A Bed Among the Lentils

A Bed Among the Lentils

Firstly, in the stage directions prior to the monologue of 'A Bed Among the Lentils' it reads 'she is thin and nervous and probably smokes' when referring to Susan. This description presents the character as unhealthy and perhaps troubled. By saying 'thin and nervous' it makes the reader picture someone who is perhaps quite frail; by adding that she 'probably smokes' is also presents her as presumably burdened with a problem and trying to stay calm. Additionally, in the first stage directions Susan 'sits on an upright chair'. This scene description featuring the upright chair portrays the situation as possibly uncomfortable or awkward, maybe representing the fact she is uneasy about the situation. 

Throughout the monologue Susan's idiolect features many pauses when speaking. An example of pause used is when she says 'The woman served me. Didn't smile. I can't think why. I spend enough.'. Here, pause could be used for sarcasm - to point out an obvious point. Furthermore, the pauses could be used to show that she is fed up, exasperated and lacking energy; highlighting her unhappy attitude in life. 

Immediately, the fact Susan the vicars wife becomes apparent. Within the first line she mentions Jesus, however, she mentions 'Geoffrey's bad enough but I'm glad I wasn't married to Jesus'. The reader presumes Geoffery is her husband, the vicar. By saying this she appears fairly un-religious, challenging the stereotype of a typical vicars wife that the reader may have. Later on in the text it points out that someone keeps referring to Susan as 'Mrs Vicar'. Because she chooses to bring this up it could hint that she is fed up of being pigeonholed and could possibly foreshadow future events that might be caused because of this. Moreover, in the monologue she states she has no typical skills such as 'how to produce jam' or 'carry through a successful garden fete'. However, Susan mocks these skills, sarcastically referring to them as 'weapons'. Again this could highlight that she is bored with ordinary tasks as well as foreshadowing events.

Travel Writing

My heels slowly sunk into the soft slope as I gradually climbed higher. Surrounding me was an ocean of sand, making it difficult to trek to the velvety summit. Identical grains worked together to create an unbroken sheet of gold that continued for miles. 

I was trekking up the tallest sand dune in Europe, the Dune Du Pilat. Behind me was a mass of bottle green trees; contrasting against the rich sand in front of me. Diversely, on the other side of the dune the colours of the sea and sky blended together like paint. Stood at the top it was hard to comprehend the amount of grains below my feet that stretched across the extensive dune. 

Going to the dune was a must for our holiday, so despite the blustery weather we were determined to spend the last day looking out at sand, forest and sea. However, once we had trekked to the top it seemed as if the harsh wind had faded to a refreshing breeze cooling us down after the strenuous hike. Because of the wind it seemed as if we were the only other people on the dune making the stretch of the sand seem never ending.

Avoiding the stairs we all chose to retreat from the dunes using both the quickest and funnest way - sliding. Behind all fifteen of us an avalanche of sand came crashing down, encouraging us to reach the bottom faster.

Armstrong and Miller Sketch

The Armstrong and Miller Sketch features two WW1 pilots discussing someone they know named Chalky and how he is a spy. Despite the scene being set during World War One, the sketch uses contrastingly modern lexis that would stereotypically be associated with teenagers. Which gives the piece humor; perhaps because of the unlikeliness of the scene. Moreover, The sketch relies on the audience and writer having a shared understanding of the piece (pragmatics) and how language has gradually changed over time, through different generations.

Throughout the sketch, fillers such as 'right' and 'like' are used alongside the repetition of words and phrases. You could say this is non-standard lexis and therefore makes the piece seem more free flowing and conversational. Furthermore, it makes Armstrong and Miller appear as if their gossiping as fillers are mainly used to give you a small moment to think or a chance for the other person to react. Stereotypically gossiping is associated with teenagers,  by the piece using lexis that is commonly used while gossiping it creates humor as once again it challenges stereotypes and presents an unexpected situation.

Analytical Paragraph - Charlie Brooker

Charlie Brooker - The Voice - Lexis and Semantics

Throughout Charlie Brookers article he uses a range of lexis and semantics that relate to the popular television show, The Voice. Using non-standard lexis in the article, such as when it says 'easy topic to scribble nonsense about' promotes an informal and humorous tone.  Furthermore, the fact that he is talking about a widely know television show that a variety of people and ages watch it would be inappropriate as well as less effective to use standard lexis. However, Charlie Brooker does use jargon which relate to the television show, an example of this is when he says 'After three hours I checked the timebar to discover I was still only an eighth of the way through'. Viewers of the voice will understand the exaggeration used here but can also relate to his point.

An Introduction to Me

I have always loved holidays. They haven't necessarily always been straight-forward but I still love them. Some memories stick to the front of my mind; they are impossible to forget. Most likely because they are regularly getting thrown around the dinner table - whether we like it or not. 

One of the earliest memories is still the most vivid. It's the memory where we never actually make it on the holiday. Around the age of six I remember my parents telling me and my older brother we would be going to Disneyland, Florida. Blanking out my parents speech, my mind was flicking through every Disney film I had ever watched and loved. Finally, three lengthy days later the holiday had arrived and we were soon to be jetting off to the castle I had only ever seen at the start of films. Drive to Heathrow completed, seated on the aeroplane, we were all prepared and ready to leave. Well, until we were informed on the present tornado happening throughout Florida. The next half an hour was filled with questions and queries from the passengers followed by them disappointingly gathering their thoughts and belongings and alighting the plane, Disney dreams shattered. However, I stayed glued to my seat still unaware of what this 'tornado thing' was; it couldn't be as bad as the storm on the trip to Wales, could it? Next to me my brother was sensibly expressing his thoughts on the situation, informing me on how lucky we were not to be there. Still confused, i stayed sat there questioning both my parents and the flight attendants while the plane emptied. Determined not to be defeated by this storm I selfishly stood my ground. Until, one of the friendly flight attendants bribed me with a chocolate ice-cream, highlighting how easily persuaded my six year old self was. Luckily, we were still able to go on holiday that year.

Another more recent memory was a trip to France where fifteen of us stayed in a house with an uncanny resemblance to the one featured in the horror 'The Woman in Black'. Unfortunately, on this holiday my parents were unable to go as my dad became ill close to the holiday, but my family still urged me to go. After a holiday filled with water fights and french food it was time to leave and drive back to Bristol. On the drive home, around 3am, we were woken by a disgruntled looking customs officer ordering us to get out the car and follow him. Confused we all followed him. Half of us, including me, did not have shoes on and were wearing ridiculous onesies. As we followed him into a professional, magnolia colored office it turns out it went over all our heads to have a consent letter to let me out the country; we had only remembered one to take me in. Both me and my family friends were horrified as they customs officers proceeded to ask me questions from one of the dads names to my best friends birthday.At this point my heart was racing as I planned my new French life. Once the questioning and a stern telling off was over the officer confirmed I had answered the questions correctly and was allowed back to beloved Bristol. It's fair to say we laughed uncontrollably the rest of the way home, relieved I would not have to stay in France. Since that year we all go to France, including my family. However, we now remember everything, in fear of having to relocate.