Young and Dyslexic, Benjamin Zephaniah
- Created by: RandomEpicness
- Created on: 06-06-20 15:59
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- YOUNG AND DYSLEXIC
- LANGUAGE
- 'NO COMPASSION, NO UNDERSTANDING, NO HUMANITY'- Rule of 3 emphasises how dyslexia was seen in the past. Repetition of 'no' suggests constant negativity.
- 'THE PAST IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF COUNTRY'- This is a metaphor to show how the type of kind approach was almost foreign.
- 'I WAS JUST BEING CREATIVE'- Short sentence to suggests Zephaniah's shock and disappointment at the teacher's harsh response.
- 'LOCAL SAVAGES'- racism. Reported speech shows reality behind the anecdote. Remembers the exact words vividly- suggesting how they affected him.
- 'BLACK MAN....FAMILY FELL APART, IN TROUBLE WITH THE POLICE...UNABLE TO READ OR WRITE, WITH NO QUALIFICATIONS AND, ON TO OF THAT, DYSLEXIC.'- Shows what he has overcome, Extensive listing to give hope that no matter what, it can be overcome.
- 'ITS NOT YOU' - Direct address , communicate directly to reader and reassure them.
- 'DYSLEXIA IS NOT A MEASURE OF INTELLIGENCE : YOU MAY HAVE A GENIUS ON YOUR HANDS'- Use of Colon to emphasise second clause that you could have a genius.
- "'CREATIVITY MUSCLE" - inverted commas used as this is an invented term. Adds physicality to the statement. Ironically contrasts with physical muscles that Zephaniah's teachers expected him to have. ( ' go outside and play some football' ) Also shows how he creates a solution to problems.
- 'US DYSLEXIC PEOPLE, WE'VE GOT IT GOING ON- WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS. WE ARE THE DESIGNERS' - Us,collective pronoun. Sense of belonging and support. Urban idiom used to show despite his achievement of becoming a university professor, he remembers his roots.
- 'BLOODY NON-DYSLEXICS... WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE?'- Colloquial, light-hearted. Rhetorical questions, develops a rapport with reader.
- STRUCTURE
- 'IN MANY WAYS BEING DYSLEXIC IS A NATURAL WAY TO BE'. -- 'WHAT'S UNNATURAL IS THE WAY WE READ AND WRITE' - Natural and unnatural linking paragraphs.
- Circular structure.'WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS...'
- Gives direct advice to reader at the end. Chronological.
- QUOTES
- 'WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS, WE ARE THE DESINGERS'- This is an inclusive, positive statement turning the usual negative associations with dyslexia into positives.
- 'SHUT UP, STUPID BOY. BAD PEOPLE WOULD DO ONE-THIRD MORE BAD'- Shows harshness and rudeness of the teachers and makes reader think negatively of school system. Also how the teachers always look at the negative side to all.
- 'NAZIS WEREN'T THAT BAD'- Negative, being compared to Nazis
- 'BUT OPPORTUNITIES OPENED FOR ME AND THEY MISSED THEIRS, DIDN'T' NOTICE THEM OR DIDN'T TAKE THEM.- Maintains hope. Rule of 3.
- 'I JUST HAD SELF-BELIEF'- hints that it is self-belief which brought him opportunity instead of prison.
- 'BRUNEL UNIVERSITY...PROFESSOR'- these words sow how dyslexia didn't hold him back from achieving great things.
- 'SQUIGGLE' - Shows non-dyslexic readers what it is like to see words/
- METHODS
- Anecdotes.
- Clear, direct language. Colloquial language. Encouraging, positive tone.
- Direct speech. inclusive pronouns, and direct address.
- Punctuation, colons. Short sentences. Patterned sentences e.g. Pairs of ideas, rule of 3.
- LANGUAGE
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