The Voyage – Part 2
Introduction
Mary continues her voyage across the Atlantic on the Annabel, helping to deliver a baby and getting to know Jack, one of the ship’s crew. Read through Entries 20 – 27 and answer the following questions. There are suggested answers at the bottom of the page so you can check your own responses.
Using at least five quotations, explore how Celia Rees creates a very frightening opening paragraph to Entry 20.
You should choose one metaphor, one simile and one example of alliteration to analyse.
If you are not sure how to structure your answer, try reading our Point Example Explanation guide which outlines how you can build effective paragraphs in an essay-style response.
Personification
Personification is a particular type of metaphor which presents inanimate objects with human characteristics, such as emotions or physical attributes.
For example, in Entry 20, Celia Rees compares the terrifying strength of the storm to the violent anger of a person: “The storm still raged”.
Explain the comparisons in the following images and suggest why they are effective:
- The wind strengthens until it screams in the rigging
- The ship is “at the mercy of the sea”
- The cabin is filled with the groaning of timber
- The chaos raging around us
Structure
Entry 20 is the dramatic story of the horrible “howling” storm and the “untimely” birth of Rebekah River’s son, Noah.
Celia Rees spends a great deal of time setting the scene and vividly describing Mary’s efforts in delivering the baby. However, suggest reasons why the writer then decided to limit Entries 21 and 22 to just three paragraphs
Comprehension Questions
The following questions refer to Entry 23. Remember, try to use the words of the question in your answer and use quotations from the text to support your ideas.
- This is a question about structure. Suggest why Rees offers some vivid details about Jack Gill, such as his “fair hair” and “brown face”, at the start of the Entry.
- Why is Elias Cornwell unhappy at being called a “parson”?
- What are the three reasons why Jack would not like to “land just here”?
- Why is Mary “quick to deny any hint of magic”?
- Why does Jack not like being below deck?
- What punishment would the captain deliver if he “found” someone “spreading rumours”?
Word Search
Widening your vocabulary is an important way to improve your reading skills. Listed below are ten definitions of words you can find in Entry 24. Scan through the chapter and try to match these definitions to the words from the text. The first one is done for you.
- Stay away from (5) – avoid
- Chatting (10) –
- Very large (7) –
- Deceptive and Dangerous (11) –
- Lasting for a long time (9) –
- More than enough (9) –
- Bright lights (6) –
- Slow or lazy movement (8) –
- Not sharp (5) –
- Clever (6) –
This task is also a great way to practise your scan-reading skills.
The numbers in brackets refer to word length.
Direct Speech
]Read through the conversation between Mary and Martha in Entry 25 and explain how the writer presents the direct speech very effectively to the reader. For example, what punctuation rules does Rees follow? How does sentence structure help us follow the story?
Creative Writing
In Entry 25, Jack tells Mary he has been to lots of different places. Since “sailors are famous for their stories”, your task is to write one of these magnificent tales!
Entry 26
When the ship enters “a great bay”, Jack lists the names of some landmarks: “Mount Desert, the Campden Hills, Agamenticus, Cape Porpoise, Pascataquac”. These names are almost meaningless to Mary and the reader.
Suggest why the writer wanted to include these places by explaining what impact they might have on the character and the reader.
Character
Read Entry 27. Put yourself in Mary’s position and explain in detail why she does not “share in the general joy”. Focus on the various emotions she might feel.
Cliffhangers
This section of the story concludes with Jack’s romantic gesture and Mary’s dramatic statement “I know that this will be last I see of him”.
Explain why writers end chapters and episodes with this plot device. For example, what emotions might they evoke from the reader?
Analysing Setting
Answer
Celia Rees creates a very frightening opening to Entry 20 which immediately engages the reader. She describes how the “wind” metaphorically “screams”, which suggests the wind is alive and consciously trying to scare the ship. This interpretation is reinforced by the simile comparing how the “wind” is “howling like a live thing”. It is like a wolf is hunting the narrator.
The waves are also incredibly frightening. The ship is “lifted up by mountainous seas” and then “thrown down into valleys” that are “so deep they seem to stretch to the ocean’s depths. The ship is clearly in danger.
The author also refers to how the “icy water cascades through every crack and crevice”. The alliteration of /c/ makes it sound like the freezing water is inescapable and the passengers and crew are in serious trouble. It must be a very frightening experience for the narrator.
Rees presents them as completely helpless and unable to control their situation. The simile comparing the ship to a “leaf in a mill-race” suggests they have been left go and are now “at the mercy of the sea”.
Analysing Personification
Answers
- The personification comparing the “wind” to an animal’s “screams” is effective because it suggests the wind is alive and incredibly angry at the ship. This means the passengers and crews should be frightened of its force.
- The writer personifies the “sea” by saying it can decide to show “mercy”. This is effective because it suggests the people on the ship are completely helpless.
- Rees describes the “timber” as “groaning”. This personification compares the ship to a wounded animal which is “groaning” in pain. The ship is clearly suffering.
- The narrator describes how the “chaos” is “raging”. This personification suggests all of the confusion in ship is angry and refuses to settle down.
Structure
Answer
Entry 20 is full of “chaos” because of the “untimely” birth of Rebekah River’s baby during the dangerous “howling” winds and “mountainous seas”. At the end of the chapter, the narrator mentions that “the storm was over” and “everything was still”. Since there was so much drama in this particular scene, the writer decided to limit Entries 21 and 22 to just three paragraphs to give the reader a moment of calm and relief from the chaos.
Comprehension Questions
This is a question about structure. Suggest why Rees offers some vivid details about Jack Gill, such as his “fair hair” and “brown face”, at the start of the Entry.
Rees offers some vivid details about Jack Gill, such as his “fair hair” and “brown face”, at the start of the Entry. She makes the character stand out to the reader because he becomes an important character by the end of scene.
Why is Elias Cornwell unhappy at being called a “parson”?
Elias Cornwell unhappy at being called a “parson” because he does not want to belong to the Anglican faith and is escaping to America to practise his protestant religion.
What are the three reasons why Jack would not like to “land just here”?
There are three reasons why Jack would not like to “land just here”: he believes the “rocks could tear the bottom” of the ship and they would sink; they would “find nothing but wilderness”; and they would “meet no-one but savages”.
Why is Mary “quick to deny any hint of magic”?
Mary is “quick to deny any hint of magic” is because she knows it is dangerous to be accused of witchcraft. Her grandmother was executed and she does not want to suffer the same fate.
Why does Jack not like being below deck?
Jack does not like being below deck because it “stinks down there”.
What punishment would the captain deliver if he “found” someone “spreading rumours”?
If the captain “found” someone “spreading rumours”, he would punish them by “lashing” them with a whip.
Word Search Task
Answers
- Stay away from (5) – avoid
- Chatting (10) – conversing
- Very large (7) – massive
- Deceptive and Dangerous (11) – treacherous
- Lasting for a long time (9) – permanent
- More than enough (9) – abundance
- Bright lights (6) – gleams
- Slow or lazy movement (8) – sluggish
- Not sharp (5) – blunt
- Clever (6) – shrewd
Direct Speech
The quick exchange between Mary and Martha creates some tension because the narrator is being warned to avoid trouble.
When you are writing direct speech, you need to take a new paragraph for each speaker’s turn. You identify the direct speech by using speech marks at the start and capitalise the first letter. You then end the direct speech with closing speech marks. If the reader knows these rules, it makes the story easier to follow.
Entry 26 – Place Names
Answer
When the ship enters “a great bay”, Jack lists the names of some landmarks: “Mount Desert, the Campden Hills, Agamenticus, Cape Porpoise, Pascataquac”. These names are almost meaningless to Mary and the reader, but they sound mesmerising. The writer includes these strange and exotic place names because they suggest adventure and danger to the reader.
Cliffhangers
Suggested Answer
Cliff-hangers are important plot devices. They can be exciting and frightening for the reader because we are left wanting to know what will happen next so we eagerly turn the page to find out.
