English Society

Visiting Writer

Alan Gibbons

Famous Works

Literary Magazine January 2013 Issue

Alan Gibbons is a renowned English author who likes to write

about teenagers’ real-life struggles. He lives

in Liverpool, England, where he has over 16 years of teaching

experience.

Gibbons won the Blue Peter Book Award 2000 'The book I

couldn't put down' for his best-selling book Shadow of the

Minotaur and was a judge for the 2001 Awards.

The English Society is excited to announce that Mr. Gibbons will

be delivering two presentations for Form 1 and 2 students and a

workshop for selected Form 3 students at St. Paul’s on 27th

February. This is an excellent chance for students to enhance

their English writing skills by benefiting from the experience and

expertise of a popular author.

An Act of Love

Chris and Imran are childhood friends, but

they have drifted apart. The reason? The

explosive events around them that have

created a whirlpool of danger. This is the

war on terror. It leads them into violence,

danger and an examination of what life

and friendship really are.

Shadow of the Minotaur

Blue Peter Book Award-winning story of

Phoenix, the son of a computer geek, whose

new virtual reality game is just a bit too real.

Phoenix becomes Theseus pursued by the

Minotaur in a life-and-death struggle.

Vampyr Legion and Warriors of the Raven

complete the award-winning trilogy.

Quote Sharing

We live in a society where power and wealth seem to matter most. Our parents urge us to become great

doctors, lawyers, engineers. Success and happiness have been defined for us. But is this how we should

live our lives? Alan Gibbons has told us the true meaning of life. As a lover of story-telling, he became

an author. He may not have become the richest man, or become the fastest runner, or the prime minister

of England. But he lives a life that he finds rewarding; he has found something that makes him happy,

something that he finds worthy and meaningful. We often ask ourselves why we live with dissatisfaction,

but the truth is: we allow ourselves to be defined by others. Our lives belong to us and each of us has

only one. We should live as we want to and do what we long to. Live with passion and roam through this

world with freedom.

Telling stories is what I do, it's one of the things that makes me tick... I now travel the UK and

destinations as far afield as China, Cyprus, Spain, France and Norway talking about books and leading

writing workshops. I can't imagine a better way to earn a living. All power to the imagination!

Alan Gibbons

Book Review

Shadow of the Minotaur is a fast-moving, action-packed adventure, providing many twists and turns,

maintaining reader interest until the last page. The plot is a clever interweaving of ancient Greek

mythology with modern computer technology, combined with personal fears and failings. To Phoenix, a

teenage boy, it seems as if everyone is against him, from the teachers who believe he can do better, to

Adams the school bully who delights in tormenting him at every opportunity. Playing the computer

games his father brings home from work is the one bright point in Phoenix's week. Together with

playing computer games, it is the growing friendship with Lauren that makes his school life marginally

bearable.

Phoenix is invited to test a new game that his father is developing, an interactive game, played wearing

body suits to create an illusion of real life. The game is centred on Greek myths and Phoenix adopts the

character of Theseus whose challenge is to defeat the Minotaur, a terrifying beast with a bull's head and

a human body. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of Greek mythology, Phoenix hopes his role as

Theseus will allow him to become a hero for a change. Unknown to Phoenix, the game has a mind of its

own and creates realistic life-and-death situations that eventually involve his father, Lauren and even

Adams. They are all drawn into the game and come to rely on Phoenix to remember the myths and use

cunning and courage to save their lives. Phoenix finds himself in totally unfamiliar situations and must

draw on his own internal strength to overcome his fears in order to save his friends and family.

Gibbons skilfully weaves the contemporary personal lives of the characters with those encountered

inside the computer game to a point where it is difficult to distinguish between the two.

The true character of Phoenix is progressively revealed as the story unfolds, as each new challenge is

encountered and overcome. Lauren, who plays a minor supporting role both at school and within the

game, helps him. Their friendship adds another dimension to the story, reminding the reader that human

emotions are being examined and tested. The language is well suited to the intended audience and the

scenario of a computer game that is more real than life is presented in a way that seems plausible and

possible.

With a cover to attract the curious reader, Shadow of the Minotaur will be enjoyed by all students, not

only boys interested in computer games. It deserves to be read, not simply for its mythological content

but for its gripping, well-conceived story.

Reference:http://amlib.det.wa.edu.au/webquery.dll?v1=pbMarc&v20=14&v27=26820&v30=20D&v40

=2920&v46=2922

Poetry Appreciation 5F Peter Wang

Frankie Laine (1913-2007)

The Stephens’ Sweet Shop, 1949.

Bald Walt at work, “butterflying” hot dogs -

splitting them lengthwise for the griddle

and serving them up in hamburger buns -

while Boo, his smiling, slightly anxious wife 5

(a rigid perm and excess, too-bright lipstick),

provides to teen-aged guzzlers at the counter

and in an opium den of wooden booths

their sugary poisons, milkshakes thick as tar

and Coca-Cola conjured from syrup and fizz. 10

A smog of smoke. A jingle at the back

of pinball being deftly played. And through

the clamourous and hormone-laden haze

your slick voice, nasal yet operatic, sliced

and soared, assuring us of finding our 15

desire, at our old rendezvous. Today

I read you died, at ninety-three. Your voice

was oil, and we the water it spread on,

forming a rainbow film – our futures as

we felt them, dreamily, back there and then. 20

John Updike

In Frankie Laine (1913-2007) by John Updike, the poet describes in the chaotic, busy setting of The

Stephen’s Sweet Shop the voice of the singer who just died, Frankie Laine, and shows the importance of

him in the lives of teenagers at that time, around 1949. Throughout the poem, Updike uses various

techniques to help convey his feelings. Updike expresses through this poem his gratitude towards

Frankie, whom he has likely also worshipped like his fellow teen in 1940-50s, conveys his sadness for

the loss, and shows that the great effects of the singer will last forever.

Firstly, the setting and atmosphere is well-set by Updike to possible act as a contrast to Laine. The

Stephen’s Sweet Shop is pictured as busy and chaotic. “at work” and the special diction “butterflying”

are examples of word choices that bring out the atmosphere of a place of busy work. In lines 3-4

“splitting them…in hamburger buns”, the steps of Bald’s wife’s work are written in one continuous

sentence, which probably shows the fast and rapid tempo, hence the busy mood in the shop. Then in

lines 9-10, “their sugary poisons…syrup and fizz” is a list of products sold in the shop. The products are

pictures as fake and “poisonous” by various metaphors such as “sugary poisons” comparing sugar to

poison, and “Coca-Cola conjured from syrup and fizz” in which “conjured” shows that the Coca-Cola is

as though done by fake magic from worthless but tempting “syrup and fizz”. These show how the tens,

like “guzzlers”, are bombarded by these temptations. The image of Boo helps the mood as well, a

“slightly anxious” woman with “excess, too bright lipstick”, seems fake and not sincere. Then in line 11,

“a smog of smoke” and in line 13 “the clamorous and hormone-laden haze” conclude the atmosphere as

chaotic and possibly with unknown danger lurking unseen. All these help shape the atmosphere of the

shop, a possible microcosm of the society, fake and chaotic, and make a contrast with Laine’s voice.

The effect of Laine is one of the themes of the poem, and it is conveyed by various lexical choices,

including vivid imagery. Firstly, the name of the singer as the poem’s title shows this poem is devoted to

him, and already shows that importance of the singer as he deserves to be written a poem. Then the year

of birth and death is a clue to the emotion (sorrow) in the poem as the year 2007 is the year the poem

was written. Then in line 14-15, detailed adjectives like “slick” nasal” “operatic” show how the poet,

possibly like many others, admired and worshipped the singer. The adjectives are all picturing an almost

magical and gripping voice, illustrating the overwhelming effect of Laine to the teenagers. “sliced” and

“soared” in lines 14-15 are sibilant words, a soft sound of the words give the feelings of Laine’s

softnessand tenderness in his voice, further shown by the word choice of “assuring” in line 15, showing

how the teenagers are comforted, in the chaotic world pictured in the first half of the poem. Words “us”

and “our” are plural pronouns, showing that the effects of Laine is collective and maybe on the whole

generation of teenagers in 1949. Finally, a vivid metaphor gives a strong image of the positive effects of

the singer. In lines 17-20, Laine’s voice is compared to oil on water, which is the teenagers, and the

rainbow film vividly express the fact that Laine caused as effect on the teenagers that gave teenagers

colorful dreams of their future, and the colorful nature of the rainbow film again contrasting with the

grey “smoke” of the sweet shop. Laine had an overwhelming effect on teenagers that enabled them to

feel colors in the grey world.

Thirdly, language is also used to generate a unique tone of the poem specific to the purposes and

emotions of the poem. In lines 1-13 that are talking about the sweet shop, the third person point of view

is used, like ”Bald Walt, “his…wife”, “teen-aged guzzlers” The tone is distant and not close. Yet in lines

14-20, about the singer Frankie Laine, a startling contrast can be observed. The second person pronouns

“you”, “your” and first person pronouns “we”, “I”,”our” give rise to a very close and personal tone,

reflecting the unique closeness and tenderness of the singer to the teenagers. Moreover, the methods of

fulfilling desires of the sweet shop is providing all kinds of sweets, yet in line 15 merely the voice of

Laine can assure “us of finding our desire”, showing a trusting tone of the poem, reflecting the

teenagers’ attitude towards Laine. In lines 16-17, “Today I read you died, at ninety-three” is a line with

tremendous closeness and emotions, a tone of utmost sadness, very like felt by Updike and other

worshippers of Frankie Laine. All in all, the tender and close tone of the poem’s second half convey the

close feelings of the teenagers in 1949 for Laine.

Finally, Updike also makes good use of the poem’s structure. The whole poem is continuous in one unit,

not separated into verses. This is plausibly reflecting that Laine had a continuous, solid and concrete

effect on the teenagers of 1940s and never stopped or paused. The poem does not stop even at the

mention of Laine’ death in line 17, which is probably showing how the effects of Laine can persist even

after his death in the minds of Updike and others. Most of all, the poem takes a circular structure by

time, The poem started at 1949, then went to “today” in line 16, and the poem ends with “back there and

then”, bringing the readers back, as the poet revived his memories o 1949, to the beginning of the poem.

This ‘infinite loop’ structure of the poem is possibly showing the persistence of Laine’s voice and

effects, that his effects will last forever in the minds of people. In addition, enjambment is used by

Updike to emphasize some phrases or words like “your slick voice” in the beginning of line 14, “sliced”

in the end of line 16, giving a pause for the startling truth of “I read you died” in the beginning of the

line 17. Then the ending “back there and then” emphasizes the circular structure and concepts previous

mentioned.

To conclude, Updike makes good use of a unique setting, language, tone and structure to show clearly

and vividly the great effects of Laine’s voice on the teenagers around 1949, which persists and lasts

forever in the minds of people, shows again his admiration for Laine, and expresses his sadness for the

loss.

Short Story

In the Wink of an Eye

By Mark J. Howard

Chapter 3

They gazed at each other for a long time, separated by half a meter of solid diaglass and an ocean of

regret. They’d worked on this project for six years, admiring one another from afar, each too busy and

too focused and too distracted and too damned scared to make a move. Until four days ago. And now

this. It seemed like just about the worse case of bad timing possible, and yet for some reason she

couldn’t fathom it felt like perfect timing. Either that or an overdeveloped sense of irony, she mused.

Eileen Penoir had invented the metamaterial from which the core of the transmitter had been made.

Without it, the teleportation project would have been impossible. Penoirium, as she had named the

crystalline metamaterial, was an extraordinary substance. Penoirium molecules exist only partially in

our universe and also outside of normal time. Manufacturing metamaterials had always been a

frustratingly slow process of molecule by molecule construction. It could take months to produce a

strand half as thick as a human hair but only a millimeter long, but penoirium proved to be exactly the

opposite, it’s crystals growing almost exponentially and under their own power until fears began to arise

that the whole world faced being totally encased in the stuff. Eileen, though, had worked feverishly on a

solution and finally learned how to control the crystal’s growth with a high degree of precision. Eileen

had done all this before even receiving her doctorate. The girl was a genius, and she applied her talents

to the study of this incredible new material.

She published paper after paper concerning penoirium and its baffling properties, but it was such a

confusing and contradictory substance that nobody could think of any earthly use for it. Nobody until

Becks Palmer had read about penoirium’s theoretical ability to exist in two separate places, and at two

separate times in a completely stable state. What was more, a photon of light entering into a penoirium

crystal that does exist in two places at once itself is split into two. That was the breakthrough the

teleportation project had been waiting for and not long after Eileen had jumped at the chance to join

Palmer’s team. The penoirium based communication system they’d invented as a by-product of the

project had changed the world. Instantaneous communication over practically infinite distances had

become a commonplace, almost mundane thing. The technology had not only revolutionised the

telecommunications industry but also taken computers and all manner of other technologies in radical

and exciting new directions.

Now, looking into Eileen’s dark brown eyes, Palmer wondered if they should have left it at that. Their

place in the history books was secure and they’d never have to worry about money again, but they’d

ploughed ahead anyway. Instantaneous transmission of information is surely a marvelous and

astounding thing, but they wanted more. They wanted a real teleportation system, one that could

transmit goods and perhaps even livestock instantaneously and freely across great distances. They

wanted to transport explorers to Mars and beyond in the wink of an eye. They had reached for the

knowledge of the gods and been punished for their impertinence.

Inside the monitoring suite the lights began to flicker into apprehensive life and several computer

servers and terminals began to boot up, but the damage was extensive and there seemed also to be

several severe casualties. The fires were all but extinguished now and Jack Cooper, the lab supervisor,

was bringing calm and a semblance of order to the situation. Palmer could see his animated face and

hands as he waded through the chaos issuing instructions and encouragement in equal measure. Jack

would sort things out, he was that kind of man and Palmer felt relieved that he was okay. Jack would

make sure Eileen got out if things deteriorated further. He’d make sure all his crew got out.

Almost all.

Palmer gathered her wits with an effort and spoke into the intercom. “What went wrong?”

Eileen, too, had to drag her attention back to the question in hand. She understood the consequences of

the shard of penoirium in Beck’s shoulder and had been turning over possible solutions in her mind,

only to find that there were none. “I don’t know, the computers aren’t back up yet so I can’t see the data.

I think there was an energy imbalance, I’m not sure. It all happened so quickly, too quickly almost.”

“Yes, I understand what you mean. Just before, I don’t know, whatever happened, happened, I thought I

saw a bubble, like a little, solid bubble of light over the number two feed node. It was completely still,

it’s hard to explain, like the room wasn’t in a fixed spot, but the bubble was.” Palmer’s forehead creased

as she tried to remember what had happened, causing fresh blood to run down her face. “It only lasted a

split second, but, it also seemed to have been there for hours. I can’t explain it.”

Reference:http://youwriteon.com/books/samplechapters.aspx?bookguid=decd1e6c-cbc2-4044-b5b9-209

e9f07ab72

New Arrivals in the School Library

The Maze Runner

By James Dashner

A modern classic, for fans of the Hunger Games

When Thomas wakes up, he finds himself in a lift. He only remembers his

first name. His memory is blank. When the lift doors open, Thomas finds

himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open

expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the children don’t know

why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every day, the stone

doors are opened in the morning and closed at night.

Every thirty days, a new boy is delivered in the lift. But one day, a girl appears—the first girl to ever

arrive in the Glade. The message she delivers is even more startling. Thomas might be far more

important than he ever imagines himself to be -- If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within

his mind.

Red Scarf Girl

By Ji-li Jiang

A true story of a Chinese girl's determination to hold her family together during one of

the most terrifying eras of the twentieth century

It is 1966, and twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has everything a girl could want:

brains, friends, and a bright future in Communist China. Yet it is in 1966

when Mao Ze-dong, the leader of China, launches the Cultural

Revolution—and destroys Ji-li's world. Over the next few years, people who

were once her friends and neighbors turn on her and her family, forcing them

to live in constant terror of arrest. When Ji-li's father is finally imprisoned,

she faces the most difficult dilemma of her life.

Obernewtyn

By Isobelle Carmody

A must-read for dystopian novel lovers

In an age where technology has been lost and the world is ruled by a

totalitarian regime set on purging the world of anyone with psychic abilities,

life is harsh. And for Elspeth Gordie, it is also dangerous. She has a

secret: born a Misfit, she possesses mysterious mental abilities that she must

keep hidden, under threat of death. Her worries only multiply when she is

exiled to the mountain compound known as Obernewtyn, where—for all her

talents—Elspeth may finally and truly be out of her depth. Then she learns

she’s not the only one concealing secrets at Obernewtyn.

A Fresh Page… A Fresh Start…

Games Corner

Crossword

Aside (uh-SIDE):

- An actor’s speech, directed to the audience that is not supposed to be heard

by other actors on stage.

- An aside is usually used to let the audience know what a character is about

to do or what he or she is thinking.

Effects:

Asides are important because they increase an audience's involvement in a play

by giving them vital information pertaining to what is happening, both inside a

character's mind and in the plot of the play.

Example:

In Othello, Iago gives several asides, informing the audience of his plans and

how he will try to achieve his goals.

Monthly Phrases

Denotation (DEE-no-TAE-shuhn):

- The exact meaning of a word, without the feelings or suggestions that

the word may imply

- The opposite of “Connotation” in that it is the “dictionary” meaning of a

word, without attached feelings or associations.

Effects:

- Denotation allows the reader to know the exact meaning of a word so

that he or she will better understand the work of literature.

Examples:

1. Heart: an organ that circulates blood throughout the body. Here the

word "heart" denotes the actual organ, while in another context, the

word "heart" may connote feelings of love or heartache.

2. Sweater: a knitted garment for the upper body. The word "sweater"

may denote pullover sweaters or cardigans, while “sweater” may

also connote feelings of warmth or security.