Worksheet
on HA'PENNY by Alan Paton
1-What do the
following recurring verbal forms reveal about the narrator?
"This
would have been a good thing" (p48/l5)
"I
should have liked to be the Principal of it myself" (p48/l8)
"And
if it had come at home, it would have been different" (p53/l21)
2- How is the short story structured? Give a
title to each part.
From
page 48, line 1 down to page 50, line 7:
From
page 50, line 8 down to page 52, line 19:
From
page 52, line 20 down to the end:
3- Compare and oppose the following verbal
forms:
"sometimes
I would surprise them at it" (p49/l6)
"But
often, I would move through the silent and orderly parade" (p49/l13)
"It
wouldn't have come" (p53/l20)
"She
talked to hi about what they would do when he came back" (p53/l7)
4- A principal's job. What does his role consist
in? (It consists in + Ving)
Give
examples using your own words.
5- Contrast the Principal's and the surrogate mother's attitudes.
6- Would you say the 3 main protagonists of this short story are 'static characters'
or 'dynamic characters'?
Cross
out what's wrong
1/ The action takes place in South America / South
Africa / Southampton
2/ Most scenes are set at a reformatory / an
infirmary / a military camp
3/ The main narrator is an officer / a principal /
a bus-driver
4/ Ha'penny is a young soldier / a young boy / the
name of the place
5/ The main protagonist is fatherless / homeless /
useless
6/ He has relatives / he has no relatives / he has
no relations with anyone
7/ He misbehaves all the time / he is not the usual delinquent / he is
not very clever
8/ He was sent here for pilfering / because he stole letters / to become
an officer
9/ His real mother is called Betty Maarman / is
unknown / is a proud and arrogant woman
10/ Mrs Maarman
is a Social Welfare Officer / works in a white person's house / is a writer
11/ She never wrote because she is illiterate / she
refuses to reply / she was not the boy's mother
12/ The boy dies of AIDS / of tuberculosis / in an
accident
13/ In the end, the narrator feels remorseful
/ homely / frightened
14/ The short-story is a science-fiction story / a historical story / a
fictional story
15/ It is quite moving / full of mystery / based on suspense
16/ The reader is made to pity the eponymous character / to feel
completely detached / to identify with him
17/ A lot of Afrikaans / African / English words are used throughout the
story
18/ The story is basically about a man's humanitarian feelings / egoism
/ strict obedience to his duty
19/ The overall tone of the story is sadness / nostalgia / joy
20/ The message of the story is one of hope / of despair / of regret
Vocabulary
from the short-story
a
reformatory (48-1) = une maison de redressement/de correction
their
offences were trivial (48-6) = leurs délits étaient mineurs
on
parade (49-3) = défilé, revue, parade
a
sign of recognition (49-6) = un signe de reconnaissance
a
frown of ...(49-16) = un froncement de sourcils
awareness
(49-16
= conscience
a
relief (49-23) = un soulagement (to relieve)
danger
of estrangement (49-25 ) = risque de brouille, éloignement, désunion
on
duty
(49-28) = en service (duty = le devoir)
a
waif (50-19) = un enfant abandonné
he
had taken to pilfering (50-22) = il s'était mis à chaparder
concealed
apprehension = crainte/inquiétude/appréhension dissimulée
he
was ashamed of (51-8) = il avait honte de
a
derelict of the streets (51-19) = une épave
his
record was blameless (51-29) = son dossier était irréprochable, exempt de
blâme
why
did you steal? (52-5) = Pourquoi as-tu volé? (To steal, stole, have stolen)
the
deception was revealed (52-10) = sa tromperie/duperie était mise à jour
his
pride (52-19) = sa fierté (proud of =
fier de)
a
homely woman (52-33) = tout à fait simple, sans prétentions
without
fuss or embarrassment (52-34) = sans faire de manières ou montrer une
quelconque gêne
with
the resolve to (52-25) = avec la résolution de