Module C: The Craft of Writing Prose Fiction
NESA English Advanced Module C – The Craft of Writing DESCRIPTION In this module, students strengthen and extend their knowledge, skills and confidence as accomplished writers. Students write for a range of audiences and purposes using language to convey ideas and emotions with power and precision. Students appreciate, examine and analyse at least two short prescribed texts as well as texts from their own wide reading, as models and stimulus for the development of their own complex ideas and written expression. They evaluate how writers use language creatively and imaginatively for a range of purposes; to express insights, evoke emotion, describe the wonder of the natural world, shape a perspective or to share an aesthetic vision.......................................
Overview -The story features strong characterisation, vivid imagery and vibrant dialogue. It presents a poignant depiction of the protagonist’s emotional experiences.
Merit Cultural experience- Elizabeth Harrower is an Australian novelist and short story writer. She received the Patrick White Award in 1996.
Suggested source- Harrower, Elizabeth . A few days in the country and other stories Text Publishing, 2016 ISBN: 9781925355550 .
The Fun of the Fair' by Elizabeth Harrower
What is it: Janet, ten years old and resentful of being dragged along to a fun fair by her Uncle Hector, finds herself separated from her family and watching a sideshow featuring a giant and a dwarf. The depressing sideshow disturbs and awakens the young protagonist, with Janet experiencing a sense of adolescent anagnorisis.
Scope for Study / Verdict: Harrower's story is at once accessible and enigmatic, pulling focus in on the ten year old protagonist as third-person narrator. Students can gauge the story's effectiveness by examining the way Harrower both orients the reader and subverts expectations by not orienting the reader. Other features that will bear examination include Harrower's establishing and maintenance of setting, and the emotional journey taken by Janet (culminating in the mysterious ending).