Sunday, May 13, 2012
Reread the final scene between Elizabeth and John Proctor. Elizabeth refuses to advise her husband but she clearly has a point of view on his situation. In her heart, what does she want him to do? What would she say to him if she could?
John Proctor is a proud, and respected man in Salem village, and he wishes to maintain this reputation and his dignity. In Proctor's view, signing a false confession, is worse than dying for a crime one did not commit. Although Elizabeth does not want to be responsible for helping take away his dignity, she still wishes that her husband would confess so that he would be pardoned, and be able to live and continue to be a father to her children. However, Elizabeth realizes that she was cold and distant towards her husband, ultimately driving him away, and causing his affair with Abigail. As a result, Elizabeth feels she cannot judge John. This is indicated when Elizabeth says, "I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery."
If Elizabeth was able to say something to John, I think she would tell him that although she is committed to God, she values his life more than avoiding sin. Both herself and her children need John to be a father figure and remain part of the Proctor family. Elizabeth also feels as though it is partly her fault that John committed lechery, so she does not want him to be the sole bearer of the consequences. Finally, she would repeat what Reverend Hale told her prior to her meeting with John, "Quail not before God's judgement in this, for it my well be God damns a liar less than he that throws hi life away for pride."
Elizabeth Proctor's response to Danforth - The Crucible
Danforth has asked Elizabeth to speak to John to try to get him to admit his guilt. Elizabeth does speak to John but she does not reply to Danforth. Construct a response to Danforth. What do you think she might have wanted to say to him in response to his accusation that she is "stone"? Make your response as long as Danforth's speech.
"No, Excellency, I am not stone, nor has the devil dried up any tear of pity in me. My husband is a proud, strong man who values his reputation and independence in this village. And I refuse to be responsible for taking that away from him when he has already suffered so much loss. As a good Christian woman, I have to let him make his own decision. If it means that my husband would rather die, than sign a false confession, then that is his choice. Let him keep his dignity excellency, as I am afraid it is one of the few things he has left. I will speak to him, but I promise you nothing."
Monday, May 7, 2012
Arthur Miller's view towards the Devil and evil spirits
In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller presents Reverend John Hale as a man who regards himself as an expert in demonology. He is not a narrow-minded fanatic, lacking compassion, and he does say that he is prepared to accept the fact that there may not be witchcraft in Salem. However, Miller does suggest that Hale is restricted in his thinking by his extreme polarization of virtue and vice. For Hale, at this point in the play, humanity is sharply divided: there are beliefs and actions that are morally right and those that are seen as diabolically evil. Hale does change as the play progresses, but, at this stage of the play, his vision is obscured, because it does not allow for human complexity: a mixture of good and evil in all of us. Miller argues that, although the traditional trappings of good and evil (the Devil with his cloven hoofs; a grey-bearded God) may have changed, we still divide the world too rigidly into what is sinful and what is virtuous. Miller writes, 'the world is still gripped between two diametrically opposed absolute.' (p.37). We do not look sufficiently at psychological complexity. Hale is criticized for his Manichean vision of the world that strictly divides into good and evil.
However, Miller still believes that people were, in fact, worshipping the Devil in Salem, and if one was to investigate further, this behavior may have been a regular occurrence. As Miller writes, 'sex, sin and the Devil were early linked.....in Salem,' our polarities are therefore always 'robed in sexual sin' and the fact that our perception of evil is always associated with sex, is what makes the devil both terrifying and alluring.
However, Miller still believes that people were, in fact, worshipping the Devil in Salem, and if one was to investigate further, this behavior may have been a regular occurrence. As Miller writes, 'sex, sin and the Devil were early linked.....in Salem,' our polarities are therefore always 'robed in sexual sin' and the fact that our perception of evil is always associated with sex, is what makes the devil both terrifying and alluring.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
The Crucible - Task 1
Choose two characters - one whom you respond positively and one to whom you respond negatively. What aspects of the text have positioned you to respond this way? You may want to consider representations, characterization, voice - quote in support.
Abigail:
Abigail is immediately portrayed as vengeful and manipulative through her harsh words and selfish behavior. In Act One, Abigail is on the brink of being accused of witchcraft when she skillfully pins the blame on Tituba, her maid, and other outcasts of Salem. Abigail’s motivations of simple jealousy and a desire to have revenge on, and ultimately dispose of Elizabeth Proctor, characterize her as a devious and spiteful young girl . In particular, her character's dialogue develop's Abigail's horrible nature. She speaks uncivilly to all the girls involved in the events that sparked the hysteria and is able to frighten them into doing what she wishes. "Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you." (p. 26) is one of Abigail's first threats towards the other girls in an attempt to hide the 'Devil's folly,' in which she participated. Although Abigail is conniving, she is somewhat misguided in her actions and perhaps does not completely understand the extent of the hysteria she unleashed.
John Proctor:
On the other hand, John Proctor, could be described as the The Crucible's protagonist. Proctor's first appearance in the play portrays him as someone who is 'not easily led' in the supposedly 'Puritan' society. He speaks his mind and realizes the hypocrisy that occurs in Salem. Proctor displays his dislike for Parrish' running of the church when he quotes, "Can you speak one minute without we land in Hell again? I am sick of Hell.......I may speak my heart, I think!" (p.35). This quote also clearly illustrates Proctor's self determining and autonomous nature when he chooses to express his opinion of Reverend Parris' preaching. Although Proctor does not have complete faith in the church of Salem, he still has a moral compass. After his affair with Abigail Williams, Proctor comes to view himself as a sinner and fraud, regardless of his respected status among other members of the community. As a result, John makes every effort to stay away from Abigail and please his wife, Elizabeth, despite their awkward and tense relationship. This can be seen when Proctor tells Abby he'll "not be coming for her anymore," when Abigail tries to manipulate him, yet again. Although Proctor is characterized as a good man, he has one fatal flaw - his lust for Abigail resulting in his ongoing, personal, internal conflict.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee was born on 28 April 1926, in Monroeville, southwest Alabama, USA. She was the youngest child of Amasa Coleman Lee and Francis Finch Lee’s four children. Lee’s father was a former newspaper editor and proprietor, who had also served as a State Senator, and practised as a lawyer in Monroeville.
Harper Lee attended a number of colleges, including Huntington College from 1944-1945 and the University of Alabama from 1945-1949, studying law. In 1950 she attended Oxford University, England, for one year on an exchange. Six months before the end of her studies, Lee decided to attempt to pursue a literary career in New York.
During her time in New York, Lee worked as a reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and British Overseas Airways. However, Lee gave up her position with the air lines in order to devote more time to her writing.
In 1959 Lee travelled to Holcombe, Kansas, as a research assistant for Truman Capote when working on his classical, non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood (1966).
Despite slavery ending a century before the 1960 publication of To Kill a Mocking Bird, African Americans were still denied many of their basic rights at the time of Lee writing the novel. The American Civil Rights Movement had started taking place in the 1950s and this – along with the impact of the Great Depression of 1929-33 – were the influences that significantly impacted on Lee and the writing of her enduring novel concerning issues of social justice and prejudice.
The central theme of To Kill a Mockingbird may be described as a plea for tolerance and for an acceptance of differences in society at large. Prejudice, Lee suggests, is based on ignorance and fear. In contrast, a true understanding of one’s fellow human beings comes from empathy and compassion. The novel deals with not only racial prejudice, but also with prejudice against anyone who does not conform to society’s so called conventions. Lee constantly suggests the need to see people fully, to strive to understand their complexities, and not to generalize about them. This is clearly demonstrated when Atticus says to Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (page 35).
A major theme that Lee emphasizes in the novel is that the worst cruelty of all is to harm those who are harmless, vulnerable or who bring joy to a community (i.e. the mockingbird.) Thus Lee’s over-arching message in To Kill a Mockingbird is that brutality to the vulnerable is the greatest sin of all. If one sees all people as individuals, then blind prejudice becomes impossible to sustain. When Scout addresses the lynch mob by name and refers to their personal problems she causes the mob to disperse. One must not judge by external factors but must see people in full.
In 1957 Lee submitted the manuscript of To Kill a Mockingbird to the J. B. Lippincott Company. The editor urged her to re-write her novel which, he said, comprised a series of short-stories strung together. With the editor’s assistance over the next two and a half years, Lee reworked the manuscript which was finally published in the form we know it today.
Published in 1960, when she was 34, To Kill a Mockingbird, was Lee’s first and only novel. The novel became an instant success and was so well received that it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. In 1962 the novel was adapted for the screen. Despite this accolade, Lee did not pursue her literary career but did work on a second novel for some years afterwards.
In 1961 Lee had two short articles published in Vogue and McCall’s and in 1966 Lee was one of two people named by President Johnson to the National Council of Arts. Lee remains an enigma, refusing interviews and returning the Monroeville, from New York, to live with her sister. In 2007 Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George Bush.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a rare novel in that it has never been out of print since its publication in 1960. Lee was asked, upon the 35th anniversary of the book, to write an introduction for the 35th anniversary edition. She declined saying.... “It still says what it has to stay; it has managed to survive the years without a preamble. Please spare ‘Mockingbird’ an introduction.” Very occasionally Lee is seen out with her sister lunching at a local restaurant in Monroeville, but always she declines to answer questions and locals refuse to talk about her.
The genre of Lee’s one and only, best seller novel may be described as a “coming-of-age”, social, courtroom and southern drama. One might even describe it as approaching “protest” literature - much like Beverly Naidoo’s, The Other Side of Truth, and Nadine Gordimer’s writings on apartheid South Africa.
In this genre, Lee uses the courtroom to comment on the injustice and racism in society. Lee’s style of writing suggests the quality of a mock memoir. She writes as a narrator in the first person and yet does not allow the adult narrator to be too intrusive at any point in the story. This quality we see at the start of the novel, when Lee describes Maycomb County and later in the trial of Tom Robinson, when she recalls, with child-like clarity, the milestones of both her formative years in Maycomb and the trial. On both of these occasions the world is recalled through the memories of a child and yet the adult perspective is not allowed to intrude too much on those recollections.
Many aspects of the story line of To Kill a Mockingbird are drawn from Harper Lee’s own life. The character of Scout is autobiographical. Finch was Lee’s mother’s maiden name and the character of Dill was based on Truman Capote, Lee’s unconventional and highly imaginative childhood friend and neighbour. The trial itself was based around the infamous “Scottboro Trial” in which a black man was also unjustly charged of raping a white girl.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the six-year-old narrator, Scout Finch, lives with her older brother, Jem, and their widowed father, lawyer, Atticus Finch. Atticus defends a local black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a poor white girl. Atticus Finch faces a number of challenges from the disapproving, narrow minded and prejudicial society in which he lives, once he agrees to defend Tom Robinson on the trumped-up rape charge.
While this scenario begins to unfold, Jem and Scout Finch, meet a new friend, seven-year old Dill, and together they become interested in their reclusive neighbour, “Boo” Radley. Many humorous and sad events unfold as a result of which Scout and Jem learn a number of lessons concerning good and evil, compassion and justice and courage. As the narration continues, the reader learns that Scout will never become a racist or kill a mockingbird – a symbol of the most vulnerable members of society.
The novel comprises two plots. The first is that of the deranged and harmless “Boo” Radley, and the second concerns Tom Robinson and his conviction for a crime he did not commit. The innocent Tom, after sentencing, tries to escape and is shot dead. Mayella Ewell’s father, Bob Ewell, attacks Scout and Jem as punishment for Atticus exposing him as the liar he is in court. Ulitmately, “Boo” Radley saves the day and the children regret their earlier tormenting of “Boo”, as well as the fact that they have never thanked him for the gifts he has left for them in the tree.
As the novel unfolds, the reader discovers that Atticus and Calpurnia, the black cook, are at the moral centre of the book. They do not share society’s prejudices and are portrayed as pillars of society. Children are born with an instinctive sense of justice, Lee suggests, and it is the socialization process that results in children absorbing the prejudices of their society. Tom Robinson ultimately becomes the novel’s scapegoat for society’s prejudices and violence.
Forty years after the publishing of To Kill a Mockingbird, the style of Lee’s writing remains as distinctive as ever. To Kill a Mockingbird would best be described as a “bildungsroman” novel. In other words, the novel is concerned with a character’s (i.e. Scout) formative years and development. The direct translation of this German word is an “education novel”. To Kill a Mockingbird may also be said to encompass elements of the gothic novel in the form of “Boo” Radley’s “haunted” house. Despite the children’s perception of the Radley’s “haunted” house, “Boo” transpires not to be a gothic villain but rather a saintly character who saves the children from the villainous Bob Ewell.
Harper Lee may be said to have influenced other writers who have subsequently looked at court cases as a means of commenting on the delicate issue of racism and social injustice in their respective societies. Lee has influenced many other writers through her “Mockingbird” appeal for liberal thinking and her plea that society not judge or brutalise its members by virtue of their outer appearance or their unconventional differences. Instead she asks that society judge a person by the content of their character and by their deeds.
The 1962 screen version of To Kill a Mockingbird has had an enduring influence on the making of many subsequent movies concerning injustice and racism. One of the more memorable movies being the 1988 movie, Mississippi Burning. In my opinion, authors such as Toni Morrison and Joyce Carole-Oates may well have been influenced by Harper Lee’s writing legacy.
In conclusion, if one combines the reading of the novel with the autobiographical information obtained in the background research, it is possible to conclude that the character of Harper Lee may be described as being herself highly intelligent, extra-ordinarily unconventional, independent and highly-spirited much like Scout. Lee’s character may also be described as being imaginative, inquisitive and challenging, as we see through the court-room questioning on the part of the child, Scout.
Through-out this semi-autobiographical novel, Lee evidences a highly developed sense of social justice and responsibility as well as an over-riding sense of compassion towards the weakest members of society. We can therefore conclude that the character of Lee must also be concerned with that which is morally just and right in real life. Her words on the novel...”It has never been out of print...It says what it has to say...” perhaps best encapsulate the essence of the novel and the character of its author.
Harper Lee attended a number of colleges, including Huntington College from 1944-1945 and the University of Alabama from 1945-1949, studying law. In 1950 she attended Oxford University, England, for one year on an exchange. Six months before the end of her studies, Lee decided to attempt to pursue a literary career in New York.
During her time in New York, Lee worked as a reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and British Overseas Airways. However, Lee gave up her position with the air lines in order to devote more time to her writing.
In 1959 Lee travelled to Holcombe, Kansas, as a research assistant for Truman Capote when working on his classical, non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood (1966).
Despite slavery ending a century before the 1960 publication of To Kill a Mocking Bird, African Americans were still denied many of their basic rights at the time of Lee writing the novel. The American Civil Rights Movement had started taking place in the 1950s and this – along with the impact of the Great Depression of 1929-33 – were the influences that significantly impacted on Lee and the writing of her enduring novel concerning issues of social justice and prejudice.
The central theme of To Kill a Mockingbird may be described as a plea for tolerance and for an acceptance of differences in society at large. Prejudice, Lee suggests, is based on ignorance and fear. In contrast, a true understanding of one’s fellow human beings comes from empathy and compassion. The novel deals with not only racial prejudice, but also with prejudice against anyone who does not conform to society’s so called conventions. Lee constantly suggests the need to see people fully, to strive to understand their complexities, and not to generalize about them. This is clearly demonstrated when Atticus says to Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (page 35).
A major theme that Lee emphasizes in the novel is that the worst cruelty of all is to harm those who are harmless, vulnerable or who bring joy to a community (i.e. the mockingbird.) Thus Lee’s over-arching message in To Kill a Mockingbird is that brutality to the vulnerable is the greatest sin of all. If one sees all people as individuals, then blind prejudice becomes impossible to sustain. When Scout addresses the lynch mob by name and refers to their personal problems she causes the mob to disperse. One must not judge by external factors but must see people in full.
In 1957 Lee submitted the manuscript of To Kill a Mockingbird to the J. B. Lippincott Company. The editor urged her to re-write her novel which, he said, comprised a series of short-stories strung together. With the editor’s assistance over the next two and a half years, Lee reworked the manuscript which was finally published in the form we know it today.
Published in 1960, when she was 34, To Kill a Mockingbird, was Lee’s first and only novel. The novel became an instant success and was so well received that it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. In 1962 the novel was adapted for the screen. Despite this accolade, Lee did not pursue her literary career but did work on a second novel for some years afterwards.
In 1961 Lee had two short articles published in Vogue and McCall’s and in 1966 Lee was one of two people named by President Johnson to the National Council of Arts. Lee remains an enigma, refusing interviews and returning the Monroeville, from New York, to live with her sister. In 2007 Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George Bush.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a rare novel in that it has never been out of print since its publication in 1960. Lee was asked, upon the 35th anniversary of the book, to write an introduction for the 35th anniversary edition. She declined saying.... “It still says what it has to stay; it has managed to survive the years without a preamble. Please spare ‘Mockingbird’ an introduction.” Very occasionally Lee is seen out with her sister lunching at a local restaurant in Monroeville, but always she declines to answer questions and locals refuse to talk about her.
The genre of Lee’s one and only, best seller novel may be described as a “coming-of-age”, social, courtroom and southern drama. One might even describe it as approaching “protest” literature - much like Beverly Naidoo’s, The Other Side of Truth, and Nadine Gordimer’s writings on apartheid South Africa.
In this genre, Lee uses the courtroom to comment on the injustice and racism in society. Lee’s style of writing suggests the quality of a mock memoir. She writes as a narrator in the first person and yet does not allow the adult narrator to be too intrusive at any point in the story. This quality we see at the start of the novel, when Lee describes Maycomb County and later in the trial of Tom Robinson, when she recalls, with child-like clarity, the milestones of both her formative years in Maycomb and the trial. On both of these occasions the world is recalled through the memories of a child and yet the adult perspective is not allowed to intrude too much on those recollections.
Many aspects of the story line of To Kill a Mockingbird are drawn from Harper Lee’s own life. The character of Scout is autobiographical. Finch was Lee’s mother’s maiden name and the character of Dill was based on Truman Capote, Lee’s unconventional and highly imaginative childhood friend and neighbour. The trial itself was based around the infamous “Scottboro Trial” in which a black man was also unjustly charged of raping a white girl.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the six-year-old narrator, Scout Finch, lives with her older brother, Jem, and their widowed father, lawyer, Atticus Finch. Atticus defends a local black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a poor white girl. Atticus Finch faces a number of challenges from the disapproving, narrow minded and prejudicial society in which he lives, once he agrees to defend Tom Robinson on the trumped-up rape charge.
While this scenario begins to unfold, Jem and Scout Finch, meet a new friend, seven-year old Dill, and together they become interested in their reclusive neighbour, “Boo” Radley. Many humorous and sad events unfold as a result of which Scout and Jem learn a number of lessons concerning good and evil, compassion and justice and courage. As the narration continues, the reader learns that Scout will never become a racist or kill a mockingbird – a symbol of the most vulnerable members of society.
The novel comprises two plots. The first is that of the deranged and harmless “Boo” Radley, and the second concerns Tom Robinson and his conviction for a crime he did not commit. The innocent Tom, after sentencing, tries to escape and is shot dead. Mayella Ewell’s father, Bob Ewell, attacks Scout and Jem as punishment for Atticus exposing him as the liar he is in court. Ulitmately, “Boo” Radley saves the day and the children regret their earlier tormenting of “Boo”, as well as the fact that they have never thanked him for the gifts he has left for them in the tree.
As the novel unfolds, the reader discovers that Atticus and Calpurnia, the black cook, are at the moral centre of the book. They do not share society’s prejudices and are portrayed as pillars of society. Children are born with an instinctive sense of justice, Lee suggests, and it is the socialization process that results in children absorbing the prejudices of their society. Tom Robinson ultimately becomes the novel’s scapegoat for society’s prejudices and violence.
Forty years after the publishing of To Kill a Mockingbird, the style of Lee’s writing remains as distinctive as ever. To Kill a Mockingbird would best be described as a “bildungsroman” novel. In other words, the novel is concerned with a character’s (i.e. Scout) formative years and development. The direct translation of this German word is an “education novel”. To Kill a Mockingbird may also be said to encompass elements of the gothic novel in the form of “Boo” Radley’s “haunted” house. Despite the children’s perception of the Radley’s “haunted” house, “Boo” transpires not to be a gothic villain but rather a saintly character who saves the children from the villainous Bob Ewell.
Harper Lee may be said to have influenced other writers who have subsequently looked at court cases as a means of commenting on the delicate issue of racism and social injustice in their respective societies. Lee has influenced many other writers through her “Mockingbird” appeal for liberal thinking and her plea that society not judge or brutalise its members by virtue of their outer appearance or their unconventional differences. Instead she asks that society judge a person by the content of their character and by their deeds.
The 1962 screen version of To Kill a Mockingbird has had an enduring influence on the making of many subsequent movies concerning injustice and racism. One of the more memorable movies being the 1988 movie, Mississippi Burning. In my opinion, authors such as Toni Morrison and Joyce Carole-Oates may well have been influenced by Harper Lee’s writing legacy.
In conclusion, if one combines the reading of the novel with the autobiographical information obtained in the background research, it is possible to conclude that the character of Harper Lee may be described as being herself highly intelligent, extra-ordinarily unconventional, independent and highly-spirited much like Scout. Lee’s character may also be described as being imaginative, inquisitive and challenging, as we see through the court-room questioning on the part of the child, Scout.
Through-out this semi-autobiographical novel, Lee evidences a highly developed sense of social justice and responsibility as well as an over-riding sense of compassion towards the weakest members of society. We can therefore conclude that the character of Lee must also be concerned with that which is morally just and right in real life. Her words on the novel...”It has never been out of print...It says what it has to say...” perhaps best encapsulate the essence of the novel and the character of its author.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Start to Poetry - Ballads
Storm
I remember it so easily,
As if it was just yesterday.
It seemed so vivid, every bit of it,
In every single way.
It started with a crack of thunder,
And ended with a splash.
The rain fell down and filled the sky,
And then there was a flash.
The light then surrounded me,
And brightened up the house.
It was like midday,
But I was as quiet as a mouse.
Slowly, slowly it seemed to settle,
And I was kind of sad.
As the storm that just occurred,
Was really not that bad.
I miss the patter of the rain,
That always filled the air.
I miss the crack of thunder,
That always made me stare.
I miss the feeling of safety,
Whilst hiding in the house.
I miss the only thing,
That makes me quieter than a mouse.
I remember it so easily,
As if it was just yesterday.
It seemed so vivid, every bit of it,
In every single way.
It started with a crack of thunder,
And ended with a splash.
The rain fell down and filled the sky,
And then there was a flash.
The light then surrounded me,
And brightened up the house.
It was like midday,
But I was as quiet as a mouse.
Slowly, slowly it seemed to settle,
And I was kind of sad.
As the storm that just occurred,
Was really not that bad.
I miss the patter of the rain,
That always filled the air.
I miss the crack of thunder,
That always made me stare.
I miss the feeling of safety,
Whilst hiding in the house.
I miss the only thing,
That makes me quieter than a mouse.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Mystery Short Stories Term 1
The aeroplane air conditioning chilled Lucinda’s neck and made her mouth dry. She had tried to fall asleep for part of the long journey back to Australia after visiting London, but the cramped economy class seats had restricted her. Next to Lucinda, slept her 10 year old sister, curled in a tight ball, Sammy, still in the same crumpled clothes. Lucinda looked down at her own clothes, seeing the worn yellow shirt and denim shorts that were so familiar.
Lucinda lent over the armrest and gently nudged her sleeping sister, “ I am just going to the bathroom, stay here,” Lucinda told Sammy.
“Whatever,” grunted Sammy, eyes half closed.
Content that she had notified her sister sufficiently, Lucinda undid her seat belt and stood up seeing the sea of aeroplane seats that consumed the giant airbus A 180.
After sitting down for hours in a seat with no legroom, walking up the aisle was like heaven. Lucinda made her way towards the toilet, relieved to see that there was no line. She quickly went to the toilet and freshened her self up by splashing water on her face and tying up her long dirty blond hair.
Lucinda walked back towards her seat near the middle of the plane and was about to take a seat when one detail struck her, Sammy was no longer in her seat.
"Damit," cursed Lucinda, "I thought I told her to stay here!"
Lucinda grudgingly got out of her seat again and began her search for her sister. Knowing Sammy, she would be talking to some poor random passenger badgering them for a sweet or something.
Lucinda walked up to the closet air hostess and asked, "have you seen a 10 year old girl and she was wearing shorts and a pink t-shirt? Her name is Sammy and I can't find her anywhere."
"No I am sorry dear, I haven't. Have you checked the toilets?" the hostess replied warmly.
"She can't be there, I was just in the toilet."
"Well, I am not sure where else you could look, but if you like I can as check if any one else has seen?" the air hostess suggested.
"Thank you so much, that would be great! I am sitting in row 42 if you need me!"
Lucinda walked back to her seat, still upset that she had not found her sister however, a tinge of hope had now crept into her feelings. I am sure she will come back soon, thought Lucinda
A while later, the same hostess that Lucinda had talked to earlier walked over to her seat.
"I am sorry to tell you this dear, but our records say that Sammy never boarded the plane. In fact it says she doesn't exist."
The news hit Lucinda like a speeding bus.
"But she was here right before went to the toilet!" Lucinda replied a with a pained look on her face. With nothing more to say, she slumped back into her seat and the air hostess left. What am I going to do?
Lucinda lent over the armrest and gently nudged her sleeping sister, “ I am just going to the bathroom, stay here,” Lucinda told Sammy.
“Whatever,” grunted Sammy, eyes half closed.
Content that she had notified her sister sufficiently, Lucinda undid her seat belt and stood up seeing the sea of aeroplane seats that consumed the giant airbus A 180.
After sitting down for hours in a seat with no legroom, walking up the aisle was like heaven. Lucinda made her way towards the toilet, relieved to see that there was no line. She quickly went to the toilet and freshened her self up by splashing water on her face and tying up her long dirty blond hair.
Lucinda walked back towards her seat near the middle of the plane and was about to take a seat when one detail struck her, Sammy was no longer in her seat.
"Damit," cursed Lucinda, "I thought I told her to stay here!"
Lucinda grudgingly got out of her seat again and began her search for her sister. Knowing Sammy, she would be talking to some poor random passenger badgering them for a sweet or something.
Lucinda walked up to the closet air hostess and asked, "have you seen a 10 year old girl and she was wearing shorts and a pink t-shirt? Her name is Sammy and I can't find her anywhere."
"No I am sorry dear, I haven't. Have you checked the toilets?" the hostess replied warmly.
"She can't be there, I was just in the toilet."
"Well, I am not sure where else you could look, but if you like I can as check if any one else has seen?" the air hostess suggested.
"Thank you so much, that would be great! I am sitting in row 42 if you need me!"
Lucinda walked back to her seat, still upset that she had not found her sister however, a tinge of hope had now crept into her feelings. I am sure she will come back soon, thought Lucinda
A while later, the same hostess that Lucinda had talked to earlier walked over to her seat.
"I am sorry to tell you this dear, but our records say that Sammy never boarded the plane. In fact it says she doesn't exist."
The news hit Lucinda like a speeding bus.
"But she was here right before went to the toilet!" Lucinda replied a with a pained look on her face. With nothing more to say, she slumped back into her seat and the air hostess left. What am I going to do?
***
"Could all passengers please take there seats. We are about to begin our descent into Sydney Airport. We will be arriving at about 7.12am"
The message blaring over the loud speaker just about killed Lucinda. She still hadn't found her sister and the plane was about to land!
In a panick Lucinda did up her seatbelt and convinced herslef that she would find Sammy walking off the plane when they landed. She was sure of it.
The plane landed safely and everyone was asked to leave, but Lucinda still hadn't found Sammy! Lookking in all directions, Lucinda slowly walked off the plane and towards to the airport making sure she didn't miss some one walking by that could be her sister.
When Lucinda walked through the arrivals doors of Sydney airport, a man was holding a board with a her name on it. She began to walk in his direction, but before she could ask the man anything he said in a kind voice, "I am here to take you to your sister funeral. Won't you follow me?" Lucinda didn't here or feel anything after those worrds passed through the srtange man's lips. All she saw was colourful blurs that seemed to pass her by in seconds.
"She's dead," murmured Lucinda."
"Pardon," asked the man."
"She's dead," screamed Lucinda in desperatation as she collapsed, consumed with grief, sending herslef into complete darkness.
