Analysis of the poem "Mid-term break" and what we are going to write in the 2 questions

Analysis of the poem

This poem is mainly focusing on the speaker’s childhood memory. This was a really saddening break, not a relaxing and happy one.
The first stanza is informing us that the speaker is waiting at the sick bay for his neighbor to fetch him and does not make up a clue that what was the purpose of the break. However, the fact that the speaker is waiting at the sick bay give the sense that something is wrong. Also, the word “kneeling” describes the slow steady strokes of a bell at a funeral service like the sound of an old school bell announcing the changes of class in school. The use of the word 'knelling' rather than 'tolling' for the school bell has connotations of death.
The second stanza shows how devastating this tragic accident affected the speaker’s family. The fact that “He had always taken funerals in his stride” shows that this tragic accident is a really huge blow to his father as the speaker saw his father crying. In contrast, in the third stanza, the baby 'cooed and laughed and rocked the pram', showing that in some aspects, family life went on as usual and that the baby was immature and did not understand what was happening.
The third and fourth stanzas are linked by enjambment and describes the speaker’s feelings on confronting the people who paid their respects. The speaker also felt embarrassed as the old man shook his hand and expressed his sorrow. This was probably uncomfortable and uncommon to the speaker as he was in a situation of reversed role. He was also knowledgeable about the “whispers” that he was the eldest child in the family.
The second and fifth stanzas are also linked and show how differently the speaker’s mother reacted as compared to his father after the tragic accident. As she 'coughed out angry tearless sighs', it shows that she was too upset to cry and probably did not have any tears to cry out anymore.
In the fifth stanza, Heaney describes in a way that the speaker did not realize the body was his brother’s as the poem mentioned that the ambulance brought the 'corpse'. However, in the sixth stanza, the speaker realized it as he went alone to see the body of his brother. He describes that the presence of snowdrops and soothed his feelings. The speaker again uses enjambment to link this stanza with the seventh, mentioning that his brother now looked paler than the last time he had seen him six weeks previously. The metaphor 'Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple', poppies being colour of blood as well as a sign of the dead. The final line of the seventh stanza tells us that the little boy was not ran over by the car but banged on one side as he had no “gaudy scars”.
'Mid-Term Break' ends with a single line 'A four foot box, a foot for every year' describes how young the boy was and how small the coffin was. The poem begins with devoid of emotion. Then it progresses into a phase of describing discomfort and difficult emotions in the presence of strangers.

What we are writing for the 2 questions

A) The writer was feeling sad. For the evidence, we are going to include the line “Counting bells knelling classes to a close” as this shows that he feels time is going pass really slowly and this was due to the fact he is really sad when he heard the news of his sibling dying. The writer also felt embarrassed and this can be proven from the lines in stanza 3, evident when the strangers told him they were “sorry for the trouble” and “whispering informed strangers that he was the eldest” made him feel embarrassed. He also feel regretful as the poem states that “I saw him for the first time in six weeks” this line shows that the writer had last seen his brother 6 weeks ago . However, his brother is now dead. Thus, he is regretful as he feel that he should spend more time with his brother and cherish him more while he is alive.

B) The speaker uses several literal devices. The first one he used is onomatopoeia. This can be supported from stanza 3 of the poem. In the line “the baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram”, “cooed and laughed” is the onomatopoeia. This sets a very awkward mood as it is ironic how the baby is ignorant about the surroundings and still being so happy when everyone else is so sad. The other literal device used is personification. The line “And candles soothed the bedside” showed the use of a personification. This helped to lessen the heavy and depressed mood in the poem, as the candles seem to bo comforting the speaker and the people present.

My little india trip

On 14 May 2010, a Friday, my classmates and I went to "The Spice Queen", a renowned Indian restaurant to have Indian food for lunch, ! "The Spice Queen" is a three-storey building, with its famous chef, Chef Devagi Sanmugam. She is a cookbook author, food columnist, cooking instructor, entrepreneur and professional bon vivant. She has also appeared on cook shows and she wrote 17 recipe books! Therefore, I felt that it was an honour to eat in her restaurant.
I felt that this was an interesting and meaningful experience. It has given me a great impression on indian cusine. I think that the food that my classmates and I ate were delicious and filling. Furthermore, there were many types of indian food that we tried, which I found was really delicious. I also had a chance to experience what it was like to eat with my hands. However, I think I still prefer the fork and the spoon. The food I like most was the chicken and I would most certainly like to try that again some other time.

Alphabet Poem(Famous roads and towns in Singapore)

A was Arab street, where people shop at occasionally.
B was Bukit Panjang, where children played around in the neighborhood frequently.
C was Changi Airport, where the planes are flying.
D was Dhoby Ghaut, where the shuttle bus to the hospital is stopping.
E was Esplanade, where it has sharp “thorns”.
F was Fort Canning, where the sounds of bombings were like horns.
G was Geylang, where the durian sold was nice.
H was HarbourFront, where traders in the past brought in goods like rice.
I was Indus road, where the drivers driving in the car was paying attention.
J was Jurong East, where Singapore Science Centre was the main attraction.
K was Kallang, where the lions played football.
L was Loyang, where the famous Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple had a big hall.
M was Marina Bay, where it had many famous tourist attractions around.
N was Nicoll Highway, where cars had to travel round and round.
O was Outram Park, where there are many hospitals to cure illness.
P was Pasir Ris, where theme parks will allow people to have fun but not fearfulness.
Q was Queenstown, where IKEA is located and people in it produce loud sound.
R was Raffles Place, where tallest buildings in Singapore are found.
S was Simei, Where it was a small town.
T was Tampines, where it has places of renown.

AAP

This is our photo montage.

Term 2 Week 10 Home Learning

a) My favourite poem is :

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

How are the figurative language used in the poem?

The hyperboles : and,and,and,and
The personifications : dark streets bend and wind
The similes : none
The symbolism : none
The Metaphor : none

I like this poem because it rhymes very well and it has a lot of meaning to me. It makes me feel sad and lonely, like when you watch a depressing movie. This author writes it such that it makes me visualize what is happening, which makes me carry on reading. He writes it in a way that makes people want to read finish the whole thing, although he does not add suspense, his poem is still very interesting and I want to read on and find out what is written in the whole poem.

c) A poem about my primary school life

Primary school is great,
Primary school is cool.

Which keeps me thinking,
Even in the pool!

Although it's been long time no see,
I still remember it as clear as sea.

I still remember the bees,
and the mixed veg rice's peas.

The difference between rural life and urban life

Rural Life Urban Life
1. There were no formal doctors.1.There were formal doctors
Evidence:There was a hospital in Alibagh. Page 155

2.There were no policemen.2. There were policemen
Evidence:The policemen stood chewing his moustache uncertainly. Page 169

3.There was very little technology.3.There was a lot of technology.
Evidence:In Thul, there was only an occasional bus driving down the main road of the village to the highway, and very rarely, a single dusty car. Page 115

4.Role of men and women clearly delineated.4.Role of men and women are not clearly stated.
Evidence:To Hari's utter amazement, all the people marching in it were women. Page 118

5.Most of the items are free5.Most of the items are not free
Evidence:She promised to bring them flowers for their hair too. Page 52

6.Low crime rates.6.High crime rates
Evidence:'Nowhere to go? I'll show you where you can go,' bellowed the policeman ferociously, waving his baton over Hari's head, and was about to bring it down with a crack when an old gentleman who happened to be walking by, tapping his walking stick before him, stopped and spoke to the policeman. Page 169

7.There were very little motorised cars.13.There was a lot of motorised cars.
Evidence:In Thul, there was only an occasional bus driving down the main road of the village to the highway, and very rarely, a single dusty car. Page 115

8.Very little education.12.There is a lot of education.
Evidence:Hari used to go to a boys' school but lately he stopped, saying he had to work in the fields now that their father did not even pretend to work any more.

9.There are thatched huts.3.There are high rise buildings.
Evidence:The hut should have been re-thatched years ago. Page 5

10.There was no electronic toys.10.There was electronic toys.
Evidence:Hari, Ramu, Bhola, Mahesh - they used to play on the beach together and go hunting with their dogs, and wrestle and climb coconut trees and go to the occasional stage shows that were put on in the village on festival nights.

English Presentation - Mr De Silva

I have presented on Mr De Silva. From the book, it is said that Mr De Silva helped Lila by bringing Lila's sick mother to the hospital and paid all her medicine bill. He also helped Hari by giving Hari his address to clean his car if he came to Bombay. He had also told Hari to bring his father to him so that he could give Hari's father a job. However, when Mr De Silva saw Hari's father, he despised Hari's father as he saw that Hari's father was a toddy addict and he thinks that Hari's father was hopeless,useless and could not earn a living to support their family. Thus, he did not give him the job as he felt that Hari's father did not deserve it. Lastly, Mr de Silva is very rich. He have many servants,a cook and an ayah to wash all his family's clothes.He lives in Mon Repos, a big and beatiful bungalow.