One is one and all alone

Table of Contents
Synopsis Elements

Synopsis
One is One and All Alone by Nicholas Fisk is a science fiction story, set in 2045. The main character is Trish, an 11-year old girl who is the only child on a spaceship to Trion. Her father is the Executive Officer of the spaceship and her mother is in Trion helping to set up a space station. She will only meet her mother in mid January 2047. After three months, she feels lonely and bored as she does not have any real friends to talk to except her private, multi-functional diary: the VoicePrinter (VP). VP is an intelligent computer which keeps Trish entertained with its ability to perform many functions. Through her dialogue sessions with VP, Trish learns about clones and the cloning process. The idea of cloning fascinates Trish and she soon decides to create a clone to keep her company in the spaceship Biolab without her fathers knowledge. She names her new identical twin Clo and initially it becomes her perfect friend and companion. They have fun playing and sharing their time together. However, certain mannerism of Clo begins to irritate Trish as the clone behaves and thinks like her. Soon they start to argue and disagree with each other over trivial matters. The last straw happens one night when Clo starts referring to Trishs mum as her mum and this upsets Trish as she feels her privacy is being invaded. The next day, Trish opens up her diary and confides in VP that she does not like to be swamped, invaded and taken over. At that instant, she decides to dispose off Clo forever through the DISPOSAL hatch near her cabin. The story ends with a twist when it is Trish who is disposed by Clo. Clo then assumes Trishs identity and Trishs dad is not aware of the change at all. Clo then enjoys being one is one and all alone and her new lease of life as Trish in the spaceship.

Elements
SETTING SOCIAL SETTING

Time
The story takes place in a spaceship which is in orbit in 2045 and will only reach its destination, Trion, in 2 years time.

Period
The era of space exploration and advancement in computer technology enable human cloning to become a reality.

PHYSICAL SETTING: SPACESHIP

Corridor The passageways that run along the length of the spaceship. Toilet/loo Situated down the corridor where Trish and Clo accidentally saw themselves face to face. Diner Venue where Trish and her dad spend their time together having chocolate milkshakes. Cabin Trishs personal living cubicle which is equipped with an intelligent computer called VoicePrinter (VP). Biolab A biology lab where Clo was cloned. Store A room where basic necessities like toothbrushes, towels, etc are stored. Disposal System 5 disposal hatches around the spaceship where unwanted things are disposed off into infinite space.

CHARACTER

Main character 11 years old; the only child on the spaceship heading towards Trion. Lonely and bored. Misses personal interactions with her parents as her Dad is busy with his work and Mum is away. Relies on the VoicePrinter (VP) for companionship and information. Intelligent: she masters the cloning technology and created a clone of herself. Short sighted as her cloning plan backfires. Clo becomes a nuisance to her. Clo in turn gets rid of Trish through the Disposal Hatch instead.

Identical twin created by Trish in the Biolab using cloning technology. Trishs friend and companion before she got sick of her. Quick thinking as she out manoeuvres Trish and gets rid of her creator. Cautious, as she assumes Trishs identity at the end of the story.

Trish

Clo

Executive Officer of the spaceship. Busy and preoccupied with work as the captain of the spaceship. Tries to spend time with Trish, his daughter at the diner; indulging her with chocolate milkshakes. Does not realise that Trish has been replaced by Clo at the end of the story. Versatile and intelligent computer. Tutor and companion to Trish in her lonely days. An avenue for Trishs private thoughts, feelings and opinions.

Trish s Dad

VoicePrinter

THEMES

Cloning Trish clones herself in order to have a companion during her lonely days in the spaceship. However, her utopian plan backfires and in the end Trish is disposed off by Clo and her place taken over by Clo.

Friendship and companionship. Being the only child on a spaceship with both her parents unable to spend time with her, Trish longs for friendship and companionship. The VoicePrinter cannot provide all her needs and she resorts to cloning to make another Me, so that she can have a friend and companion of her own age.

Loneliness Despite having the latest technology around her, Trish feels sick of computer images and sounds. She wishes for someone to talk to, a companion to share her feelings and emotions. She longs for someone of her own age.

Science and Technology The advancement of science and technology have led to an invention of a spaceship carrying humans to outer space. Trish has a VoicePrinter as a companion which she could communicate with. Through science and technology too, Trish succeeded in creating a clone of herself. Trishs mother is busy setting up a space station on Trion.

VALUES

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Family bonding Think before you leap Be thankful for what we have Two wrongs do not make a right Aware of our weaknesses and shortcomings

LITERARY DEVICES Point of View The story is told in the first person point of view. The first person narration enables the writer to vividly describe the actions and emotions of the characters in the short story. The readers have access to the thoughts and emotions of the main character, Trish, and later, Clo, after she murders Trish. Style A simple science fiction written as diary entries, in the form of dialogues. The diary entries allow us to get closer to the main character and her thoughts through simple and straightforward writing. Repetition Im sick of Me. Im sick of being the only child on the ship. Im sick of computer images and sounds (p. 44) When Clo has nothing to do, its always pick, pick, pick (p.48) Trish repeats the word sick to emphasise her disappointment and frustration of being the only child on board the spaceship. She repeats the word pick to show her disgust of Clos irrirating picking habit. Imagery Rolling bits of skin around a fingernail. and They writhe and fiddle all the time. (p. 48-49 Para 1 Line 6-8) One can visualise what Clo is doing with her fingernails. One may find this an irritating habit. This obviously annoys Trish. However, looking at her age and her ability to understand, she fails to realise that Clo is just a mirror image of herself since they are both duplicates. By reprimanding Clo, she is indirectly reprimanding herself as she has the exact same habit. In fact, Clo points out, Look do you mind? Stop picking at yourself Irony I cant stand the way Clos mind works. I cant stand Clos corny jokes, and her dismal sulks. I cant stand Clos laugh or eating habits or her finger picking (p. 52 Para 2 Line 2-4) The irony of the situation above is, Trish finds Clos habits irritating and it begins to irk her. However, she fails to see that Clos habits are just a reflection of her own habits. Clo is her exact replica. Hence, Clos corny jokes, sulks, laughter and eating habits, the very things she cant stand, are the things that she does herself. This is truly ironic. Trish may have created a clone but her immaturity in understanding this, brought about her own downfall.

Plot
The plot in this story depicts some very interesting sequence of events. By analysing the important events in the story, one can better remember and understand the flow of the story. In 2045, a spaceship is heading towards planet Trion. Being the only child onboard, Trish finds it difficult to adapt being all alone most of the time. Her father, the executive officer on the spaceship, tries to spend time with her in spite of his busy schedule, while her mother was away in Trion. Trish feels lonely and bored with only VP ( a VoicePrinter) as her playmate, tutor and friend. She yearns for human companionship. Through VP, Trish gets an idea on creating a clone or making another Me. She secretly clones her own companion in the Biolab. She calls her identical twin Clo. Initially Trish and Clo become good friends and have fun together. Trish begins to spend less time with VP as she is occupied with Clo. Soon Trish begins to get tired of Clo as her mannerism which mirrors her, begins to irritate her. The breaking point is when Clo starts to refer to Trishs mum as her own. This makes Trish really angry and she plans to dispose off Clo forever through the disposal hatch system. The story ends with a twist when the diary entry shows that Clo managed to turn the tables on Trish and disposed off her instead. Clo assumes Trishs identity and succeeds in deceiving Trishs dad as well. Clo then reminds herself that she needs to be Trish and enjoys her new identity and status onboard the spaceship.

FORM 2

Short Story

Rumpelstiltskin

Table of Contents
Synopsis Elements

RUMPELSTILTSKIN
Synopsis The King was making his rounds around his kingdom. The King visits Lisas cottage. Lisas parents began to praise Lisa and claim that she can bake the best pies in the world. In order to make himself appear more important, Lisas father lies to the king that his daughter could spin straw into gold. The King knows that his kingdom is poor, thus, the king called for the girl, shut her in a tower room with straw and a spinning wheel, and demanded that she spin the straw into gold by morning or be executed. She had given up all hope, when a strange little man appeared in the room and spun straw into gold for her in return for her necklace; then again the following night for her ring. But on the third night, with nothing left, the strange creature spun straw into gold for a promise that the girls first-born child would become his. The greedy king was so impressed that he married Lisa, but when their first child was born, the strange little man returned to claim his payment. The queen was frightened and offered him all the wealth she had if she could keep the child. The strange little man refused but finally agreed to give up his claim to the child if the queen could guess his name in three days. At first she failed. Later, Lisas parents follow the little man and see him dance around a small fire and they hear him say out loud, Tricks and riddles are my game, Rumpelstiltskin is my name. Plot (Introduction) The King visits a cottage. The cottage belongs to Lisas parents. The King was lured by the smell of freshly baked apple pie. Lisas parents praised Lisa in an attempt to make Exposition the King marry their daughter. They tell the King that she This is first stage of a fictional or bakes the best pies in the world. To impress the King further, dramatic plot, in which necessary background information is provided. they also tell the King that Lisa can spin straw into gold. The It introduces characters, scene, time, King brings her to his palace and asks her to turn straw into gold. If she fails she will be beheaded. and situation (Action Starts) Lisa sits and cries in the high tower. Then she hears scratching noise. A strange little man appears and promises to spin the straw into gold in exchange of her necklace. The King Rising Action This is a set of conflicts and crises that was impressed and takes her to another bigger room filled with straw. The King asks her to turn the straw into gold. If constitute the part of a storys plot she fails she will be beheaded. That night the strange little leading up to the climax. man appeared again and promises to spin the straw into gold in exchange for her ring. The King was impressed and takes her to another bigger room filled with straw. This time he promises to marry her. Lisa has nothing else to offer to the little man. Her parents advised her to give whatever he asks for. That night, when the strange little man appeared, she promises her first born child. Climax This is the turning point of the action in the plot of a story. The climax A year passed. Lisa is the queen and she has a baby boy. The represents the point of greatest strange little man suddenly appears and reminds her of her tension in the work. promise. Lisa pleaded to the little man not to take her baby away as she is willing to give him all her money. The little man

refuses but finally agrees to give her three days to guess his name. She fails to guess his name on the first and second day. Lisas parents follow the little man and find out his name. Falling Action In the plot of a story, the action following the climax of the work that On the third day, the little man comes to the nursery. Lisa moves it towards its denouement or guesses his name as Rumpelstiltskin. resolution. The strange little man gets angry and stamps his feet hard on the floor and disappears in a puff of smoke. Resolution The ending of the story, the final stage or unraveling of the plot; usually very Lisas baby boy is now safe. Lisas parents promises that they brief. Here the tension is over, and will never boast again. unanswered questions may be explained. The resolution is reached following a major crisis and climax. Setting Place:
   

Cottage where Lisa lives with her parents. Castle where the King lives Nursery where Queen Lisa looked after the baby and where the strange little man appeared. Woods where the strange little man lives.

Time:
 

Medieval Times The story is set at a time when people talked about magical creatures.

Characters: Lisa: She is a young, sweet girl. She lives with her parents in a cottage. She loves to do household chores such as baking. She is very obedient as she listens to her parents. Rumpelstiltskin: A strange little man. He has magical powers. He is able to help Lisa by spinning the straw into gold. He likes riddles. Rumpelstiltskin is a fairy tale character, not a real person. The King: He is an opportunist. He uses Lisa to get him gold. He is rather cruel as he keep Lisa alone in a tower and he threatens to kill her if she cannot spin the straw into gold. However he is very gullible as he believes that straw can be turned into gold. Lisas Father : He is rather foolish as he goes to far to boast about his daughter. He is also greedy as he is willing to sacrifice Lisas life in order to get wealth. He was remorseful when he promised Lisa that he will not make the same mistake. Nevertheless, he is a loving father as he tries to solve the riddle for Lisa.

Lisas Mother: She is very proud of her daughter. She is kind hearted as she invites the King into her house and offers food. She is rather silly as she agrees with her husband that Lisa can spin straw into gold. She is also remorseful and promised never to boast again. It cannot be denied that she is a loving mother as she helps Lisa to solve the riddle. Themes Telling lies When people lie they are often trapped by their own deceit. In this story, claiming to be able to weave gold from straw got Lisa the attention of the king but also got her locked in a dungeon with a haystack and a spinning wheel. Using ones survival skills Persistence pays off in the long run and to never give up. Lisa tried her best to find the answer to the strange mans riddle. She did not give up. Moral Values We must be more careful of what we say, and think of the consequences.
  

Lisas father lied to the king, just to impress him. Lisa lost her head and promised something without realising the implications of her promise, just to save herself. Rumpelstiltskin is so confident that the queen will not guess his name that he makes the terrible mistake of saying it out loud.

Honesty and Integrity We must always keep our promises. It is when we are able to keep our promises that people will respect us. Although the King was greedy, he kept his promise to marry Lisa once she was able to spin the straw into gold. Even the strange little man kept his promise to Lisa when she was able to guess his name. He did not try to cheat her. Point of view Since this is a drama, the author uses the third person point of view. He is omniscient- this means that he knows everything in the story. However, the characters do think aloud when they are thinking. Thus, the readers are able to understand what the characters are doing. Language and Style The style of writing is very simple, uncomplicated and straightforward. The language is simple reflecting the lifestyle of the village people.

Literary Devices Repetition Spin straw into gold These words are repeated constantly throughout the story. The writer wants to highlight the idea of spinning straw into gold Cut off your head These words are also used with spin straw into gold. The King reminds Lisa that if she cannot spin straw into gold, he will cut off her head. Sit and cuddle your darling son, For tomorrow youll have none. Riddles and tricks are my game. You wont ever guess my name. Page 83the rhyme scheme is also aa,bb Wife and family I have none. But tomorrow Ill have the Kings own son. Tricks and riddles are my game, Rumpelstiltskin is my name.

Rhyme

Page 81the rhyme scheme is aa,bb

Tone and Mood There are two contrasting tones. Firstly, there is an ordinary tone when the writer shows the ordinary lifestyle of Lisas family. The second tone is the extraordinary tone. It is used when describing the events related to the King. It shows things that are magical. It shows the readers that straw can be spun into gold. It shows a mood of fantasy. The drama ends with a positive note that is alls well that ends well.

 

 


+HLU&RQGLWLRQLQJby M SHANmughalingam.




,:RQGHUby Jeannie Kirby

    +HLU&RQGLWLRQLQJby M SHANmughalingam.
Synopsis

In his school days at the V.I. from 1952 to 1958, Dato' M. Shanmughalingam was hyperactive in the debating, literary and drama fields. He was a member of the very successful school debating team and chairman of the Senior Literary and Debating Society. He topped the country in the 1956 Sixth Form Entrance Exam with 96% marks. He was the secretary and, later, joint editor of theSeladang, steering the V.I. newspaper through one of its most vibrant periods. He was in the first group of Victorians in 1958 to be awarded the coveted "Club 21" badge for meritorious service to the school. Shan holds an Honours degree from the University of Malaya, a Masters from Harvard and a Doctorate from Oxford University. At Harvard he graduated first in class with Grade A in all eight subjects and was admitted to the Ph.D. programme directly without formal application. At Oxford he won the Getrude Hartley Memorial prize for Poetry and a graduate scholarship from Balliol College and the second prize in the Short Story competition judged by the novelist, Iris Murdoch and John Bayley, Prof. of Literature, and sponsored by ISIS, Oxford University and The Observer. Shan's literary publications include poems and short stories in Commonwealth Anthologies (London) international anthologies (Singapore), in universities (Harvard, Malaya, Oxford and Singapore) and in national literary journals. He is co-editor of an anthology of Malaysian poetry. Shan's works have been the subject of theses in universities in Malaysia and Germany and of a movie to be made in New Zealand. A video recording of his performance poetry with thirteen of his own poems has just been made for an Australian website on international poets.

Meanings
Flustered /fl st rd/ : confuse or nervous. Fluttered /fl t rd/ : insects or birds fly by moving their wings lightly up and down. Necessities /n s s t s/ : something that you need to have in order to live. Ignorance / gn r ns/ : lack of knowledge or information about something. Pollution /p l people to use. n/ : the process of making air, water, soil etc dangerously dirty and not suitable for

Destruction /d str k

n/ : the act or process of destroying something or of being destroyed.

Streams /str ms/ : a long and almost continuous series of events, people, objects etc.

Analysis
Grand dad did you breathe Before air cons were invented Was it hard staying Alive without modern inventions?

Grandma weren t you flustered As you fluttered with paper fans? Could you communicate before Faxes and long distance calls Became basic necessities? In the first stanza, the poet asks his grandparents about the life before the technology arouse and become the important usage in the world nowadays. He asks his grandfather was it complicated to live in the life without technology as he refers the technology to the invention of the air cons. Then he asks his grandmother regarding the condition when she used paper fans to cool herself. He also asks his grandmother what were the possibilities for them to communicate without faxes and long distance calls compared to the world nowadays.

Grandchild we lived Before your age. Because Of our ignorance, We did not know Pollution, stress, traffic jams Destruction of forests, streams and Hills We feared God and nature Now nature fears you and Money is your new God. The second stanza shows the answers given by the poet s grandparents that sum up all the questions in one simple answer. The reason on why they did not experience all the pollution, stress, traffic jams, and destruction of forests, streams and hills is because of their ignorance; they were lack of knowledge by that time. His grandparents add, the only thing that they fear is God and nature but now, the nature turns to fear the entire human race and money is the only obsession to human.

,:RQGHUby Jeannie Kirby

Synopsis
The persona, a child, is wondering about the natural happenings, asking why the grass is green (instead of being other colours) and why the wind is invisible. He or she continues to ponder on

how the birds know how to build nests without any instruction and why the trees shed their leaves in autumn.

He also wonders where the other part of the moon is (when the moon shows up in the sky in a crescent shape). He wonders about who makes the stars shine and what makes the lightning flash about. He asks who colours the rainbow and puts the clouds high in the sky. His father, however, would not answer the child's questions. He wonders why the father was unwilling to give him the answers.

Analysis
I wonder why the grass is green, And why the wind is never seen? The poet questions on why the color of the grass is green but not the other colors. In this world we have so many colors like blue, yellow and gray. However, we can only see green as the color of the grass throughout the Earth. The poet also questions on why is the wind cannot be seen. As human, we can feel things via the sense of touch through contacts made with our skin. Nevertheless, we cannot see the wind although we can feel it on our skin.

Who taught the birds to build a nest, And told the trees to take a rest? In the first line, the poet wonders who gave the birds the knowledge to build such a perfect nest to live on. This is because; most birds build their own nest for their little ones and for them to live. As compared to animals, human need to be taught to learn some skills or abilities. The second line shows the curiosity of the poet on the trees that don t move like other living things. O, when the moon is not quite around, Where can the missing bit be found? We all know that the moon is round in shape. However, sometimes the moon loses its shape and become half or three quarter of its real shape. The poet is curious on where would the other parts of the moon have gone to.

Who lights the stars, when they blow out, And makes the lightning flash about? The stars always appear at night but disappear as the morning comes. This occurrence makes the poet to think that there is a person who light up the stars as the night comes and the lightning flash in the night sky.

Who paints the rainbow in the sky, And hangs the fluffy clouds so high? Rainbow is the combination of 7 lines that appears in 7 colors after the rain stops. The poet is curious on how would the rainbow appear in the sky. Looking at the rainbow also makes the poet to question about the clouds located up in the sky that looks like they are hanging.

Why is it now, do you suppose, That Dad won t tell me, if he knows? The poet is wondering on why his father refuses to explain all the questions above. This is maybe because of the poet is too small to understand all the consequences that happen naturally in this world