ENG1517 October/November 2024 | Due 21 October 2024

Description

SECTION A
ALL the answers in this section MUST be presented in the form of cohesive paragraphs and not in point form.
After you have read TEXT A, please answer Questions 1.1 to 1.5.
TEXT A Where is Grandmother? Written by Robert Muponde Illustrated by Elizabeth Sparg Early one morning Duma knocked on her grandmother’s door. Today was Duma’s birthday and Grandmother had made her a red woollen hat as a gift. Duma was very excited. A mean-looking hyena opened the door. “Who are you? Where is Grandmother?” asked Duma. “I am Chidhange, your grandmother’s brother,” snarled the hyena. “I ran away a long time ago when she called me a thief and a scavenger.
I have come back to show her I am neither.”
“Where is Grandmother?” Duma asked again. She was trembling. “She is here. And she is not here,” said Chidhange, rubbing his full tummy. Chidhange burped. He burped a lot of red wool. “Oh no!” thought Duma. “He’s eaten Grandmother!” She ran away into the bush behind Grandmother’s house. Chidhange chased after her. Duma was very frightened. “But Grandmother is here! She is burning the old grass and leaves.” When Chidhange saw Grandmother, he got such a fright, he ran right into the fire. “What a silly hyena,” laughed Grandmother. Chidhange had mistaken Duma’s gift, hidden under the blankets, for Grandmother. Now he had a belly full of wool and a very sore bottom! He ran away and he was never seen again.

Question 1.1. (5 marks)
Is the content genre of Text A a fable or fairy tale? Provide two reasons for your answer.
Question 1.2. (10 marks)
Freudian therapists such as Bruno Bettelheim write that although fairy tales often feature frightening elements, such as child-eating witches or horrible stepsisters, they also deal with problems very relevant to children such as fear of abandonment by parents or sibling rivalry. Read through Text A and discuss what fears or problems relevant to children are represented in the story. Then discuss whether, in your opinion, the story effectively addresses this fear or problem. Provide reasons for your answer based on what happens in the story.

Question 1.3. (15 marks)
Discuss the passive nature of the female characters in TEXT A from a feminist perspective. As part of your answer, explain what you would change in the story to help Foundation phase readers see girls as important, intelligent and in control?
Question 1.4. (5 marks)
The source of TEXT A is an example of multimodal media. Available on a website, it is accompanied by a picture illustrating Duma’s meeting with the hyena and an audio recording of the story. Identify the kind of multimodal media this is and explain why it is considered multimodal? What would you consider a disadvantage of this example of media as a form of multimodal engagement?
Question 1.5. (15 marks)
Explain how the artist of the visual in TEXT A uses elements of visuals such as perspective and colour to convey Duma’s fear and the frightening qualities of the hyena. As part of your answer, you must discuss how the picture specifically depicts the hyena from Duma’s perspective.
SUB-TOTAL FOR SECTION A: 50

SECTION B
Study TEXT B and TEXT C and answer the essay question below.
TEXT B
The Golden Touch
The Moral: Greed will always lead to downfall. There once was a king named Midas who did a good deed for a satyr — a spirit of nature. Dionysus, the god of wine, then granted him a wish. For his wish, Midas asked that whatever he touched would turn to gold. Despite Dionysus’ efforts to prevent it, Midas pleaded that this was a fantastic wish, so it was bestowed. Excited about his newly-earned powers, Midas started touching all kinds of things, turning each item into pure gold. But soon, Midas became hungry. As he picked up a piece of food, he found he couldn’t eat it. It had turned to gold in his hand. Hungry, Midas groaned, “I’ll starve! Perhaps this was not such an excellent wish after all!” Seeing his dismay, Midas’ beloved daughter threw her arms around him to comfort him, and she, too, turned to gold. “The golden touch is no blessing,” Midas cried.

TEXT C
The Golden Touch of King Midas A poem for kids by Paul Perro
One day King Midas, out walking, Met the god Dionysus, Who told Midas there was something He wanted to discuss.
He said, “I hear you’re a good king, I hear that you’re adored. So I would like to give you a Very special reward.
To say thank you for being such a Decent and honourable king, I’m going to grant you one wish, You can wish for anything.”
The King was thrilled, and he replied, “Well, thank you very much! I would like to turn into gold Everything that I touch.”
Dionysus replied, “Okay, It shall be as you say.” And with those words each of them Went their separate way.
Before too long King Midas saw A beautiful purple flower. He thought “This would be a good thing On which to test my new power”.
Excited, he reached out his hand. He touched it, and lo and behold, The beautiful purple flower Turned into solid gold.
He touched a tree, a rock, a twig, And they all transformed too. The King could hardly believe it, His great wish had really come true.
Back home at his royal palace, King Midas carried on.
He turned some furniture to gold He thought it was great fun.
Feeling hungry, he got some food, And put on the kettle. But these things, of course, also turned Into precious metal.
“Oh dear” he thought, “I think perhaps I need a little rest.” He lay down on his bed but…well… You’ve probably already guessed.
That’s right, the mattress turned to gold, As soon as King Midas lay down. “A mattress made of gold is not Comfortable” he thought with a frown.
“With all this gold I surely am Exceptionally wealthy. But I can’t eat or sleep and that Surely can’t be healthy. ”
Just then, into the room ran Zoe, The King’s youngest daughter. She ran up to him and kissed him, Before he could thwart her.
The King gasped in horror as she Turned into a golden statue.

Wailing, he cried out to the gods “Please save her! I beg of you!”
Dionysus appeared, and Made everything as it was before. I guess the moral of the tale is, Be careful what you wish for.

Question 2
Write an essay in which you compare TEXT A with TEXT B in terms of suitability for teaching in the context of a South African multicultural Foundation-phase classroom.
In your essay, you must:
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Provide a brief summary of TEXTs B and C in which you demonstrate your understanding of the plot in both stories and the differences between them.
•
Discuss which version of the story is more appropriate in terms of content for small children.
•
Comment briefly on whether the content of these stories would be understandable to a multicultural South African classroom, and whether anything requires explaining.
•
Consider the length and vocabulary of Text A vs Text B.
•
Explore the advantages and disadvantages of presenting a story in a poem vs prose for small children.
•
State which version is more appropriate to teach based on your responses to the above.
You will be assessed for content, language and structure, so ensure that you answer the questions, edit carefully, and organise your points into coherent paragraphs. Remember that you cannot answer the questions in point form (so, do not section your points in bullets; bullets were merely used above to make it easier for you to discern the points that must be included in your discussion). Rather you need to answer in an essay form in which you need to provide an introduction, a body and a conclusion.
SUB-TOTAL FOR SECTION B: 50
TOTAL: 100 MARKS