Her First Ball

by Katherine Mansfield

Lesson 1 Wednesday 10th December

Starter: Thinking about the themes

Have you ever looked forward to an
event/party/holiday and then been disappointed
because you expected too much or something wasnt
as you imagined it?
Discuss such a situation with your group and
how you felt.

Todays Overview

Plot
Narrative viewpoint
Dialogue

After-Reading Questions
What are two things you find out about Leilas background?
How do the Sheridan girls describe their cousin Leila?

Write a line which shows Leila is homesick.

How does Meg patronise (treat like a child or inferior) Leila?

10 minutes

Answers
What are two things you find out about Leilas background?
She is a country girl, she has never been to a ball, she learned dancing at
school, she is a teenager and she went to a boarding, she is from NZ.
How do the Sheridan girls describe their cousin Leila?
As their little country cousin.

Write a line which shows Leila is homesick.

And a rush of longing she had to be sitting on the veranda of their forsaken
up-country home, listening to the baby owls crying More Pork.
How does Meg patronise (treat like a child or inferior) Leila?
This is my little country cousin, be nice to her.
Hold on to me Leila you will get lost

Narrative Viewpoint
Third person narrative limited,
though certainly partially omniscient
Personification - waltzing
lampposts
Free indirect speech is a style of
Free Indirect Speech
- Oh, how
third-person narration which uses
some of the characteristics of thirdmarvellous to have
a along
brother!
person
with the essence of firstperson direct speech.

Why is dialogue important?

Dialogue illuminates character faster than any
narrative because dialogue is a function of
character
Moves the story forward while establishing the
character and character relationships.
Reveals conflicts and causes a reaction.
Actively conveys information.

Dialogue in Her First Ball

Used to:
Enhance the sense of novelty felt by Leila
Build excitement in the ladies dressing room
where each voice out-exaggerates the last as
the girls dress

Her First Ball as a comic

Divide a piece of A4 into 6 squares. See example on next slide.
Use the following comic book conventions:

1. Speech bubbles featuring 3 quotes

2. Thought clouds featuring a characters thoughts

Lesson 2 Wednesday 10th December

Starter:

Describe the atmosphere in just 10 words.

Todays Overview

Language
Commenting on Figurative
Language Devices

Language

Chosen to convey excitement and exhilaration

Music breaks like a wave (simile) (P105)
Flags and gas lights are quivering (P104)
Men flew up to Leila (P105)
Into this world intrudes the fat man with his caustic little
speech (P106-7)
He repeats ache (P106) to build the sense of pain and
anticipation
Slips into second person narrative (Long before that youll
be sitting up there on stage...) (P106) as though Mansfield
is beginning to address the reader directly.
The message that all must come to dust is clearly made.

Figurative Language
Uses figurative language devices to
metaphorically convey the message of how
Leila sees her life before, during, and after this
commemorative event, which is her first
society outing as a young lady.

Figurative Language Devices

The scenery and setting must be described in a way
that mirrors the mentality of an adolescent girl who
is slowly maturing towards adulthood

Also shows awe, and overall inexperience in the

situation, for which simple and relevant
connections are made with similes and metaphors.
Examples???

Figurative Language Devices

However, the moment when Leila has her
epiphany and realizes the realities of life (after
the dance with the fat man), Mansfield really
focuses on using figurative language to
express Leila's inner thoughts.
Examples???

Figurative Language Devices

Was this first ball only the beginning of her last
ball, after all? (P107)
We see the use of metaphor to remind us that
"the ball" represents Leila's life
She thinks that, like the ball, life may always
be glittery and beautiful.
That, maybe she will be forever young, and
forever dancing.

Figurative Language Devices

At that the music seemed to change; it sounded
sad, sad; it rose upon a great sigh. (P107)
Once again we see the personification of the
music (changing, sounding sad, and sighing)
The indication that Leila feared that this first
ball may be "only the beginning of her last".

RememberPLEASE REMEMBER!!!
Remember that an excellent student of
English Literature will not only be able to
identify language devices, but also comment
upon them and what in particular they add to
the text and the effect they have. So it is really
important to try and move beyond recognition
towards analysis.

Example #1
A simile is used in the very first paragraph of this short story to
describe Leila's feelings of pent up excitement and anticipation
at the ball she is about to attend:
She sat back in her own little corner of it, and the bolster
on which her hand rested felt like the sleeve of an
unknown young man's dress suit; and away they bowled,
past waltzing lamp-posts and houses and fences and
trees.
We have an insight into her imagination as everything she sees
and touches makes her think about the pleasures ahead of her at
her first ball. Even resting her hand on the bolster of the cab she
is in becomes an act of anticipating the delight of being danced
around with a young man, and Leila imagines her surroundings
dancing away with her, sharing her excitement.

Example #2
Note how Mansfield describes the scene when Leila arrives at
the ball:
The road was bright on either side with moving fan-like
lights, and on the pavement gay couples seemed to float
through the air; little satin shoes chased each other like
birds.
Leila is so "high" with emotion and excitement that this is
something she sees in everybody else too. All the other people
arriving at the ball are indirectly compared to birds or floating
creatures, and we have the very visual simile of all the "little
satin shoes" flying around "like birds." Again, this simile helps to
stress the general atmosphere of the ball and, in particular, as
we are seeing this story from Leila's eyes, her own sense of
excitement and joy at finally reaching her destination.

Over to you
The road was bright on either side with moving
fan-like lights, and on the pavement gay couples
seemed to float through the air; little satin shoes
chased each other like birds. (P103)
He was tossed away on a great wave of music
that came flying over the gleaming floor,
breaking the groups up into couples, scattering
them, sending them spinning... (P105)

Plenary

Lesson 3 Monday 15th December

Starter: Choose the techniques needed for a
diary entry

Which ones would you use?

First person
Rhetorical Questions
Thoughts and feelings
Modern language
Present tense
Formal language

Era-appropriate language
Past tense
Informal language
Imitate the style of the
character
Third person
Figurative Language

Directed Writing Task (Language Exam)

Imagine you are Leilas cousin (one of the Sheridan girls).

Write a diary entry (audience) in which you:

Share your thoughts about having your country cousin visit you (purpose)
Explain that this was her first ball (purpose)
Describe what occurred during the evening (purpose)
Base your diary entry on what you have read in Her First Ball
1. Use quotes from the story
2. Use names, places and vocabulary from the story
3. Write at least 250 words
4. Plan and check your work carefully
Begin your diary entry,
Tonight I took my little cousin Leila to her first ball. Of course I have been to
many balls, so I found it so strange that Leila had never been to one. ..

Assessment Objectives
Writing (15 marks)
W1
Articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and
imagined
W2
Sequence facts, ideas and opinions
W3
Use a range of appropriate vocabulary
W4
Use register appropriate to audience and context
W5
Make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar
Reading (10 marks)
R1
Demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings
R2
Demonstrate understanding of implicit meanings and
attitudes
R3
Analyse, evaluate and develop facts, ideas and opinions

Plenary
Share your diary extract with the person
sitting next to you.
Read and respond:
1. WWW (What Went Well)

2. EBI (Even Better If) [What could they do better next time?]

Homework: Due Wednesday 17th December

GCSE Essay Questions

Explore the ways in which Mansfield presents Leilas
thoughts and feeling before and during the ball.
How does Mansfield vividly capture the excitement of
the ball?
Choose one question

Write ten bullet points

How does Mansfield vividly portray Leilas excitement
with ideas on how
and apprehensions in the story?
youd answer it

Next Class
Introduction to essay
writing