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NonNon--FictionFiction t LetterL to Daniel by e reFergal F e Keane CONTEXTCONTEXT • The following letter by Fergal Keane to his newborn son was broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 programme, ‘From our own Correspondent ’. • As a BBC foreign correspondent , Keane has reported, first hand, from various international crisis areas including Northern Ireland, Southern Africa and Asia. • His reporting has been honoured with an Amnesty International Press award and an OBE for services to journalism. • His book on Rwanda, Season of Blood, won the George Orwell Prize for political writing. nLetter to Daniel-Audio tnIntroduction I n IntroductionIntroduction • When writers plan their work, there are three basic questions they have to consider: • Who am I in this piece, myself or some other character? Persona • Who am I writing for? Audience • What effect do I want my writin g to have on the reader? Purpose • The answers to these questions help authors determine which form of writing or which genre they should adopt. IntroductionIntroduction • ‘Letter to Daniel ’ is a non-fiction text and in non- fiction we would normall y expect authors to write as themselves – rather than to adopt a di fferent persona. • However, audience and purpose in non -fiction will vary and are extremely important. • So, whether we are reading an extract f rom a longer piece in order to answer interpretation questions, or whether we are studying a complete work of non - fiction we should be thinking, as we read: • Who is this aimed at? • Why has the author wri tten this? IntroductionIntroduction •• ActivitiesActivities 11 andand 22 whichwhich follow,follow, areare designeddesigned toto getget youyou thithi nking nking aboutabout purposepurpose andand audienceaudience and,and, inin doingdoing so,so, comecome toto anan undersunders tanding tanding ofof whatwhat FergalFergal KeaneKeane setset outout toto achieveachieve inin hishis writing.writing. YouYou’’llll workwork inin pairspairs oror groupsgroups toto beginbegin with,with, beforebefore wholewhole--classclass discussiondiscussion onon thethe issues.issues. T1ACTIVITY A C1 ACTIVITYACTIVITY 11 • The piece is addressed to ‘My dear son’ and the narrative technique is that of a l etter, speaking, at all times, directly to Daniel – yet it was broadcast to the nation on a BBC radio programme. • Discuss the following statements about the audience for the letter, decide which one you agree wit h most and be prepared to report your conclusions. 1. The letter isn’t really aimed at his son. 2. The letter form is a device to get the attention of the general public. 3. The letter is aimed both at his son and the general public. 4. Other? ACTIVITYACTIVITY 22 ACTIVITYACTIVITY 22 • Consider the following possibilities and decide which one you think is Fergal Keane’s main purpose for writing this letter. • Referring closely to the text, you should try to offer at least three reasons for your choice. • Fergal Keane wrote this letter in order to: 1. express his feelings of pride and joy at having a new-born son; 2. express wonder and delight at how hi s life has changed as a result of becoming a father; 3. reflect on the world his newborn son has entered; 4. use the letter as a sort of ‘time-capsule’ for his son to open and read when he reaches maturi ty; 5. express his regret about never havi ng known his own father; 6. other? LetterLetter Overview/SynopsisOverview/Synopsis • At its most basic it is a father’s expression of joy and hope at the birth of his first child. At deeper levels, it considers how fatherhood has changed the writer’s perceptions of the ‘rat-race’, the horror he has witnessed as a war correspondent and the relationship – or lack of it – with his own father. • There are three sections to the letter, each with its own mood and tone. The opening section (paragraphs 1–5) is full of hope and joy at the birth of this precious son. • The next section reflects on the desolation visited upon children in war-torn countries – as witnessed by Keane reporting for the BBC from various war zones. In this section he expresses his feelings of fear for, and protectiveness towards, his son. • In the final section he tells a ‘story’ which is clearly about his own origins – but from an omniscient narrative stance. This section should allow you to consider the issue of the real and the imagined in non-fiction, perhaps agreeing that, in non-fiction it is the facts that are conveyed which matter, regardless of how the descriptive or narrative detail might have been manipulated to creative effect. • In the final paragraph, the letter reverts to its opening mood of love and joy, as well evoking a powerful mood of hope and reconciliation. YouYou areare nownow goinggoing toto analyseanalyse thethe texttext closelyclosely lookinglooking atat thethe following:following: • Structure • Narrative stance • Setting • Sentence structure • Imagery • Word choice • Tone • Contrasts • Theme WeWe willwill dividedivide thethe letterletter intointo thethe followingfollowing sectionssections inin orderorder toto dodo thisthis • Section 1 • (Paragraphs 1 – 5) Daniel and hi s parents. Mood of love, devotion and joy • Section 2 • (Paragraphs 6 – opening of para 11) Fergal - Life as war correspondent – How this makes him protective of his son • Section 3 • (A) (Paragraphs 12– 15) • & • (B) (final paragraph) • A) Alcoholic father – How this makes him even more protective • B) Link back to Daniel – Return to love, joy but also gives tone of hope c SectionS e 1 a (Paragraphs(P 1 –– 5)5) DanielDaniel andand hishis parentsparents .. MoodMood ofof love,love, devotiondevotion andand joyjoy ReadRead paragraphsparagraphs 11 –– 55 •• InIn thisthis firstfirst sectionsection KeaneKeane addresaddres ses ses hishis sonson directlydirectly andand thethe moodmood createdcreated ii s s oneone ofof paternalpaternal lovelove andand devotidevoti on. on. •• ItIt becomesbecomes evidentevident howhow pleased,pleased, overjoyedoverjoyed indeed,indeed, bothboth KeaneKeane andand hihi s s wifewife areare toto finallyfinally havehave aa child.child. TASKTASK 11 TaskTask 11 • The mood in the first five paragraphs is one of love and joy. 1. Read over these paragraphs and identify all the ways in which Keane conveys his love for his new son and his joy at becoming a father. (When doing this you should consider techniques such as word choice, use of imagery, use of setting . .) 2. Choose one feature which you particularly like: be prepared to talk about this feature and explain why you feel it is effective. TASKTASK 22 TASKTASK 22 •• WeWe areare nownow goigoi ng ng toto looklook atat allall examplesexamples ofof thethe extremelextremel y y effectiveeffective languagelanguage thatthat KeaneKeane emplempl oys oys inin sectionsection 11 (Paragraphs(Paragraphs 11 -- 5)5) ofof hishis letter.letter. •• ConsiderConsider thethe effecteffect ofof thethe folfol lowing lowing quotesquotes fromfrom sectionsection 1.1. Quote/Evidence Focus of Analysis Analysis/Evaluation “You are asleep cradled in my Narrative Stance – ‘You’ 1. Why does the writer have to learn “one left arm and I am learning the handed typing”? Tone & 2. The writer’s aim in this paragraph is to art of one-handed typing.” create a tone of calm and tranquillity – what Word choice – “cradled” does the word “cradled” suggest to you? “More tired, yet more happy Tone & 1. What feelings do the new parents than I have ever known her…” Sentence structure – have. Sentence structure – 2. What do their feelings help cope repetition of “more” with? “a soft quiet in our apartment.” Setting/Word choice – 1. What tone is created in the apartment effect of “soft” 2. What has the birth of his son effect of “soft” brought Keane? “days have melted into night Word choice – “melted” 1. What does the writer mean in his and back again.” use of “days have melted into night”? “a long sentence whose Metaphor 1. Keane compares his new life to a punctuation marks are feeding Word choice – effect of long sentence – why is this and winding and nappy “occasional” and of appropriate given his occupation and changing and these occasional how does he develop the idea? changing and these occasional “moments”. moments of quiet.” “the staff of our apartment” Anecdote 1. The optimism Keane feels about his son is obvious. Why does he include the information about his neighbours? “We had wanted you and Sentence structure – 1. Look at this sentence. Comment on the structure of this sentence. waited for you, imagined you repetition of phrases repetition of phrases 2. Comment on the phrase “Wanted and dreamed about you…” and dreamed about you…” containing “and”. you and waited for you”. 1. What feeling does Keane have for “This glorious dawn sky Word choice – makes me think we’ll call you Word choice – his son and the future? Son of the Eastern Star.” “glorious” Quote/Evidence Focus of Analysis Analysis/Evaluation “You are asleep cradled in my Narrative Stance – ‘You’ The writers aim is to create a tone of left arm and I am learning the Tone & calm and tranquillity. His baby is art of one-handed typing.” comfortable and safe Word choice – “cradled” “More tired, yet more happy Tone & Suggests that the feeling of than I have ever known her…” Sentence structure – happiness is so great it outweighs Sentence structure – the tiredness which accompanies the repetition of “more” birth of a child. “a soft quiet in our apartment.” Setting - The word suggests the Setting/Word choice – comfort and peace brought into his effect of “soft” life by the son. The divides between periods of time “days have melted into night Word choice – “melted” The divides between periods of time and back again.” are blurred or removed and time means nothing. “a long sentence whose Metaphor The writer’s profession and his daily punctuation marks are feeding Word choice – effect of routine are both entwined and and winding and nappy “occasional” and of connected: successful work depends on the quiet.

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