Nothing new here, just a recap of the themes we have talked about during the year :

- family life ( love/hate relationships / independence / traditional values vs the 60s revolution / what it means to be a mother : do you have to care for your children ?  Loving your children : instinct or social pressure ? / can you be free to make your own decisions when you depend on your parents for financial and moral support ?...)

- dealing with deviency / differences (Ben could represent symbolically any person who is different, disabled, socially unfit and so he questions the way society [family ; doctors ; schools ; the police...] deals with deviency)

Doctors : how do they deal with mental illness (lock people up physically in an institution or a straight jacket ?  lock them up chemically by drugging them stupid? Organise therapy ?...)

Schools : can they integrate children who do not understand the difference between right and wrong?  who can be dangerous with others?...

- The evolution of British society between the 60s and the 80s

(from the optimism of the 60s to the gloomy crisis of the 70s to the violent society of the 80s...)

«And what would happen to Ben now? » to the end (p. 131 / the end Vintage Edition – p.157 / the end Harper Edition)

This is the closing passage of the novel.  Ben is about to leave home for good and Harriet and David are about to get themselves a new house leaving Ben behind.

The point of view is Harriet's and she is wondering about Ben's future.  Even if she has never managed to understand him or his nature, she has taken her responsibilities and provided for him and now she wonders how he will cope in the world.  This passage announces the second part of the novel : "Ben in the world".

In your presentation, you should focus on Ben's nature, how he now occupies his time, what future Harriet imagines for him and what we are made, as readers to imagine his life being like.

This will enable you to talk about the rest of the novel too.

p 125 : "They had not been alone for some time..." to p126 "Leering and jeering and shouting encouragement."

This passage is situated at the end of the novel.  Ben is now a young teenager and Harriet and David are pictured together for the first time for quite a while.  They are in the kitchen at first and there is tension between them.

- Describe the situation at home :

(Ben with his gang ; spends more and more time away from home ;  when there, he's always with his mates ; no communication with his mother or father ; watches telly all the time, especially violent programmes...) and the evolution since his birth. 

- David away most of the time working and Harriet at home, observing her son's evry move and still trying to understand his nature after all these years.

Explain the misunderstanding between Harriet and David :

(Being away, David doesn't understand what is happening whereas Harriet does / they have a different opinion concerning the house too... )

Explain how this misunderstanding is the result of a gradual decline in their relationship as a couple (the pregnancy... Harriet's isolation... the decision to put Ben into an institution... Harriet's betrayal when she brings him back home... David's withdrawal into work... the other children leaving the family...  : "I have no children, you have one child")

Explain how this passage is really a symbolic expression of their failure as a couple and as parents and a failure of their ideals (empty rooms... compare with their dream when they first acquired the house... / not a reasonable house...)

It also suggests a possible life after Ben though :

David, once again seems ready to abandon Ben by abandonning the house.

Harriet prefers to wait until Ben leaves but she agrees about getting a "more reasonable house" and maybe going on holiday... HOPE?

Petit rappel pour vos révisions :

Vous pouvez tomber sur 3 types de documents :

- documents audios (peu de chance)

- documents iconographiques + texte (souvent)

- textes sans autre support (des chances)

Analysez bien le document :

- identifiez le clairement

(short text / article / extract from a novel.. autobiography... / conversation... / colour or black & white photo / advert / poster taken from an awareness campaign... / recording...)

- décrivez-le avec précision

(on the left / on the right / in the centre / in the background...)

- analysez le

(context / message / efficient or not / impact / target...)

- élargissez à une thématique plus vaste

- donnez votre point de vue sur la question

GOOD LUCK!

Passage 8

p94 “And where was Ben?” to p96 “The pressure of those inhuman eyes of his had entered her sleep and woken her.”

In this passage, Harriet sees Ben outside his home for the first time after taking him home from the institution and it changes her point of view on her son.

• A different Ben

Ben seen as happy for the first time. Explain the situation and the characters involved.

• Ben and “his gang”

Explain the contrast created between Ben's situation in the gang (pet, mascot?) and Ben at home. (accepted in the gang / rejected, neglected, misunderstood at home...)

• How the reader sees Ben after that

Explain how it is difficult not to pity Ben after this passage. The passage once again raises the question of Ben's nature, of his difference, of the difficulty to cope with people who do not understand moral values and social rules.