Hi there and welcome.

Thanks for joining me today.

I'm Mrs. Butterworth, I will be leading the lesson today.

So we were focusing on Scenes 7 and 8 of "Small Island," which actually brings us to the end of Act 1.

Now this lesson is called the Marriage Ticket, and I wonder if you can guess which characters this refers to.

Shall we find out? So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to explain the importance of the marriage pact between Hortense and Gilbert and compare it to other relationships in Act 1.

Now, there are a few keywords that we need to be aware of that will pop up throughout the lesson.

These are pragmatic, idealistic, assimilation, and comparative conjunctions.

Now we get this first word, pragmatic, which is going to become a really keyword in describing the decisions made by those characters that choose to get married in Act 1.

And this refers to the idea of dealing with things in a systematic and realistic way.

So sometimes we can think about getting married as being associated with love and feelings and emotion, but actually for our characters in "Small Island," it's much more of a realistic decision based on needs.

And then we get this word idealistic and this is about viewing something as perfect, even if the reality suggests something different.

And I think this is really key when we consider our character's view of Great Britain, of England, and the motherland, the mother country.

It's very much linked to this idealistic view that has been presented to them.

And then we get this idea of assimilation, so this idea that you become part of a group, country, society, or culture.

So you adopt traditions, ideas to do with that culture, group, or society.

And Celia is a very good example of this when she refers to her ideas of having laced tablecloths and drinking tea.

So we get this idea of like cultural assimilation through Celia.

And in today's lesson, we're going to look at how we can use comparative conjunctions, so look out for the easing learning cycle two.

And these are words or phrases that express similarities or differences.

So when we are comparing the relationships in Act 1, comparative conjunctions will come in handy.

So the outline of our lesson, the Marriage Ticket, looks like this.

We're going to start by reading Act 1, Scenes 7 and 8.

And this will actually bring us to the end of Act 1.

And then we're going to move on to compare Hortense and Queenie's relationships.

So let's start with reading Act 1, Scenes 7 and 8.

So before we delve into Scenes 7 and 8, I just want us to think back to Scene 6.

Now, in Scene 6, Celia describes an aspirational life in England.

So let's just read what she says.

So Celia says, "In England, I will have a big house with a bell on the front door, and I will ring the bell, ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling." And she also says, "In England, I will have a lace tablecloth and fine bone-china teacups." So what I would like you to do is discuss how do the things she describes links to the promises of the motherland.

Pause the video so you have time to discuss or think about this question.

Off you go.

Excellent comments happening there.

It is great to see some of you looking back in your books to remind yourself of everything that Celia has said and really focusing in on some of those keywords.

So let's share some ideas.

So Celia talks about this big house, and we've heard this before when Hortense talks about going to live in the big house.

And this really suggests this idea of wealth and higher status, which shows that this dream of England that our characters have is intrinsically linked to class aspirations.

So for Celia, this is about moving up in status and moving up in class.

And we get this description of the lace tablecloth and China teacup.

And these are seen as quintessentially British.

So Gilbert also refers to things like tea and the Houses of Parliament and then create this very idealistic view of England.

And what this suggests is that actually part of Celia's aspiration is the assimilation of British culture, that she wants to become more British when she moves there.

And what this is is because the mother country promises a collective identity that connects the colonised countries.

So despite the fact that some people are from Jamaica and some people are from Britain, it's this idea that they all share this same culture of being British, which we know actually this isn't necessarily a reality.

And Celia really presents an idealistic view of her life in England.

And Edmundson does this to show how the mother country or the motherland was presented to migrants and the promises it made.

Okay, which answer A, B, or C completes this quote? "In England, I will have a big house with a.

." Yeah, that's right.

Well done, so everyone said that B, the bell on the front door, and she talks about how she will ring it, ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling.

So this is all about Celia's aspirational ideas of England and British culture.

Okay, so now it's over to you to do some reading.

So you'll need to get those copies of "Small Island" ready to go.

And I'm going to ask you to find Act 1 and read from the beginning of Scene 7 to the end of Act 8.

As you read, answer the following questions.

These will help with your understanding.

So let's read through the questions together.

So for Scene 7 it says, how do the stage directions describe the interaction between Queenie and Michael? How does this compare to the initial meeting with Bernard? So you might need to refer back to Scene 2 to remind you of that initial meeting with Bernard and Queenie.

What is significant about the quote "England is my golden life?" So again, you may wish to go back to Scene 1 to remind you.

How does Hortense describe her life in England? Where have we heard this language before? Why do Gilbert and Hortense agree to be married? And then Scene 8, what is Hortense most worried about with Gilbert leaving? And finally, what do we discover about Queenie at the end of Act 1? So pause the video.

I really hope you enjoy reading these scenes and we will feedback our answers in a moment.

Off you go.

Okay, quite a shocking ending, don't you think? I love how Act 1 ends on this total cliffhanger with Queenie.

It's such a fantastic ending.

So let's just go through these questions together.

So let's focus on Scene 7 first.

So how do those all important stage directions describe the interaction between Queenie and Michael? And how does this compare with that initial meeting with Bernard? So Queenie has this real physical reaction to Michael.

It describes her fingers are shaking and her heart is pounding.

So this is real sense of physical attraction and it suggests an almost immediate intense attraction.

And the stage directions also describe how their proximity, so their closeness, is electrifying.

So it really emphasises this passion, this excitement between the two of them.

Now, I'm sure you remember this really directly contrasts with the relationship with Bernard, which really lacked passion and was really presented as a marriage of convenience.

It was presented quite humorously as well because it was so awkward and rigid that really it was laughable, compared to this intense, passionate, almost much more believable relationship between Michael and Queenie.

And then what is significant about the quote, "England is my golden life?" So I know lots of you raced back to Scene 1 just to check and you were absolutely correct.

This is exactly the same language that Miss Jewel uses to describe little Hortense in Scene 1.

And we see here how Hortense still believes in the superiority of her pale, pale skin.

And she now believes that because of this and her education, it will ensure her status in England.

So we can see here how this legacy of colorism from colonial history is still present.

And how does Hortense describe her life in England? Where have we heard this language before? So she actually repeats Celia's language and she says she will have a smart front door and she will ring the bell ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling.

And it's interesting that Hortense almost took Celia's place, isn't it? She's using her language as she takes her place in migrating to England.

And what this also does is that Edmundson is really presenting the universal idealistic view of life in the mother country, this repetition of in England and this repetition of those key images.

So everyone, all of our characters, really share the same image, the same idealistic view of England, Britain, and the mother country.

Now, why did Gilbert and Hortense agree to marry? So Gilbert needs the money for his ticket on the HMT Empire Windrush and Hortense, as a woman, can only safely travel if she is married.

And if you remember to our keywords, this is a very pragmatic decision.

It's about making sure their needs and desires are met in a very pragmatic, logical, and thought out way.

It's almost like a business transaction.

And now let's move on to Scene 8.

What is Hortense most worried about with Gilbert leaving? Well, she's worried actually that Gilbert will forget her.

So for Hortense, Gilbert is the one who can enable her move to England.

And this is obviously quite an anxious worrying prospect for Hortense.

She's given Gilbert all of this money to kind of lead the way to go off on his own and she doesn't want to be left behind and it really shows the importance of this decision and the importance that Gilbert is there for her.

And what do we discover about Queenie at the end of Act 1? That she is pregnant with Michael's child.

And Queenie's reaction, I think, perfectly aligns with that of the audience.

We are all really shocked and surprised at this dramatic revelation.

Okay, so we are now moving on to the second part of the lesson and I want us to start comparing Hortense and Queenie's relationships.

So by the end of Act 1, both Hortense and Queenie have made pragmatic decisions to marry.

So we've got that word there, pragmatic, you know, very considered, almost business-like decisions to marry.

So what we can do is we can use comparative conjunctions to explore these similarities.

So let's see what that looks like.

So our comparative conjunctions are things like similarly, likewise, and equally.

These are really good ones to explore similarities.

So how might this look in a sentence? So we've got our first idea here about Hortense and Gilbert.

So this is the first part of the sentence.

Hortense and Gilbert agree to marry as a way to ensure they can both pursue the promises of the mother country.

And then if we add similarly, we can then compare to Queenie and Bernard.

So similarly, Queenie sees her engagement to Bernard as a means to a middle class life.

So you can see how that comparative conjunction shows those similarities between those relationships.

Let's try another.

So Hortense and Gilbert, again, Hortense and Gilbert's marriage is presented as a pragmatic decision to enable the pursuit of an aspirational life.

So we're going to use the comparative conjunction likewise.

Likewise, Queenie views her marriage as a means to escape the drudgery of her working class family life.

So you can see how that comparative conjunction creates a nice clear comparison between the two relationships.

And then let's look at one final one.

Hortense understands that as a woman, marriage is the only option that will allow her to travel legitimately to England and we're gonna use the comparative conjunction equally.

So equally, Queenie knows that the only way to ensure independence from her family is to marry.

So you can see how that comparative conjunction enables us to compare really clearly their situations.

So true or false time.

Hortense understands that as a woman, marriage is a pragmatic choice that will allow her to travel legitimately to England.

True or false? Yes, absolutely, that is true.

And now let's justify your answer.

Great, yes, likewise, so we've got that comparative conjunction there, likewise, Queenie's marriage to Bernard is a pragmatic choice, so a sensible choice, that allows her independence from the family.

Well done, everyone.

So Edmundson emphasises the contrast between relationships based on pragmatism and those on feelings and emotions.

So there's a distinct difference, isn't there, between some of the relationships that are based on pragmatism and those that are based of feelings and emotions.

So we can also use comparative conjunctions to explore differences.

So we've looked at similarities, now we are going to look at differences and our comparative conjunctions are words like whereas and however.

So let's see how they work to make those comparisons.

So we've got our first statement here.

So Hortense and Gilbert's marriage is treated like a business transaction based on pragmatic choices.

And we're going to use the comparative conjunction whereas, and we're gonna compare the difference between Queenie and Michael's relationship.

Whereas Queenie and Michael's relationship is described as electric.

This not only describes their instant attraction, but also the danger that Queenie is still married and the problematic nature of interracial relationships at the time.

So you can see how effective those comparative conjunctions are.

Let's try one more.

Okay, so we've got Queenie and Bernard this time.

So Edmundson shows how, as a woman, Queenie's marriage to Bernard is one of her only options to change her circumstances.

Okay, so we're going to look at the comparative conjunction however.

However, Queenie's relationship with Michael is based on deep and intense emotions.

It is a dangerous decision compared to the pragmatic decision taken with Bernard.

So we can see here how that comparative conjunction can explore those differences.

And it's interesting, this idea about pragmatic decisions around relationships.

If we think about the context, the time this play is set, for characters like or people like Queenie and Hortense as women at this time, this was very much a good decision for them, a pragmatic decision to get married.

Okay, which one of these sentences does not, does not use a comparative conjunction, A, B, or C? Well done to everyone that noticed it was B.

So B says Michael and Queenie's relationship has an element of danger.

So there's actually no comparison at all there.

If we look at A, we've got that similarly, so that comparative conjunction that shows similarity.

So similarly, Gilbert's decision to marry is presented almost like a business transaction.

And we've also got that comparative conjunction in C, which shows the difference.

So however, Hortense believes that this will give her the chance to live the aspirational life she desires.

So we are at our second and final practise task.

So what I would like you to do is I would like you to use those comparative conjunctions that we have looked at and create three statements that explore the similarities and differences between the relationships in Act 1.

You may want to draw on some of the ideas that we've looked at already throughout this lesson, or you may want to dive back into your text to look for some of your own examples.

So remember the comparative conjunctions, the similarities are words like similarly, likewise, and equally.

And the differences, so for our comparative conjunctions for difference is however, whereas, and contrastingly.

So it's over to you to pause the video to give yourself time to complete the task.

Off you go.

Well done, everyone.

Thank you for your hard work.

So I want us to just take a moment to check our work.

So Izzy has very kindly volunteered her work.

Thank you, Izzy.

And here is one of her statements.

So I want us to read it and I want us to see what she has forgotten to include, so think about what the task was asking.

So she has written, "Both Queenie and Hortense view their marriages as a way to change their circumstances dramatically." Now, this is an interesting statement and a good statement, but in terms of the task, what is Izzy missing? That's right, Izzy is missing that all important comparative conjunction.

So Izzy now knows this, she goes away and she improves her statement.

So let's reread what she has written.

"Queenie views her marriage as a way to escape her working class background.

Likewise, Hortense believes that marriage will give her the opportunity to change her status." So Izzy has done a really good job here, redrafting her statement, and she has included a comparative conjunction now, so we get the word likewise to show that similarity.

So now what I would like you to do is just to check over your own work and make sure you have also included comparative conjunctions in all of your statements.

Off you go.

Well done, everyone.

We have reached the end of the lesson and with it we have reached the end of Act 1 and what a cliffhanger to end on.

It's such a great transition into Act 2 and I just wanna know what happens to all of our characters, particularly Queenie, what a dramatic revelation.

So let's just go through everything that we have looked at today.

So we know that Gilbert and Hortense share visions of their middle class life that they will enjoy in England as a teacher and lawyer.

We can see that gender is important as well as race.

So Hortense realises that marriage is her only opportunity to travel.

And this is a really important point when we think about when the play was set.

The loveless marriage pact between Hortense and Gilbert is contrasted with the relationship between Queenie and Michael.

The pact between Gilbert and Hortense is more like a business deal.

So it's that pragmatic decision.

Hortense is confident that her pale skin and education will buy her status in England.

And finally, we get those comparative conjunctions and that they can be used to explore similarities and differences.

Excellent work today, everyone.

I look forward to seeing you very soon.

Goodbye.