 

Brief poem summary
Significant lines or words that depict images, conflicts, or emotions associated with War
Themes (messages) of the poem and lines that show them
Ideas in the poem related to “On the Rainy River”

Together, as a group,  complete this table in your exercise books. 

The name of the extract is stated

The author or originating source is given

The text type is clearly identified without elaboration

where the text appeared is stated (if known)

When it was produced is stated (if known)

The content is discussed: what does the text actually say (briefly)

The intended audience/reader is stated (if definable) 

The purpose(s) is stated

The social, cultural and temporal context is addressed (if available)

The thesis: what you find most important about the text (without elaboration) (main idea/main theme)

The structure of your analysis is stated 

Introduction

Conclusion 

A literary essay should analyze and evaluate a work of literature or an aspect of a work of literature. A strong conclusion will restate the thesis statement and broaden the scope of the essay in four to six sentences. You should also have an effective last sentence in the essay so you can wrap it up on a high note.

Rephrase your thesis statement

Rephrase your thesis statement. Avoid repeating your thesis statement as it appears in your introduction. Change the language and word choice in the original thesis statement so that it reflects the analysis that you have shown in your literary essay.

Another option is to revise your thesis statement to be more clear, making  edits to it. Go back to your introduction and read your thesis statement again. Then, keep your thesis statement in mind as you read over your body paragraphs. Consider whether your thesis statement still feels relevant to your essay, or if it could be revised. 

Rephrase but do not repeat

Start with your revised/ rephrased thesis statement. The middle section of your conclusion should be three to five sentences long. It should broaden the scope of your essay. 

• Important themes or ideas 
• summarize your most important findings 
• No new information in your conclusion 

Answer the question 'so what?'

Think about why someone would care about what you are addressing in your essay and why the focus of your essay is important. Answering the question “so what?” can help you generate interesting things to finish your essay within the conclusion. Possible final sentences: 

• Finish with a powerful image or detail from the text
• End with a simple sentence straightforward sentence
• Set your findings in a larger context

1. What do Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen fight over?

2. Why does Dave Jensen break his own nose?

Concepts HL Lang Lit 

The Things they Carried

Concepts: 

friendship or relationships, trauma, tragedy, responsibility, love

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