•Choose a moment from the text so far and narrate it from the point of view of another character. (Approx 2 paragraphs)
•Capture that character’s personality/attitudes/background etc. as well as some of the typical features of Frayn’s style.
HINTS:
What is your character doing at this moment in the text? Are they involved in the event or an external observer? What are their attitudes to the other characters?
What sort of words would your character use? (Positive? Negative? Judgemental? Complex? Simple? From any particular semantic field?)
What is your character's state of mind and how could this be reflected in the structure of their narrative voice? (Calm? Angry? Biased? Confused? Scared?)
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Stephen said sorry but I didn’t care. He was going to be sorry once I’d spoken to him. I had thought of something. I new it would make Stephen unhappy, but again, I didn’t care. I could see it in his face, he knew he was going to be humiliated. So I asked him.
“so he saw you, but you didn’t him”
“it was dark” he said
“it was moonlight. You said it was moonlight.”
“not then” he said
“when?” I asked him.
He replied with “when he saw me. When I didn’t see him”
That answer. The weakness of that answer made my smile become even more narrower.
“you weren’t really hiding were you?”
“you were just hiding your face”
He pleaded with me to go home.
“you were just putting your hands over your face. So you couldn’t see. Like Milly playing hide-and-seek. Like a little baby.“
gemma s
1100 hours. Stephen and I carefully edge around a horrid looking lake, with that unpleasant smell like you get in public toilets, avoid the slime as I had only had my clothes washed the day before and if I even got a speck of dirt on my clothes, mother would not be amuse about it no matter how exciting the story is. Speaking of mother whenever I heard drop of water falling from the roof, I felt certain energy of her presence, but not as cowardly like old bean behind me. I had taken the front leader position with the other rank old bean right behind me. At this moment I had a range of mixed feeling, at one point I was excited it was like a game that could be taken as real…. But then again I’m not looking forward to this game because it is real. I could not face the fact that if my mother is a German spy… I can’t bare to think about it.
Me and old bean reporting our status. We had emerged into “the other side” with the revolting smell of cow parsley. Where to start?....where? Old bean was firing me various suggestions about my mother like “ she may have a transmitter here” or that there maybe a secret research laboratory. No wonder old bean the other ranks. I felt like shouting out but I had remembered my father words and remained calm. The only thing recognisable was the tunnel with it big dark mouth opening wide Flies…everywhere. The scenery remind me of father story of the Warfield during the war. Then a figure caught my eye…. It was mother.
Harry (now hungry)
Everything altered after I uttered those six words. I uttered the words and it's his fault he heard them.
I sigh, "My mother..." followed by another large sigh "...is a German spy."
I regret those words and he regrets hearing them, he stands there glaring at me, his mouth open.
He's surprised, like he is with everything I say, my annoucement is just as shocking as the time I announced Mr Gort, who lives alone at number 11, was a murderer.
I think this time, I have well and truly intrigued Stephen, for I can see the envy in his eyes and I can see him wearing the moustaches and beards in my disguise kit and examining things under my microscope daddy makes me keep in such prestine condition.
TEYA
Father wondered off his nose continously aroused by the familiar scent, which seemed to interest and help fixate his penetrating gaze.
Far too many a time I often thought deeply on how his endless observance had affected my childhood. How his ever enquiring mind constantly drifted off, practically walking off this Earth as we knew it. Like a dreamer, being led; surrounded by an array of adventure, child-like mischief & longing that seemed to marinate the air, a world in which he liked to call his own.
I wonder what it led him to? What memories spiced his mind? Was it that he was just a senile, old age man trying to regainr long forgotten things constantly popping into his mind? Or An untalked about family secret? Who knew.. I thought hardly. Why when on those endless, mosquito dancing summer evenings, as Father & I had liked to retire to the park. Yet, depending on his mood at any moment he would either enthusiastically motion to me, to entrance with him into a most enjoyable game of football.
Or there were those times when precious father-son moments like these had gone wasted to his mind in a sudden, dream-like state. Just sitting, silent his mind paralysed from the rest of his body.
Liguster prioritised his mind, Father as usual seemed to be eloping into thought, hoping to uncover some hidden secret behind this all, that only he knew, or was it that he was the only one who thought it actually existed?
Maybe, this was his own, little, childish secret that only he knew in this complex world, that only he like a child was not willing to share..Something that he could take his mind off of, something to think about, somewhere to go, escaping his lack of interest in a job evidently took because of his spoken tongue. German. Coincedentally, Father had just announced that he was off to London for a few days.
A bulb flashes in my mind, maybe, just maybe London & Germany to him are more closely linked than I think.
''Do we have a contact for you there by any chance?'' My wife enquires being the well organised female that she is. We have all engaged in English now. ''Yeah, Father's off too memory lane.'' I remark, whilst staring at my alienated Father all the while hoping I get a reaction from his one too often visits to memory lane.
''Exactly.'' He states with a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice, but I can really see that a cool wave of recollections & remenisents are swimming in his mind.
I wonder. Just stop & stare.
If father we'll ever lead me into that world, the world that stole that innocent union in which we once shared. - Sumera
I spot Stephen disappearing into the bushes near his house. I've seen him and Keith hiding there, watching me. At first, i thought it was sweet of them, having fun, playing spies. I suspect they might have took it too far now. They might stumble upon things that i'd prefer to be left alone. I must put a stop it. Now.
I go into the house and place two chocolate digestive biscuits that i bought from Paradise on Wednesday, onto a plate, one of the older ones of course, and head for the door.
"Where are you going now?" Called Ted form the garage.
I sighed, straighted the hem of my skirt, and adjusted my hair.
I take a deep breath and open the side door to the garage.
"I'm just popping to Dee's, Darling." I lied.
"I thought you just came back from there?" He said quizzically, barely looking up from is cricket bat. He was oiling it. Again.
I froze.
"Well, she's forgotten to put eggs on the shopping list, you know what she's like, so I thought she could have some of ours, as we have some extra?" I felt rotten for blaming Dee.
"Typical" he grunted.
I took that as my cue to exit, and left.
Gemma A. :)
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