H5 week 50_Short Story Shredni Vashtar & read Genesis and Catastrophe

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vmbo lwoo, havo
• Leerjaar 5

Today's objectives

1. Sredni Vashtar - read together & review questions
2. Read together - The Gift of the Magi & answer the questions (HW next Wed. Dec. 16th)
3. Quizzes - prepare for Wed. Dec. 16th
4. Listening practice 

Presentations/quizzes next week Wed. Dec. 9th

Divide up into groups of 4 people ( 8 groups in total) & prepare a quiz of 5 to 8 questions

• 3 groups present Sredni Vashtar questions & answers & use PADLET

(group A = questions 1-5; group B = questions 6-10;  group C = questions11-16)

• 2 groups prepare a quiz of Lamb to the Slaughter/Genesis and Catastrophe/general info short stories  & use 

(one short story + general info per group) (Quizizz.com or Kahoot)

•  2 groups prepare a quiz (Quizizz.com) on vocab units 11/12 OR 13/14 (pick 2 units per group) 

• 1 group will do a quiz (Socrative) on grammar plural forms/definite/indefinite articles/some/any

Sredni Vashtar -short story

Saki's macabre short story. 

Following the death of his parents in Burma, Conradin is sent to live with his strict, religious Aunt in Scotland. 

Rebelling against his guardian, Conradin invents a religion centered on his own vengeful god Sredni Vashtar, a pole-cat ferret he keeps hidden in the garden shed.

Edwardian society - 1901-1914

In the Edwardian period for ‘the first time it was widely recognized that children…have different needs, sensibilities, and habits of thinking; that they cannot be educated, worked, or punished like adults; that they have rights of their own independent of their parents’ (Rose 178).

 Paternalistic ‘seen and not heard,’ ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’ notions of childhood were being swept away and children became protected, longed for, and recognized as having their own needs and desires. 

Children's Act of 1908 -> to protect the right of the poorest and most vulnerable children

Setting Sredni Vashtar
(when/where) (details house)

How does the reader literally see that Mrs. De Ropp is short-sighted?

How can you tell that Mrs. De Ropp is also short-sighted in a figurative sense?

How does the writer build up suspense in paragraphs 10 and 11?

1. The ferret speaks and condemns Mrs. De Ropp. He prays that she will die.
2. The boy is chanting his prayers to the ferret. The ferret is looking forward to the kill.
3. Mrs. De Ropp can't see anything. As a reader you are wondering if she sees the ferret.
4. Descriptions of what is happening outside are given and the boy imagines the outcome - stresses the long time he's waiting

In the shed that evening there was an innovation in the worship of the hutch-god. Conradin had been wont to chant his praises, tonight he asked a boon.
'Do one thing for me, Sredni Vashtar.'
The thing was not specified. As Sredni Vashtar was a god he must be supposed to know. And "choking back a sob" as looked at that other empty corner, Conradin went back to the world he so hated. And every night, in the welcome darkness of his bedroom no and every evening in the dusk of the tool-shed. Conradin's bitter litany went up: 'Do one thing for me, Sredni Vashtar.' WHAT IS THE BOON IN PART 8?

How do you know that Conradin wants the ferret to do this?

What does Condradin chant at the end of part 10?
in section 11?

Irony in Sredni Vashtar

Irony = the opposite of what is said; the opposite of what is expected -> for a humorous or emphatic effect

Conradin declines the buttered toast offerend by Mrs. De Ropp in part 6 (you would expect him to be happy about this and eat it, but he doesn't). Then at the end, Conradin makes himself a toast sandwich without asking permission. 

Also, the maid ("shrill voice") says "whoever will break it to the boy?", expecting the boy to be sad, but he isn't sad at all.

Overall irony: 

Conradin is expected to die soon because of his poor health. However, he "disobeys"/"outsmarts" his guardian and cousin Mrs. De Ropp and she dies before he does. The ferret Sredni Vashtar seemed a fling of the boy's imagination, but the ferret did in fact kill Mrs. De Ropp.

Theme Sredni Vashtar

survival / revenge

Imagination

When does the climax take place?

What exactly happened in the shed after Mrs. Conradin went in?

How do you know for sure that Mrs. Conradin got killed by the ferret in the shed?

1. The maid says "whoever will break it to the boy" & they need to carry in "a heavy burden"
2. Conradin is making himself a toast
3. The doctor has been called.
4. The ferret is happy.

Who are the main characters in Sredni Vashtar?

1. The maid and the ferret
2. Conradin and the ferret
3. Mrs. De Ropp and Conradin
4. Mrs. De Ropp and the ferret.

Who is the protagonist?
Who is the antagonist?

1. Protagonist: Sredni Vashtar Antagonist: Mrs. De Ropp
2. Protagonist: Mrs. De Ropp Antagonist: the ferret
3. Protagonist: Mrs. De Ropp Antagonist: the ferret
4. Protagonist: Conradin Antagonist: Mrs. De Ropp

What was the one thing Mrs. De Ropp had no control of with regard to Conradin?

1. His toolshed
2. His detest for Mrs. De Rop
3. His imagination
4. His religion

Why was the one thing she didn't have control over so important to Conradin?

tool shed

House

Place of worship

Place of oppression

Safe haven

Feeling sick 

Feeling lonely

Key Sredni Vashtar

Q. 1 - His imagination 

Q. 2 - Because it was the only means of escape and the only way he could stay alive 

Q. 3 - A safe haven, a means of being on his own, not harassed by his guardian; and a cathedral, a church, a place to worship Shredni Vashtar 

Q. 4 - Large mansion with a small bare garden and old shed. England in the 1900s. 

Q. 5 - Because she had to put her head into the cage to see what was inside 

Q. 6 - She also does not know what a boy’s needs are, and she is caught up in the rules and restrictions of her time, and could not be flexible in any way 

He wants the ferret to kill his cousin 

He chants a hymn in which he mentions ‘red thoughts’ , thoughts about blood, e.g. killing 

Earlier, in section 6, he does the exact opposite of that Mrs De Ropp expects him to do. She treats him to buttered toast, and he declines. In the final section, he simply takes the toast and eats it without permission. Secondly, the maid thinks he might be really upset if she tells him of the woman’s death, but he isn’t in the least 

Survival 

When the ferret leaves the shed, blood around its jaw 

The woman probably put her head into the hutch as she could not clearly see what was inside, because of her short-sightedness. The ferret attacked her and bit her to death 

The maid screaming, probably at the sight of the dead woman, the calls from the kitchen what was the matter, the running towards the shed, the calling for help, the crying, and the carrying of the woman inside (heavy burden) 

Mrs De Ropp and Conradin 

Mrs De Ropp is the antagonist, because her only goal in life is to make the boy’s life miserable. The boy is the protagonist, he uses the ferret to solve his problems (discussed w. 45/2020 – changed: the ferret = protagonist -> the boy = protagonist) 

Key Sredni Vashtar

Q. 7 - He uses descriptions of what’s happening outside and he imagines what the outcome of her quest is going to be, to stress that the whole process takes a lot of time, and all this time you’re wondering what might be happening 

Q. 8 - He wants the ferret to kill his cousin 

Q. 9 - He chants a hymn in which he mentions ‘red thoughts’ , thoughts about blood, e.g. killing 

Q. 10 - Earlier, in section 6, he does the exact opposite of that Mrs De Ropp expects him to do. She treats him to buttered toast, and he declines. In the final section, he simply takes the toast and eats it without permission. Secondly, the maid thinks he might be really upset if she tells him of the woman’s death, but he isn’t in the least 

Q. 11 - Survival 

Key Sredni Vashtar

Q. 12 - When the ferret leaves the shed, blood around its jaw 

Q. 13 - The woman probably put her head into the hutch as she could not clearly see what was inside, because of her short-sightedness. The ferret attacked her and bit her to death 

Q. 14 - The maid screaming, probably at the sight of the dead woman, the calls from the kitchen what was the matter, the running towards the shed, the calling for help, the crying, and the carrying of the woman inside (heavy burden) 

Q. 15 - Mrs De Ropp and Conradin 

Q. 16 - Mrs De Ropp is the antagonist, because her only goal in life is to make the boy’s life miserable. The boy is the protagonist, he uses the ferret to solve his problems (discussed w. 45/2020 – changed: the ferret = protagonist -> the boy = protagonist)