ELEMENTS IN FLIPPING FANTASTIC (FORM ONE)

SETTING

1.Peter Hill Primary: Tristan and James are finishing their final year in this primary school. They perform in a play entitled “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” which is the last activity in the school.

2.Chesterlea Grange: This is a residential school for students of special needs situated far away from Tristan’s home. Tristan looks forward to be enrolled in this special school which has all the facilities that he has dreamt of such as a drama studio, games room, swimming pool and a paddock. The school also has sports activities such as basketball tournament, archery contest, wheelchair games and so on.

3.Highfields: This is the school that James is going to be enrolled in when the new school term begins. At the end of the story, James feels excited about his new school as most of his schoolmates are there including Kiara Jones.

CHARACTER
Tristan and James : They are the main characters in the story. They are twin brothers who are dependent on each other. Tristan is more confident and outstanding than James. James is shy, nervous and has a low self-esteem.
Mum: She is the mother of Tristan and James. She is determined to send her sons to different schools so that they would be independent and confident about their own abilities

THEMES
Fear of the unknown: James dreads being alone in Highfields without the help of Tristan. Although Tristan feels excited about his new school, at times he feels confused at being alone and far away from home and his brother in the new school.
Motherly pride: Mum takes pride in her boys’ ability. She admires James’s courage to perform on stage despite being an introvert and appreciates Tristan’s great performance. as ‘Tom Sawyer’ in the school play.
Other themes/ sub-themes: a caring society, being independent, brotherly love.

VALUES
Independence, concern, gratefulness, appreciation, consideration, helpfulness

LITERARY DEVICES

1.Point of View
This story is written from the first person point of view. The pronoun “I” is used. We see the events from three perspectives; namely that of Tristan, James and Mum. We can experience their thoughts and feelings.

2.Tone
The tone is generally sincere, serious and reflective. At times it is emotional.
Diction (the choice of words used in the story)
• serious - …James, on the other hand, has always been so nervous. I’ve been really worried about him…
• reflective – Just because we’re twins doesn’t mean we have to be good at the same things. I accept that.
• emotional - Talk about pride! Tonight I thought I was going to burst with it!
• simple vocabulary; short sentences; lots of exclamation marks (!) to express emotions
• use of contractions (e.g. he’s; it’s, etc) to show a conversational style

3. Simile
The story has several similes e.g. I feel like a tyre that has burst; as freely as a freshly oiled cog, etc.

4. Journal entries/reflections• 3 different styles to express the thoughts and feelings of the 3 characters.

5.Contrast• Contrast of writing styles. E.g. Tristan’s thoughts are in a box; James’s thoughts appear to be on lined paper while mum’s thoughts are in italics.
• Contrast of opinions and characters Tristan loves drama while James loathes it.

6.Slang /colloquial expressions
e.g. .. the new school is really cool; collywobbles; mate; flipping; I’ve really blown it! (to give it a fresh modern feel)

7.Rhetorical questions
Questions that require no answer. e.g. How can I tell Mum?