Bear with me, this ones a long one.
The Journey An area of study - TEACHER RESOURCE
Text 3: The wind in the willows by Kenneth Grahame
OVERVIEW
- Well known childrens classic
- Associated with Area of study: The journey
- Animal figures represent human traits
- parable approach allows author to satarise flaws, foibles (weakness in/of character), and idiosyncrasies with humour
- able to read on number of different levels
- issues relevent to adults
- positive connotations of travel
- evident in Toad's character
- Rat is juxtaposed to Toad's character
- unwilling to explore unknown
- Toad is adamant about virtues of travel
- Rat is adamant that staying at home has greater advantages
- Toad encourages idea of exploration
- idea made more attractive by 'gypsy wagon'
- Toad epitomises all positive attributes of travel
- Explore the antithetical pressures of staying and going and the virtues of what is new against what is familiar
JOURNEY MOTIF
- Journey that Toad proposes is full of promise
- Enthuses it will allow them to experience 'real life'
- Gypsy cart becomes the vehical for world of adventure:
"Travel, change, interest, excitement!"
- Toad seems jaded with remaining the same
- assumes that others will share his enthusiasm
- Ratty likes comfort of familiar-has no inclination for heading off with Toad
-In this sense they represent negative/positive of changing one enviroment for another
- Kenneth Grahame uses: "I'm going to make an animal of you my boy!"
- Ratty remains adamant about not going
DETAILED ANALYSIS - CHARACTERS
TOAD
- Forceful character
- Exuberant & assertive
- Conceited & full of own self importance
- blames the cart for the trip..."the very finest cart...ever built".
- Proud
- Bossy nature
RATTY
- Conservative individual
- Unimpressed & uninspired by Toad
- Antithetical opposite of Toad
- Appears dull, boring and tiresome
- Rational
- Obdurate
-Stubborn
MOLE
- Immediately responds to Toad's enthusiasm
- Fence-sitter: caught inbetween two adamant individuals
CONTEXT
- Early 20th Century Britain; story about animals a humourous reflection on human life and attitudes
PROSE FEATURES
- Visual & aural imagery used to make scene vivid and amusing
- Juxtaposition
- Direct speech
- Register is formal, but literary (allegorical characters, symbol, dialogue)