lesson 1: face to face with hurricane camille

Joseph P. Blank

What does the Title “Face to face with Hurricane Camille” remind you of?

What kind of story might the text be?

Who, when, where, what, why, how?

Narrative is one of four rhetorical modes of discourse, exposition, argumentation and description.

It is a story that is created in a constructive format (as a work of speech, writing, song, film, television, video games, photography or theatre) that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events.

Setting

Conflict

Climax

resolution

Who?When?Where?What?Why?How?

Conflict is a concept in literary studies that seeks to analyze plots by finding their driving sources of conflict.

Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch, literary critic and author, was first to classify plots as seven basic conflicts: Man against Man, Man against Nature, Man against Himself, Man against God, Man against Society, Man caught in the Middle, Man & Woman.

In this text?

Man v. Nature is the theme in literature that places a character against forces of nature. Many disaster films focus on this theme, which is predominant within many survival stories.

Particularly in this text?The Kosack family and friends vs.

hurricane

The climax or turning point of a narrative work is its point of highest tension or drama or when the action starts in which the solution is given

In this text?The wind, the water and the

hurricane…

How is the problem solved?

Part I (1-6): The Kosack family decided to stay in the house during the hurricane.

Part II (7-18): Struggling with the hurricane

Part III (19-20): The devastating power of the hurricane.

Part IV (21-27): The main thrust of the hurricane passed.

Part V (28-39): Reorganization of life.

What preparation did the family make against the hurricane?

--water --powerDid they think the hurricane would

be very ferocious?

…as Camille lashed northwestward… Lash: strike with force Northwestward (northwest+ward) It was certain to pummel Gulfport, Miss…. Pummel: strike repeatedly (with fists) John was reluctant to abandon his home

unless the family… was clearly endangered.

Be reluctant to=be unwilling to Endanger=en+danger (enable,

encapsulate, enrich, enslave)

Trying to reason out the best course of action, he talked with his father and mother…

reason out: find answers by considering all the possible solutions

Course: the procedure of dealing with sth. The animal, be it the rat in its maze of a

chimpanzee gazing from a group of boxes to a clump of bananas hung just out of reach overhead, must reason out a course of action in its mind.

Four years earlier, Hurricane Betsy had demolished his former home a few miles west of Gulfport (Kosack had moved his family to a motel for the night.)

Demolish: pull / knock down Motel: motor + hotel (medicaid,

autocide, brunch) We’re elevated 23 feet. = 23 feet

above sea level.

We can batten down and ride it out… Batten down: fasten with batten Batten down the hatches: To prepare for

an imminent disaster or emergency. Ride out: come safely through the storm When the future seems to be filled with

storm clouds, it may appear that the Church has no other recourse but to batten down the hatches and attempt to ride the storm.

Since the water mains might be damaged, they filled bathtubs and pails.

main=pipe Bathtub: bath+tub (suitcase, teapot,

hairdresser, etc.) A power failure was likely, so they

checked out batteries for the portable radio…

likely-=possible Check out: examine

…grey clouds scudded in from the Gulf on the rising wind.

Scud: moving fast in straight lines as if driven by wind

…if she and her two children could sit out the storm (if they could stay until the storm is over)

Another neighbor came by on his way inland…

Come by: pay a visit

People’s words: how are they related to the ferocity of the hurricane? Or to the evolvement of the conflict?

--What was their expectation of the hurricane? Was the hurricane what they supposed it to be?

We’re elevated 23 feet, and we’re a good 250 yards from the sea. The place has been here since 1915, and no hurricane has ever bothered it. We’ll probably be as safe here as anyplace else. (P. 3)

Stay away from the windows. (P. 7) Everybody out the back door to the cars! We’ll pass the children along between us. Count them! Nine! (P. 10)

Back to the house! Count the children! Count nine! (P. 11)

Everybody on the stairs! (P. 12)Get us through this mess, will you?

(P. 17)Up the stairs—into our bedroom!

Count the kids. (P. 21) Into the television room! (P. 22)

Let’s get that mattress up! Make it a lean-to against the wind. Get the kids under it. We can prop it up with our heads and shoulders! (P. 25)

If the floor goes, let’s get the kids on this. (P. 26)

I wanted you to be here so that we would all be together, so you could enjoy the children, and look what happened. (P.36)

You’re great. And this town has a lot of great people in it. It’s going to be better here than it ever was before. (P.38)

We can batten down an ride it out. If we see signs of danger, we can get out before dark. (P. 4)

I think we’re in real trouble. That water tasted salty. (P. 9)

I can’t swim, I can’t swim. (P. 14)You won’t have to. It’ bound to end soon.

(P. 15)Pop, I love you. I love you. (P. 16)Children, let’s sing! (P. 21)

Let’s not cry about what’s gone. We’ll just start all over. (P. 37)

We lost practically all our possessions, but the family came through it. When I think of that, I realize we lost nothing important. (P. 39)

Safe setting Glasses be shattered Flee Back home Die

conflict Helpless / pray Struggle Determined to fight against the hurricane Ready to face death

climax survived Resolution

How did the hurricane develop?--Wind--Rain--WaterHow was the house destroyed by

the hurricane?How did people’s reaction change?

How was it related to the conflict?

Rain fell steadily that afternoon; grey clouds scudded in from the Gulf on the rising wind. (6)

Wind and rain now whipped the house. (7) The wind mounted to a roar.. The rain

seemingly driven right through the walls. The rapidly spreading water (7)

The roar of the hurricane now was overwhelming. Water rose above their ankles. (8)

A blast of water hit the house. The sea had reached the house, and the water was rising by the minute. (9)

The wind was too strong and the water was too deep to flee on foot. (11)

The wind sounded like the roar of a train passing a few yards away. Water inched its way up the steps. (13)

A moment later, the hurricane, in one mighty swipe, lifted the entire roof off the house and skimmed it 40 feet through the air. (18)

Water lapped across one closet wall. (26)

The wind slightly diminished, and the water stopped rising. Then the water began receding. The main thrust of the Camille had passed. (27)

Wind and rain now whipped the house. The house began leaking. Power failed. (7)

The house shook and the ceiling in the living room was falling piece by piece. The French doors in an upstairs room blew in with an explosive sound, and the group heard gun-like reports as other upstairs windows disintegrated. (8)

Then the front door started to break away from its frame…a blast of water hit the house, flinging open the door. The generator was doused and the lights went out. The sea had reached the house. (9)

The car wouldn’t start; the electrical systems had been killed by water. (11)

The house shuddered and shifted on its foundation. The first floor outside walls collapsed. (13)

The hurricane lifted the entire roof off the house and skimmed it 40 feet through the air. The bottom steps of the stairs broke apart. One wall began crumbling on the marooned group. (18)

Debris flew as the living room fireplace and its chimney collapsed…two walls in their bedroom sanctuary beginning to disintegrate. (22)

The wind tore out one wall and extinguished the lantern. A second wall moved, wavered, Charlie Hill tried to supported, but it toppled on him. The house, shuddering and rocking, had moved 25 feet from its foundation. (24)

The floor tilted. A third wall gave way. Water lapped across the slanting floor. (26)

The family had an early supper. A neighbor and her two children came. The dog came. (6)

John sent his oldest son and daughter upstairs to bring down mattresses and pillows for the younger children. He wanted to keep the group together on one floor. The Koshaks began a struggle against the water. Pop Koshak turned on the generator. (7)

John and Charlie put their shoulders against the front door. Charlie licked his lips. (9)

The children went from adult to adult like buckets in a fire brigade. (11)

They scrambled back. The children put the cat, Spooky, and a box with her four kittens on the landing. She peered nervously at her litter. The neighbor’s dog curled up and went to sleep. (12)

Everyone knew there was no escape; they would live or die in the house. (13)

The mother was on the verge of panic. She clutched his arm and kept repeating… (14)

Grandmother Koshak reached an arm around her husband’s shoulder and out her mouth close to his ear…her turned his head and answered… (16)

John watched the water…and felt a crushing guilt. He held his head between his hands and silently prayed…(17)

The children huddled in the slashing rain within the circle of adults. Grandmother Koshak implored…She carried on for a few bars; then her voice trailed away.

John put his arm around his wife…shivering from the wind and rain and fear, clutching two children to her…She felt anger against the hurricane. (23)

Pop Koshak raged silently, frustrated at not being able to do anything to fight Camille. He dragged a cedar chest and a double mattress from a bedroom into the TV room. Charlie Hill tried to support the wall.. (24)

The larger children sprawled on the floor, with the smaller ones in a layer on top of them, and the adults bent over all nine. The box containing the litter of kitten slid off a shelf and vanished in the wind. Spooky flew off the top of a sliding bookcase and also disappeared. John grabbed a door which was still hinged to one closet wall… (26)

How did the author interweave the ferocity of the hurricane, the collapse of the house, the reaction of the characters together?

Hurricane (Wind, water, rain)

words, reaction, animals

Destruction of the House

Wind and rain now whipped the house. Whip: a metaphor “stay away from the windows,” he

warned, concerned about the glass flying from storm-shattered panes.

Stay away from=keep clear of Concerned about: We're a bit concerned

about Dorothy, we haven't seen you and her for such a long time.

concerned with: Before the 1967 war Syria, Egypt and Jordan had all been concerned with the issues of Arab nationalism.

As the wind mounted to a roar, the house began leaking—the rain seemingly driven right through the walls.

mount: climb or ascendSeemingly: apparently; as if It seems that the rain was driven

through the walls.

Overwhelming: very strongThe French doors in an upstairs room

blew in with an explosive sound, and the group heard gun-like reports as other upstairs windows disintegrated.

Disintegrate: break up into small parts

Then the front door started to break away from its frame.

Become detached from its base In May 1991, after 30 years of bitter

civil war, Eritrea broke away from Ethiopia.

…but a blast of water hit the house, flinging open the door and shove them down the hall.

Blast: A strong current of air Fling: move-/push suddenly and violently Shove: To push roughly The generator was doused, and the light

went out. The water drenched the device which

produce electricity, so there was no light.

Brigade: a military formation, 3,000–5,000 soldiers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_formation#Hierarchy_of_modern_armies

Frightened, breathless and wet, the group settled on the stairs, which were protected by two interior walls.

Frustrated and disappointed, John left the house without telling anyone.

The children put the cat, Spooky, and a box with her four kittens on the landing.

Dog: puppy, cat: kitten, horse: pony, cow: calf

Landing: between two flights of stairs

She peered nervously at her litter.Peer: to look keen on..Litter: a number of young animals

born to an animal.

Water inched its way up the steps.The trail winded its way up the

mountain. John shoved his way through the

crowd.

Charlie Hill had more or less taken responsibility for the neighbor and her two children.

More or less: to some extentTake responsibility for: The mother was on the verge of

panic.The mother almost fell into tread.

John watched the water lap at the steps, and felt a crushing guilt. Why?

He had underestimated the ferocity of Camille.

Undercharge, underdeveloped, underfeed, undervalue

Ferocity: cruelty, fiercenessHe had assumed what had never

happened could not happen.

swipe: sweeping blow / attackSkim: removeCrumble: break apartMaroon: to leave someone

trapped/isolated in an unaccessable place.

Slash: to make a gush Implore: beseech, entreat, to beg

urgentlyShe carried on alone for a few bars;

then her voice trailed away.Carry on: to continueBar: measureTrail away: to become

fainter/quieter/weaker

Debris: wreckage, rubbleSanctuary: a place of refugeDisintegrate: reduced to components

/fragments

Dear Lord, give me the strength to endure what I have to.

Pray.Oh, my God: my goodness Jesus: JeeAsk for strengthWhat I have to

Rage: violent anger Frustrated: having a feeling of

dissatisfaction or lack of fulfillment Double mattress Bed: mattress+frame+box Single, double, king’s size, queen’s size Extinguish: quench/put out

Extinguisher Waver: to move unsteadily back and forth Topple: to lean over as if about to fall

Lean-to: a shed with a single slope Prop up: support by placing sth

solid/rigid Tilt: incline Vanish: disappear quickly Cower: to crouch in fear Give way: collapse Hinge: attach to Diminish: to become weaker Recede: move back away Thrust: a forceful push

Winds: 200 m/hTides: 30 feetHomes: 19,467Businesses: 709Oil tank: 600,000, 3 1/2Cargo ships: 3Telephone poles and pinesThe seriousness of Camille

What role does the example of vacationers play in the text?Spectacular: impressiveVantage point: a place with better viewSmash: violently breakPerish: disappear quickly

The story is suspending in that the family was dying in the hurricane, but then the author stops talking about the hurricane but turn to the seriousness of the hurricane and the casualty that it has brought. Why?

Why does the author choose to interrupt the suspending plot?

Do you want to know what happened to the family?

To provide background informationTo inform the readers of the

devastating effect of the hurricaneTo create more suspense: will the

family live or die in the hurricane?To highlight the heroism of the

family: they have achieved what seemed impossible at the beginning

How does the place look like after the storm?

Strew: to spread here and thereCoil: windReturnee: refugee, interviewee,

examinee In effect: in realityBack home after the hurricanePeople’s reaction: Organizations: Donation:

Rake its way across Mississippi.Sweep its way acrossRampage: To move about wildly or

violently.

The Koshaks: family, neighbor, Charlie Hill

Pitch in: to join force with others to help

Seabees: Construction Battalions Trauma? The children, Janis. Awe: to inspire a reverence / dread Incomprehensible: impossible to

know/fathom Janis had just one delayed reaction.

It could have been depressing, but it wasn’t; each salvaged item represented a little victory over the wrath of the storm.

I could have laughed to hear him like this.

But the blues did occasionally afflict all the adults.

The blues: the depression Afflict: to cause suffering / unhappinessWhat did John tell his parents and

why?

We lost practically all our possessions, but the family came through it. When I think of that, I realize we lost nothing important.

How do you infer the American’s value of disaster, experience and life?

How different / similar is it compared to the Chinese ones?

Do you think we could prevent all those natural catastrophes?

If so, how? If not, why?