Short Story: Next Term, We'll Mash You practice

What do you think is the theme of this story and what are its comments on life?

A theme is the lack of communication between the child and the parents about the whole situation.

"Come on then, Charles, out you get." The building was red brick, early nineteenth century, spreading out long arms in which windows glittered blackly. Flowers, trapped in neat beds, were alternate red and white. They went up the steps, the man, the woman, and the child, two paces behind. How does the brief description of the red brick school and its garden convey a sinister atmosphere?

Because it gives of the feeling of it being from the early 19th century and if one watches scary movies they know that most scary movies take place in earlier centuries. It also is describing how the flowers are "trapped" which is a negative connotation.

How would you describe the mother's character, judging from the opening scene?

I picture his mother to be very optimistic and girly. I guess I would like to say that she cares more about sending their son off to some rich preparatory school just for their reputation.

What point do you think the writer is trying to make by setting up the ironic contrast between the parent's approval of the school and Charles' silent dread of it?

Ironic how the parents want what is best for their child not knowing exactly what went down while the reader knows the true feelings of how the child really felt about that school.

Discuss how Penelope Lively presents a view or comment on life through irony. Refer to two or more specific examples of irony in the story.

Students' responses will vary. A sample response follows: The story is essentially about people and institutions that are not what they pretend to be. It is a story about pretense, so irony is appropriate as a means of unveiling the pretenses of the characters. The very first sentence, a physical description of a neat, well-kept automobile, actually shows us the shallowness of the characters' values—for they are the kind of people who place excessive value on the kind of car being described. Although the polite, meaningless chatter among the parents and the headmaster and his wife may mark them as irreproachable people of high standing, for the reader it marks them as phony. The very atmosphere of the school itself can be interpreted ironically, for underneath its picture-perfect veneer is an experience of terror awaiting a child. Crucial small ironies include the repeated comments that everything is "very nice," and Mrs. Spokes's comment about how little prospectuses tell about a school. In the end the parents learn no more about the inner workings of the school than they would have learned from a prospectus.

How does Lively reveal Charles' character? In a brief paragraph sum up his emotional conflict.

The boy is every zoned out. He doesn't seem to say much or even have the motives to speak up for himself. He does take in and observe how the adults treat him yet he decided to stay mute.

The headmaster's office was private and --- to students except when they were called in for a conference.

inaccessible

One could tell from the child's neat appearance and polite answers that his parents had been strict rather than ---.

indulgent

The atmosphere of the school was ⇒ subdued, with little noise and no visible messes.

subdued

The parents wished the child's education to be the best, ---by any hint of the second-rate.

untainted