Authorial Voice: Closer by David Maulef (10ENGAA) by Saschmon https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser Use this following timeline to identify key elements, narrative structure and Language (authorial voice) en-us 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC 2025-10-06 20:25:26 UTC hello@padlet.com Level 3: Combining language and the 6 senses: sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922370 Tyson , Tom and Jayde

To fully enhance the audiences experience, authors often make the audience feel/imagine what the character is thinking. Maulef encourages this by providing clear sets of imagery, bold language combined with these sensations. List some of the senses (quotes) below:

See: " you could see his bare feet in the grass large and boney"

"His car is silver. It is a BMW and costs an arm and a leg. It has sheepskin seat covers and a hands free phone... Far off its like a spaceship homing in"

"They are shaggy. But his chest and throats and arms were like an angel's, smooth and polished as wood. You see the whiteness of his teeth and when he takes of his sunglasses the sparkles of his eyes, and the smoothness and the blondness of his hair, but you do not see the marks. This is because he does not come close.'

"I picture him. there on the other side of the fence naked, his feet pressing into the spiny grass"

"His chest had scoops of shadows and his shoulders were golden and so smooth they gave off a glow, his whole body had a sheen to it"

Hear:"There is  a humming like something from another world."

" The air roaring through the car makes his voice sound weird , like a
spacemans"

Feel (emotion): 'his heart is closed on his grief"

"I had such a feeling of lightness and happiness it was as if my bones had been changed into clouds."

"I don't understand about love anymore than I do death"

Taste: "I watch Grandpa Mopeth cut pieces of meat with his big hands and push them between his teeth, and chew and swallow, and what he is eating, I know, Is ashes."



Smell: "'Bleached', my grandfather tells us.'Peroxide!'"

" They barge about the kitchen at five o'clock in there under shorts still half asleep waiting for grandma to butter their toast and pour their tea"

Touch (feel): "you can feel the burning sweat on him"
"his feet pressing the spring grass"
"Uncle Charles has broken his heart."
"I know it is Grandpa Morpeth's heart that is broken, because he has said so, but it is Grandma Morpeth who feels it most".


]]> 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922370 Level 2: Similes and Metaphors-Stasia sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922372 Identify similes and metaphors that are used in the text and use quotations (ie. "___________")
A.W
  • S "It is very like a spaceship, 
  • M "Charlies just a big kid..."
  • S "He is as water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again"
  • M "costs an arm and a leg"
  • S "The air roaring through the car makes his voice sound weird, like a spaceman's"
  • S "It's like a spaceship homing in"
  • M "You can see it's windscreen catching the sun as it rounds the curves"
  • S "There is a humming like something from another world"
  • M "The fire is under his clothes and inside him"
  • S "His voice is gruff, as if he had suddenly caught cold"
  • S "Grandpa has cast him out, as you cut off a limb so that the body can go on living"
  • M "You can feel the burning sweat on him"
  • M "...what he is eating, I know is ashes".
  • S "He was smooth all over like an angel"
  • S "...it was as if my bones had been changed into clouds"
  • M- "Infected by the plague"
  • M "Because Uncle Charles lives in Sodom we do not let him visit"
  • M "So we will not be infected but the plague he carries,"
  • M "the hair the climbs out above their singlets"
  • S and M "He is a stranger to us [M], as if he had never been born [S]"
  • M "His chest had scoops of shadow,"
  • S "But his chest and throat and arms were like an angel's, smoothed and polished as wood"
  • M "His heart is closed on it's grief"
  • M "The silver car with it's duke windows that roll up of their own accord and the phone in there in it's cradle is the chariot of death,"
  • M "Just the wide green landscape lying still under the heat"
  • S "And the petals glowed like metal"
]]> 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922372 Level 1. Adjectives, Verbs and Phrases(J.B,B.W) sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922373 Look to the vocabulary used to enhance the audiences experience text and include a list of words below:

Adjectives
Eldest, blondest, Blondest, burnt, swollen, scabbed, pleasant, older, bleached, smooth, sparkle, literal, scorching, blackening, horrible, young, grey, blond, dark, silver, wide, taller, beautiful, tanned, whitest, golden, hairy, shaggy, polished as wood, burning, giant, silvery, twinkling, dusky, green, smokey, glowed, lumpy, coarse-stemmed, glassy, tough, springy,

Nouns By M.A :
Sodum, fools, blond, uncle, fast, Halen, Charles, Amy, love, roars, burning, stronger,
 

Verbs/Adverbs:
almost, always,  carefully 

Topic Specific Langauge/phrases: Context/Setting/Theme



]]> 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922373 End: sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922375 What takes place in the final section of the text. What is the audience left to feel?

Quotes: Find descriptions, the 6 senses and imagery that are used to create the authors voice. 

  •  "open your heart now.Let it happen. Come Closer,closer. See?Now reach out your hand."(LV)
  •  "I knew it was a dream. But dreams can be messages."(LV)
  •  "If you have faith, the fence will open for you, as the sea did before moses when he reached out his hand" (LV)
  •  "Daises and gaudy, bright pink clover" what it could look like with acceptance and love(LV).
]]> 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922375 Middle: Set-Backs (rising tension) sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922376 What are the events that lead to an increase in the audiences tension?

Quotes: 
- “his voice is gruff…Uncle charles has broken his heart.”  
- “Sometimes he walks up and down outside the fence and shouts.”
- “Then the door of his car slams and he roars off."
]]> 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922376 Middle: Complication (what is the problem/conflict in the text) sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922378 Quotes: What are the actions and language choices that demonstrate the problem?

Quotes: Find descriptions, the 6 senses and imagery that are used to create the authors voice. 

  •  "He has practiced abominations. Three years ago he confessed this to my Grandpa and Grandma and my Uncle James and Matt expecting them to welcome his frankness. Since then they we're woken" 
  •  (BJ) "This is GAY 437 calling. I am approaching Bulahdelah."
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]]> 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922378 Beginning: Setting Scene - Orientation sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922379 What is the setting, characters and important elements/symbols that are introduced at this section of the Text.

Quotes: Find descriptions, the 6 senses and imagery that are used to create the authors voice. 

[GS]
  •  "The lord destroyed sodom and he is destroying Sydney, but with fire this time that is slow and invisible" - [Imagery] 
  • "Because Uncle Charles lives in Sodom we do not let him visit. Because if we do we might be touched (by the plague that he carries)" 
  •  "My mother says he [Uncle Charles] was always the rebel" 
  •  "...He [Uncle Charles] is water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again" - [Imagery; A metaphor that symbolises that he is a lost cause, he has sinned and therefore he cannot be whole again.] 
  •  "it is burning people up but you don't see it because they burn from within"
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]]> 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922379 5 Sentence Story (B.J) sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922382 1. Beginning - Orientation
Amy, a 9 year old religious girl, narrates on her thoughts about her Uncle Charles, who only appears during Easter and Christmas.
2. Middle: Complication
Charles had been banished, exiled from the family's farm 3 years ago after confessing something.
3. Middle: Set-Back 1
Amy spots Charles' fancy car and fantasises about what is looks like, and the fun way her uncle announces his arrival.
4. Middle: Set-Back 2 - rise in tension
Charles arrives and faces of against his family across the fence.
5. End: Climax and Outcome
Amy's grandfather shoos Charles away, though he doesn't leave for a little bit of time, and refuses to answer any calls in fear it may be Charles.
Bonus: Resolution
Amy dreams of Charles free of possessions after he does not appear one Easter, and explains that he should have faith to be welcomed back, and that she would welcome him with an open arm.
~(Brendan)]]> 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922382 Context: sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922383 Context are the issues (historical, social) that surround the text. What values and events appear in the text?

Identify quotes that represent the values/attitudes of:

Conservative/religious grandparents:
"Don't come any closer" pg. 36
"He is one of the fools from Israel" pg.33
"They are blonde, 'bleached' my grandfather tells us 'peroxide'."
"once the error has got in, there is no fixing it"
"don't touch it, let it ring"(referencing to when Charles was calling the family) -MV
Uncle Charles/progressive/ sexuality: 
“Because uncle Charles lives in Sodom we do not let him visit” p33
"This is Gay 437 approaching Wauchope"
"Charlie is just a big kid, he never grew up" -MV


]]> 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922383 Setting: BMW (CG) sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922384 Need at least 8! 

  • "This is Gay 437 calling. i am approaching Bulahdelah"
  • "its a BMW it cost an arm and a leg"
  • "makes his voice sound weird, like a spacemans"
  • "its like a spaceship homing in"
  • "its very like a spaceship, silver and fast it flashes"
  • "cathing the sun as it round the corner"
  • "then the door of his car slams and he roars off"
  • "the silver car with its dusky windows that roll up of their own acord"     
]]> 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922384 Setting: Inside the house sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922385 -“We live in seperate houses but on the same farm” 
- "The telephone rings in the hallway"
-"There is an ivory ring with his initial on it, C, in the dresser drawer with the napkins, and when we count the plates at the table she pretends to make a mistake out of habit, and sets on extra" 
- "When we sit down to his meal, with his chair empty"
- "The phone rings in the house. it rings and rings. We pause at the sink"
-"We stood below the verandah and watch his car pull up outside the fence."

]]> 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922385 Setting: Sodom (Sydney) sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922386
  • "He [Uncle Charles} lives in Sydney..."
  • 'The Lord destroyed Sodom and he is destroying Sydney(Whatever or whoever is in Sydney their religion doesn't agree with)'
  •  Infected by the plague(being gay) (Called Sodom, known in the bible for being destroyed by God because of the homosexual people that lived there.)
  • "Which Grandpa Morpeth says is Sodom.(Everyone that lives there is gay, he doesn't like anyone that lives there including Uncle Charles.)"
  • "Because Uncle Charles lives in Sodom we do not let him visit.(Grandpa Morpeth doesn't like what is in Sydney, he might think that they can catch it or he doesn't want anyone to be 'exposed' to it.)"
  • "Since then he is banished.(infers that Sydney is not a desired place to live)"
    • ]]>     2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922386     Setting: The Farm (C.M) sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922388
  • "home-paddock fence"
  • Houses on the farm
  •  "curves round the river "(P.38)
  •  ''the wide green pasture''(p.38)
  •  ''inside at the table''(p.39)
  • ''we stood below the verandah''(p.39)
  • ''

    • ]]>     2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922388     Symbol 3: Religious Imagery sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922390 Throughout the text biblical references and iconography symbolises what is 'right and wrong'.

    Beginning: Sodom is used to portray the ultimate destruction and sin that Uncle Charles is viewed in.

    Middle: Amy views her Uncle as someone she wants to understand and admires his looking like and 'angel'.

    End: There is move here to criticism her grandfather and as her Uncle leaves, she reverts to a dream of him coming again as an angel that is welcome to come closer.

    Quotes: (RB)
    - "his chest and throat and his arms were like an angles, smooth and polished as wood."
    - "So that we will not be infected by the plague he carries, Grandpa has forbidden him to come on to the land."
    - "Evil is in this world because of men and their tendency to sin."
    - "As if he was already dead, and death was stronger than love, which surely cannot be."
    - "We're Pentecostals. We believe that all that is written in the book is clear truth without error."
    - "This is a grace we are granted because we live as the Lord wishes, in truth and charity."    ]]>     2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922390     Symbol 2: Physical Features and Common Traits (N.R) sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922391 Through the the text Maulef continually uses flashbacks and comparisons in an attempt to demonstrate the similarity/commonality of the family. References to the 'blondest' and the 'oldest' of the brothers indicate that Amy does no see her uncle any different. There is also the childhood memories and tales of her uncles which are fond and place them in some form of friendly competition and shared experience.
    "My mother says he was always the rebel."
    "His eyes have the most sparkle to them."
    "In fact, he looks wonderful."
    Additionally, the use of the farm as a 'shared experience' where all (even Amy grew up) symbolises a common bond that is ignored. This is furthered again as a place at the dinner table is set for Uncle Charles. "We live...on the same farm, which is where my mother, Uncle James and Uncle Matt, and Uncle Charles when he was young, grew up."
    "And when we count the places at the table she pretends to make a mistake, out of habit, and sets one extra

    Maulef also uses the fence as a way to show the division between the family with uncle Charles being banished.

    Quotes
    " to stand on one side of the fence and have uncle Charles stand on the other, as if he was already dead."


    ]]>     2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922391     Symbol 1: Space (MD) sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922392 Through the young protagonist the audience gains a sense of what Amy want to know. In referencing her desire to become an 'astronaut' and reference to her Uncle Charles' car as a 'spaceship' and him being from 'another planet' is mixed with religious iconography around 'angels'.

    Meaning
    Ultimately, these two concepts confront the audience with the confusion around human behavior and the worlds that 'Amy/Rabbit' is trying to reconcile/understand.
    Amy compares a lot of her sayings/similes/metaphors in relation to space. She describes Charles as an alien, and therefore something that she doesn't know much about. The tie between her saying she wants to be an astronaut and tying Charles to space, indicates that she wants to know more about Charles. He has been hidden away from her her whole life, so it is only natural for her to be insanely curious about this 'alien' figure in her life. She is curious about him and the unusual/unfamiliar experiences he brings. The first quote demonstrates that she is naturally curious and aspires to be something that can satisfy her curiosity.

    Quotes:
    •  'When I grow up I mean to be an astronaut'
    • 'It is very like a spaceship, silver and fast; it flashes.'
    • 'The air roaring through the car makes his voice sound weird, like a spaceman's.'
    • 'It is like a spaceship homing in.'
    • '...there is a humming like something from another world...'
    • 'Once the error has got in, there is no fixing it. Not in this world.'
    ]]>     2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922392     Support Characters 2: Grandparents of the Morpeth sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922395  
    Grandpa Morpeth
    Describe: He is tall and sometimes harsh but he loves his family. Uncle Charles broke his heart and he feels that casting him out is the only way for the family to survive. He is the leader of the family. everyone respects him and no one questions him. (H.F)

    Beliefs/actions/in the text:
    Grandpa Morpeth believes that they must cast Charles out to show their devotion to their religion. He believes everything written in the bible is the truth and that you can't tolerate what is sinful. (H.F)

    Quotes: "He is one of the fools of Israel” Pg 33
    “Don’t any of you pick up that phone” Pg 35
    “He is a stranger to us, as if he has never been born” Pg 35
    “Don’t come any closer, we can see you from there” Pg 36
    “He lives in Sydney, which Grandpa Morpeth says is Sodom” Pg 33
    “Grandpa has forbidden him to come onto the land” Pg 33
    “They are blond. ‘Bleached’, my Grandfather tells us. ‘Peroxide’!” Pg 36
    “Grandpa has cast him out, as you cut off a limb so that the body can go on living.” Pg 36
    “Grandpa Morpeth’s heart is broken.” Pg 37
    “We must do what is hard to show that we love what is good and hate what is sinful, and the harder thing, the more love we show Him.” Pg 38
    “Grandpa Morpeth cut pieces of meat with his big hands and push them between his teeth.” Pg 39
    “His heart is closed on its grief. And that is what love is. That is what death is.” Pg 39
    “Don’t touch it, let it ring.” Pg 39 (BK)


    Grandma Morpeth:
    Describe: kind and loving towards everyone in her family

    Beliefs/actions/ role in the text:

    Quotes: "I know that Grandma would like Uncle Charles to come closer so she could really see him ... she would like him to come in and eat"

    ]]>     2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922395     Find a photo for Grandpa /Grandma Morpeth. sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922397 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922397 Support Characters 1: Uncle Charles sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922398 Description: Uncle Charles has blond locks, bright white teeth and sparkling eyes. He is homosexual and lives in Sodem ( Sydney ). He looks like an angle .

    Quotes (about or from): " my mother said he was always a rebel "
    " he is tanned with the whitest teeth i have ever seen"
    " they are blond bleached my grandfather says peroxide.

    Actions:

    How does our view of this character change throughout the text?
    At the start of the text Uncle Charles is seen as diseased by the Morpeth family. These opinions are challenged towards the end of the text and we realise that Uncle Charles is a normal human being. -MV

    How do we feel about his leaving at the end of the text?
    Uncle Charles leaving at the end of the text is like he feels like he won't be accepted back into his family. Amy's dream shows us that not the whole family feels the same about Charles. -MV

    What qualities does Uncle Charles have that are ignored due to his sexuality and being 'banished from the family?
    Uncle Charles has not changed as a person, but him coming out has "broken" Grandpa Morpeth's heart and Grandpa Morpeth can't forgive him for this, he still loves him but can't forgive him. -MV]]>     2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922398     Protagonist: Amy aka Rabbit sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922399 Description: Amy is the narrator of the story. She is 9 years old. "In the family [she] is called Ay" but her "brothers...call [her] Rabbit." Amy is innocent and naive because she doesn't question her families beliefs. "We're Pentecostals.We believe that all is written in the Book is clear truth without error."

    Actions: Amy tries to understand why Charles has been banished but is still curious. She describes him as being from 'another planet' because he is treated as if he is. Amy also has a dream where Uncles Charles is able to come past  the fence and she can go to him. 

    What does our character learn? 
    Amy learns that the world is imperfect because Charles has been banished for one single thing. There is hope for Uncle Charles because Amy is the next generation and she can try and change things.]]>     2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922399     Themes: Sexuality sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922400 Sexuality is not a disease or a sickness, society changes, so does religion. Religion is not a reason for anyone to discriminate someone because of there sexuality.


     
    ]]>     2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922400     2. Closer Questions sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922401 See attached for key question regarding to the text. ]]> 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922401 1. Close Reading: Closer w Annotations sbryl https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922402 2021-03-08 23:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1284922402 Themes: Religion grste20 https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1296194368 Amy develops her own vision on aspects of religion. The author's message may relate to how people can take information differently, like how the Morpeth grandparents see Charles' life and situation as living in "Sodom", about to burn to the ground, and on the other hand, when Amy saw Charles she viewed him as an angel. (B.J)

    An alternative message could be one of encouragement to question religious bias's and prejudices, especially in relation to the heteronormative beliefs of most religions. (G.S)]]>     2021-03-11 03:33:19 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1296194368     Themes: Belonging/Forgivness grste20 https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1296194718 It's never too late to change your beliefs from what others think is right to what you think is right. To be able to cut through 'limited binary thinking' and view the world with a more open mindset. - (RB)

    ]]>     2021-03-11 03:33:29 UTC https://padlet.com/sbryl/ENGAAcloser/wish/1296194718