The Pose By: Anwer Khan - with david jones

OUTLINING A THEMATIC CONCERNExample: The Pose by Anwer KhanThematic Concern: Modern and Traditional Knowledge

THEMEThe relationship between traditional and modern knowledge isapparent in the text, “The Pose.”i. The story outlines a story of how a young female from Indiairrationally decides to pose as a mannequin.ii.iii.Then refers to how the protagonist (young woman) feelsabout strangers’ new perspective of herself.Concludes with an altered viewpoint of how difficult it is tobalance her traditional (family honor) and the modern (collegestudent) outlooks.

P.O.V- THE POSEi. The point of view in this text is the 3rd person limited omniscient.ii.iii.iv.This means the story is told by an outside narrator that knows andunderstands thoughts and feelings of the protagonist.Example: “She was happy… No one had looked at her so appreciativelybefore.”P.O.V. can read her thoughts, meaning it shows her feeling powerful (e.g.“receiving the adulation of her subjects”).v. Towards the end, tone shifts to feeling powerless (e.g. “family's honorexposed so shamelessly”).

LITERARY DEVICES“The Pose” uses many literary devices such as similes andpersonification to add depth to the two viewpoints of theprotagonist.• Simile“Like a kind and caring queen receiving the adulation of her subjects.”• Personification“His eyes seemed to say: Incredible!”

SIMILEExample; “Like a kind and caring queen receiving the adulation of her subjects.”i. Protagonist feels dominantii.This observation is unusual because women are not usually authoritative inIndia, making it a newer outlook on life.iii. This quote demonstrates the modern aspect of the theme of this story.

PERSONIFICATIONExample “His eyes seemed to say: Incredible!”i. The cop is objectifying the main characterii.This quote is reflecting the old-fashioned sexist view of how women are seenin traditional Indian households.iii. This quote demonstrates the traditional aspect of the theme of this story.

THE SINGING SILENCEBy Yvano and Zoe

LITERARY DEVICES• Pov: 1 st & 3 rd person• The story is told from the narrators point of view which would signify the aspect of 1 st person.• Example: “Old Vicente of Formentera was perhaps the happiest man I’ve ever known.”• It is also told in 3 rd person, because there are parts where the narrator retells the situation in the eyes of anobserver.• Example: “Vicente knew that he would never have the money to buy an amphora, but whatwas to prevent his finding one?”• Allegory was presented in this story. “Vicente has the search. It is not what one finds, it’s the search.”• The Conflict in “The Singing Silence” is firstly the constant life changes for Vicente, then secondly, theaccident with the broken Amphora, and lastly, the unsuccessful search and the African wind storm.• Through the story we think Vicente will go out at sea and find the Amphora and send it off to the nice americantraveller. Though, at the end, this so called nice traveller, turns out to have given Vicente a fake address, andVicente who went looking for another Amphora, unexpectedly was lost out at sea by the African storm. Thesewere unexpected events thrown in at the end of the story, leaving the reader in ‘awe’.

THEME: TRADITIONAL VS. MODERNKNOWLEDGE• There were two types of knowledge that were displayed in this story, traditionaland modern. Traditional pertains to an older, more classic morality and modernpertains to a more contemporary way of morality.• We can look to the character of Vicente for an example of traditional knowledge,and the character of the American “Mr. Abraham Lincoln Smith” as anexample of the contrary.• Vicente promises to find another Amphora• He keeps this promise, and does everything in his power to retrieve the objectthat he has promised to replace.• The American showed a sense of modern knowledge by lying.• He gave Vicente a fake address because he felt annoyed by his persistence toreplace the vase.

VICENTE: TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE• Vicente is an old man who by accident broke an ancient vase called an Amphora.He immediately felt bad about the situation and promised to find another one. Byfinding another Amphora, it requires the old man to go out to sea and swim deepdown in search for an ancient object. This shows traditional knowledge because itdisplays a highly regarded sense of honour, pride and gratitude that Vicentepossess.• Vicente being an older man will see these traits as tradition and will carryout themin the highest respect whereas the American see them as choice of action whichsets the difference between the two.

COMPARING THE TWO TEXTS

STYLISTIC DIFFERENCES• Two works: “The Pose”, and “Singing Silence.”• Theme: traditional and modern knowledge.• 3 rd person vs. 1 st person P.O.V.s

POINT OF VIEW: 3 RD PERSON VERSUS 1 STPERSON• “The Pose” uses 3 rd person omniscient limited P.O.V., while “Singing Silence” uses 1 stperson.• In “The Pose”, a 3 rd person P.O.V. that can see into the protagonist’s feelings is used tocommunicate the theme of modern and traditional knowledge through her own thoughtsand experiences – like realizing she enjoys being admired until faced with her traditionalfamily honor.• In “Singing Silence”, a 1 st person point of view is used to tell a story from an outsider’spoint of view. This P.O.V. is used to get the theme across by telling the differences inVicente’s demeanor from a bystander’s perspective.• Though the two show a character changing and reconsidering traditional and modernvalues, one peers into their mind, and one is told from the outside.

CONFLICT:• “The Pose” and “Singing Silence” are both examples of person versus self as well asperson versus society.• P Vs. Self• Both have self conflict, balancing modern versus traditional views. (“Singing Silence'sVicente deciding he should quit his job, “The Pose” protagonist suddenly deciding to takea risk)• “The Pose” is P Vs. Society because her outlook on her values are heavily impacted byher traditional family. For example; “What if [her brother] saw [her]… Wouldn’t he dropdead?”• “Singing Silence” is P Vs. Society as Vicente struggles with fitting as he changesoccupations and moves around a lot, as unapproving bystanders call him ‘loco, estehombre, a little crazy.”

WHAT DO THESE DIFFERENCES ADD UP TO?• The narration in “Singing Silence” is far less personal than that of “The Pose”.• In “Singing Silence”, two people represent the theme of traditional vs modern knowledge,Vicente and Mr. Abraham Lincoln Smith, while in “The Pose”, the female protagonistrepresents both viewpoints.• It seems as though in “The Pose”, the two viewpoints are developed through someone’sthoughts, instead of it being soley represented in “Singing Silence”.• Both end with the same moral: it is difficult to balance the two viewpoints.