Kairos International School
English Notes on Analysing Explicit and Implicit
meaning
Identifying meaning
Task 1
Look at the following extract from Floella Benjamin's autobiography, Coming to
England. Here she is describing her family’s home in Trinidad, a large island in the
Caribbean.
While you are reading the extract, think about the impressions you get of the room
and how the writer creates these impressions.
This room was my mother's pride and joy. Its brilliant white curtains always smelt
fresh and the mahogany furniture was always highly polished, as was the wooden
floor. My sister and I spent many hours polishing that room from as far back as I can
remember. We had to do the polishing before we left for school each day. The
comfortable wooden chairs in the room were draped with crisp white headrests and
the round table, which we ate from on Sundays and other special occasions, had a
doily in its centre, on which sat a glass of glorious fresh flowers.
Coming to England by Floella Benjamin
To analyse this section of the text, you can use the IDEAS technique. Here is an
example of how you might approach it:
Identify:
The room is made to sound quite special, as she says, 'This room was my mother's
pride and joy'.
Describe:
By using the description of it being her pride and joy, the writer creates the idea that
the room made her mother feel both proud and very happy.
Explore:
By adding extra detail and description, for example, 'brilliant white curtains' and
furniture that is 'highly polished' we are given a further impression of the room being
special.
Analyse:
The adjectives 'brilliant white' here suggests that the mother works hard to keep the
curtains the best they could ever be. The furniture is described as not just 'polished'
but 'highly polished' suggesting that is was done over and over again by a woman
who is very proud of the room.
assess:
This is further demonstrated as the writer tells us that she was made to do the
polishing before she could go to school. We are also told that the room was only
used on 'Sundays and other special' days, suggesting her mother was religious and
quite proud.
Task 2
Look at the following extract from Tricia Holford's book, Fly Away Home. The extract
describes a pair of lions in two very different settings, one in their natural home in
Africa and, the second, in captivity at a rooftop bar in Tenerife.
The two lions lay on their backs in the shade of an acacia tree, their massive paws
limp and relaxed. We had been watching them for 20 minutes when the male slowly
stood up, stretched, and padded over to a clearing. He began to roar. It was a deep,
heart-stopping roar which echoed along the ancient African valley. It was an
announcement that he, Raffi, had arrived and it was his territory now. Slowly he
turned to his mate and lay peacefully beside her. It was quiet once more.
It was a dramatic contrast to my first encounter with them on a Tenerife rooftop in
1994. That image of two thin, grubby lions pacing back and forth in their tiny cage is
forever etched on my memory. The corrugated iron roof turned the cage into an
oven. Without a water bowl in sight, the only features in the cage were an old rubbish
bin and narrow sleeping shelves with nails sticking out. For five years Raffi and
Anthea had mentally survived in these conditions – how? I never believed I would
one day see them in their ancestral home.
Fly Away Home by Tricia Holford
Imagine you have been asked to explain the difference between the lions in the
different situations, using quotations to support your ideas:
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behaviour
home
atmosphere
Analysing explicit and implicit meaning
When analysing explicit and implicit meaning, as well as having lots of ideas, you
need to explain them clearly.
In order to show your understanding, you should:
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develop your ideas only from what you find in the text
use examples from the text to support your ideas, for example, quotations
explain the effects that the writer is trying to have on the reader and the purposes for
these
you can use the IDEAS technique to help structure your answer
Take a look at the following extract from Robert Westall's novel, Urn
Burial. The narrator is telling us about a character called Ralph, who has been
captured by an alien race:
This was the worst nightmare yet. He was standing with his back pressed against a
smooth wall cold as ice. The cold nibbled at his buttocks and legs; it ran up and
down the knobbles of his spine, making him shiver; it invaded his lungs so he could
hardly breathe; he felt he had been shivering a long time.
Urn Burial by Robert Westall
In the extract, the writer is using the narrator to create a creepy, sinister atmosphere.
The way that the narrator describes Ralph's imprisonment makes it sound very
unpleasant.
He is 'pressed against a smooth wall that is cold as ice' and the cold is creeping into
every part of his body, making him shiver. Ralph also feels as if he can 'hardly
breathe' because of the cold.
The writer uses a range of literary techniques here. The simile 'cold as ice', helps the reader
relate to Ralph as they will know what ice feels like. The writer also uses personification 'the
cold nibbled at Ralph, it ran up and down his back and invaded his lungs'. This adds an
emotional effect for the reader because it makes the cold sound as if it were alive, running
over and into Ralph, trying to eat away at him. We can infer from this that he has been
overpowered and is in danger.
Analysing explicit and implicit meaning – task
Task 1
Read the following extract from The Red Room by HG Wells:
The long, draughty, subterranean passage was chilly and dusty, and my candle
flared and made the shadows cower and quiver. The echoes rang up and down the
spiral staircase, and a shadow came sweeping up after me, and one fled before me
into the darkness overhead. I came along the landing and stopped there for a
moment, listening to a rustling sound that I fancied I heard; then, satisfied of the
absolute silence, I pushed open the baize-covered door and stood in the corridor.
The Red Room by HG Wells
Question
What sort of atmosphere is Wells trying to create and how does he do this? Can you
use the IDEAS technique to help you write your answer?
TASK -1 ANSWER
Identity:
The writer creates an atmosphere of fear and tension from the beginning of the
extract. He describes 'the subterranean passage' as being 'draughty' and mentions
that it is 'chilly and dusty'.
Describe:
This creates a creepy and ghostly atmosphere that helps make the reader feel tense
as the passage is underground, giving a sense of it being dark and possibly difficult
to escape from. The cold and dust give us the idea that no-one has been there for a
long time so he probably wouldn't be able to call for help.
Explore:
The fact that the character only has a candle to light his way adds to the tension
because we know that the draught could blow it out and he would be left in darkness,
something we would associate with the unknown and with something frightening.
The way the echoes 'rang up and down the spiral staircase' and the fact that the man
'stopped for a moment' because he thinks he hears a sound, adds to the ghostly
effects as it builds up more of an impression of his surroundings by adding sound.
The description of the shadows also helps to create a sinister atmosphere as they
make it even harder for the man to see what's ahead.
Analyse:
The writer uses literary techniques such as personification to describe the shadows,
for example, writing that they 'cower and quiver' and 'came sweeping up and…one
fled'. Bringing the shadows to life in this way creates an even more tense and
disturbing atmosphere, as they seem capable of feelings. They ‘cower and quiver’
suggesting fright. The use of ‘fled’ gives the idea that the shadow wants to escape
the situation. This could imply that the narrator is frightened and himself wishes to
escape.
aSsess:
All of this makes the shadows sound somehow alive, or perhaps like ghosts. The
words used are all linked with fear, so that even the shadows seem to be afraid of
what's in the corridor. This, along with the sounds and darkness ahead, helps Wells
create an eerie setting and a very tense atmosphere.
Task 2
Have a look at this extract about 'Northland Wild' from a 19th-century novel by Jack
London called White Fang:
Dark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen waterway. The trees had been
stripped by a recent wind of their white covering of frost, and they seemed to lean
towards each other, black and ominous, in the fading light. A vast silence reigned
over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone
and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of
laughter, but of a laughter more terrible than any sadness - a laughter that was
mirthless as the smile of the sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the
grimness of infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity
laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozenhearted Northland Wild.
White Fang by Jack London
Question
How and why does the writer create an atmosphere of cold and loneliness?
TASK -2 ANSWER
Identify:
The narrator tells of a cold, empty landscape, 'a vast silence reigned over the land'.
Describe:
This makes it seem as if nothing is moving or even living for miles around. The
silence 'reigned', giving an impression of the power and majesty of ‘The Wild’.
Explore:
There is more use of the personification of nature when the trees 'lean towards one
another, black and ominous in the fading light' and the forest 'frowned', giving the
impression of a cold and rather threatening atmosphere, creating tension.
Analyse:
The use of 'lean' and 'frowned' to personify the trees and forest gives the impression
that nature and 'The Wild' are a negative force and the trees leaning towards one
another blocks out the light, referring to the ‘black’ and ‘ominous’ atmosphere. It is a
place without hope.
aSsess:
The fact that the narrator refers to 'the futility of life' implies that nothing can grow
here and nothing will. It shows the true power of ‘The Wild’. This certainly seems to
be the writer’s overall intended purpose when you bring all of the techniques that he
has used together.
Using quotations and useful phrases
When quoting from a text, remember to:
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use quotation marks
quote accurately
quotes of three words or fewer can be used in the sentence you're writing - for example,
when the writer talks about the 'futility of life' he means...
longer quotations need to be included on a line of their own and with a space before it
(known as an indent)
short, well-chosen quotations are better than long ones
Remember that certain words and phrases are especially helpful when you're
explaining an idea in detail. They can be particularly helpful if you are commenting
on implicit meaning.
Phrases
The following word bank shows you some of those useful phrases. You might be
able to add some more:
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this implies
this suggests
which gives the impression that
possibly
perhaps
this indicates that
this shows
obviously
Connectives
Some other words and phrases that may be useful are those that help move your
argument on. These are called connectives. Here are some examples:
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however
therefore
in contrast
because
but
and
furthermore
also
then
at first
later
as well as
Atmosphere and setting - task
Have a look at the following extract from Collision Course by Nigel Hinton. Ray, the
main character in this extract, has stolen a motorbike and caused an accident that
killed someone.
He has told nobody, but knows that he can't hide for much longer. He is about to get
on a bus, but realises that the one person who can link him to the crime is the
conductor of that very bus. Before he can run off, he bumps into Mrs Fitzroy, his best
friend's mum.
Once you have read the extract, answer the question below using the IDEAS
technique and then check your ideas against the ones below. Write one paragraph
for each bullet point.
'He hung back, groping wildly for some excuse to prevent him getting on, but the bell
rang and the engine increased its impatient rumble and his legs carried him upwards
on to the platform, and he felt Mrs Fitzroy clamber on behind. The bus began to
move. He turned towards the stairs, but she caught hold of his arm.
"Let's go downstairs. I don't like the smoke." Again he felt her hand guide him, and
he ducked his head and began to walk along the aisle. "Yeah".
"This'll do," she said, and he turned back and sat beside her - the less fuss he made,
the less obvious he was, the better. As he settled, he kept his face bent low, aware
of the conductor walking towards them. He brushed past, and, noticing things with a
total clarity, Ray saw the dark blue uniform that he was wearing and noted the
heaviness and thickness of the material. He heard him clumping up the stairs, and
he wondered, absurdly, if he was wearing heavy boots, too.
Mrs Fitzroy was opening the bag which she had on her lap, and Ray felt in his pocket
for his fare. If he had the right change, he could just hand it to the conductor without
looking up. Yes, he had a ten and two pence piece. He glanced at Mrs Fitzroy and
saw to his dismay that she was taking out a pound-note from her purse. That would
mean a delay while she got her change - plenty of chance for him to be recognised.
Could he offer to pay her fare? It would seem strange, but anything was better than
being seen.'
Collision Course by Nigel Hinton
Question
What kind of atmosphere does the writer create in this extract and how and why do
they do this?
Refer to:
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Ray's thoughts and actions as he gets on the bus
his behaviour as the conductor speaks
how the writer uses language to create the atmosphere
ANSWER
In this text, the writer creates an atmosphere of fear and tension. Ray's thoughts and
actions at the start of the passage show that he is under a lot of pressure. He tries to
think of an excuse to prevent him getting on the bus, 'groping wildly for some
excuse', suggesting that he is desperate to think of anything he can to avoid it;
however, he knows that this will just make Mrs Fitzroy suspicious. When he tries to
go upstairs, she insists they stay downstairs. Nothing seems to be going his way,
and this leads us to believe he may well be spotted by the conductor.
As the conductor approaches, Ray's fears increase which creates more tension. He
keeps his 'face bent low' to avoid being recognised, and also notices things 'with a
total clarity'. This shows that he is very scared and alert, ready for something to go
wrong. When he realises Mrs Fitzroy has no change, he feels dismay. The reader is
kept on the edge of their seat waiting for the conductor to come along.
The writer uses language, as well as events, to create tension. The phrase 'groping
wildly for some excuse' shows Ray's panic and gives the impression that he feels he
has no control over events as he does this 'wildly', implying that there is no logical
thought in what he does and reveals his desperation. The writer’s use of 'groping'
suggests that he is just reaching out for any excuse he can, adding to the idea that
he will think of anything to avoid this situation, therefore creating even more tension.
The way he notices the 'heaviness' of the conductor's uniform, and wonders if he
was wearing heavy boots as well might mean that he is afraid of the man. Ray asks
himself 'Could he offer to pay her fare?'. This shows he is tense; he is running
through possibilities in his mind.
The writer uses Ray's thoughts and fears to create this atmosphere of tension for the
reader. The reader is left wondering why Ray does not want to be seen on the bus.