Learner Portfolio Task 4 – Woman at Point Zero Individually, please extract the work you have done from the powerpoint slides and paste it into this document. For Task 1 and 4, do include both the quote and the analysis. Task 1 – Analysing resonant quotations “The sky also had undergone a change; its colour had turned to black, like that of the earth, and it was pressing down upon me with its added load.” ● “The sky also had undergone a change”: environment seemed to further add to the emotional burden she was feeling, effects of this change are sharply noticed due to her increased sensitivity (result of her sorrow) ● “colour had turned to black”: sky cannot literally turn to black, hyperbole, mirrors her misery (black → connotes mourning, despair) ● “like that of the earth”: metaphor, suggests that she feels lost, “earth” suggests that she sees everything as darkness → she has a pessimistic viewpoint/ she feels alone; suggests that she is so affected by the situation that she feels the whole world is against her ○ This quote as a whole (“its colour had turned to black, like that of the earth”) provides an ominous feeling, as if everything is becoming dark → feels surreal ● “pressing down on me”: symbolism of the burden that she was now carrying, paradox since the sky is a non-solid/ intangible thing that carries no weight, likely her intention to convey the idea of the atmosphere weighing down on her from all angles Task 4 – Analysing peer-selected quotations “Her duty was perfect obedience.” ● “Duty”: Diction of the word duty implies responsibility and moral obligation that women had to fulfil. In this case, Firdaus was obligated to not complain about the domestic abuse and violence that she was compelled to put up with. Should she choose to do so, society and those around her will not support her since it is perceived to be expected of them to behave as if they were their husband’s objects. ● “perfect obedience”: “perfect” gives a sense of dehumanisation, suggesting that people expect Firdaus to be completely subservient without question. It also suggests that women are seen as inferior. “Obedient” gives a sense of infantilisation, suggesting that Firdaus is not allowed to be independent. ○ This is in stark contrast to Firdaus’s decision to become a prostitute. It is ironic that this profession is looked down upon since the men she is supposed to remain “obedient” to are seeking her services, suggesting the level of dichotomy present in the novel ● Fragmentation used in this short and concise statement feigns the simplicity of this statement, concealing the far-reaching impacts this norm has had on the female population in the Middle East. “I realised that I had been afraid, and that the fear had been within me all the time, until the fleeting moment when I read fear in his eyes.” ● Firdaus’s fear is replaced by her desire to survive ● Shows her development as a person. She previously submitted herself to all the men who abused her, but chooses to defend herself here ● “the fear had been within me all the time”: Suggests that she has lived her life in fear without even realising it, had become so accustomed and normalised to this permanent feeling that it appeared to be something she was born with. Also hints that she was constantly in fear, feeling was inbuilt in her and was thus unable to escape it ● “I read fear in his eyes”: Firdaus has described her mother’s and Miss Iqbal’s eyes as “two rings and intense white surrounded by two circles of intense black”. She suggests that she views these people in the same way, as loving figures. She often uses vague descriptions for these eyes, but here, she sees a clear emotion, suggesting that she has become certain of herself ● “Fleeting moment”: Implies that the narrow window of time in which she realised that she had to defend herself, that would slip beyond her reach should she not grab it. Suggests how crucial this point in time this was to tip the scale. How sharp and intense the fear in his eyes were such that she was able to notice it within that instant (likely due to her recognising it after personally experiencing it for so long) Misc notes from class discussions/ concluding lessons The importance of resonance ● Technical analysis is not enough; authorial choices and the impact it has on the audience is also very important ● Why do you think this quote is unique? “This is a story of a real woman” ● This quote is resonant because she seems to be setting up a fantastical story ● Making up a snide remark about other texts that are not about real people ● She is being candid from the beginning ● Focus on the word “real” “You will never meet anyone like her in or out of prison” ● “Prison”: dark, dangerous, a really bad person ● Situates Firdaus as a prisoner, and as someone special despite being a prisoner “Murderer or not, she’s an innocent woman who does not deserve to be hanged.” ● Focus on “murderer” and “innocent” ○ This juxtaposition is interesting ○ Murdering someone was not unprovoked “Compared to her, I was nothing but a small insect crawling upon the land amidst millions of other insects ● Focus on “small insect” “The sky also had undergone a change; its colour had turners to black, like that of the earth, and it was pressing down upon me with its added load.” ● The sympathetic background allows readers to understand the context on a deeper level “I was brought back suddenly by her voice” ● The impactfulness of her voice “But this was no dream.” ● Everything that has been going on has been very dreamlike “The voice was hers, steady, cutting deep down inside, cold as a knife.” ● Use of extended metaphor ● Sets up what happens later when she uses the knife ● It is resonant because a voice is usually simply memorable/ sonorous/ loud/ soft, but this is a very interesting depiction of a voice “Everybody has to die. I prefer to die for a crime I have committed rather than to die for one of the crimes which you have committed.” ● There are people dying for others’ crimes, representing the level of corruption in the country “Do you believe the words of love they whisper in the ears of penniless women like us?” ● Some sense of doubt ● “Penniless women”: false sense of sympathy “I had a secondary school certificate.” ● This means a lot to Firdaus, and it is how she defines her self-worth “Her duty was perfect obedience.” ● Resonant because this is expected of many women.” “I knew that women did not become heads of state, but I felt that I was not like other women, nor like the girls around we who kept talking about love, or about men.” ● Resonant because it is still true today, even in the least patriarchal societies “These were men who sowed corruption on the earth, and plundered their peoples, men endowed with loud voices, a capacity for persuasion, for choosing sweet words and shooting poisoned arrows.” ● Using many different metaphors to express the depth of corruption ● Resonant because it also happens in society today, where men who are corrupt are able to be completely disruptive in a variety of ways “Now I had learnt that honor required large sums ot money to protext it, but that large sums of money could not be obtained without losing one’s honor. An infernal circle whirling round and round, dragging me up and down with it.” ● Although she obtained money from being a prostitute, even in the real world, you cannot earn a large amount of money without losing some integrity “I realised that I had been afraid, and that the fear had been within me all the time, until the fleeing moment when I read fear in his eyes.” ● Resonant in the context of the book, because this is where she gained more courage “I would look over the top of the high wall and watch them as they departed, my eyes following the people and the movement of the street like a prisoner condemned to look out at life over the top of a high prison wall.” ● An interesting observation because it is a very apt way to relate school to prison “A woman’s life is always miserable. A prostitute, however, is a little better off.” ● Double standards ● The level of empowerment present in Firdaus
