Hi there, thanks for joining the lesson.

I'm Mrs. Buttersworth and I'll be guiding you through the learning, so this lesson is focused on the beginning of act one, scene three.

Now, in this scene we meet a character Gilbert, so in this lesson we will be exploring Gilbert and his attitude towards the war.

Now, I have to admit, I think Gilbert might be one of my favourite characters in the whole play, so shall we go and see what he's all about? So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to analyse the characterization of Gilbert in light of context.

So before we delve into the lesson, there are a few key words we need to be aware of that will help with our understanding.

These are sarcasm, gullible, cynical, ideology and colloquial.

In a moment, there will be the definitions on the screen, pause the video so you've got lots of time to read them.

So the outline of our lesson, Gilbert's View of War in Small Island looks like this.

We're going to start by looking at act one, scene three and reading this and then we're going to move on to look at the character of Gilbert and his expectations of war in the text.

So let's start with the beginning act one, scene three.

So let's look at these.

We have two recruitment posters here from World War I and World War II, so let's really think about that purpose of recruitment.

<v ->So in a moment, I want you to consider the use</v> of images, the use of language and I'd like you to discuss what messages are these posters trying to convey and what makes them so persuasive.

So pause a video to give yourself time to discuss your ideas or you may want to think about the ideas on your own, off you go.

Great, some really interesting things being picked up on there, so lots of you notice the symbolism of the flag.

Now, flags are really important symbols and they represent so much.

And in this poster that union Jack represents this ideology of a mother country, so we can see lots of different soldiers with lots of different ethnicities there under this banner of the Commonwealth.

And this symbol of the union, Jack suggests that everyone in that commonwealth is part of that mother country.

And this key word here together, we got it in big, bold capital letters at the bottom and this really helps to create a sense of unity.

It's persuasive, it's sort of saying, come and join in the war and we will do this together as part of a team and it also suggests that this transcends country boundaries.

So no matter what country you are from, the mother country will welcome you and you will be part of that unit fighting in the war.

And then we get the other poster and we get this reference to the empire, the empire needs men.

And again, this really suggests this kind of collective identity that includes all the countries colonised by Britain and we get that powerful symbol of the lion.

And we can't help but see a lion and not think about things like power and dominance and it sort of suggests that those who don't enlist will seen as weak.

And this was a really persuasive tactic that was used in recruitment posters because it suggested, it really played on people's insecurities that if you don't fight, you are not weak, so it's a really effective way to persuade people to enlist.

Now, those that enlisted from colonised countries found that the expectations were very different to the realities they faced in war.

So here we have the expectations on one side, and these are things like they thought there would be opportunities, the feeling of going home to the mother country, this sense of belonging and we see that in those posters with this idea of togetherness and the empire is this sense of belonging.

So there's this expectation there, this idea of collective identity, that everyone is part of the same unit, but the reality or was that people faced unemployment, racism, low ranking jobs and discrimination and they felt as a result of this moments of isolation.

And these ideas are going to become really key when we look at the rest of small island and the character of Gilbert.

So true or false time recruitment posters for World War I and World War II presented an experience that was different to reality.

Yes, well done, everyone that noticed that was true, now let's justify your answer.

Yes, great.

It's that idea that many posters presented an ideology of unity and collective identity, but this wasn't always the case.

Okay, so you'll now need to grab your copies of Small Island because it's going to be up to you to read through the first part of act one, scene three.

So you'll need to find the part that begins to the find the very beginning of scene three and read to the part where it says, two weeks ago, I came into the village on my own.

So you'll need to read that part, but as you read, answer these following questions.

So number one, what similarities does the start of scene three have with scenes one and two, what is Elwood's view of the war? How does this speak to the wider ideas of colonialism? Why does Gilbert want to fight in the war? What are his expectations? Find a quote that highlights Sergeant Thwaites' sarcasm? How does the sergeant's tone compare to that of the RAF recruiting officer? And finally, how does Gilbert describe his experiences in the village? What does this reveal about the ideology of a collective colonial identity? So you will need to pause the video.

So you can read the first part of act one, scene three, and answer these questions, we'll feed back our answers in a moment, pause the video.

Good reading everyone, I hope to enjoyed the start of that scene and meeting the character of Gilbert, I also really enjoy his interaction with Elwood.

They really represent the kind of expectations and reality of the experiences they describe.

We'll look further at those characters in a moment, but let's just share our answers to those questions.

So what similarities does the start of scene three have with scenes one and two? So Edmunsdon again continues this motif of the Pathé style images to establish settings, so we've seen them at the start of every scene so far.

And like Hortense and Queenie, Gilbert also uses direct address, which again, we know that Edmondson is doing this to foreground the personal experiences and narratives of Jamaican migrants.

So there's these really key moments that Edmondson keeps repeating.

What is Elwood's view of the war and how does this speak to the wider ideas of colonialism? Well, Elwood is incredibly cynical, isn't he? And he really challenges this idea of the mother country.

And he says that actually what Gilbert should be fighting for is Jamaican independence, not what he sees the war of another country.

And what this really shows is the complexity of colonialism and its expectations of a collective patriotic identity, patriotic identity that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries.

For Elwood's, it is too much to ask to be patriotic for a country that he sees as completely separate to his own.

And why does Gilbert want to fight in the war? What's his expectations? So Gilbert says that he's motivated to fight against Hitler and his Nazi racial theories.

And he assumes that Britain will be welcoming and he's really specific about his opportunities, he says he's going to go to an English university and he really wants this to happen.

And then hopefully you found a quote that highlighted, Sergeant Thwaites' sarcasm.

So the two I've got here are, "well, you are overseas, aren't you?" incredibly sarcastic.

And in response to Gilbert saying he doesn't drive, he's like, "Yes, you know, brum, brum, beep beep." so there's a real tone of sarcasm there from the sergeant.

So how does the sergeant's tone compare to that at the RAF recruiting officer? So you'll notice that the recruiting officer is much more complimentary and persuasive, he has to be because he's trying to convince Gilbert that signing up or enlisting is the right thing to do, so he promises Gilbert's high ranking positions in the RAF and lots of prospects after the war.

He even congratulates Gilbert, he's very respectful.

So it's not surprising that Gilbert holds such high hopes for his joining of the RAF.

And then on the other side of this, we have Sergeant Thwaites' who's very sarcastic and he directly contrasts the recruiting officer's tone.

He's dismissive, he's rude.

And it's interesting if you think about this idea that the recruiting officer and the sergeant kind of mirror this idea of the expectations and the reality of Gilbert's journey.

And then we have this interaction in the village, and how does Gilbert describe his experiences in the village and what does this reveal about the ideology of a collective colonial identity? Now, Gilbert's interaction with the women in the village shows how he is made to feel different.

And he says, doesn't he? There's sort of, it's a mixture of kind of confusion and almost a little bit of fear.

And it shows this kind of you know, these differences and it really highlights that.

And he questions how come they know nothing about their own empire? And it really shows that the ideology of a collective colonial identity is a myth and shows the ignorance of the people who live in it.

So onto the second part of the lesson, Gilbert's expectations.

So arguably Elwood's cynicism presents the realities of war and colonial rule rule compared to Gilbert's expectations, which could suggest he's gullible.

So what we're gonna do is I would like us to look at some different quotes that explore Elwood cynicism and Gilbert's gullibility and I want you to think about how this is presented through these quotes, so let's just look at the quotes first.

So Elwood says this, "Why you wanna go licky, licky to the British." "This war will change nothing for you and me." "Man, the English are liars.

They tell you anything to make you do their dirty work." And now let's look at the other side of this Gilbert's attitude, which is presented in these quotes.

"I'll be an air-gunner.

And I will go to an English university." "Tell me honestly that I do not look devastatingly handsome in this blue uniform." and "Tell me the women are not going to take one look at me and fall down at my feet." So pause the video and discuss the quotes and how they present Elwood cynicism and Gilbert's Gullibility, pause a video now.

Wow, some really interesting discussions there about the differences in attitudes between these two, because they are very, very different, so let's just look at the first quote.

So Elwood uses this phrase like licky, licky, and it's very colloquial, very kind of informal, friendly language.

And he uses that language to really mock and questions Gilbert's motives and why he would want to fight for another country.

So he's using that kind of mocking approach, that cynical approach to challenge what Gilbert is doing.

And then Elwood reveals the ideology of a collective identity as a myth and how Jamaica is a separate country to Britain, so he says the war will change nothing for you and me.

So he kind of suggests that Gilbert's position in the war is actually futile, that he shouldn't be fighting for another country.

And then we get this quite strong quote from Elwood where he talks about the English being liars and how they'll say anything to do their dirty work.

And again, Elwood is really suggesting that colonial powers exploit those under their rule and even lie in order to get people to enlist.

And those of you that may have looked at World War I and two experiences, we'll know that the expectations of war and the reality were very, very different for all involved.

So now let's look at Gilbert.

So Gilbert's got these very specific hopes and dreams and it shows these high hopes.

His expectations are supported by the RAF officer when he enlists.

So here he's mirroring what the RAF officer says, that he will be an air-gunner, that he's gonna go to university, the RAF officer offers him everything and then he talks about his lovely blue uniform.

And this description of the uniform mirrors Gilbert's expectations and this kind of suggestion of this blue has connotations of pride and patriotism.

You know, this shiny soldier's uniform.

And then Gilbert talks about how he is going to get, all the girls are going to look at him, all the women are going to look at him.

And again, Gilbert kind of believes that joining the RAF will give him status.

However, we know that in reality this is just not true.

So Elwood's use of colloquial language reveal his what? Yeah, his cynicism, absolutely.

He is very, very cynical in how he views the war and colonialism.

So what I would like you to do now for your second practise task is I want you to imagine you are Gilbert and that you decide to write a diary entry and I would like you to write two diary entries.

Now, the first diary entry will be before he arrives in England, so what are his expectations? How is he feeling? And what about Elwood's reactions? Now the second diary entry is focused about after he arrives in England, what is the reality? How is he feeling? So in order to do this, you'll need to use the first person, so you'll need to use I.

And what I would like you to do is go back to your copies of the text and weave some quotes into your entries.

So we've looked at some in our lesson, but you may want to pick out some of your own, maybe the interaction with Sergeant Thwaits' and what that tells us about the realities of Gilbert's experience.

And then I'd also like you to include these key words, gullible, cynicism and sarcasm.

So pause a video so you've got time to complete this task and I can't wait to see what you've come up with.

Okay, pause the video.

Well done everyone, there's some really interesting responses to this task.

I really like how some of you went back to the text to find those key quotes to show the differences between Gilbert's expectations and his reality, so let's just look at Alex's diary entry.

So here we have Alex's diary entry for Gilbert before he leaves to join the RAF, so this is all about his expectations and you will see here there is the checklist.

So as we read, can you see if he has used the first person? Has he included quotes and has he used those keywords? So let's just have a look.

"Today is a day of excitement.

I feel like the whole world is for my taking.

I went to it enlist at the RAF recruiting office.

I was told with my grades I would be assigned an important role second only to a pilot in terms of respect.

Serving my mother country is only the start of my journey then who knows, perhaps an English university.

Sure, Elwood mocked me saying that I was gullible and that I wanna go licky, licky to the British, but he is always so cynical." Okay, so it's a really good entry, isn't it? I really like the detail from the text, but let's just check.

Has Alex used first person? Well, yes he has, 'cause you can see that he's used I and my in that first person voice, so absolutely he gets the tick for that checklist.

Has he included quotes? Absolutely, he's included quotes and I love the way that he's embedded these quotes in his sentences, they just feel like naturally part of the diary entry.

So he's used the quote second only to a pilot in terms of respect English university and Elwood's comment there about the, I want to go licky, licky to the British, so a really excellent use of quotes, so Alex is doing really well so far.

And finally, has he used those key words? Well, yes.

He has used two of the three key words.

He's used gullible and cynical.

So Alex has done really well in making sure that he has checked off everything on that checklist.

So what I would like you to do is refer back to your work and just check your own work in the way we have just done against the checklist, off you go.

We have reached the end of the lesson, well done everyone.

I hope you've enjoyed meeting some new characters in Small Island and learning about their stories and their experiences, I'm sure there is much more to learn about them, let's just remind ourselves of what we have explored today.

So we know that Gilbert is motivated by a desire to fight against Hitler and his Nazi racial theories.

Gilbert is portrayed as gullible where his cousin Elwood is more cynical about their mother country.

Gilbert breaks the fourth wall addressing the audience to show them the reality of his posting with the RAF.

The sarcasm and demeaning tone of the sergeant in Lincolnshire is deliberately contrasted with the recruiting Officer.

Gilbert joins the RAF to fight for the British Empire, yet he finds that in Britain there is no sense of shared identity.

So thank you very much for your hard work today and I'm sure I will see you soon, bye.