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    Andrea Levy Bac Revision

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    Nadeen Macia
    This passage is from the novel Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy. It describes an unusual Sunday dinner at the home of the narrator Faith and her family in London in the 1970s. Faith notices boxes packed in the living room, which is strange as nothing is ever out of place there. When she asks about the boxes, her father Wade hesitantly tells her that he and her mother are thinking of moving back to Jamaica to live, which shocks Faith.

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    Andrea Levy Bac Revision

    Uploaded by

    Nadeen Macia
    8 views3 pages
    This passage is from the novel Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy. It describes an unusual Sunday dinner at the home of the narrator Faith and her family in London in the 1970s. Faith notices boxes packed in the living room, which is strange as nothing is ever out of place there. When she asks about the boxes, her father Wade hesitantly tells her that he and her mother are thinking of moving back to Jamaica to live, which shocks Faith.

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    Andrea Levy bac revision

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    This passage is from the novel Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy. It describes an unusual Sunday dinner at the home of the narrator Faith and her family in London in the 1970s. Faith notices boxes packed in the living room, which is strange as nothing is ever out of place there. When she asks about the boxes, her father Wade hesitantly tells her that he and her mother are thinking of moving back to Jamaica to live, which shocks Faith.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    8 views3 pages

    Andrea Levy Bac Revision

    Uploaded by

    Nadeen Macia
    This passage is from the novel Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy. It describes an unusual Sunday dinner at the home of the narrator Faith and her family in London in the 1970s. Faith notices boxes packed in the living room, which is strange as nothing is ever out of place there. When she asks about the boxes, her father Wade hesitantly tells her that he and her mother are thinking of moving back to Jamaica to live, which shocks Faith.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    Andrea Levy

    I knew something was odd at home when, after we had eaten our dinner, my dad
    followed my mum, Carl and me into the living room to sit down. This usually did not
    happen. Dinner was just an interruption from my dad's jobs around the house. On
    Sundays after church Dad was always fixing, painting, adjusting or mending. He was
    always, "in the middle of a job", that required his full, silent concentration and a monkey
    wrench(1). If I ever asked him what he was doing he'd say, "Fixing something, so don't
    come bothering me now."[...]

    But this was not the only strange thing. It used to be strange for us to go into the living
    room at all. It was always kept for best with Mum's carefully embroidered runners on the
    sideboard and school photographs of Carl and me smiling and showing our teeth in
    various stages of hideous development. [...] Now we were adults, however, we could go
    in the room any time we pleased, our parents convinced that we would no longer damage
    one of the glass ornaments or spill out tea on the furry fireside rug. But as I walked into
    the room I saw six, maybe seven of my mum and dad's boxes piled up in a corner. My
    eye was drawn to them because they were out of place and nothing was ever out of place
    in that room. The boxes were also full, sealed across the top, bottom and sides with wide
    brown tape."What are these doing here ?" I asked, going over to them. I turned round and
    watched as Dad looked at Mum, Mum looked at Carl, Carl looked at Dad and then back
    at Mum. But nobody looked at me."What's going on ?" I looked at them all one by one.
    Then another strange thing happened : my dad spoke first."Sit down, Faith" he said. He
    began to finger the knuckles on his hand, feeling each one in turn. He used to do this
    when it was time to discuss the "could do better" bits in my school report. I began to get
    scared."No, I won't sit down." I wasn't sure why I said that but I felt like someone in a
    film who was about to be told something that would make them scream and pull at their
    hair. Unfortunately everyone else sat down and I had to stay standing. Nobody spoke so I
    placed my hands on my hips.Dad started, "Your mum and me", then faltered. He began
    again, "Me and your mum", and stopped. He went back to, "Your mum and me." I looked
    at my mum who was looking at her knees and pulling imaginary hairs off her skirt, while
    Dad continued to stutter his various permutations. He was onto, "We", when I said,
    "What ?" [...]."Come, Wade", Mum said, looking impatiently at my dad who had still not
    completed a sentence."Your mum and me are thinking of going back home", Dad said
    finally.I thought of our old council flat where Carl and me had grown up. Although we
    had lived in Crouch End for years, it was the crumbling flat in Stoke Newington that I
    thought of as home. The blue door with the silver number twenty-three and a knocker that
    could be heard anywhere in the flat. With the drain-pipe in the bathroom, where
    bathwater from the flats above could be heard rushing through. My bedroom with its
    council-pink walls and tiny bed where I put my discarded teeth under the pillow and the
    tooth fairy would replace them with a sixpence.I thought in that moment that my parents
    had somehow lost all their money. That Mum was having to leave her job as a disctrict
    nurse ; the old folk cured, the disctrict cutting back. That Dad's business - which he had
    built up so carefully with sixteen-hour days, including Saturdays and Sundays, and
    evenings spent writing invoices in his best handwriting in a little blue book - had after all
    gone bust. I thought they were having to move out of the house. The house in a proper
    street that they were so proud of they sent pictures of it to relatives with invitations to
    come and stay."You going back to the flat ?" I asked.Carl sniggered and I knew I was
    wrong."No, Faith," Mum said. "We're thinking of going home to Jamaica"And my
    reaction was, "For a holiday. Fantastic ! How long for ?""Not for a holiday, Faith," Dad
    said hesitantly. "Your mum and me are thinking..." He held up his hand, "Only thinking,
    mind, of going back there to live. To get a little place and live."

    (1) Monkey wrench : clef anglaise

    Andrea Levy, Fruit of the Lemon, 2000.

    1. a) What sort of narrative is it ?b) Give the narrator's name.

    2. Who are the other characters ? Give their names and occupations when possible.
    Say how they are related to the narrator.

    3. Pick out three elements showing that the narrator is no longer a child.

    4. a) What makes it an unusual day ? Pick out three different details.b) In yours
    own words, contrast that particular day with the family routine. (30/40 words)

    Read the text again from "What are these..." to "...completed a sentence."

    5. a) Pick out three elements describing the father's attitude.b) In your own words,
    analyse his attitude.c) To what extent can this analysis be applied to the mother ?
    Justify your answer with one quotation.

    6. Focus on the narrator.a) Select words from the list below to characterise the
    narrator's attitude and feelings : absent-minded - carefree - excluded - frightened -
    puzzled - relaxed - theatrical - trustful.Illustrate your choice by quoting from the
    text.
    Words selected Quotations

    b) "No, I won't sit down...". Comment on this answer.

    Read from "Your mum and me..." to the end.

    7.a) What do the parents want to tell the narrator ?b) What does the word "home"
    mean for the narrator ? c) What does the narrator imagine has happened to her
    parents ? Use your own words (40 words).d) Is she right ? Justify your answer with
    a quote.

    8. Why doesn't "home" correspond to the same place for the narrator and her
    parents ? (40 words).

    9. Taking into account the different places mentioned, retrace the family's history.
    What can you deduce about the evolution of their standard of living ? (60 words).

    Translate from "I knew something was odd [...]" to "[...] don't come bothering me
    now".

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