Sailmaker – E-tutor Videos for revision

Watch the videos in this playlist as they are excellent for jogging your memory and aiding revision.

A Formula For Answering Close Reading Questions

Here is a link to all of the formula for answering close reading questions. Although I think I gave this out in class it might be useful for you all to have a digital copy. Close Reading Formula List

Close Reading – Imagery Questions.

Here is the link to a powerpoint we used in class. Use it to refresh your memory and aid your revision.

imagery

Close Reading -Using Your Own Word

Here is a close reading passage that focuses on improving you understanding skills.

Justin McCurry Japanese Literacy Article

If you complete this at home for revision you can hand it in for me to mark.

Dulce et Decorum Est – Powerpoint we used in class

Here is the power point we used in class. You can look at it for revision. Answer the questions and use it to improve you notes.

Dulce UNIT

Close Reading Practice – BBC Bitesize Quiz

Following this link and complete the quiz to test your understanding skills.

Close Reading – Practice Examples Booklet

Have a flick through this close-reading-booklet which contains lots of close reading advice. Try some of the examples and I will mark them for you.

Symbolism in Sailmaker – Davie’s Sailmaking Tools

NATIONAL 5 – SCOTTISH SET TEXT
Sailmaker by Alan Spence

Symbolism is when an object, an image, a word, a person, a colour or a setting represents ideas beyond what it is in reality.

Within Sailmaker there are some notable examples of symbolism.

The sail-making tools

The tools that Alec shows to Ian symbolise a tension that exists in Glasgow life quite starkly. Glasgow has been the home of creativity: the ship-building, the engineering and the many movements in all types of art forms. Glasgow has also been the source of a great deal of violence. It was famous in the 1960s for its violence, gaining the name of ‘No Mean City’ for itself. Alec understands the names and the creativity of the tools, whereas Ian sees the tools as potential weapons.

Symbolism in Sailmaker – Davie’s Broken Shaving Mirror

NATIONAL 5 – SCOTTISH SET TEXT
Sailmaker by Alan Spence

Symbolism is when an object, an image, a word, a person, a colour or a setting represents ideas beyond what it is in reality.

Within Sailmaker there are some notable examples of symbolism.

Davie’s broken shaving mirror

The mirror that Davie uses to shave is broken. As Alec is entering into manhood, he starts to use Davie’s mirror, but there’s ‘a big crack doon the middle’ and this makes it hard for Alec to shave. The mirror represents Davie’s cracked identity or self-image as it is sometimes called. Davie is finding it hard to keep himself together as a person: the mirror represents this. Alec, who has not suffered the blows to his own self-image that Davie has, finds a cracked mirror ‘stupid’ and difficult.

Symbolism in Sailmaker – The Yacht

NATIONAL 5 – SCOTTISH SET TEXT
Sailmaker by Alan Spence

Symbolism is when an object, an image, a word, a person, a colour or a setting represents ideas beyond what it is in reality.

Within Sailmaker there are some notable examples of symbolism.

The yacht Alec finds

The yacht that Alec finds in the Glory Hole (cupboard) is a symbol of many important themes. The associations of the yacht to escape, pleasure and wealth stands in stark contrast to the reality of Alec and Davie’s worsening social and economic situation. The boat becomes a symbol of dreams while relating to the characters’ reality. It relates to the trade that Davie knows, sail making, and which is now out-dated. It is an object that becomes a symbol for a character’s identity: for Billy it becomes a way of securing his identity as a Protestant and Rangers fan. The fact that Davie never gets round to fixing it up for Alec represents the relationship between father and son which never gets ‘fixed-up’ either. But perhaps the boat represents Davie best: he is never completed as a person, just as the yacht is never mended. It’s burning at the end to provide heat can be viewed as the destruction of the dream of escape and the end of Davie’s hopes of recovering himself.