Group 1

Reporter

Di Giusto Elena

Members

Cantoni Giulia

Santellani Silvia

Objective

The objective of our workshop was to share reflection on the language used in the extract from Son and Moon

At first we did not all agree on the same ideas but along the process we reconsidered our position and in the end the ideas that we all share are the ones below.

a) Let’s examine the children’s names

1) Do you think Sun and Moon are their real names or nicknames?

We think Sun and Moon are their real names, because the author’s aim could be to reflect on the traditional associations of Sun and Moon as symbols to represent the two children’s personality

2) The word son (a male child) is pronounced in the same way as sun. Does this provide an explanation as to the choice of the boy’s name?

Yes, it does; because if we considered the similarity between the two words we can come to the idea that the novelist probably wanted to provide a further opportunity for reflection about the idea that the word sun is more suitable for a male

3)Think of what the two words, sun and moon, refer to in the world of nature. Can you also find an explanation for the choice of the girl’s name

Considered that Sun is the male name and it represents rationality, its opposite - the female- should be represented by Moon who is the symbol for creativity.

b)Below are listed the main features of the language used to describe the scene. Give at least one example for each.

1) Objects are described as if they had a life of their own

… “the flowers come”…

2) Sentences are mostly short and simple

… “Moon thought they were hats”…

… “Look”…

3) Objects are described with unusual images

… “Two silver lions with wings had fruit on their backs and the salt-cellars were tiny birds drinking out of basins”…

4) Adults’ actions and behavior are described as thought they were incomprehensible

… “When Sun looked in a white-faced man sat at the piano - not playing but banging at it and then looking inside”…

TIME

We were able to keep to time.

OUTCOMES

I the end of our workshop the group agreed on the idea that the use of the language made by the writer is suitable to convey the way children express themselves .

As a matter of fact they transform reality through language, resorting to imagination and their bewilderment in front of what they cannot understand. So that it can be said they reinvented the world surrounding them in a way that could make sense for them. This allows the reader to have a double prospective on the social party since he/she may not able to understand the different perspectives from which the event can be seen.