17th August 2017

Beauty and the Beast

Explain how the writer helps us to understand the children’s view(s) of Helen and/or Simon throughout the text.

Support your answer with references to the techniques used.

  • Why are the children interested in Helen and/or Simon
  • How the other children respond to Helen and/or Simon
  • What children are like

(L) The writer first uses a simile to help us understand the children’s view of Simon.

(E) The child narrates “his head large and lumpy like a sprouting potato” at the beginning of the text.

(Ex) This simile tells us that the children think Simon is abnormal. We know this because a sprouting potato is often misshaped and oddly formed -different from the rest of the potatoes. The vocabulary used in this simile has negative connotations. “Large” makes us think that the children see Simon as somewhat of a giant. “Lumpy” and “sprouting”, imply that physically, Simon is rather ugly. The children are interested in Simon because he is different.

(L) At the end of the text, the author uses onomatopoeia to help us understand the children’s continued view of Simon.

(E) When the children have enticed Simon into an “instant rage”, they run around making sounds such as “squeal and coo”. We, the reader, associate the words “squeal and coo” with young children playing. They are positive sounds as children “squeal + coo” when they’re having fun. The “squealing” could indicate that the children view Simon as an intimidating figure, like a mouse does a cat. Though the children having fun, they’re aslo a little scared.

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"Writing gives you freedom to create your own world, your rules, your characters and your imagination"

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