Hello, my name is Miss Grant.

I'm so glad you've decided to learn with me today.

We're in the modern text first study unit and our modern text is "Leave Taking." Today we're gonna be looking at the relationship between Mai and Del, such an important one in our play.

This is gonna include a close reading of a short section of a scene, which I'm really excited about.

I love to look at the language that Pinnock has used and mine it for all its richness.

I can't wait to hear all your fantastic ideas.

I'm gonna be your support and guide as we work through today's lesson together.

Let's get started.

So by the end of today's lesson, you are going to be able to explain Mai's powerful influence on Del.

We know that these two characters have quite a challenging relationship to begin with, but as the play progresses over the eight scenes, Mai's influence becomes stronger and stronger, to the point where Del really relies on Mai in scene eight.

So we'll explore how it happens, why it happens, and what it might mean for the character of Del.

We've got some key words which are gonna help us unlock our learning today, and they are invest.

If you invest in something, it means to put time, money, or effort into something that you think will go up in value.

Enigmatic, which is a synonym for mysterious or unknowable, and how Pinnock herself describes Mai.

Second generation immigrant, people who've grown up in a country that at least one of their parents was not born in.

So Del and Viv are second generation immigrants.

Pocomania, this is a Jamaican folk religion, combining aspects of surviving African religion with aspects from Protestant religion.

And we're gonna see that Del mentions this and Mai, they have a discussion about it in the scene that we're going to reread today.

So these are gonna help us unlock our learning.

They're gonna be referenced throughout today's lesson.

Let's look at our lesson outline.

So first of all, we're gonna think about Mai as a powerful influence, and then we're gonna finish off today's lesson by looking at the relationship between Mai and Del.

Let's start off with Mai, a powerful influence.

So Mai appears in five of the play's eight scenes, so over half.

And I'd like you to discuss, focusing on Mai, what happens in each scene? I saw people already looking for their play script, which is exactly what you should be doing.

You're not having to do this off by heart.

Your play script should always be in your hand when you are exploring, examining, reexamining a play.

So I'd like you to discuss with your play scripts in your hand, focusing on Mai, what happens in each scene.

Pause the video and discuss the question now.

Lovely to see people relying on their play scripts.

Yours are getting as well thumbed as mine is as we reexamine this play and really, really think about it, notice other moments, start writing on it, folding down corners.

They look like really, really literary play scripts that can be analysed, that have been used for analysis well.

So scene one, we've got that Mai meets the Matthews women and she sees that Del needs to talk.

Scene five, she allows Del to live with her.

We're not quite sure how that happens, but it does.

And she answers her questions about Obeah.

In scene six, she tells Enid to let it, her grief, out.

Enid comes to consult with Mai.

She's very sad because her mother, she's just said her mother has died and Mai tells Del about her son.

In scene seven, she tells Del to let it out.

After Brod speaks of her father's abuse, Del is very angry, and she kicks the wall.

And in scene eight, she conducts Del's exams, her Obeah exams, and leaves her to complete Enid's reading.

So just nice short summaries, succinct summaries so that we really understand kind of what Mai is doing at each moment in this play.

Now here's what Pinnock says of the character of Mai.

Mai is an enigmatic figure, especially for Viv and Del who have no direct connection with the culture she represents.

But she comes to have a powerful influence on them all.

So enigmatic being one of our key words from today's lessons, meaning a bit mysterious, a bit unknowable.

Now I'd like you to discuss what does Pinnock mean by the idea that Viv and Del have no direct connection with the culture she represents? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Great discussions there, thinking really like what is Pinnock saying about Viv and Del and I heard lots of people using one of our key words from today's lesson.

That is Viv and Del are second generation immigrants who have never visited their mother's country of origin nor been exposed to much of its culture.

Their mother wants them to be English girls.

So she doesn't, Viv and Dell don't have a direct connection with a culture that she represents because arguably, Enid is keeping that culture from them.

She wants to think of them as English girls.

Now I'd like you to discuss, we know that Pinnock is calling Mai an enigmatic figure.

So slightly mysterious, slightly unknowable.

We've just looked at all the scenes that Mai appears in five of the play's eight scenes, and we know her kind of function, what happens in each of those scenes.

So have a think.

Where do we see the fact that Mai is enigmatic? Where do we see the slight mysteriousness across the whole play? So pause the video, return to your play script again and start thinking, well, where does the idea that Mai is an enigmatic figure, where can we see that in the play? Pause the video and discuss the question now.

Well done for grappling with this new word, this keyword, and with five of the play's eight scenes.

Lots and lots of ideas about Mai and how she's enigmatic, how she's slightly mysterious, slightly unknowable.

So we've got the Matthews family come to her for support.

So we see and hear more about them than Mai herself.

Neither Viv nor Del understand Obeah in scene one, but their understanding develops slowly over the course of the play, particularly for Del.

Mai seems to know what others need.

We know this is through her being an Obeah woman.

And so the practise has opened up to us, but not Mai herself.

Mai finds out she's going to die near the end of the play.

And her response is acceptance.

She's never a dramatic figure, even when faced with challenging people or challenging knowledge.

And I really like lots of people explored this idea that her response to this kind of idea that she's going to die, I was pretty surprised by it by the first time I read it.

Not that I thought that Mai was a particularly dramatic figure, but her quick acceptance is really kind of remarkable within the play.

She even makes a joke about it in terms of visiting one of her friends.

So she definitely seems a bit mysterious 'cause we don't get access to her innermost feelings here.

And she's definitely not a dramatic figure.

Most people said, well, Del really pushes her in scene one.

She's incredibly rude to her, but Mai doesn't respond.

She's not angry with Del.

She doesn't respond in any dramatic way.

So she doesn't face, she doesn't seem to experience the kind of highs and lows of these emotions that some of the other characters seem to.

So we don't get access to those even when faced with really challenging situations.

Thank you for giving me so many interesting ideas about the way in which Mai is this enigmatic figure and for understanding, having such a deep understanding of that key word.

Now Andeep says Mai does have a powerful influence on all of the characters, but her influence is most evident in the character of Del.

So this is his argument about the idea of Mai's powerful influence, and I'd like you to discuss what might have led Andeep to this idea that yes, Mai does have a powerful influence, but it's most evident in the character of Del.

Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Really lovely discussion there.

Thinking about not just Andeep's idea but also Pinnock's idea as well about this idea of Mai being a powerful influence.

So you might have had, well, Del's development from someone who insults Obeah to someone who practises it is down to Mai's guidance, advice, and patience.

And Del seems much happier at the end of the play, understanding who she is and having a more stable relationship with her mother and living with Mai seems to have allowed for this.

So two really strong ideas which would support Andeep's idea that Mai's most powerful influence is evident in the character of Del.

Now a quick check for understanding 'cause we really want to grapple with this idea that Mai is an enigmatic figure, show a good understanding not only of what Pinnock thinks of her, but the understanding of the word itself.

So I'd like you to match the sentence stems to their endings.

We've got Mai is an enigmatic figure because.

Mai is an enigmatic figure but.

And Mai is an enigmatic figure so.

So pause the video and match those sentence stems to their endings.

Pause the video and complete the task now.

Well done.

If you selected Mai is an enigmatic figure because there is some mystery around the practise of Obeah, especially for Viv and Del.

Mai is an enigmatic figure, but Del comes to understand her over the course of the play and Mai is an enigmatic figure, so initially, Del responds to her with suspicion.

Three really clear ideas there showing your fantastic understanding of this word, enigmatic.

Now I'd like you to reread scene eight from its beginning to the door opens to reveal Enid.

And as you read, pause and discuss these four questions.

We're gonna do a really amazing close reading out of a section of scene eight.

So here are our questions for our close reading.

Del and Mai discuss Pocomania.

How is Del's response different to when she was originally introduced to Obeah in scene one? Two, what simile, a stage direction, describes Del when she's reading Mai's palm, and what might this suggest? And three, Del says to me, what if I say the wrong thing, upset her, Enid? You know what I'm like.

Are you surprised by this reaction? What might it tell us about Del? And four, consider the stage directions as Del prepares to see Enid.

How do they speak to Mai's powerful influence on Del? So you can see these are really different to comprehension questions, not just understanding the scene but actually delving deeper.

So pause the video, reread scene eight from its beginning to the door opens to reveal Enid.

And as you read, pause and discuss these four close reading questions.

Pause the video and start your rereading now.

Always such a pleasure to see people rereading their text and really grappling with some of those richer, deeper ideas which you don't always get on a first reading.

So rereading is such an important skill to the student of English.

Let's have a think about some of these discussion questions and the answers that you came up with.

So Del and Mai may discuss Pocomania.

How is Del's response different to when she was originally introduced to Obeah in scene one? Well, Del not only knows about this tradition, she's actually eager to practise it.

In scene one, she dismissed Obeah as voodoo, stupid, and mumbo jumbo.

She now understands Obeah, but other traditions from her Jamaican heritage as well.

So it's really nice to see people selecting short quotations from scene one and thinking, well Del is really different now in scene eight.

What simile, a stage direction, describes Del when she's reading Mai's palm? What might this suggest? The stage directions read, she, Del, struggles to remember what she'd been taught, like a child learning to read, suggesting Mai and Del's relationship is one of teacher and student.

Del has bad memories of school.

So this seems a more positive educational experience for her, one she's invested in.

So it's lovely to hear people remembering what Del said about her school experiences or what Mai inferred about Del's school's experiences, that they weren't very positive.

And here we seem to have a more positive educational experience for her, but I also really like that exploration of the stage direction.

It's such an important dramatic method.

And I think particularly for Pinnock, her stage directions are often quite short, but they're really masterful.

They really tell you, develop your understanding of the character or the situation.

So it's always a good idea to return to those stage directions and think, what am I getting from these? I have the luxury of being able to read them.

That's one of the good things about reading a play rather than seeing it on stage.

You actually get to grapple with those stage directions in a bit more detail.

So always looking back at them and thinking, what can they tell us? And of course you can analyse them in any essay that you might be writing about "Leave Taking." Three, Del says to Mai, what if I say the wrong thing, upset her, Enid? You know what I'm like.

Are you surprised by this reaction, and what might it tell us? Well, arguably, this reaction is quite surprising.

I remember being surprised when Del said this because Del has never minded upsetting her mother before.

She says, you know what I'm like, suggesting Del's self-knowledge, but also Mai's deep understanding of her and understanding, which has helped Del develop throughout the play.

I actually love this quotation, "You know what I'm like." Because Del has really struggled with her identity throughout the play.

And so this kind of short moment, which is a phrase that people might say is quite an informal phrase in some ways.

But I really think it suggests this kind of amazing self-knowledge that Del has developed over the course of the play, but also her relationship with Mai as well.

And finally, consider the stage directions as Del prepares to see Enid.

How do they speak to Mai's powerful influence on Del? So back to these stage directions again.

So even though Del is nervous, she starts preparing as soon as Mai leaves, suggesting a level of independence.

She looks in the mirror, perhaps hinting at the idea that Del knows and accepts who she is, especially as she then moves back into centre stage, suggesting her power.

Del crosses to open the door.

She's prepared to meet her mother and their relationship becomes something different, less confrontational, more understanding.

And again, I absolutely love these stage directions.

So the idea of Del looking at herself in the mirror and thinking, this is who I am.

I'm going to do an Obeah reading.

So that's a big step, but it's not only an Obeah reading, it's an Obeah reading for her mother who she's had a really difficult relationship with.

And then I love the moment that she moves centre stage.

I think, yes, this is Del.

She's powerful, she's in the right place, and she feels a sense of security in who she is.

So again, looking at those stage directions, always, always an important part of understanding Pinnock's purpose and what she's trying to tell us about these characters.

Well done for doing such a fantastic close reading of that section of scene eight.

So we're now ready to move on to our second learning cycle.

We're gonna look at the relationship between Mai and Del.

We just had a look at Mai's powerful influence and we're gonna keep developing that idea as we move into our second learning cycle.

Now in scene eight, Mai tells Del that people have to invest in their own healing.

You'll have read that line in learning cycle one when we did that close reading of that section of scene eight and invest of course is one of our keywords for today's lesson.

So the idea that you put time or money into something that you think will go up in value.

So I'd like you to discuss, what do you think Mai means by this phrase, "People have to invest in their own healing." Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Lovely discussions there, showing off some good knowledge of this key word, this idea of investing.

So to invest in something means to put time, money, or effort into something that you think will go up in value.

And for me, the idea of healing is not a quick fix, but something that needs patience.

You have to value the process and yourself for the healing to work.

So healing is, I guess, quite an enigmatic idea within this play.

And here, we're getting an idea of why that is the case.

Because Mai says, well people have to invest in their own healing.

You have to value the process.

You have to value yourself.

And both of those things are quite difficult.

Now, I'd like you to focus on the section of scene eight.

We just reread and discussed this question, how does Mai get Del to invest in her own healing? So we're really thinking about the relationship between Mai and Del here.

Arguably, Mai does get Del to invest in her own healing.

How does she do this? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Well done for returning to that section of scene eight.

So one reread is not enough.

You always have to have that play script near to hand.

If you're answering such a difficult question like the one we're answering today, how does Mai get Del to invest in her own healing? And I heard some really, really interesting ideas about the way in which Mai kind of nurtures Del and makes her feel secure enough so that she builds up some of that self-confidence and can invest in her own healing, as well as trusting the process of Obeah.

So she's nurtured Del's interest in Obeah and other Caribbean traditions.

And Del is invested in her past and therefore, is invested in her future.

So you can see that keyword can look to the past, invested, but also the idea that she's invested in her future self as well.

And this scene is almost like a lesson.

I had a few people use this kind of analogy with Mai being the teacher explaining things to Del and then testing in a series of exams. And Del is invested in the results and what the results mean for her future.

So we know that Del could easily not sit these exams. We've seen her be antagonistic before and not do what she's asked, especially with Enid.

But she does sit these exams, and we can tell that she does take them seriously often through the stage directions and from her answers.

So she's invested in the results certainly.

And Mai pushes Del to be independent and confident.

She doesn't accept can't or the easy way out.

And in this way, Del has pushed to invest in herself.

So it's not this very sentimental relationship between Mai and Del.

Mai can often still be quite hard on Del, but it's Del's response that has changed.

So when Mai says can't is your favourite word, Del kind of pulls herself up and thinks, okay, maybe I can do this.

And I do feel that's a really important part of the way in which Mai gets Del to invest in her own healing.

So there's some really, really nice ideas there about this relationship between Mai and Del.

Now I'd like you to just secure your understanding of this quite complicated phrase where Mai says to Del, people have to invest in their own healing.

What does she mean by this? And we've got four responses that you can select from.

So we've got A, Mai values people.

B, healing requires patience.

C, you have to value the healing process.

D, you can't be healed if you are not rich.

So in scene eight Mai tells Del that people need to invest in their own healing.

What does she mean by this? I'd like you to pause the video and select your responses now.

Well done if you selected B and C.

Healing requires patience and you have to value the healing process.

It's not the idea that you can't be healed if you are not rich.

So investment does often have connotations of money, but it's not about the money here.

It's about the idea of people taking time to value themselves.

Now, a single paragraph outline is a way of planning for an essay question, and a single paragraph outline contains a topic sentence which you write in full, bullet pointed supporting detail from the text in note form, and a concluding sentence, which again, you write in a full sentence.

So you've got a really, really secure plan knowing that your topic sentence is clear, your concluding sentence is clear, and you've got the references to the text to support your topic sentence.

Now, I'd like you to complete the single paragraph outline which answers this question.

How does Pinnock present the relationship between Mai and Del? So we've got a student plan here.

They've not written the full essay, but they've got their single paragraph outline where they've got their topic sentence, their concluding sentence.

And we are going to fill in the supporting detail, the four pieces of evidence which support their topic sentence.

So let's have a look at this topic sentence.

They've said, arguably, Pinnock presents the relationship between Mai and Del as one of understanding on Mai's part and development on Del's.

So very clear topic sentence, which clearly answers the question.

And their concluding sentences, ultimately, Pinnock establishes the idea that whilst the relationship between Mai and Del is important, more important is Del's relationship with herself and her identity.

And these are ideas that we've been discussing throughout today's lesson.

The idea that one of Mai's most important functions is actually to help Del understand who she is.

So we've got the topic sentence and the concluding sentence, and it's gonna be your job to find the supporting detail, what references in the text, which support this topic sentence.

I know you're gonna be fantastic at this because you've had your play next to you throughout this lesson.

You've been flicking back and forth, so your knowledge of it is amazing.

You've done some close reading in learning cycle one, and all of that knowledge is gonna help you find the fantastic bits of supporting detail that are going to support this topic sentence.

So pause the video and get your play script to hand and find four pieces of supporting evidence which would support this topic sentence.

Pause the video and complete the task now.

As ever, so lovely to see people flicking back and forth through their play script and selecting the most important pieces of evidence, what they think are the most important pieces of evidence that would support this topic sentence.

Let's have a look at some of the ideas you might have had.

So lots of people focused on this quotation that we talked about during today's lesson.

What if I say the wrong thing? You know what I'm like.

So Del's self knowledge and Mai's knowledge of Del and some people linking that to well, Mai's knowledge of Del, we saw that in scene one when Mai offers to talk to Del and also Del has lived with Mai for weeks.

So really nice to start on that quotation but also link it to other moments in the play.

Two, in scene eight, Del moves centre stage.

She's powerful.

She's calm.

There's a contrast to scene one when she's dragged to an Obeah reading with Enid.

And it was really nice to see people selecting a stage direction, not necessarily this one, but a stage direction in order to, as part of their supporting detail.

Three, Mai's exams have given Del confidence in herself.

Mai know she needs this following a difficult school experience in scene five.

And four, in scene eight, Del looks in the mirror while preparing for her first Obeah reading.

She knows who she is.

She's confident.

So those are just some of the references that you could have selected that would've supported that topic sentence.

You might have slightly different ones.

That's absolutely fine as long as they support that topic sentence.

So here, you would have a fantastic plan.

Well, now you have a fantastic plan and answer the question, how does Pinnock present the relationship between Mai and Del? You've got that great plan and it'll be a really, really good idea to write up this paragraph at some point, test your ideas, see if the references that you have selected are the best ones.

And you might want to edit those slightly.

Or you might think, no, I really selected the most powerful moments.

So single paragraph outlines can be a great way to plan for an essay and then you can come back to it at a later point and see, I just want to test these ideas out.

Do they actually stand up to scrutiny? So in summary, Pinnock describes Mai as an enigmatic figure.

Pinnock says Mai has a powerful influence on all the characters in "Leave Taking." Arguably, Mai has the most powerful influence on Del.

Mai argues people need to invest in their own healing and arguably, Mai helps Del invest in her own healing.

It has been such a pleasure to explore this such important relationship between Mai and Del in this play and hear all of your fantastic ideas.

I really look forward to seeing you next time.