Questions for analysing a text by Amy Hardy Goodbye EU, and goodbye the United Kingdom (722 words) World and Press • 1st August issue 2019 • page 2 page 1 of 6 Questions for analysing a text The following exercises analyse the content, structure, and language of the article. Pre-reading 1. Form groups of three or four people and brainstorm the things you associate with “Britishness”. Make a list of these things. 2. Explain in your own words what “Brexit” is. Why is it such a hot topic right now? 3. Research the following individuals: Margaret Thatcher, Kenneth Clarke, Mervyn King, and Winston Churchill. What are they known for? Questions 1. What does the expression “sick man of Europe” (para. 1) mean? Explain it in your own words and say what figure of speech it is. 2. The article starts with a flashback to the 1970s and then moves to today’s Brexit crisis. How does the author compare the past with the present in the opening of the article from the headline to paragraph 3? 3. Answer the following questions on “Brexiters”. a) Which people support leaving the EU according to the article? Collect key points that describe Brexit supporters. b) How did English nationalism play a part in the decision to leave the EU? Look at how the author describes Brexiters to explain his view on this. 4. How is the article structured? Subdivide the article into four or five parts and summarise the content of each part in one concise sentence. 5. The author argues that the decision to leave the EU has started to dissolve “Britishness” as a shared identity of the citizens of the four UK nations. Brexit, therefore, changes the UK as we know it (headline, subhead, paras. 3, 7–9, 11). a) Define what the author means by “Britishness”. b) Do you agree with the author? Comment on his opinion and give reasons. Additional task (optional) The article is rich in metaphors. For example, each of the paragraphs 2, 3, 6, 9, and 11 include one. Choose two of these metaphors and explain their meaning. Underline the metaphorical expression in each phrase. © 2019 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG Bremen. All rights reserved. Copies of this material may only be produced by subscribers for use in their own lessons. Goodbye EU, and goodbye the United Kingdom World and Press • August 1 / 2019 • page 2 page 2 of 6 Answer key Pre-reading 1. Answers will vary, but some possibilities are: Queen Elizabeth, Buckingham Palace, the monarchy, the royal family, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, red telephone booths, double-decker buses, tea, scones, crumpets, high tea, London, pubs, fish and chips, the Commonwealth, driving on the left side of the road, rain, politeness, humour, comedy, football, … 2. Answers will vary. A possible answer is: “Brexit” refers to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union (British + Exit). The decision was voted upon in a referendum in June 2016 with almost 52 per cent voting to leave. It is such a hot topic because it has many economic and political repercussions for all of Europe concerning trade agreements, imports, border controls (Northern Ireland, Dover, Calais), work permits, residence permits, travelling, etc. Further background information: • www.bbc.com/news/politics/eu_referendum/results • www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47470864 • www.gov.uk/government/news/government-outlines-no-deal-arrangements-for-eu-citizens • www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-14/why-ireland-s-border-commands-its-own- brexit-backstop-quicktake 3. Possible Answers • Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013): British Conservative Party politician and prime minister (1979–90); won three consecutive terms; her politics pushed the change of the UK’s economy from being more state-controlled (statism) to being more liberal • Kenneth Clarke (1940– ): British conservative politician; served as cabinet official under the prime ministers Margaret Thatcher, John Major, and David Cameron; ran for leadership of the Conservative Party several times but didn’t win • Mervyn King (1948– ): British economist; governor of the Bank of England (2003–13) • Sir Winston Churchill (1874–1965): British statesman, orator, author; led the UK through World War II; he was prime minister twice (1940–45 and 1951–55) Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica (www.britannica.com) Questions 1. Sample answer The expression “sick man of Europe” is a personification that refers to the UK’s poor economic status in the mid-1970s. It describes the country as a person suffering from a disease because its economic and industrial situation was extremely weak compared to the rest of Europe. Parallels to a disease are also drawn in the paragraph when the text describes how investors reacted at the time. They did not want to do business with the UK anymore and were “taking flight” (para. 1) from the “sick man”. In the midst of the British economic decline, investors were © 2019 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG Bremen. All rights reserved. Copies of this material may only be produced by subscribers for use in their own lessons. Goodbye EU, and goodbye the United Kingdom World and Press • August 1 / 2019 • page 2 page 3 of 6 acting as if they had to protect themselves from an individual with a contagious disease who may infect them. Furthermore, the word “endemic” (para. 1) is used in this paragraph to describe the “industrial strife” (para. 1). The word has connotations with a disease found within a particular area and thus emphasises the link between the British economy and disease. 2. Sample answer The author compares the economic crisis in the 1970s to today’s Brexit crisis because he thinks that they are both “existential moment(s)” (para. 3) for the UK. This means that both crises have in common that they can change the country fundamentally. Both involve some form of loss or departure as expressed in the headlines used in the passage. The article quotes a headline by the Wall Street Journal in 1975, “Goodbye Great Britain” (para. 1). The author explains this headline by saying that the country had lost its “Greatness” because of the economic crisis (para. 1). The headline of the article (“Goodbye EU, and goodbye the United Kingdom”) adapts the 1975 headline to today’s Brexit crisis. However, the headline suggests that the UK has more to lose today than in 1975. The headline contains two “goodbyes” and the author sees Brexit as a “two- part drama” in two acts (para. 3). The first one is “Goodbye EU” (headline) or “Goodbye to Brussels” (para. 3), where the UK will cut its institutional, economic, and political ties with the EU (para. 3). The second act is “goodbye the United Kingdom” (headline, para. 3). The author does not give much information as to what this would mean. The subhead suggests, however, that it has to do with “Britishness” being replaced by English nationalism. Overall, the passage shows that the Brexit crisis has many dimensions, and it is left unclear if there could be a solution or what this solution could look like. In contrast to that, the crisis of 1975 is described as only an economic one that was ultimately solved in an economic way (para. 2). 3. a) Sample collection of key points Brexit supporters are … • … Conservative Party members who belong to the “rightwing English nationalist wing of the party”. (para. 5) • … Conservative Party members and people in general who find it hard to accept that the British Empire came to an end. This is a source of pain for them, and they feel nostalgic about the UK’s powerful status in the past, for example, during World War II. This is why they dream of a “Global Britain” (para. 6) and think that leaving the EU and standing alone (like Winston Churchill was ready to do during World War II) is the way to achieve this. They look forward to Brexit as the UK’s “Independence Day” (para. 6) because this would mark a return to the UK’s former significance. (paras. 5, 6) • … mainly people from provincial England who live in smaller cities, towns, and rural areas as well as people from Wales. (para. 7) • … angry populists who revolt against outsiders and British elites. (para. 6) • … politicians who focussed the Leave campaign before the referendum on anti-migrant feelings and the understanding that being English (as opposed to British) means being white. Their promise to invest in the National Health Service while keeping foreigners out is seen as dangerously close to the views of overtly racist extremists. (paras. 9, 10) © 2019 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG Bremen. All rights reserved. Copies of this material may only be produced by subscribers for use in their own lessons. Goodbye EU, and goodbye the United Kingdom World and Press • August 1 / 2019 • page 2 page 4 of 6 b) Sample answer The voting results that the author mentions show that voting Leave was more of an English decision and not a British one. An explanation for this can be found in the descriptions of the Brexiters. Their support of Brexit is linked to English nationalism. Brexiters of the Conservative Party are directly associated with the English nationalist wing within the party. This nationalism shows in their nostalgic pride in the UK’s former, powerful status as an empire. They think that the UK would regain this feeling of power by separating from the EU. English nationalism among Brexiters is indirectly shown in the description of populists that revolt against outsiders and in the xenophobia and underlying racism that shaped the Leave campaign. The campaigners capitalised on the view that Englishness is about being white and won voters by making the rejection of foreigners a central part of their promise.