Year 10: After the Lights Go Out, Chapters 1-4

What is the significance of "Jubilee" as the name of the town where the Palmer family lives? There are two valid answers.

• It symbolises the happiness people pretend to have but deep down everyone in the town is miserable with living in an isolated place.

• It is ironic, because jubilees, especially in the commemorative sense, are a time of celebration and joy. However, but following the EMP, the events in the novel are anything but joyful.

• It has religious significance, from a Judeo-Christian context, as a time of universal forgiveness.

• It symbolises royalty as the head of state of Austalia - the King or Queen of England - celebrates anniversaries in their reign.

What narrative point of view is the novel written in?

• First person narrative point of view

• Second person narrative point of view

• Third person narrative point of view (limited)

• Third person narrative point of view (omniscient)

Who said what? Categorise these remarks/spoken dialogue into the appropriate category?

Groups:

(a) Pru (in her narration)

,

(b) Blythe

,

(c) Rick (Dad)

,

(d) Pru (in her dialogue)

• "Good girl."

• "...sometimes it's easier to keep the peace."

• "Maybe Mum is looking for us."

• "I promise"

• "I'm not going to let them get to me! Why can't you trust us?"

• "All I want to do is protect you girls."

• "I am nothing if not prepared."

• "Now let's talk about how you can improve for next time."

Fill in the gaps with the most appropriate vocabulary to complete this passage of analysis:

Prudence's ​ (a)   to "keep the peace" rather than point out the flaws in her father's logic and concerns ​​ (b)   her desire to avoid conflict and maintain the ​ ​ (c)   peace that exists between the girls and their father. Prudence's preference for avoidance may ​​ (d)   the difficulties she will experience later in the novel, where she will be required by ​ (e)   beyond her control to make difficult choices that cannot be avoided.

• inclination
• reflects
• tentative
• foreshadow
• circumstances
• a new setting
• shows
• reluctance
• emphasises

Complete this passage of analysis which evaluates the novel for narrative choices.

In Chapter 2, Pru picks up a copy of The Road by Cormac McCarthy after visiting the free library in town. Wilkinson's choice to include this ​ (a)   reference is highly ​ (b)   , as it foreshadows the novel’s exploration of survival in a post-apocalyptic world. Pru ​ (c)   that she has "read it before" and is "not in the mood for unrelenting grimness," ​ (d)   her interest in texts concerned with survivalist - possibly a result of her father's influence - while her desire to avoid the "grimness" of the novel is ​ (e)   given the premise of the text.

• intertextual
• significant
• remarks
• ironic
• underscoring
• metalanguage
• intratextual
• social commentary
• overemphasising

Towards the end of Chapter 3, what is the significance of repeating the line "the cars aren't working" with an italicisation of "cars" the second time?

• It emphasises the need for the reader to focus on the function and role of cars in the coming events of the narrative.

• Pru realises that if her father drove to Hansbach, he should be safe and get home.

• Pru is realising something drastic must have happened for of multiple cars to suddenly not be working.

• Pru is ruminating over an earlier comment from Keller.

Which of these options (there's two correct answers) best describe Pru's perspective in the novel?

• An teenage girl's perspective.

• An anxious perspective.

• The perspective of the eldest child.

• A curious perspective.

Why is Pru's comment "Family must come first" in her first-person narration italicised in Chapter 4?

• She is verbally stating a maxim/principle that her father taught her.

• She is recalling an idiom that her father taught her.

• She is verbally reciting an idiom common amongst Australians.

• She is recalling a maxim/principle that her father expects the family to abide by.

Label (drag and drop) the text excerpt with the relevant language features. Two incorrect options have been included.

e

f

g

d

c

High-modality verb

Noun phrase

Lexical chain

Tactile imagery

Visual imagery

Idiom

Personification

Reorder the following pieces of analysis so they flow in a logical fashion from one sentence to the next.

• The notion that Pru values trust and pragmatism are revealed through her decision to consign Keller with the responsibility of checking in on the twins.

• Initially, she has a moment to reinforce her existing prejudices against Keller, due to his blunt tone when inquiring as to who Mateo is.

• However, Pru's willingness to rely on Keller for "a favour", despite her disgust for him, reveals her prepardeness to value pragmatism over her personal feelings.

• This brief interaction with Keller, where Pru ajudicates him the role of conveying important information to the twins, underscores her evolving perspective on the role trust and pragmitism play in her life, especially now that her father is not there to influence her decisions.

• Likewise, rather than respond to his agreement to check on the twins with suspicion, Pru questions her own assumptions about Keller, suggesting she values fairness and trust more than caution.