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Year 10
AQA

Winsome Pinnock's 'Leave Taking': Enid’s relationships with Jamaica and England

I can explain how Winsome Pinnock presents Enid’s relationships with Jamaica, England and her mother in ‘Leave Taking’.

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Year 10
AQA

Winsome Pinnock's 'Leave Taking': Enid’s relationships with Jamaica and England

I can explain how Winsome Pinnock presents Enid’s relationships with Jamaica, England and her mother in ‘Leave Taking’.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Pinnock describes Enid as “reaching out” for a different kind of life away from Jamaica.
  2. Pinnock describes Enid as “haunted" by her past memories.
  3. Enid’s inner conflict is felt most keenly after her mother’s death.
  4. Britain colonised Jamaica in 1655. Jamaica achieved independence in 1962.
  5. The impact of this colonisation is still felt.

Keywords

  • Discrimination - Unjust treatment of people based on certain characteristics. For example race, gender, age.

  • Cultural identity - A part of a person’s identity, that can be grounded in their nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class or generation.

  • Racism - Discrimination against people based on their race or ethnicity.

  • Colonisation - When a country establishes control over another country, exploiting it for economic gain.

Common misconception

Enid wants to move back to Jamaica.

Enid is full of inner conflict; it is not as simple as wanting to move back to Jamaica, or wanting to stay in England.


To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: Winsome Pinnock's 'Leave Taking': Enid’s relationships with Jamaica and England, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Consider the task in Learning Cycle 1 which requires students to find examples of Enid's being "haunted" by her past. This requires students to look through many scenes of the play. Consider timings, and the possibility of pair/group work.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

You need access to a copy of Winsome Pinnock's 'Leave Taking'.

content-guidance

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In Scene Eight of 'Leave Taking', what do we find out about Enid's mother?
Correct answer: She hasn't spoken to Enid since she migrated.
She called Enid, "Miss English" after Enid migrated.
Correct answer: Enid feels her mother never liked her.
She wanted a relationship with her grandchildren.
She was an obeah woman, like Mai.
Q2.
In 'Leave Taking', how many times does Enid visit Mai?
1
2
Correct answer: 3
4
5
Q3.
In Scene Eight of 'Leave Taking', what does Enid say her friends and family in Jamaica call her?
Miss Enid
Miss Migrate
Miss Crack Foot-Bottom
Miss British
Correct answer: Miss English
Q4.
In Scene Four of 'Leave Taking', we learn that an uncle of Enid's also migrated. What do we learn about him?
Correct answer: He migrated to America, and this is where Enid originally wanted to migrate to.
He gave Enid some stockings which she treasured.
Correct answer: He had a glamorous wife.
He also migrated to England, before saving to bring Enid over.
Correct answer: His migration seemed to inspire Enid's migration.
Q5.
In Scene Six of 'Leave Taking', Enid visits Mai. They discuss migration. What does Enid ask Mai?
So, now where are you going?
Don't you feel for her [Del]?
What you call a good life?
Correct answer: You ever wonder if it was worth it?
How can you love yourself when you're always at the bottom of the pile?
Q6.
In Scene Two of 'Leave Taking', Enid and Brod discuss Jamaica. Brod asks, "An' why they poor? Because a ."
Correct Answer: colonialism, Colonialism, "colonialism", Colonialism., colonialism.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Some of the characters in 'Leave Taking' were born in Jamaica which was colonised by Britain in 1655. When did Jamaica achieve independence?
1945
1951
Correct answer: 1962
1973
1987
Q2.
In her introduction to 'Leave Taking', Pinnock says of Enid: "[I was] fascinated by the of her relationship with England."
Correct Answer: complexity, "complexity", Complexity, complexity., Complexity.
Q3.
In her introduction to 'Leave Taking', Pinnock says of Enid: "[She is] out for life in a new country."
Correct Answer: reaching, Reaching, Reaching., reaching., "reaching"
Q4.
In her introduction to 'Leave Taking', Pinnock says of Enid: "[She is] by memories of what she has left behind."
Correct Answer: haunted, Haunted, "haunted", Haunted., haunted.
Q5.
In Scene Four of 'Leave Taking', Enid describes how she feels to her daughter, Viv. She says she sometimes feels like a "cat him own tail."
Correct Answer: chasing, "chasing", Chasing, Chasing., chasing.
Q6.
In her introduction to 'Leave Taking', Pinnock says of her parents: "They had grown up on plantation villages where the of enslavement was still evident."
Correct Answer: legacy, Legacy, Legacy., legacy, "legacy"