“Sailmaker”
Textual analysis
practice
Remember
In the Scottish Text part of the Critical Reading paper in the
exam you are given an extract from the play and you then
have to answer different textual analysis questions using
your knowledge and understanding of the play and the
different techniques used by Alan Spence.
We are going to be doing a number of activities to
further prepare you for this part of the exam.
Practice textual analysis for prelim
The extract starts on page (“Imagine really
being a fitba player...”) down to page
(...Two notes on mouth organ. Fade).
Question 1- 2 marks
Look at the first five lines of the extract.
At this stage in the play, Alec and Ian are still young and
optimistic.
How does the language of these lines convey this?
Hint- when you are asked about “language” you should
always quote plus comment.
“Imagine really bein a fitba player”
This emphasises that the boys have hopes, dreams
and ambitions for the future that they would like
to achieve.
“Best job in the whole world”
This emphasises their youth as they want a
job that they will enjoy and they want to
be like their role models when they are
older.
“Better than bein a painter”
This emphasises that the two boys have hopes,
dreams and ambitions to have better jobs
and better lives than their fathers.
Question 2- 8 marks
Look at the extract from “What’s up wi your face?” down
to “On yer way, pal! Out the door”.
Davie has just been made redundant. Show how the
writer’s language conveys the reactions of:
• Davie.
• Billy.
Hint: provide 2 x quote plus comment for each character.
Billy
“Bastards”
This emphasises that Billy feels very angry at
Davie’s employers for making him redundant
and feels that he has been treated badly.
“But that wisnae your fault”
This emphasises that Billy is outraged as he
believes that Davie has been blamed for
something unfairly and lost his job for no
reason.
Davie
“DAVIE shakes head”
This emphasises that Davie feels disappointed
and frustrated at losing his job and he can’t
believe it has happened.
“Turn roon an kick ye in the teeth”
This emphasises that Davie feels disappointed
and let down by his employers and he thinks
they have treated him badly.
“Try tellin’ them that”
This emphasises that Davie feels like he does
not deserve to lose his job and he feels that
he has been blamed for something that
wasn’t his fault.
Question 3- 2 marks
Look at the extract from “Bit of bad news son” down to
“Never died a winter yet”.
Explain, using evidence, how Davie gives a different
reaction when speaking to Alec.
(Shrugs)
This suggests that Davie is trying to act like he
is not that bothered or worried about losing
his job.
“Ah’m better off out ae it”/
“that was a lousy job anyway”/
“Better than nothing”.
This emphasises that Davie is trying to put
on a brave face and seem optimistic. He
is pretending that he is glad he doesn’t
have to work there anymore.
Question 4- 8 marks
With close reference to the extract and the
rest of the play, explain how the
relationship between Alec and Ian
develops.
Step 1- from the extract
• Find one piece of evidence from the extract
and then clearly explain it, making sure
that you answer the question.
(Quote plus comment).
From the extract
“Imagine really bein a fitba player”
This conveys that Alec and Ian used to play
together when they were younger and talk to
each other often.
Step 2- commonality
• Find one piece of evidence from the extract and
then clearly explain it, making sure that you
answer the question.
(Quote plus comment).
• Now, explain how this links/connects to
somewhere else in the text (outside the extract).
Commonality
“Best job in the whole world”
This conveys that both Alec and Ian admire and look
up to football players and would like to have a job
that they love, like playing football.
This links to earlier in the play where we find out that
the two boys have different ideas about the type of
job they want when they are older. Ian wants a trade
like his father, but Alec wants to go to university and
get a job from his education.
Step 3- from the rest of the play
• Identify a piece of evidence from elsewhere in
the text and clearly explain it, making sure that
you answer the question.
You have to do this two times, but I would
suggest three. You do not quote here.
From the rest of the play
• Alec is a lot more interested in religion than Ian is. For
example, Alec attends religious groups and studies the
bible, but Ian is not impressed by this and feels left out.
• Ian is much more sectarian than Alec. For example, Ian
regularly makes sectarian and bigoted comments about
Catholics but Alec is more respectful and open-minded.
• Ian and Alec are very close when they are younger, but
they gradually start to drift apart. For example, Alec goes
to private school and Ian eventually moves to Aberdeen.
• Alec is an optimistic and positive person whereas Ian
is much more sarcastic and cynical. For example,
when Alec finds the yacht he really likes and admires
it and he wants to repair it, whereas Ian is not
impressed and he is critical of the yacht.
• Alec and Ian have very different views about the
importance of education. For example, when Alec is
accepted into private school, Ian teases him and
makes fun of him about it.