Read the extract below and comment on this post with an answer to the question making sure you have embedded quotations into your answer.
How does the writer show Natalie's thoughts and feelings changing during the extract?
You should refer to:
- her first reactions to the girls she sees
- the way she acts just before, and when, they speak to her
- her thoughts at the end of the passage.
After a couple of minutes she realised that her every move was being watched by a group of three girls and she couldn't help noticing how tough they looked. All three were wearing dark blue baggy jeans. She was pretty sure they were Londoners born and bred but thought they could find a job working for the Jamaican tourist board, not simply because of their dark skin but also because of their clothing. One had a T-shirt saying 'I love Jamaica'. Another wore a T-shirt that was a Jamaican flag and the third just had a West Ham football shirt on, but she, like the others, was adorned with yellow, black and green bangles, badges and necklaces. Natalie thought they looked good, but dangerous.
Natalie shifted nervously. She didn't know quite where to look but she had to put on a front. The other three girls made no attempt to hide the fact that they were on Natalie's case. They began to whisper to each other and smile as they stared at her. Natalie felt illuminated in her green satins and began to wish she had chosen clothes which weren't so loud. What are they grinning at? she wondered. Is it my clothes? My shoes? My hair? Do I look too innocent? Suddenly the three girls began to walk toward Natalie. Her heart began to race, the palms of her hands began to sweat. She felt like falling apart but she held herself together.
'You from round here, den?' said the big girl wearing the Jamaican flag.
'Yeah.'
'What school yu go to, den?'
'Eastmorelands.'
'Yeah, I wanid to go there but they wouldn't let me, said I had ta go ta Lonsdale Park, said it was nearer. What ya doing here?'
The other two girls continued to look her up and down. Natalie expected trouble and in her mind she cursed the boys for bringing her there and for the way they had got lost in their silly conversation about football and cars.
'I'm just hanging around with my boyfriend and his mates.'
At this point the girl wearing the West Ham shirt reached into her back pocket. Natalie swallowed hard as the girl pulled out a couple of leaflets. After separating one from the other she handed one to Natalie. 'Dat's the place to be, check it out, good vibes, good music. Ya like rap?'
Natalie wanted to kick herself. She had completely misread the situation. They weren't out for a fight, they wanted to find out if she liked clubbing. They wanted to find out if she was one of them, an Eastender.
'Yeah,' Natalie replied, feeling a sense of relief. 'Yeah, rap's cool...' She began to wonder if she sometimes looked threatening and if she herself had been misjudged in the past. For people to be friendly, did they have to have permanent smiles on their faces?
Face - Benjamin Zephaniah
Due: Monday 31st March 2014
At the beginning of the extract where it says "Natalie thought they looked good but dangerous", shows that Natalie was nervous as she "shifted nervously" towards them. She was judging them on clothing not personality.
ReplyDeleteWhen she begins to talk to them she is trying to "hold herself together", but as she gets to know them she gets a little more calm.
At the end of the conversation Natalie feels " a sense a relief " and feels like she "misjudged them".
Rachel Horne
At the start of the text the author writes:"is it my clothes? my shoes? my hair? do i look too innocent?" Which suggests t the readers that Natalie feels small and confused. she is questioning herself. She is also saying that, because she is scared that the girls will hurt her.
ReplyDeleteBy the end of the passage however, she has completely changed her first opinion, she feels "a sense of relief" as the girls aren't nearly as bad as she first thought that they were.
Millie Lewthwaite-Page
The writer shows her thoughts and feelings throughout the article. At the beginning Natalie thinks the girls look "good, but dangerous" and is nervous of them. She tries not to show this as the girls "made no attempt to hide the fact they were on Natalie's case". When the girls come over "her heart begins to race" and she is scared. While they are talking she "expected trouble" and regretted coming. At the end of the conversation she "wanted to kick herself" as the girls just "wanted to see if she liked clubbing". She thinks "for people to be friendly, do they have to have permanent smiles on their faces". This suggests that she no longer feels threatened by the girls.
ReplyDeletesorry i forgot that last one was me, Vicky Molyneux
ReplyDeleteQuestion -How does the writer show Natalies thoughts and feelings changing during the extract?
ReplyDeleteAnswer- In the top line of the extract it says " She then realised her every move was being watched."This would make Natilie feel nervous as she would not know why she is being watched as she would feel insucre we know this because in the 2nd line down the writer states "she couldn't help noticing how tough they looked." This means she was worrid about who they were and what they could do to her . further dow the passage we come to a bit where the writer expresses Natilies feelings by saying "she shifted nevously" stating that Natilie was nervous.
Her thoughts are mostly stated such as "What are they grinning at?"This shows that she is questioning there actions .
Much later on In the passaage it says "she cursed the boys for bringing her there" This shows that she is regreting what she has agreed to.
by Lucinda P
The writer shows Natalie's thoughts at the beginning by saying that "Natalie shifted nervously" and thought the girls looked " good, but dangerous". This implies that Natalie is scared and worried about them. Also the writer tries to get across that Natalie is feeling very vulnerable when she says " Is it my clothes? My shoes? My Hair? Do I look too Vulnerable? But, by the end of the extract, after a conversation, "Natalie feels a sense of relief" and thinks that " for people to be friendly, do they have to have permanent smiles on their faces" The reader can infer from this that Natalie no longer feels a sense of fear when around the girls.
ReplyDeleteElla Green
sorry, I forgot to put an inverted comma after "Do I look too vulnerable?"
ReplyDeleteElla Green
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ReplyDeleteThe writer shows that Natalie's feelings change during the extract by how immensely terrified and worried she is about these girls approaching her. "Her heart began to race and her palms began to get sweaty" This only happens in the most extreme cases of people being terrified. Then, when the girls begin to talk to her she feels even more worried and scared "I cursed the boys for bringing me here" Usually people only curse when their own edge and worried. But in the end the writer shows how her feelings and emotions change by describing how relived and relaxed she is in the end with the girls. "Yep she replied feeling a sense of relief" Finally she talks about misjudgement and how all the girls wanted to do was see if she was "one of them" (the writer shows this by showing the reader Natalie's thoughts about being relived.
ReplyDeleteFATIMAH HAMZA
When Natalie sees the 3 slightly chavy girls 'her heart began to race and her palms began to get sweaty' - she clearly thinks that they are trouble and gets increasingly stressed out as the 3 girls begin to take more notice in her.
ReplyDeleteAs they become more curious Natalie becomes more aware of herself and her surroundings, example: 'Is it my clothes? My shoes? My hair? Do I look too innocent?'
At the end of the passage the writer gets the point across that Natalie begins to feel very guilty about the judgement she placed on the 3 girls when she realized that all they wanted to know is if she 'liked clubbing.'
Sarah Buckle 7X1
When Natalie sees the 3 girls, she feels intimidated by these three figures. She thinks that they are slightly chavy-therefore she starts to question what she is wearing. we know this because she asks to herself " Is it my clothes? My shoes? My hair? Do I look too innocent? "
ReplyDeleteBut towards the end of the conversation, she feels more relaxed for she knows more of her surroundings.
At the end of the passage the writer makes Natalie feel guilty about what she thought about the 3 girls before she had even known them. She realises that she should never judge people.
Megan Shakespeare,7X1
At the begining of the text Natali was feeling nervous and intimidated." All three were wearing dark blue baggy jeans "wich made her feel out of place because her clothes were bright and out of place. then when they speak to her she feels nervouse ,we know this because she answers the questions in one word answers. But at the end of the conversation she feels relieved, she shows this when she says "yeah, rap's cool..."
ReplyDeleteAt the end she feels gilty and silly that she thought the three girls were a threat and that she didn't think about any other possible things they might be doing.
the comment above is from Catherine Chid
ReplyDeleteNatalie's first reactions of the girls is that they looked "good, but dangerous," this tells us that Natalie believes there is more to the girls that meets the eye, she feels scared in their present, we know this as it says, "Natalie shifted nervously." this shows that she feels insecure and intimidated around the girls.
ReplyDeleteBefore meeting the girls, Natalie is quick to judge them, she thinks they must be common Londoners because of the clothes they wear, "wearing dark blue baggy jeans," Natalie thinks that the girls look tough and hard, the sort of people she does not want to mess with. when the girls begin to talk to Natalie she feels worried, she didn't know what to say and how to react.
at the end of the passage Natalie knew that she was wrong to judge the girls as all they wanted to know was whether she liked clubbing. Natalie thought that the other girls were judging her as they "whispered and smiled," but the only person who was judging was Natalie, she begins to think "if she herself has ever been misjudged," this tells us that everyone judges people on their clothes, colour, group, but not everyone is right to judge.
by bismah ali (the one on top)
ReplyDeletein the beginning of the piece Natalie's impressions of the girls were that they were 'good, but dangerous'. Before the girls spoke to her she was scared, because the writer said she showed actions of being scared 'Her heart began to race, the palms of her hands began to sweat'. However towards the end she felt 'a sense of relief ' and started to think if people had done the same to her 'She began to wonder if she sometimes looked threatening and if she herself had been misjudged in the past'.
ReplyDeleteLili Omar
At the beginning of the extract, Natalie's first reaction was that they were chavy and was nervous because of the "dark skin but also because of their clothing". Natalie obviously thinks they are trouble and therefore tries to stay as far away from them as possible. She thinks they " look good, but dangerous".
ReplyDeleteBefore meeting the 3 girls that she was suspicious about she was quick at judging them and looks at their characters before personality.
As she gets to know them better, she feels more comfortable about talking to them even though I think she is still quite apprehensive because they were suspiciously looking at her and she started to wonder "Is it my clothes? My shoes? My hair? Do I look too innocent?"
Sofia Pana 7B/7X1
Saying they were 'Londoners' is embedding every-day, common language, which into a passage. To begin with, she is apprehensive and cautious of the girls because they were 'good, but dangerous.'
ReplyDeleteWhen she first encounters the three, the thinks they are a bit chavy , so questions herself - 'Is it my clothes? My shoes? My hair? Do I look to innocent?' - this is because she feels intimidated by the girls she now feels paranoid because SHE looks/dresses differently to them
Lauren Power
Near the beginning it says that Natalie thought they 'looked good but dangerous' after the three girls had spoke to her Natalie was okay but before you could tell she was nervous when they started waking towards her because she said 'Is it my clothes? My shoes? My hair? Do I look too innocent?'. This all shows that Natalie misjudged them for who they really are.
ReplyDeleteJade Hoyas-Rajput
The moment Natalie realises that she is being watched, she instantly feels endangered. We know this because the writer includes “ they looked good but dangerous” and “she shifted nervously”. When someone writes or says these type of phrases it normally indicates they feel quite uncomfortable and threatened. When the girls approach Natalie, her reaction “Her heart began to race, the palms of her hands began to sweat. She felt like falling apart but she held herself together.” tells the reader that she is extremely worried about the fact that they are coming towards her. However towards the end of the conversation she feels “a sense of relief” and begins to wonder if she looked threatening and had misjudged people in the past.
ReplyDeleteTahirah Hayat
Towards the beginning of the extract Natalie feels scared and apprehensive. We know this because "she sifted nervously" this shows that she is apprehensive about the situation; and there is a tense atmosphere. we also know this because "they looked good but dangerous" which shows that she is nervous and shifty about these strangers whispering to one another about her.
ReplyDeleteshe then gets unsure of and self and starts questioning herself as she doesn't know why they are whispering about her: she just wants to fade into the background so that she doesn't stand out or get bothered by anyone. "And began to wish she hadn't worn clothes that were so loud" and "What are they grinning at? Is it my clothes? My shoes? My hair? Do I look too innocent?" this tells us that she is beginning to get worried and panic stricken.
"Natalie wanted to kick herself. She had completely misread the situation." this means that Natalie was annoyed with herself as " They weren't out for a fight, they wanted to find out if she liked clubbing. They wanted to find out if she was one of them, an Eastender."She was relived and wondered if "she had been misjudged in the past." this tells us that she now knew never to judge a book by it's cover.
Becky Buckingham
Natalie's first reactions to the girls that are near her is that she is worried and uncertain about them. we know this because it says "She shifted nervously." This implies that she wants to get away from them and that she feels uncomfortable around them, she feels as if "she hadn't worn clothes that were to loud." This means that she thinks that here clothes are to noticeable.
ReplyDeleteIt says "Her heart began to race, the palms of her hands began to sweat. She felt like falling apart but she held herself together." To me this is when you are literally on the verge of being sick with fear. when the writer uses the phrase "falling apart" it gives you the impression that she is so stuck with fright that she can't contain it.
At the end of the passage she realizes that the girls don't wan't her to fight with, but to find out if she likes clubbing. Because Natalie is still so scared, she just says "Yeah, rap's cool..." She is relieved that she won't be involved in a fight, but she also feels slightly annoyed with herself because she "completely misread the situation." It says that she feels so foolish because her stupidity had overthrown her, that she says she wan'ts to "Kick herself"
At the very end, she wonders if "she had been misjudged in the past," and if that " For people to be friendly, did they have to have permanent smiles on their faces?" That line is almost the the moral because it teaches her to never estimate anything by what it looks like.
SHREYA MISTRY
Natalie's first impressions of the three 'chavy' girls looked 'good but dangerous' we know this as she started to 'shifted nervously' away from them.
ReplyDeleteNatalie acted by asking herself 'Is it my clothes? My shoes? My hair? Do I
look too innocent?' and wondering if she had done something wrong. When the three girls started to walk towards her Natalie's 'heart began to race'. When the girls started talking Natalie wanted them to go away and 'cursed the boys for bringing her there and for the way they had got lost in their silly conversation about football and cars' after the passage she realised they 'weren't out for a fight, they wanted to find out if she liked clubbing' however Natalie was still scared as she answered lying 'Yeah, rap's cool...'.
At the end Natalie wondered as she had misjudged those three girls if 'she herself had been misjudged in the past'
Maddie Stroud ��
Natalie's thoughts at first was that the three girls were "tough". Also it says "she couldn't stop noticing how tough they were". This shows that she felt uncomfortable looking at them but she couldn't stop noticing how tough they seemed to be.
ReplyDeleteThe way Natalie acts is by questioning herself when she hears them whispering. She says "Is it my clothes?"," My shoes? ","My hair?"," Do I look too innocent?"
As they walk towards her "her heart begins to race " and "the palm of her hands begin to sweat." This shows us that she is nervous.
When the three girls are talking to her she "felt like falling apart but she held herself together." This show she is trying to stay strong.
At the end Natalie had a " sense of relief" because she had misjudged the three girls as all they want to know is whether she "liked clubbing."
Amrreta
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletewhy did you remove it?!
DeleteThe writer shows Natalie's feelings throughout this text very well. Firstly Natalie was unsure of the three girls as they looked "good, but dangerous". Also Natalie believed they looked and came across as "tough".
ReplyDeleteBefore Natalie went to talk to the girls "her heart began to race, the palms of her hands began to sweat". She was obviously nervous of the upcoming situation. While they are talking she "expected trouble" and was regretting her decision talking to the girls.
Natalie began to realised she had misjudged these girls and wondered "if she sometimes looked threatening and if she herself had been misjudged in the past"
Abi H