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narration

Arthur HallMündliche Abitur Grundkurs

Nümbrecht: Summer 2010

setting and atmosphere

SETTING: TIMEIt was the early summer of 2010

SETTING: PLACEand we were all in the Waldorf school in Oberberg.

ATMOSPHERE:There was tension in the air because the Abitur results were eagerly awaited.

characters

• The major characters were the examiners and the students and the minor characters were the students from the 12th class who were watching the exam.

• The examiner, who was the protagonist, asked a difficult question and the candidate, the antagonist, answered him.

round and flat characters

• round:The examiner had a beard and a balding head. He was very experienced and liked to think he was cunning.

• flat:There three students sitting watching at the back.

character traits

• The examiner fired out his questions like bullets from a machine gun. Then he watched, like a hawk, to pounce on any inaccuracy in the answer.

• His antagonist sat stock still and answered in a faltering, weak voice which could barely be heard.

• It was the hawk and its prey.

constellation of figures

• Gathered together in that room was a constellation of figures with contradictory interests. The examiners were the judges, weighing the words spoken and deciding on marks to be given, their antagonists, the candidates were seeking to show their knowledge and the watchers at the back were the football crowd silently cheering a goal.

method of characterization

• explicitHe had been an examiner for many years, he showed no trace of nerves, looked the candidate in the eyes and his questions were sharp, direct and to the point.

• implicitHe drew all of his questions from the pool of his experience

plot

• rising actionThe candidate entered, the room fell silent. It was the moment for which they had been waiting. Would she score the full fifteen points or not? Nobody dared to breathe.

• falling actionThe watchers relaxed and left the room. The examiners picked up their papers and they too left.

turning-point

• “Have you any idea what it is like sitting here under pressure, answering questions which seem pointless?” the candidate asked, turning the tables on the examiner. There was an astonished gasp from the watchers at the back and the examiner’s face turned a deep shade of red. He seemed speechless.

denouement

• After her cheek towards the examiner, she expected to fail. The Head of the Examining Board invited her into his office to receive her mark. He looked at her carefully and weighed his words before he spoke. “In my opinion,” he said, “your action was unacceptable.” He allowed the silence to continue for a moment: “ but the examiners were impressed by your accuracy and the depth of knowledge shown in your answers therefore your mark is a ‘one’.”

open ending

• How the examiner’s reacted to her cheek I shall leave you to imagine.

chapter, passage, episode

• a novel is divided into chapters

• an extract taken from anywhere in the book is a passage

• an episode is one part of a series of TV programmes

action

• internal action happens in the mind of the character

• external action involves characters acting and doing something which is visible to the reader or the audience

suspense

• tension is when the suspense is building and you can feel yourself holding your breath waiting to see what will happen. The longer it remains interesting without solution; the greater the suspense.

The narrator can write from different viewpoints

• The first person: As I walked into the room, I saw…

• The third person:He walked up to her and said…

• The omniscient narrator (the narrator knows more than the characters in the story)They would have never turned the corner if they had known what was waiting for them there…

interior monologue

• I wonder how the toothpaste gets in the tube? Do they have mountains of toothpaste and they build the tubes around the stuff or maybe…I know, it’s simple, they put two tubes end-to-end and just squeeze…Why didn’t I think of that before…It’s been bothering me for years!

stream of consciousness

• Looks like an accident…blood everywhere…somebody hurt…not a child – that’s a relief! Ambulance coming…can hear siren…make space everyone…stop gawping…

Thanks for your attention