Context Activity 4

The living and the dead

Student Guidance

In this task you will compare the ending of Henry Roth’s novel Call It Sleep with the ending of James Joyce’s short story, The Dead.

Read the two extracts, and then complete the task that follows.

Call It Sleep by Henry Roth

He might as well call it sleep. It was only towards sleep that every wink of the eyelids could strike a spark into the cloudy tinder of the dark, kindle out of shadowy corners of the bedroom such myriad and such vivid jets of images – of the glint on tilted beards, of the uneven shine on roller skates, of the dry light on grey stone stoops, of the tapering glitter of rails, of the oily sheen on the night-smooth rivers, of the glow on think blonde hair, red faces, of the glow on the outstretched, open palms of legions upon legions of hands hurtling towards him. He might as well call it sleep. It was only towards sleep that ears had power to cull again and reassemble the shrill cry, the hoarse voice, the scream of fear, the bells, the thick-breathing, the roar of crowds and all sounds that lay fermenting in the vats of silence and the past. It was only towards sleep one knew himself still lying on the cobbles, felt the cobbles under him, and over him and scudding ever towards him like a black foam, the perpetual blur of shod and running feet, the broken shoes, new shoes, stubby, pointed, caked, polished, buniony, pavement-bevelled, lumpish, under skirts, under trousers, shoes, over one and through one, and feel them all and feel, not pain, not terror, but strangest triumph, strangest acquiescence. One might as well call it sleep. He shut his eyes.

The Dead by James Joyce

Generous tears filled Gabriel’s eyes. He had never felt like that himself towards any woman, but he knew that such a feeling must be love. The tears gathered more thickly in his eyes and in the partial darkness he imagined he saw the form of a young man standing under a dripping tree. Other forms were near. His soul had approached that region where dwell the vast hosts of the dead. He was conscious of, but could not apprehend, their wayward and flickering existence. His own identity was fading out into a grey impalpable world: the solid world itself, which these dead had one time reared and lived in was dissolving and dwindling.

A few light taps upon the pane made him turn to the window. It had begun to snow again. He watched sleepily the flakes, silver and dark, falling obliquely against the lamplight. The time had come for him to set out on his journey westward. Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling on every part of the dark central plain, on the treeless hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, farther westward, softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon waves. It was falling, too, upon every part of the lonely churchyard on the hill where Michael Furey lay buried. It lay thickly drifted on the crooked crosses and headstones, on the spears of the little gate, on the barren thorns. His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead

Version 11© OCR 2017

The Immigration Experience

Task 1

Identify a technique in either the Roth or the Joyce extract, and then see if you can find one in the other extract that you can compare or contrast it with. (AO4 – making links between texts).

A comparison can be made in a variety of ways. There are no hard and fast rules. For instance, the technique might be comparable because it is the same technique – symbolism for instance; or one technique might be comparable with a completely different technique in the other extract because it draws out a similar idea or even an opposing idea. Remember, you get marks for ‘personal and creative’ responses (AO1), so it’s your ideas that count. The first idea has been filled in for you.

Quotation / Technique / Idea / Quotation / Technique / Idea / Comparison
of the glint on tilted beards, of the uneven shine on roller skates, of the dry light on grey stone stoops (440) / Listing, and repetition of ‘of the’.
Asyndeton rather than polysyndeton used / Emphasizes how varied and exciting life is. Commas rather than conjunctions creates a sense of speed / It lay thickly drifted on the crooked crosses and headstones, on the spears of the little gate, on the barren thorns. / Listing, and repetition of ‘on the’. Asyndeton rather than polysyndeton / Emphasizes the uniformity of death. Commas rather than conjunctions suggests the list goes on, that this is only a partial list / Listing is used in both extracts, but to draw out contrasting ideas. In Call It Sleep it emphasizes how rich and varied life is; but in The Dead it is used to suggest the opposite: the uniformity and listlessness of death

Version 11© OCR 2017

The Immigration Experience

Version 11© OCR 2016

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