SENIOR PHASE LEARNING RESOURCES Sunset Song Resources written by Scottish Book Trust
Contents 3 About the book 3 How to use these resources 4 Basic understanding 4 The theme of Community 4 Understanding the characters 5 The theme of and 6 Exporing Chris s interna conficts 6 Introducing duaity 6 Exporing Chris s duaity 7 Discussion 7 Further questions 7 Chris s character 8 Exporing duaity through the writing foio 8 Background Study 9 Extension 10 The impact of Gibbon s ife on Sunset Song 11 Trump cards activity 12 Appendix 1 12 Quotes on Land 12 Quotes on the theme of change 13 Appendix 2 15 Appendix 3 2
About the book Sunset Song was pubished in 1932. It is the story of Chris Guthrie, a resiient and hard working gir growing up in the fictiona estate of Kinraddie. As she grows up Chris faces hardships and diemmas which test her character, as she attempts to find her identity in the gossipy but utimatey cose-knit community. Sunset Song is considered to be a hugey important book because of (among other things) its reaistic depiction of women, famiy ife and reigion in Scottish crofting communities. Gibbon aso managed to use Scots diaogue in an understated way which avoided aienating a wider audience. On its reease, many were shocked by Gibbon s candid views on reigion, sex and incest, and his reaistic and descriptive accounts of chidbirth. The book wi give you great opportunities to tak about an era where ife in Scotand began to change irrevocaby. However, for many, the main draw of the text ies in Chris: a dignified, contempative character who approaches chaenges with pragmatism and strength. In this interview on our website, teen author Juie Bertagna draws some interesting paraes between Chris Guthrie and modern femae heroines from books ike The Hunger Games: www.scottishbooktrust.com/video/ juie-bertagna-interview-on-sunset-song. How to use these resources First of a, the important thing to say about these activities is that they don t have to be done in the order they appear here, nor do you need to do them a! Pick and choose, and modify as you see fit. In this resource you find activities to ook at the character of Chris Guthrie and the themes of and, community and change, as we as the socia and economic context of the nove. 3
Basic understanding Learning objective: To identify key scenes in the text Sunset Song is currenty being made into a fim: www.theguardian.com/fim/2012/feb/17/terence-davies-sunset-song Ask your pupis to hep the screenwriter by mapping out a the key moments of Sunset Song and creating a storyboard. Make sure they justify their seection of scenes. Aternativey, you coud ask pupis to create a tabeau. As we as simpy identifying key scenes, this activity can hep you expore character, as the pupis justify the ayout of their depictions and characters body anguage and facia expressions. Here is an exceent starting guide to creating tabeaux: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxw9qfkxk The theme of Community Learning objective: To expore the characters in Kinraddie The community of the viage of Kinraddie is portrayed as sma and tightknit before the war. Everyone knows everyone ese, and this is shown to have both good and bad aspects. It is good when peope are active and occupied, much ess so when they are gossiping and spinning rumours. The story evoves through community gossip and reteing - a fok narrative. UNDERSTANDING THE CHARACTERS Ask pupis to work in pairs. Each pupi shoud choose a different character to investigate. After each pupi has gathered together their observations about their character, ask them to share these with each other. You coud ask pupis to prepare a standard set of questions to ask each other about their chosen characters. 4
The theme of and Learning objective: To understand how and impacts on characters in the text In the nove, and is often described as a iving thing, and the farming community are perpetuay tied to it. However, by the end of the nove, the and has been desecrated by War, the men cosey attached to it have been kied and modern farming methods have eradicated an od way of iving and community ife. The and can provide comfort but can aso cause troube and heart ache. Chris can find soace in the nature around her, but her father becomes embittered by work on the and. Ask pupis to compete a spider diagram showing how and impacts upon the characters in the text. Who is it connected to? Who does it hurt or comfort? Do characters reationships with the and change throughout the text? You find a printabe spider diagram with an exampe done on the next page. You can ask pupis to write quotes next to each point they have made. There are some quotes to hep you in Appendix 1. The fight he d fought with the and and its masters to have them a cad and fed and respectabe (p.92.) Battes with the and to make his iving John Guthrie Land 5
Exporing Chris s interna conficts Learning objectives: To understand what is meant by duaity To investigate Chris duaity INTRODUCING DUALITY Chris is a we rounded character because of her duaity: she is spit between the Scottish and Engish Chris. Gibbon embraces this duaity and so avoids creating a one dimensiona character: Chris refects the compexity inherent in a of us. One way to introduce a esson on duaity woud be to show pupis some of the images of Rio de Janeiro on the foowing pages, or in Appendix 2: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/fie:carniva_in_rio_de_janeiro.jpg Ask them what impression they get of Rio from these images. After this, show them the image at the ink beow, and the third image in Appendix 2: www.oneypanet.com/africa/trave-tips-and-artices/ten-of-the-wordsbest-city-hikes http://pacespaceandthecity.fies.wordpress.com/2012/01/rio_rich-andpoor-photo.jpg Ask pupis what impression they get of Rio from these pictures. Ask them to compose one sentence which describes Rio, and imit them to 10 words. Their sentences shoud encompass both sides of Rio. EXPLORING CHRIS S DUALITY Chris is spit between two seves in deciding between the and and education: this aso manifests itsef in her conficted feeings about Ewan and the viagers in genera. Without introducing pupis to the idea that Chris experiences duaity, ask them to repeat the exercise above, but this time the sentence shoud encompass both sides of Chris. You can use some of the quotes beow to hep them:...two Chrisses there were that fought for her heart and tormented her. You hated the and and the coarse speak of the fok and earning was brave and fine one day... Weeping then, stricken and frightened because of that knowedge that had come on her, she coud never eave it, this ife of toiing... So, hurt and dazed, she turned to the and......two Chrisses went there each morning, and one was right douce and studious and the other sat back and aughed at the antics of the 6
teachers and minded Bawearie brae and the champ of horses... Right fond of the gentry was Kinoch, if you wore a fine frock and your hair was we brushed and your father was we to the fore he d sit beside you and stroke your arm and speak in a sow sing-song that made everybody augh behind his back. You can repeat this exercise to expore Chris different experiences of Ewan, and aso the interna conficts of John Guthrie. DISCUSSION Adoescence is often a time where we fee the need to spread our wings and perhaps trave and ive somewhere ese, but equay many of us miss the famiiarity of home. Ask pupis to discuss the foowing questions: Towns and cities have their good points and bad points. What are the good and bad points of your home town? If you went away for a whie, woud you want to return? What woud make you want to come back? Do you think that the pace you ive defines you to a arge extent? Do you ike Scotand? Do you fee a cose connection to it? FURTHER QUESTIONS Why do you think Chris utimatey chooses the and? Is she infuenced by others, or is the decision motivated by something within her, or is it a combination of both? What is your opinion of Chris s decision? Woud you have preferred to see her choosing education? Duaity is a recurring theme in the nove. What effect does this have on your enjoyment of the nove and your experience of the characters? CHRIS S CHARACTER Ask your pupis to create a mock-up Facebook page for Chris Guthrie. In their notebook they shoud outine her interests, her environment, ocation and her friends. What kind of status updates woud she compose? They can use quotes from the text to create status entries or tweets. These shoud refect key moments in Chris ife and her thoughts on her surroundings. You can find a resource to create mock Facebook profies here: www.casstoos.net/fb/home-page 7
Exporing duaity through the writing foio Duaity can be a great basis for creating characters. Just as Chris is a gir who works the and who is aso strongy attracted to books and earning, a character in a pupi s short story coud be simiary conficted. Ask pupis to come up with some exampes of characters with two contradictory sides: for instance, a buying headmaster with a sensitive, caring side, or poiceman who ikes his job but aso commits crimes in his persona ife. Aternativey, if your pupis enjoy the discussion points about home on the previous page, you coud ask them to do a piece of expressive writing on this theme. Have a ook at our Scotand s Stories of Home resources, where you find ideas for writing about the theme of home: www.scottishbooktrust.com/earning/teachers-ibrarians/teachingresources-cpd/fourth-eve/creative-writing/stories-of-home-resources Background Study Learning objective: To expore the ways in which Sunset Song is a reaistic nove Sunset Song was pubished in 1932. Its pubication coincided with ongoing cutura reinvigoration in Scotand that is now regarded as the Scottish Renaissance of the eary 20th Century. Sunset Song bucked the trend of heaviy romanticised and sentimenta Scottish books ike The Bonnie Brier Bush by Ian McLaren. The activity beow wi hep you to introduce the idea of reaisticay portraying a subject in fiction. Some modern fims have been guity of romanticising their subjects. Introduce pupis to this concept by referring to the fim Braveheart, mentioning the foowing distortions: In Braveheart, Wiiam Waace is depicted as the man soey responsibe for orchestrating victory at the Batte of Stiring Bridge, when in fact Andrew Moray aso commanded the Scottish army at this batte; Waace was not the son of a poor farmer as depicted in the fim; rather, he is widey thought to have been the son of a aird; In the fim, Waace has a passionate affair with the French Princess Isabee, the wife of his enemy Prince Edward; in reaity, Isabee was a very sma chid at the time, so this affair is entirey fictiona. 8
Considering these facts, ask pupis to write answers to or discuss the foowing questions: Why do you think the writers of Braveheart incuded these particuar inaccuracies in the fim? What was the intended effect on their audience? Woud this effect sti have been achieved by a competey accurate fim? Other popuar movies with notabe inaccuracies incude Rush, Pear Harbour and Daas Buyers Cub. Do you think audiences aways want writers to be competey accurate and honest about their subjects? Give reasons for your answer. Do you think peope romanticise aspects of their own pasts? What kinds of things might we have a romanticised view of? After this, ask your pupis to think about the depictions of the foowing in Sunset Song. In what ways do these depictions show a ess than ideaised version of Scottish crofter ife? Reigion Famiy ife and reationships Women, incuding their capacity to work the and and their inteectua aptitude Sex and sexuaity Chidbirth EXTENSION Te pupis that they are going to write a review of the book, but ask them to take the position of a critic who is scandaised by the portraya of the above subjects in the book. Ask them to write a scathingy critica review of Sunset Song: they shoud refer to and quote from key scenes, and convey their outrage and disbeief about each scene. 9
The impact of Gibbon s ife on Sunset Song Learning Objectives: To understand how Lewis Grassic Gibbon s experiences and beiefs infuenced the setting and pot of Sunset Song. Ask pupis to research Lewis Grassic Gibbon s ife. The foowing websites may hep: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00mr8yj/profies/ewis-grassic-gibbon www.birinn.co.uk/lewis-grassic-gibbon/ www.scottishreview.net/backpage86.shtm The foowing web pages may hep you to introduce the concept of sociaism: www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/history/ibera/motives_ib/revision/1/ www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/history/ibera/impact_ib/revision/1/ One activity to hep you expore the infuence of Gibbon s ife woud be to create a wa chart/tabe that incudes key moments of Gibbon s ife. Pupis can pair these with corresponding themes and events in Sunset Song. Exampe beow: Aspect of Gibbon s ife Sunset Song Themes Page Numbers/Quotes Commitment and ove of working the and Chris escapes countryside Land cas Ewan back from war Identity History...fok said he coud sme the weather and had fair the and in his bones. (p.29) John Guthrie s toi of the and You can aso ask your pupis to make Trump Cards. Have everyone in the cass create a character identity card. From the biography, use the bod indicators as the attributes. See the next page for an exampe. 10
TRUMP CARDS ACTIVITY Put the character s name at the top of the front of the card. Pick four themes/experiences in Gibbon s ife, such as: 1. Working/ove of the and 2. Smeddum 3. Sociaism/communism 4. Affected by War Against your chosen character, grade these six themes with points. In order to justify these aocated points, mark on the back of the card your reasons. You can find a tempate for this activity in Appendix 3. A points must not surpass a tota of 150. How to pay Trumps: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bureil4k6f0 When finished, dispay them on the wa and make a show of it! Front of card Back of card Character Appreciation of the and Character Appreciation of the and Smeddum Smeddum Sociaism Sociaism Affected by war Affected by war 11
Appendix 1 QUOTES ON LAND Out of the Word and into Bawearie they said in Kinraddie and faith! it was coarse and (preude) Weeping then, stricken and frightened because of that knowedge that had come on her, she coud never eave it, this ife of toiing (p.96) The and was forever, it moved and changed beow you, but was forever (p.95) Scotand ived, she coud never die, the and woud outast them a (p.193) So, hurt and dazed, she turned to the and (p.206) But it wasn't bad and there was the sweat of two thousand years in it (p.29) Arabe and, the parks were as tough and stony as the heart of the od wife hersef (p.17) Fok said he coud sme the weather and had fair the and in his bones (p.22) A darkness on the and he oved better than his sou or god. (p.55) The fight he d fought with the and and its masters to have them a cad and fed and respectabe (p.92.) the sadness of the and (p.141) You hated the and and the coarse speak of the fok and earning was brave and fine one day; and the next you'd waken with the peewits crying across the his, deep and deep, crying in the heart of you and the sme of the earth in your face, amost you'd cry for that, the beauty of it and the sweetness of the Scottish and and skies. Chris of the and The ast of the farming fok that wrung their iving from the and with their own bare hands Father said the sat of the earth were the fok that drove a straight dri and never ooked back, but she was no more than a poughed and sti there are better things than your books or studies or oving or bedding, there's the countryside your own, you its And up above Upperhi they had cut down the arch, and the wood was... and said that the Government woud repant a the trees when the War was won.... Then the factor said that they must a do their bit at a sacrifice, and Chae asked [ ] every sou made money and didn't care a damn though. QUOTES ON THE THEME OF CHANGE...the day of the crofter was fe near finished...the fok seemed different; into their bones the War had eaten, they were money-mad or mad with grief... 12
...the dead beow those stones, farmers and poughmen and their wives, and itte bairns and new-born babes, their bodies turned to skeetons now....daft things that this marriage of hers was nothing, that it woud pass on and forward into days that had ong forgotten it....the dreams ----foded them up in their paper of tissue and aid them away by the dark, quiet corpse that was your chidhood. The ast of the Peasants, the ast of the od Scots fok. A new generation comes up that wi know them not, except as a memory in a song. It was od Scotand that perished then, and we may beieve that never again wi the od speech and the od songs, the od curses and the od benedictions, rise but with aien effort to our ips. Appendix 2 Image courtesy of Rodrigo Sodon on Fickr: https://creativecommons.org/icenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ 13
Image courtesy of Terry George on Fickr: https://creativecommons.org/icenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ Image courtesy of Marceo.beo on Fickr: https://creativecommons.org/icenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ 14
Appendix 3 Character Reasons for aocating points 15
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