Part One
(page 7) Jeffrey's parents are Vietnamese, so he's ruthlessly bullied and belted about. ...But he takes it all astonishingly well, which has always eased my guilt, given that I'm never brave enough to intervene."
alliteration:
bullied/belted
sycophancy/spite
peach/pits
consonance:
wipe/slap
Do now: What does the quote above suggest about Charlie's reaction to racism at the time when we first meet him? How does Silvey use language features to develop our understanding of Charlie?
Part Two:
(pp132 & 134)
Scene at the Miners Hall
Part Three:
(pp118-120)
"Some of my family got killed."
"It happened yesterday. It was my ma's brother and his wife. My aunt and uncle. They won't tell me much more than that. It happened in the village that she grew up in. I don't know. I think it was a bomb."
Jeffrey looks momentarily startled. "Well, because there are bombs, Chuck. It's a war. It's pretty dangerous."
Charlie: "But they should be able to do something."
"I see him out the back door. I know I should say something appropriate and comforting, but I can't think of what. Words fail me. Like they always fail me when I need them. I just crimp my lips and look hopeless."
Jeffrey explains that his cousins are still alive but orphaned, and his parents want to bring them over to Australia but that is difficult. Charlie says, "Really? But why? They're orphans! They should be able to come here straightaway!"
"He scuttles off, his shoulders rounded slightly in a way I've not seen before."
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