Key Stage 2 Literacy exercise based on a passage from S.I. Martin's Jupiter Williams (2007), pp. 16-18.
Read this passage and answer the questions that follow:
Unwin marched back to his desk and extracted the cane. ‘I will thrash each of you in turn until the thief and liar presents himself. You have one final chance.’
Silence reigned. ‘Very well. Robert Williams, step forward!’ He cut air twice with the cane. ‘From laughter to tears is but a short journey. Bend over boy.’
‘You will not touch him!’ The voice that boomed from my body surprised me. It was my father’s voice. ‘You will not touch him, Mr Unwin. Robert, remain at your desk!’
I strode across to stand before the teacher. I dwarfed him. ‘I stole the fish. If anyone will be punished, it will be me. Thrash on, Mr Unwin.’
Have you ever had a play fight with a younger brother or sister? I mean a brother or sister almost half your age and size? Well, you know there always comes a time when you allow them to land a punch just so they can keep their dignity, even if they started it in the first place? Well, being thrashed by Mr Unwin was like that. Blow after blow of the cane fell into empty space as I stepped aside and dipped away. Unable to hot any part of my body directly, he went wild and charged at me using the cane like a sword. So I stood still to allow him his dignity-strike. The tip of the cane jabbed my shoulder just above my armpit. Frankly, I’ve felt more pain from picking my nostrils.
The whole class laughed. I tried not to join them. Unwin was now face-to-face with me, shrieking like a lunatic and working the cane against me from side to side like a machete on an unyielding stalk. I collapsed with laughter. I rolled about the floor, my face now so wet with tears that it was a while before I realized he was trying to kick me. Have you ever been kicked by a dog? That was how it felt to be kicked by Mr Unwin. The drunkard was so unaccustomed to moving his leg joints through any arcs that he had to push his rigid leg from his waist and lower back. I can only imagine it looked odder than it felt because by now all my classmates were standing on their desks or running around the room, or like me, rolling about on the floor laughing like hyenas.
Then he caught me hard in the face with the cane. Twice. In a single rage-powered movement I was on my feet in the boxing stance my father taught me and my left fist was in his belly, closely followed by my right into the bridge of his nose. He crumpled. I stood over him, willing him to stand again so I could pummel him anew. Only the presence of the Caulkers holding me back stopped me from murdering him that morning.
Unable to either stand or catch his breath, the teacher crawled from the room on all fours. As he reached the door he turned and rasped at me, ‘I’ll break you, break you and bring you down to the slave and son of slaves that you are, Jupiter Williams!’ He tuned to the class. ‘I’ll break you all!’
My fellow pupils cheered me and slapped me on the back. I was their champion.
I straightened my clothes.
I closed the classroom window.
Questions
1) What crime does Mr Unwin want to punish Robert Williams for?
2) What do you think is the relationship between Robert Williams and the narrator?
3) What is the name of the literary device used in the phrase: ‘like a machete on an unyielding stalk’? Which crops do you harvest with a machete? Why do you think the author chose to use this comparison?
4) When the children are described as ‘laughing like hyenas’, what impression does this give you of the scene in the classroom?
5) Why has the author has ended this chapter with three short sentences?
6) When the teacher, Mr Unwin, entered the room, he 'marched' but as he left he 'crawled'. How are these powerful verbs used here to better help us understand the scene?
Jupiter Williams (2007) by S. I. Martin is published by Hachette in Paperback, £5.99. This exercise was written by Augusta Kaufmann, Head of History and Lead Teacher for Years 5 & 6 at a large state primary school. Read my interview with her about Black British History in schools on my blog- where, you can also comment on these questions, or add your own!
Unwin marched back to his desk and extracted the cane. ‘I will thrash each of you in turn until the thief and liar presents himself. You have one final chance.’
Silence reigned. ‘Very well. Robert Williams, step forward!’ He cut air twice with the cane. ‘From laughter to tears is but a short journey. Bend over boy.’
‘You will not touch him!’ The voice that boomed from my body surprised me. It was my father’s voice. ‘You will not touch him, Mr Unwin. Robert, remain at your desk!’
I strode across to stand before the teacher. I dwarfed him. ‘I stole the fish. If anyone will be punished, it will be me. Thrash on, Mr Unwin.’
Have you ever had a play fight with a younger brother or sister? I mean a brother or sister almost half your age and size? Well, you know there always comes a time when you allow them to land a punch just so they can keep their dignity, even if they started it in the first place? Well, being thrashed by Mr Unwin was like that. Blow after blow of the cane fell into empty space as I stepped aside and dipped away. Unable to hot any part of my body directly, he went wild and charged at me using the cane like a sword. So I stood still to allow him his dignity-strike. The tip of the cane jabbed my shoulder just above my armpit. Frankly, I’ve felt more pain from picking my nostrils.
The whole class laughed. I tried not to join them. Unwin was now face-to-face with me, shrieking like a lunatic and working the cane against me from side to side like a machete on an unyielding stalk. I collapsed with laughter. I rolled about the floor, my face now so wet with tears that it was a while before I realized he was trying to kick me. Have you ever been kicked by a dog? That was how it felt to be kicked by Mr Unwin. The drunkard was so unaccustomed to moving his leg joints through any arcs that he had to push his rigid leg from his waist and lower back. I can only imagine it looked odder than it felt because by now all my classmates were standing on their desks or running around the room, or like me, rolling about on the floor laughing like hyenas.
Then he caught me hard in the face with the cane. Twice. In a single rage-powered movement I was on my feet in the boxing stance my father taught me and my left fist was in his belly, closely followed by my right into the bridge of his nose. He crumpled. I stood over him, willing him to stand again so I could pummel him anew. Only the presence of the Caulkers holding me back stopped me from murdering him that morning.
Unable to either stand or catch his breath, the teacher crawled from the room on all fours. As he reached the door he turned and rasped at me, ‘I’ll break you, break you and bring you down to the slave and son of slaves that you are, Jupiter Williams!’ He tuned to the class. ‘I’ll break you all!’
My fellow pupils cheered me and slapped me on the back. I was their champion.
I straightened my clothes.
I closed the classroom window.
Questions
1) What crime does Mr Unwin want to punish Robert Williams for?
2) What do you think is the relationship between Robert Williams and the narrator?
3) What is the name of the literary device used in the phrase: ‘like a machete on an unyielding stalk’? Which crops do you harvest with a machete? Why do you think the author chose to use this comparison?
4) When the children are described as ‘laughing like hyenas’, what impression does this give you of the scene in the classroom?
5) Why has the author has ended this chapter with three short sentences?
6) When the teacher, Mr Unwin, entered the room, he 'marched' but as he left he 'crawled'. How are these powerful verbs used here to better help us understand the scene?
Jupiter Williams (2007) by S. I. Martin is published by Hachette in Paperback, £5.99. This exercise was written by Augusta Kaufmann, Head of History and Lead Teacher for Years 5 & 6 at a large state primary school. Read my interview with her about Black British History in schools on my blog- where, you can also comment on these questions, or add your own!
