lit   terms English Literature Critical Terms Alliteration: the repetition of consonants in words and phrases. Eg. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.Ambiguity: words, phrases or whole texts which have several or unclear meaningsAssonance: the repetition of vowel sounds in words and phrases. Eg. …. and howls and hollos long and loud.Connotation: the suggestion or implication evoked by a word, phrase or statement. Diction: the vocabulary chosen by a writer.First person: the use of ‘I’ in speech or writing.Form: the shape or pattern in which a poem is written.Free verse: poetry which seems to have no set , pattern or rhyme schemeHyperbole: huge exaggeration or overstatement.Imagery: writing that creates a picture in the mind through the use of comparisons.Irony: saying one thing but meaning the opposite.Juxtaposition: putting two things side by side in order to show a relationship between them Metaphor: a comparison that says one thing is another thing. the moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seasMetre: a regular rhythm in verse; the measurement of poetry.Mood/tone: the overall feeling generated by a textOnomatopoeia: words which describe sounds and also sound like that which they describe. Eg. splash, screech, crash, howl.purposes.Personification: objects are given human characteristics. Eg.Old Father Time, the wind moaned, the walls have earsRhyme scheme: the distinctive pattern of rhyme in a poem.Rhythm: the movement of language in speech, verse or prose, often with a regular beat.Simile: a comparison which use the words like or as. Eg.He ran like the wind.Stanza: sections of poetry comprising a group of verse lines.Symbolism: objects which are used to represent something else. Eg. a flag symbolises its country

Questions – The Clay   Marble

Q1: Textual Analysis“They all say the same thing. They seem to think it’s a game…it’s like anelaborate soccer game. Except that they don’t use soccer balls. They use us.” (p. 132-133)What is Jantu trying to explain to Dara by using the analogy of a soccergame?2. Locate the evidence in Chapter Seven which suggests the irony involved in attaining peace in Cambodia? (Hint: p. 54-56) Explain the irony involved in the statement.3. With reference to chapter 13, how has Sarun’s attitude changed?Please use textual evidence to support your answer.

4. “They’re destroying rice that’s meant to be planted, not eaten. Why don’t they just use regular rice?” “We’ve run out of it, child. With all thesenew recruits joining up, we’ve used up our supply of milled rice…”“But…but it’s wrong!” I cried. “This is rice for farmers to plant not for soldiers to eat!” (p. 96)It didn’t make sense, I thought; none of it made any sense. (p. 97)What is happening here? What does Dara’s disagreement to the misuse ofthe rice seed tell us about her character?

5. Identify the irony in the national anthem of the Khmer Serei.Please quote the evidence from the text and explain the irony.

ANSWERS

1. Jantu used a soccer game to symbolise the war and soccer balls to symbolise the people suffering from the war. The war is like a soccer game as two enemies are fighting against each other, trying all means just to win, causing much damage to the people and the country. A war is like a soccer game except it is much more complicated and causes much damage. The innocent people suffering from the war are like the soccer balls, being used by the enemies as a way to determine victory, depending on the number of deaths or injuries. This is shown in “except they don’t use soccer balls. They use us”.2.The irony is “hard though we tried to immerse ourselves in this make-believe world , we could sense the growing tension in the real world around us”. Dara imagined herself being in her world of clay dolls. She can live peacefully in the simple world, without the tragedy of a war. However, the real world she was living was in war, causing damage to the people not involved.3.At first, Sarun liked planting crops and always talked about it. He was a boy who just know about planting crops. However, after joining the army, all he thought of was the flag-raising. When Dara mentioned about rushing for the planting season, he said it was not as important as the flag-raising. He kept talking about being a soldier and never mentioned about returning to their village. This is shown in he suddenly looked so severe and belligerent that I was unnerved”, “the flag-raising,of course”, “the planting season?”.4.The cook used rice seed to feed the soldiers instead of regular rice. Rice seed are meant to be planted by farmers but not eaten by soldiers. Dara thought it was a waste as she treasured rice seed very much, yet it was not planted to grow more rice. By eating the rice seed, less rice will be produced. Dara’s disagreement to the misuse ofthe rice seed tell us she was a thrifty and sensible child. She treasured precious rice seed and understood the main purpose was to plant them and produce more rice from the hard work.5.The national anthem said “we must wage a struggle against the puppets and lackeys of our enemies. We must strive to be anti-colonialist, anti-Vietnamese, anti-imperialist”,”we must keeping fighting…kill every last one of the Enemy Number One”. The government told the people that war could defeat their enemies and they will have victory. They even said it was for the future of Cambodia as they thought they could earn the respect from everyone. It was not the truth. Actually, war did not benefit Cambodia but destroy the people.

change in   character

“Two weeks!” I exclaimed. “I’m not going to wait that long. I’ll ask for the

passes myself. I know who General Kung Silor is. I’ll go ask him. (p. 109)

“All right, I’ll ask,” he finally conceded.

“When?” I persisted.

“After the flag-raising,” he said.

“No,” I said. “Today.” (p. 110)

Based on Dara’s action stated above, how has Dara changed?

ANSWERS

Dara used to be a shy and timid girl who cares of nothing other than food. But now, she became firm on her stands. From the quotes “I know who General Kung Silor is. I’ll go ask him.” and “No…Today” we could tell that Dara was persistent and would not give way. She even threatens Sarun to go get the pass today and managed to let Sarun take her threats seriously. In the end she persist until Sarun gave up and went off to get the pass. Even Sarun was shocked by how much Dara had changed.In the past, Dara had always follow his instructions and will never talk back to his orders and yet now, Dara even gave him the instruction. Thus, dara had changed into a mature young lady full of characters.

OR

Dara has changed from a timid and spoilt child to a brave,daring and mature child. She knows clearly what she exactly wants. She perserveres on when Sarun tried to delay the asking of Kung Silor for the pass which Dara needed. Dara had enough courage to voice out her point of view to her brother, Sarun. She does not want her brother to delay the whole matter so she wanted her brother to finish the matter for her as soon as possible. Dara even dares to ask Kung Silor herself directly now as shown in the extract. She has changed a lot in terms of behaviour and character. It might be due to the clay marble which Jantu gave her. That might be her source of hope and confidence that allowed her to be so strong in nature now.

At the beginning, the writer had clearly described Dara’s timid behaviour. Yet now, she changed to a brave and also a matured person. In this text shown is that she is arguing with her brother, Sarun, for the pass to leave base camp. It is shown in the text that she is very determined to make her brother collect passes, the words “persisted”, “no” and “today.” have assured her attitude towards this matter. As to this, I know that she has changed into a brave person, to actually rebut her brother. As for the maturity part, Dara now knows that she treasures and cherishes her family a lot, and therefore wants Sarun to collect leave passes as soon as possible. All this shows that Dara had changed into such a brave and matured, I may add, decisive, person.

OR

Dara was once a very naive but spoilt child. Being demanding and unreasonably dependent was Dara former nature. However, based on what Dara has said in the above conversation with Sarun, we can see and identify that Dara is now a capable person with great sense of courage considering the fact that she is no more than a 12 year old child. The character Dara demonstrates determination in ways like trying to get her things done even when there is some form of hindrance. She also has the authoritativeness in her and she takes charge of things. An example showing that Dara takes initiative to find her way to get things done would be,“I’m not going to wait that long. I’ll ask for the passes myself. I know who General Kung Silor is. I’ll go ask him. ” as well as showing her authoritative power would be,”No,” I said. “Today.”and “When?” I persisted. Based on this, we can say that Dara who was once pampered and unappreciative has progressed into a mature young lady with exceptional qualities. This was the significant change in Dara’s character.

ORDara used to be a very dependent and timid girl. She did not care about the others but only herself. She also dare not speak up. But she became more daring and independent. From “No,” I said. “Today.” shows that she had the courage to speak up unlike the past Dara. It also shows that she is determined and will not give up. Dara had her own opinion now and she will persists to get what she wants.

OR

At the start, Dara was immature and timid. But she has changed to be braver and more daring. She believed in herself is not afraid of confronting Kung Silor. She is determined to get what she wants and managed to get Sarun to ask for the special pass. “No,” I said. “Today.”also shows that she is firm and persistant, she has learnt a knew way of making people follow what she said.

ORInitially, Dara is like a spoiled kid that is very insensible, immature and also does not know how to understand others. But now, she changed from a immature girl to a sensible, mature and someone who knows how to understand others, braver and a girl with strong will and determination. She is willing to overcome all challenges to get what she wants. She’s no longer the timid but brave. the sentence:”I know who General Kung Silor is. I’ll go ask him. ” shows that she had turned to become a very brave girl. and when she said “When?” I persisted.” also shows that she is determined and she will persists to get what she wants.

She changed to a braver girl and when she is determined, she will always perserver all the way to get what she want. She changed from a spoiled girl to a very courageous girl who speaks for herself. From “No,” I said.”Today” shows that she is very determine to get his brother get passes from the general and she meant what she say. Though people may think that she is very rude to

speak to her brother this way, she did’nt care already as she thinks that what she is doing is right to unite her family as one and lead a blessful life.

OR

Dara has become more daring and she is also very mature.She even dared to go speak to the King which is the most respected person in the country and she even dared to shout back at her own brother.She was also very persistant because even her brother had to to give in to her and she was also not happy with her brother’s reply and argued back.

ORDara has become more mature, by knowing what to do at the right times. She does not depend on anyone to give her orders anymore, instead she knows when to give her orders. She also indirectly “threatens” Sarun with her asking General Kung Silor for the passes. Being afraid, Sarun reluctantly agrees. This shows that Dara has a learnt a way of making others listen to her when there is a need. Other than that, Dara has also so become more persistent. “When?” I persisted. “After the flag-raising,” he said. “No,” I said. “Today.” From this we can easily see that she insisted that her brother listen to her and get the passes from the general.

OR

At first, Dara was insensible, not understanding and bossy. She did not care about others but only thought of herself. She was also afraid to find her family on her own but Jantu encouraged her. However, Dara changed to a brave girl who insisted on her way. From “No,” I said. “Today” shows that Dara did not listen to her brother and do what he said. She had the courage to speak out her views. She even decided to find General Kung Silor for the passes to find Jantu.

1. What do you like most about the character of Jantu and Dara?

ANSWERS

What i like most about Jantu is her sensibility and maturity. She knew that when there is war, they had to leave immediately and that the toy village is just a “toy”. They cannot bring it along as it can break and she even told Dara that “things that can break, are not worth taking”. She knew what is most important at that time and she also explained to Dara to let her understand her point. This shows that she is sensible and mature enough to face up to reality and influence people around her.

What is like most about Dara is her perseverance and bravery. She did not give up when she could not find her family. She felt a little disheartened, but that did not stop her from continueing her search. She even mustered the courage to look for help from Chnay, the bully. It is not easy for a shy and timid girl like Dara to learn to be brave and persevere. This shows that Dara is persistent and brave.

What i like about jantu was that she can influence the people well. For example, Dara being with her for a long time, grew to be more considerate and understanding. She also make Dara feel the flame of courage in her and go onto her journey without the help of anyone. Also, it was brave of her to be not afraid of anything. Not even death. She was still encouraging Dara before she was about to die and when she knew her time was out, she requested for Dara to sing her to sleep. Thus, i think it was very brave of her to be able to calm herself down and only think of others before she died.

What i like about Dara was that she trusted her friend alot. REady to believe in whatever they say. Just like the trust she had in jantu. She believed in the clay marble jantu made for her and thus, was able to face the challenge. The faith she had in people was not ordinary and i would never be able to trust someone as much as her. She is even willing to change her characters for the sake of her friends and take on a dangerous journey because of the trust she had in jantu. Jantu gave her the clay marble and encouragements like”you can do it…i know you can.” And she did her best for jantu as she trusted jantu and what she said__she will succeed.

What I like most about Jantu is that she is a good encourager. When she had to go to the hostipal with Baby and had to leave Dara behind to find her family, she encouraged Dara. We can tell that from the sentences, ‘You can do it.’, ‘You’ll find it, Dara.’ and ‘You’ve got to try.’. With the encouragement, Dara had the courage to find her family herself.Jantu is also a good motivator. Duoic was injured but Jantu wanted him to take his water bottle himself. We can tell that from ‘Go on, try it.’ and ‘You can.’. Duoic motivated Duoic and although he made a tremendous effort to get his water bottle, he was happy.

What I like about Dara is that she has courage. She had the courage to talk to Kung Silor and he said that she had spirit. She also talked back to her brother when he did not want to return home.

(1) What I like most about Jantu.

What I like most about Jantu, that would be her love towards her family, her friendship with Dara and lastly, her understanding towards practically everything around her. I like Jantu’s love for her family is because that it is clearly written by the writer that Jantu loves her family dearly, and because of that, she told Dara to bravely find her family though they were lost and Dara being alone. I also like Jantu’s friendship with Dara. It is like they are the closest friends, as close as twin sisters, yet they are not. To me, this is the factor that draws me to the strong bond between Jantu and Dara, and that is what I like about Jantu – the way she explains nicely to Dara, the clay marble she made for Dara. Lastly, I really like her understanding, her maturity, in this case. Jantu’s maturity had given a lot of hope for the naive and hopeless Dara and no matter what the people around her did, she would always forgive them.

(2) What I like about Dara.

What I like about Dara is her development in the story and her braveness and candidness. I like Dara’s development in the story as it shows a drastic change in the before Dara (before meaning – before Dara met Jantu) and the after Dara (after meaning – after Dara met Jantu), for example, the before Dara was a naive and hopeless girl, she had complained about the trip to Nong Chan village being long and hungry and whatevernot. Yet the after Dara portrayed in the story was that she had became a decisive person, a brave woman. An example is that she wanted her brother to collect leave passes to leave the village and go home as soon as possible – she persisted her brother to collect the passes by the day ends and she had done this so to protect her family as she knew how to treasure and cherish them. This is what I like about Dara, especially her development in the story.

Starting off with the character Jantu, I must admit that I admire as well as envy her for her exceptionally talented skill of “making clay dolls out of nothing” simply out of mud. It is not a very easy feat and Jantu does it effortlessly with enjoyment and love. It is something not everyone has and its more like a gift. It is one aspect of why I appreciate Jantu. The other reason I prefer Jantu is for her pleasant lady-like behavior as well as her contrasting and bold character. She displays tremendous amount of qualities like courage, determination, modesty, kindness and she is always willing to help others in need. An example would be when Dara and her family first moved into Nong Chan, Jantu had offered them the glowing twig and made sure they had what they needed for dinner and requested them to kindly join in dinner with her own family putting forward kindness. This are the two main reasons why I like Jantu.

Dara has plus and minus points and factors in her. I always like her innocence and the immaturity that used to be in her. If not only for war, Dara’s life would be carefree and colourful just the lifestyle I prefer as there is abundant of paddy fields and breath-taking views as well as nature back at her village to enjoy daily. It is something we Singaporeans lack here. I also like the way Dara only thinks of good things to come. An example would be when both Jantu and Dara where involved in the making of the toy village she treasured it alot and said,’What we’re doing now,just playing here together-I wish we could hang on to it thats all.’and “I’d like to be part of a real family again” . It also shows she tend to be a little too ambitious at times. However, Dara had a hidden potential deep inside her. Not only for Jantu, her qualities would be left

undiscovered. And it is the friendship that allowed jantu to do so. I appreciate the friendship they have. Therefore I like Dara for being herself (naive)and i like her mentality.

To end, I would like to say that they are both equally likable but i prefer Jantu over Dara even though Dara is the protagonist. For jantu seems flawless in my eyes.

What I like most about Dara is her determination to find her family. Though she was still young to do such a brave thing. The clay marble that she thought got some magic powers in it has given her the courage to persevere. If I were Dara, I wouldn’t have the strength to find my family.

What I like most about Jantu is her optimism in things. She is the one who gave Dara the courage to move on and not just stay. She is also a very strong person. When her father died, she was so sad but she still move on and continue her life.

What I like most about Dara is her determination when finding her family members. Once she had set her mind, nothing could stop her. For a girl at that age, its not easy to overcome so much challenges. No matter what happened, she tried her best to get out of the difficulty and continue. This shows that she is very determined to do something. She does not give up easily and persists to the very end. When she did not know where to find her parents, she did not simply gave up. She knew she was all alone but she continued her journey finding her family members and also overcame a lot of difficulties.What i like most about Jantu is the way she encourages people around her. When she knew that Dara had to find her family members on her own, she knew that Dara will not have the courage to go alone. Therefore, she made a clay marble for Dara and told her that it was a magic marble which will help her to find her family members. In fact, that was just a normal marble. But that made Dara daring to go alone without Jantu’s help and find her family members. This shows that Jantu is very encouraging and she was caring towards Dara.

What I like most about Dara is her courage and determination to find her family. When she was separated from her family, she found courage from the clay marble which Jantu gave her. Cambodia was very dangerous at that time, but that did not stop her. She was determined to find her family, and was not prepared to give up anytime soon. Though the magic in the clay marble was not real, she believed wholeheartedly in it and thus managed to persevere through and eventually reunite with them.

What I like most about Jantu is her optimism. She always seemed cheerful, no matter the situation. She was also very encouraging, and encouraged Dara whenever she felt down or lost. The fact that she was able to convince Dara that the clay marble was magical shows that she has a great impact on Dara. She taught Dara many things, and was definitely a sensible and mature girl.

I liked most about Dara’s courage and trust in her best friend, Jantu. She believed Jantu when she told her that she could find her family with the help of the magical clay marble. This is shown in

“I would not be afraid. The magic marble was firm and smooth in my hand”. This shows that Dara trusted Jantu’s words and believed in the clay marble, brave enough to find her family alone. Dara had the courage to find her family alone in the scary war-stricken Cambodia where any danger might happened. Although there were times when she was afraid that she could never find her family, she would encourage herself not to give up and believe in the magical clay marble. This is shown in “I held the marble in my hand and silently asked it to help me find my mother”. This shows that her perseverance helped her find her family.

I liked most about Jantu’s selfless help to Dara. Jantu encouraged Dara and gave her a magical clay marble when she was scared to find her family alone. She told Dara to be brave. This is shown in “We’ve got to do the best we can, out of what we’ve got”. Finally, Dara had the courage to move on. This shows that Jantu influenced Dara’s decision greatly as she gave her hope and confidence. This also shows that Jantu helped Dara selflessly as a best friend by giving her precious encouragement.

What I like most about Dara is her determination to find her family members, and her strong will to overcome all difficulties faced throughout the hard times. Dara did not stop moving on and yet cherish all opportunities given to her, despite the problems and challenges faced. To be able to go through these wars and separation from family members, it’s not easy for Dara at such a young age as she’s just a small girl who did not gone through much sufferings before the war, thus the strong determination she acquired and displayed is what I liked most about Dara.What I like most about Jantu is that she is very caring towards Dara and she always looks on the bright side, which she’s able to cheer Dara up when she is down or encourage Dara when Dara is at the point of giving up hopes. Her Character and the way she looks at life influences Dara and Changed Dara into a sensible girl. Since Dara is very dependent on her, she always care for helps Dara whenever she falls. She encourages Dara and find ways to help Dara to not to lose hopes in herself and whatever she do.

What I like about Dara is her determination to unite her family together. Though she meT with lots of challengers, she seized through and finally able to get what she want. She persever all the way in doing everything and she don’t give up easily. She went through a lot during a war as a girl at such young age such as losing her father, her best friend death. However, she knew that she still have a very far journey awaits her, therefore, she stood up where at where she falls, and continue to overcome challengers.

What I like about Jantu is her and the angles she look towards life. She is very strong in her character and friendship meant alot to her. She always encourageous Dara to persever all the way in search for her family member. Untill the last minute of her life, she still encourage Dara to believe in herself that she can do it.

What i like most about Dara is her courage and how she does not give up easily. She confronts Kung Silor, and tells him what she wants directly to him. When she got seperated from her family, she also has the courage to move on, while believing in herself. Dara is also one of the

strongest characters i have ever read about. She knows that people have to move on, and life has more to it than it seems. Therefore, she cannot stop stay at particular time of her life and never grow up. Her maturity is one of the things i like about her as well.

Jantu is very knowledgeable and that is what i like about her. She “teaches” Dara about the things in life, and that she has to move on. She was the one who influenced Dara to be who she is now. I also like the encouraging side of Jantu. She was the one who encouraged Dara to look for her family when Dara was seperated from them. Without her kind and strong words, Dara wouldn’t have found her family. That is what i like about Jantu.

What I like most about Dara is her bravery and also her perseverance when finding her family.I think it is not easy for a girl at her age to go through so much and still find joy in her life when she is with Jantu.She is going thorugh alot for her age with the war going on and also the part where she got seperated from her family.I also like the way Dara cherishes her friendship with Jantu and even when they were making the toy village together and it started to rain,she was persistant to carry it along with them although she knew it was going to break.It is probably because it is the first time she made something with Jantu and she wanted to keep it as a memory.What I like most about Jantu is her encouraging,calm and optimistic side of her.She is always encouraging Jantu by making her the clay marble which she made Dara believed that it was a magical marble that would help her.She was also very calm when Dara was scared because she lost her family which also made her very mature.She was also very optimistic especially when she was about to die.She was still putting up a brave front when actually she was hurting and she also sounded optimistic when she told Dara she was alright.

courage

Find a passage from the text which clearly illustrates the theme of courage then attempt these questions:i. What does the extract above show about the theme of courage in the Clay Marble?ii. With close reference to the rest of the novel, show how the theme of courage is developed.

ANSWERS

1) The extract showed the courage in Sarun, to fight in wars.He intepretated “courage” as a man’s duty to defend his country and its ideology. He thought that it was very brave and courageous of him defend his country. He was willing to sacrifice, even his life, just to be able to be a soldier. He also would rather stay and protect his country than going back with his family to Siem Reap. This showed that Sarun was very eager and courageous to fight and face up to war.

1) This a crucial period of time when Dara was being forced to look for her family all on her own, independently, relying on only herself. She has nothing with her only the clay marble that acted as a punching back which she confided in, more than just a source of encouragement . Something she regarded as magical and was what made her feel comfortable and able to continue. The journey she embarked maybe unpredictable, uncertain or even dangerous and life threatening. She even was not aware of where her family is and how long it was going to take before she is in sight of them. Bearing all this condition and factors in mind, even an adult would hesitate and think twice before coming to a decision of taking the trouble and hassle of finding one’s family. And Dara, a 12 year old girl, does not hesitate and gets in action in full strength with hope of finding her family. Therefore in this situation there is only one word to describe Dara- courageous.

2) The theme of courage is being developed in the later part of the book especially when Dara is in search of her family. Dara is the protagonist in this story and the theme of the story, courage is being delivered through her character and actions. It started off in the beginning with Dara having not much courage and also there was not much of the theme courage being exposed in the beginning of novel. However, as the story starts to progress, there was more of the theme courage being exposed and it was significant and distinct in the later parts of stories. A few examples to name would be the one stated above as well as when Dara is faced with situations whereby her bravery is put to test (e.g she has to leave with only Nea to find a better life for herself).This are various ways of how courage was brought across in this story.

i) The extract shows Dara’s courage in making the preparations to their village by Nea and herself without Sarun’s help. Although this was not an easy task for two weak girls, Dara was confident they could do it and was brave enough to do it despite Sarun’s objections. Even Nea was surprised by her courage Dara used to be a timid girl. This is shown in “He doesn’t need to

know”,”We can, and we will,”You’ve changed, too, Dara…Either that, or this sure of herself” This shows that Dara had grown up from all the obstacles she faced.

ii) The theme of courage is developed as Dara became more courageous after overcoming the difficulties she had during the war. Although she was just a little girl at first, she grew up and her character developed. When she was separated from her family who always protect her from danger, she was scared to search for them alone. She might get lost and never return to her home again. However, Jantu’s encouragement made her realise hope and confidence. This shown in “I would not be afraid”, “away from the safety of Thailand”. This shows that Dara had the courage to persevere.

The extract:”I took a deep breath,and felt calmer.’I'm sorry,Mr Kung,sir,’i managed to say,’But we were hungry.’…………’Thank you,sir,’I said.’But could we have some rice with it,too,please?’”(pg87(last paragraph) to pg 88 (last paragraph))

From this extract,it shows that Dara is not afraid of even the king and also talked to him in a very informal way.This shows that she is very courageous and not scared of the consequences talking to a king like that.It also shows that after Dara has been through so much,she has become more daring and also learnt alot of survival skills.This also shows her drastic change in character.

The theme is developed through the different problems she faced and also the different obstacles she had to go through which made her a stronger person and also built her character.One example is through Jantu’s death that she became stronger as she had to face the world now without jantu that always encouraged her and she was also not scared anymore even after dropping the clay marble that she believed was the one that gave her courage.It is because she finally realised it is not the clay marble but it is all in her which helped her to be courageous and face the horrible world with courage.

friendship

Dara has two good friends, Jantu and Chnay. How has her friendship with these two people benefited her?

ANSWERS

Dara has become more mature ever since she was friends with Jantu and Chnay. As seen in the story, from the time she met Jantu, her attitude towards life has changed. She has become more positive in life. She does not always think that because of the war, her life is over. Now, she thinks that there is still a glimpse of hope until the war was over. She must think of a way to help her family. She cannot just sit there and dont do anything. Dara was not like a spoilt brat anymore but she fully understands how important life is, and there is only one chance.

I feel that Dara has learnt alot by being friends with Jantu. Jantu always thinks positive and believes in herself very deeply. She never gives up and keeps on trying when facing any dificulties. For example, Jantu once said to Dara, “The magic is in you Dara, and o the marble.” This shows that Jantu has instilled the quality of perseverance and self-believe into Dara. This was what helped Dara to find her family. Her own strength and not the clay marble thus, Dara has benefitted from being friends with Jantu.

Dara has also benefitted from being friends with Chnay.Being a strong man, Chnay has taught Dara how to be independant and fend for herself.

The friendship between Dara and Jantu allowed Dara to changed into a girl with strong will that allow her to overcome all difficulties. When Dara had not met Jantu, she is just an immature girl who doesn’t know how to respect others and is very inconsiderate, just like a piece of clay which haven’t been used. But after she met Jantu, she changed into a strong girl, more considerate and mature. She learned to respect others, she is just like the ‘clay marble’ that Jantu had shaped. From a pieced of clay, she turned into a beautifully shaped clay marble. Jantu made Dara to be who she is today, a mature and considerate girl.Dara also Benefited alot after she met Chnay and be friends. She became braver and learned how to be independent and find food to feed herself. Although Chanay is a big bully, he teaches Dara how to fend for herself. After meeting Chnay, Dara had learned that she should fight for what she want and not to be the weaker but the stronger one. Her friendship with Chnay allowed her to learn to stay strong whenever she met any difficulties.

(1) How did Jantu’s friendship with Dara benefitted her?I think the friendship between Jantu and Dara was extremely close, to the extent of being sisters. As for Jantu’s character, it is shown that Jantu is a very optimistic character and she is very matured in her thinking. These are the major factors that have influenced Dara. After meeting Jantu, Dara had started to become more optimistic and mature. For example, being optimistic about Dara’s father’s death, Jantu had told her that, no matter where her father was, he would be in Dara’s heart. From then on, Dara was influenced with the optimism of facing death and also was influenced with Jantu’s matured thinking of father being in her heart no matter where he’d went. This shows that the personality of Jantu had somewhat benefitted Dara at the utmost time and this is due to their close friendship between the both of them.

(2) How did Chnay’s friendship with Dara benefitted her?Though the story did not mention much on Chnay, but Chnay had a strong impact on Dara, too. During the search for Dara’s family, Chnay had gone out everyday just to find Dara’s family for her, while she was working to give dinner to Chnay. These actions of Chnay, Dara knew, and had made her more stronger, in terms of mentally. Chnay looking for her family had made Dara become more optimistic, though she was worried that Chnay couldn’t find her family, yet she still trusted Chnay with all she could. This made her grew stronger mentally. Thus, I conclude that Chnay’s short friendship with Dara had still benefitted Dara a lot.

Dara and Jantu’s friendship made dara grew and matured. she had changed from a spolied girl who do not care about the feeling of people around her to a sensible and caring girl. this attitude as well as the clay marble gave dara the confidence and hope to find her family. if she had not met jantu, she would never find her family and would still be a spolied brat like she used to be not only that, she might have even died at the camp.

Dara also benefitted from Chnay. Though Chnay was a bully, he was willing to help Dara when she needed it. He also gave her more cinfidence and helped her along the way. he told her to confront Kung Silor about the food and to ask if she could work for him. dara gained confidence and became independent by working for Kung Silor.

The friendship between Jantu and Dara helped Dara to mature and become a more understanding and courageous girl. Dara changed when she met Jantu, and she realised she could do the things she thought she couldn’t with the help and support of Jantu, showing that Jantu is a huge influence to her and she very much looks up to her as her pillar of strength and support. Dara no longer behaves, acts and thinks like a small child, instead, she fully understands the situation she is in and has learnt to cope with it and find solutions to help her family and herself, instead of complaining and sulking, unwilling to face reality. With the influence of Jantu, she found the courage and determination to look for her family herself after they were separated. Jantu has

made a huge impact on Dara and withou her, Dara would still be the timid spoilt brat she was before.

Dara also benefitted alot upon befriending Chnay. Though Chnay was a bully, he was willing to help Dara when she was at a loss, being there for her when she was lonely, helping her to find her family, giving her support so that Dara would not lose hope in finding her family. He also gave her more courage and helped her. Example, he told her to confront Kung Silor about the food and to ask if she could work for him. Through this, Dara became more confident of herself and she has also learnt to be more independent when working for Kung Silor.

Meeting Jantu has helped Dara to become braver and to have the courage to believe in herself.When Jantu’s brother was hurt,Jantu has to bring him to the hospital while Dara has to seek her family alone.At first,Dara does not have the courage to do it but after much encouragement from Jantu,she managed to have the courage.Meeting Chnay has been beneficial for Dara because he taught her to be independent and not rely on others. Like the time when Chnay smashed the toy figures,Dara had learnt a lesson that toy figures are just physical things and they are just a remembrance about someone.Thus,meeting Jantu and Chnay has benefitted Dara.

Dara’s friendship with Jantu has changed her into a mature girl. Jantu was sensible, and taught Dara many things. Wen Dara was separated from her family, Jantu made a clay marble for her. The clay marble, as Dara had thought, was magical and could help her overcome many challenges. Dara believed in it, and managed to reunite with her family. Without Jantu, Dara may not have even found the courage to overcome the many obstacles. Therefore, Jantu, too, has a notible role in indirectly helping Dara to find her family.

Dara’s friendship with Chnay has benefited her too. He made sure that they did not starve while in search for Dara’s family. He also taught Dara how to steal food and such. And as Chnay knew where the camp was at, he also had a role in helping her to find her family.

Dara’s friendship with Jantu changed her into a matured and independent girl. It also made her realized that she can change her point of view from a pessimistic to a optimistic one. Dara also became more daring and had the courage to do many things. When they were moving away, Jantu influenced Dara and it made Dara able to leave the clay figures behind but they will be etched in her mind. Therefore, Jantu is a important friend to Dara.Dara had benefited a lot by being Chnay’s friend. This made her realized that Chnay was not a big bully. Chnay was also very helpful. After Dara met Chnay and made friends with him, she

learnt to be more brave and had more confidence in doing things. Chnay also accompanied Dara and encourage her along the way. Therefore, Chnay is also a important friend to Dara.

Her friendship with Jantu helped her to be more mature and understand that she has to be brave during war. The main object that moulded her is the clay marble that Jantu made for her. She told her that it is a magic ball and since then, Dara believed in herself and she overcame many difficulties and found her family. Thus, Jantu, or even the clay marble, indirectly helped her in her difficult times.

Chnay helped Dara reunite with her family members. He brought Dara to the camp, where she became independant by working for Kung Silor in order to get food to eat while finding her family members. He also made her feel not too lonely by accompaning her when she was alone. Therefore, Chnay helped her to be more brave and confident in herself.

Although Chnay was a bully, he was kind and helped Dara find her family. He accompanied Dara on her tough journey and find food. This is shown in “”Sure, why not?”, “held out some cold rice on a banana leaf”. This shows that Dara benefitted from Chnay’s help as she was not so lonely and scared. Since Chnay knew the directions, Dara felt more secure and confident in finding her family. She had more courage with Chnay’s help.Jantu and Dara lost their family in a bomb explosion. Jantu had to look after her injured brother, leaving Dara alone to find her family in the dangerous Cambodia. Dara was afraid ahe might get lost and was unable to find her family. However Jantu gave her a magical clay marble and encouraged her, “It will make you strong, and brave, and patient”, “Now go”. Dara became more confident and brave after Jantu’s help. She trusted Jantu and set off ot find her family, believing in hope. This shows that Dara grew up from the timid girl.

Her friendship with Jantu made her realise another side of her that even Dara did not know.It is a character that is a complete opposite of her.Her friendship with Jantu made her become more opimistic and also alot more mature than her pampered self in the beginning.She also became more understanding and also independant.It is also probably the hardship she went through that made her realise and made her appreciate the things and people around her more.Her friendship with Chnay has benefitted Dara.He gave her many opportunities to show herself as a brave person.One example is the talking with the King Silor about the food.It showed that she was brave enough to stand up for each other and he also thought her survival skills by stealing the food

The friendship between Dara and Jantu has moulded Dara into a matured girl. She is no longer the spoilt brat who always wants her way, instead she fully understands that life is not always what it seems. She also has more courage in her after knowing Jantu. She is not afraid to confront Kung Silor, and is able to find her family all on her own. The writer has made it that Jantu helped Dara on her “journey”.

Chnay has benefitted Dara alot as he made Dara a strong person. She used to be dependent, until she met Chnay, who kept on bullying her. It was only after she met Chnay, when she became more resilient, finding things out for herself and not from others. Therefore, Chnay’s friendship has benefitted her alot.

symbolism

2) In Chapter Six, a symbol is used to describe Dara’s and Jantu’s existing family. Please identify the symbol and explain how it used to symbolise the family. Please justify your point with evidence from the text.

ANSWERS

In chapter six, the symbol is the broken clay figures that Jantu made. The phrase: ‘fragments from a broken bowl that nobody wants”, shows that these broken pieces symbolizes their family now, that they are separated apart from their family members. Jantu said that,” are leftovers of families”, which shows that she and Dara are like the two leftover fragments of a broken bowl, two leftover from a separated families that are scattered everywhere on Earth. thus, the symbol for the broken family is the broken clay figure, the broken bowl.

The symbol is the clay figures that Jantu made.The clay figures are the opposite of what their families are now.”It gets bigger.People get added to it.Husbands,mother-in-laws,babies.” and “My own family has been getting smaller,shrinking rather than growing.”It also symbolises what they wanted in their family and also a “full” family instead of what they have now which is a “scattered” family.

In chapter 6, the clay dolls that Jantu made were used to symbolise Dara and Jantu’s family. This is shown in “you still want to play with my family of dolls”. Jantu decorated the doll like the apperance of her and Dara’s family members. This symbolises the special features of each family member. The Clay Family symbolises how Dara and Jantu could be one real family, a family that is growing. This shows that a real family can be acheived if Sarun and Nea married and the two families live together in harmony.

the clay   family

why does Jantu make The Clay Family? What does the The Clay Family symbolize? What kind of feelings are stirred up within Dara and Jantu? Please justify your points with evidence from the text.

ANSWERS

Clay is a naturally occuring material, with no special properties whatsoever. It is often took for granted, and considerably not valuable. In a war (such as the war faced in The Clay Marble), clay is one of the abundant resources left, amongst all the precious resources that has been wastefully used up. It symbolises the families that are still alive, and the lives of these broken-up families are inferior compared to the lives of the fighting soldiers, generals and commanders.We further understand the symbolism when the clay is shaped into a family. This family is broken up, unwanted, and uncared for by the leaders of Cambodia.

Clay is also easily breakable and moldable. It shows that Dara and Jantu’s family can be broken can changed easily.

The clay family symbolizes the hopes and dreams Dara and Jantu have in common. It also showed the happiness and peacefulness their families shared before the war. The clay family also shows that Dara and Jantu wanted a real, complete, big and a growing family with all their family members living together. And because they wanted a complete family, Jantu then suggested that Nea and Sarun should get married which represents their hope for a real family. The clay family also shows that Jantu does not want Dara to stop hoping and wishing. Jantu wants Dara to have hopes so that she can work towards it, to find her complete, big and growing family. The clay family also gives them courage to move on but not to give up when they meet any difficulties.

The clay family symbolises hope and the furture ahead of them. It also symbolises the peaceful life Dara and Jantu once had before the war and it is now what they yearned for.

The family life they used to have is now gone, they still hope that their family will be reunited with more new family members. Thus, it symbolises hope as there is a want for their old life back.

The clay family symbolises hope for a better life for Dara and Jantu, one which there will be no war involved, and Dara has a more stable family. The hope shown by the clay family is also realistic, as it doesn’t ask for something that is unachievable, such as making the deceased family members come alive. Instead, the clay family just shows Dara and Jantu living the most out of their life, with what the war has taken from them. This also shows that Jantu is a mature person, as she doesn’t ask for more when making the clay family.

The clay marble also more-or-less symbolises the peaceful life of Jantu and Dara in the past, except that they weren’t together yet. This is shown by the activites the dolls were made to do, such as “the little Sarun doll plow his field.” The clay family is hence a renactment of Dara and Jantu’s memories, and letting them relive these memories might make them happier despite of their country’s state-of-war.

The clay family symbolises hope and wishes for a better future. It also symbolises happiness and peacefulness that Dara and Jantu once had before the war occured. The clay family also shows that Dara and Jantu wanted a real, complete, big and a growing family. That is why Jantu suggests that Sarun and Nea to get married. The clay marble also represents the times they had before the war, such as Jantu’s father died. The clay family also shows that Jantu does not want Dara to stop hoping and wishing. The clay family also gives them courage to move on and persevere the hardships that they had to go through.

She wants to make to put her hope and dream of her family in it as she knows that it is now impossible for her to have a complete family.To her,the clay family also symbolises peace and hapiness which used to be her old life before the war actually happened.It symbolises hope and the peacefulness they used to have.

They were reminded of their times when their family was a complete one and also they also think back about the time when their family became a scattered family.

Jantu makes the Clay Family as she wanted to show how Dara and her could be one real family, a family that is growing. The Clay Family symbolises how Dara and Jantu could become one big family. This is shown in “You mean, suppose Sarun and Nea got married?” This shows that Jantu wanted to give Dara hope and courage to dream.

They remembered when their fathers were alive and when their fathers were killed. The happy times were shown in “elephant-tusk mangoes, Sweet and long and smooth”. The sad times were shown in ”father put his hands up to his face, just before they shot him”,”her voice was strange,

as if a bit of rice had gotten stuck in her throat”. This shows that although Jantu seems very brave, she could not control her emotions when she remembered how her father died.

I don’t think that Jantu knowingly mislead Dara, maybe it was just a reflection of Dara’s character and what she needed at the time, we know she changes and this marble and belief in magic was just part of her growing up.

The clay family symbolizes the happiness that Dara wished and her dream. Jantu made the clay family with dara so that they can kill time by making the clay family and it was purely for fun. Not like dara that treat it as if that once the clay family breaks, her dream will be soon scattered as she believed that the clay marble is magical. The magic made her think in a way that if something magic is gone that means, the actually thing will be gone too. The clay family was used as a replacement of her dream. Jantu had actually quite mislead dara and made her think in this way. Dara is using her imagination to escape from the cruel reality she is trying to convince herself that she isn’t leaving in a place with the poor condition and that sadness that will actually follow her later on. She seem really weak she refuse to face the reality and she hides herself behind Jantu think that Jantu can do anything including saving her from the war. She thinks that Jantu can do anything she is too afraid of the war and even more afraid of losing her dream. Her dream and her plan is really what a person living in the place with that war wishes for. She didn’t want to spoil the perfectness of the family and although they are purely objects it still aches when you see that what you had played with and what you spend time making. Dara the way she refuses to go mean that she cannot let go her fear to the war and the fear of the happiness that she is having now breaking up.