Answers to 'Ana'
Beryl Clarke, Contributor

Hello! Has the term been progressing as you hoped it would? I hope so. Just remember that you can rise successfully above any circumstance you face with God's help and the determination to make it through hard work.

Perhaps you have been wondering how much longer you will have to wait for the remaining answers on 'Ana'. I will give them to you now instead of beginning the novel, as I had promised.

• Ana's antics (behaviour, clowning around, tricks) were not those expected of a little lady. They were rough, savage and tomboyish. She dug her nails into her father's flesh, jumped on him with dirty feet, did somersaults on his stomach and scratched him.
• Ana's father had (a) hoped for an obedient and docile daughter who played with flowers in the garden but (b) instead, he was the father of a very active, frisky and spirited child.
• The father blames himself for his daughter's conduct because he allows her to do as she wishes, even when he is hurt and surprised by what she does. It appears that he does not scold her. She does not know that he disapproves of her actions and, in fact, thinks that he enjoys them as she does.

Speaker's wish

Stanza one of the poem reveals the speaker's wish concerning his daughter. A scene, a mental picture, is drawn by him. In this picture, we have a young baby, one who cannot even crawl or, as we say, creep, as yet. Ana has to be moved from place to place and has to stay wherever she is put. Her movements would probably only include the gentle wriggling of fingers and toes and maybe faint arm and leg motions.

There is, therefore, no warning for her father of the bundle of energy that she will later become. This is why he has the image in his mind of her quietly playing with flowers. Of course, it is not surprising that he has her dressed in pink, as this colour is associated with females, particularly babies.

I wonder why line 10: It was a calm and quiet mental scene stands alone? Have you thought about it? By putting this line by itself, our attention is caught. It is thrown into prominence and, therefore, assumes some significance. It certainly forms a bridge between the contrasting stanza one and three. As you think about this, please do not lose sight of the fact that stanza one is called a 'mental scene'.

The speaker makes it obvious with the opening word, 'instead', that the picture to be drawn in this verse will be different from that in the first. This word initiates the contrast between Ana, the very young baby, and Ana, the toddler or infant. Now she can walk, run, jump and climb. She no longer has to depend on others to move her about, as she is capable of swift and even aggressive movement - 'lunging'.

Ana is playful

We must realise that Ana is playful and that she has a mind of her own. It is not that she is vicious! Here is where it emerges that her father is not happy with her lunges, scratches and leaps, but does not reprimand her. He makes her actions seem like a game to her, despite being uneasy about them.

He is resigned to her being different from the person he once envisaged her to be, as we see in the third verse. He has learnt to accept her as she is. She is, after all, his child, a part of him and he believes that whatever she does has to be allowed. We had dealt with the last stanza prior to this, but let me remind you that the father still dreams.

Glossary

For weeks now, we have not expanded our glossary of literary terms. Today we will do some work on this area.

Dialogue: A conversation between two or more characters.

Diction: The words the author chooses to use in his or her work.

Drama: Literature written to be performed.

End-stopped line: A line of poetry that has a full stop or a semi-colon to create a pause.

Figures of speech: Expressions that achieve effects above ordinary language, for example, metaphor, personification and simile.

In our next lesson, we will, indeed, begin to work on The Chrysalids. Have a good week and God bless!

Sandra Thompson (right), acting general manager of the St Catherine Co-operative Credit Union, presents the winners' trophy to members of Tacius Golding High School team for winning the annual St Catherine schools' debating competition. The trophy was presented to the Sherwin Newell (left), Rochelle Jones and Fernando McKenzie shortly after they defeated Dinthill Technical High School in the finals. -Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

Beryl Clarke teaches at Glenmuir High School.