in literature, a character who contrasts with another character

the first sentence of a paragraph which states its main idea

when writers use something to represent intangible ideas; the fly in 'The Fly' is an example of a symbol

the tools a writer uses to create their work; character foils and use of symbolism are both examples of methods

in English, to look closely at a text and comment on how it was written and why

Exploring the presentation of the boss in 'The Fly' by Katherine Mansfield

English

In 'A World at War: Short Stories', pupils explore the reasons for writing war literature and how it seeks to convey the suffering of soldiers and civilians, in times of conflict. In 'Power and Conflict Poetry', students explore the many types of conflict that arise through war, with themes including patriotism, propaganda, fear, guilt and duty.

In 'The Tempest', pupils are encouraged to write from the viewpoint of Caliban and Ariel, adopting character voices in creative writing. In 'A World at War', pupils emulate the writing styles of the authors that they encounter, to create an authentic voice in their writing. 

In this unit, pupils explore and compare texts written about the First World War. They first read Beck's 'Propping up the line', Mansfield's 'The Fly' and Wilfred Owen's 1917 letter home to his mum. They finally read Brittain's 'Testament of Youth', and then plan and write a comparative response.

Literary perspectives from the First World War

Historic or outdated representations of people that may portray inequality or injustice.

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Subjects which particular individuals may be sensitive to, eg, adoption, migration, bereavement or death, divorce, poverty, deprivation.

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Depiction of war, threats of war, death or the aftermath of war.

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

They should include multiple quotations from across the text.

When analysing Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’, you will write in main body paragraphs. What is true of main body paragraphs?

Some quotations require more analysis than others.

You can embed some quotations without analysing them.

Analyse quotations that include methods in the same amount of depth.

All quotations require two sentences of analysis.

A pupil said, “When analysing quotes from Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’, you should analyse each in the same amount of depth.” How would you correct them?

Mansfield uses a range of methods to present the boss.

Mansfield uses the boss as a symbol in ‘The Fly’.

Mansfield presents Mr. Woodifield as a foil to the fly.

Mansfield presents the boss as “strong”.

Mansfield presents the boss as a man full of confused feelings of grief.

A pupil wrote a topic sentence about the boss in Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’. Which is the strongest topic sentence?

In Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’, Mansfield describes the boss as feeling his life is in “{{ }}” after the death of his son.

In Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’, once Mr. Woodifield has left, the boss “wanted, he intended, he had arranged to {{ }}”.

In Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’, at the start of the story, the boss is described as being “{{ }} of his room”.

the first sentence of a paragraph stating its main idea

commenting on why or how a writer wrote something

the tools a writer uses to create their work

When analysing Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’, knowledge of these words will help you form powerful paragraphs. Match the words and phrases to their definitions.

Mr. Woodifield admires the boss’s office. 

The boss shows off, and brings out some whiskey.

Mr. Woodifield says that their sons’ graves are near each other.

Mr. Woodifield continues talking about the trip to Belgium.

The boss stops listening to Mr. Woodifield.

Mr. Woodifield leaves, unaware of the boss’s intense emotions.

Starting with the first, order these plot points all taken from the first section of Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’ chronologically.

a word which describes an action, a doing or being word

a method of comparison using 'like' or 'as'

using the same word or phrase more than once for effect

the order of the parts of a sentence, as well as its length and type

when a character contrasts with another character

When writing analytical paragraphs about Katherine Mansfield's 'The Fly', you should explore Mansfield's methods. Match each method to its definition.

{{ }} is when when writers use something to represent intangible ideas.

In Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’, the boss is described as “stout, rosy, five years older than he [Mr, Woodifield] and still going {{ }}”.

In Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’, Mr. Woodifield is described as a “{{ }} old figure”.

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Adult supervision required

Starter Quiz