Starter quiz
- If you were writing an essay on 'Leave Taking', you would start each paragraph with a topic sentence. What makes a good topic sentence?
- one that summarises each of the ideas that you will write about
- one that includes quotations from the text
- one that summarises the text you are writing about
- one that has one main idea, which will be the focus of your paragraph ✓
- one that analyses, at word level, a quotation
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- How does 'Leave Taking' end?
- with Mai reading Enid's palm
- with Viv getting her exam results
- with Brod telling Del about her father's abuse of her mother
- with Del deciding to visit the West Indies
- with Del reading Enid's palm ✓
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- In scene eight of 'Leave Taking', Enid comes to Mai's house for an obeah reading. Who does she find there?
- Mai, very ill.
- Del, an obeah woman. ✓
- Viv, rejecting university.
- Brod, drunk.
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- In scene five of 'Leave Taking', we find out Del has moved in with Mai. What inferences could we make about Del given this plot development?
- She feels some kind of connection with Mai. ✓
- The friends she spoke of in scene one are not reliable. ✓
- Enid asked Mai to look after Del.
- Del is determined to become an obeah woman.
- Del knows Mai is ill and needs her.
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- In scene seven of 'Leave Taking', what does Brod tell Del?
- where her father is
- that Viv is going to study Black Studies at university
- that Mai is ill
- that her father used to beat her mother ✓
- that he is going to return to Jamaica
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- In scene seven of 'Leave Taking', Brod accuses Del of thinking of her mother as what?
- a joker
- a victim
- ungrateful
- evil
- a monster ✓
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Exit quiz
- Match Del's scenes from 'Leave Taking' to their plot points.
- Scene One⇔reluctantly taken to an obeah reading ✓
- Scene Two⇔leaves home after Enid slaps her ✓
- Scene Five⇔moves in with Mai; increasing interest in obeah ✓
- Scene Six⇔continues living with Mai; believes her mother "hates" her ✓
- Scene Seven⇔finds out her father used to beat her mother ✓
- Scene Eight⇔becomes an obeah woman and reads Enid's palm ✓
- 'Leave Taking' ends with a set of stage directions. Who and what is the focus?
- The deep relationship between Viv and Mai.
- The more positive relationship between Enid and Del. ✓
- Enid's anger at her mother.
- Del's actions, establishing how much she has developed. ✓
- Enid's desire to help and support her daughter.
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- In scene eight of 'Leave Taking', the final stage directions see Del do an obeah reading for her mother. It says, "[Del] examines the palm for a moment then ______ into her mother's eyes."
- 'looks' ✓
- In scene eight of 'Leave Taking', Del struggles with the idea of doing a palm reading for Enid. Still, the stage directions read, "[Del] ______ Enid at the table" and Del begins the reading.
- 'joins' ✓
- In scene six of 'Leave Taking', Mai tells Del about her own son's unhappiness, saying "If instead a going round like a madman he could find some peace in himself, ______ inside himself".
- 'journey' ✓
- At the end of 'Leave Taking', Pinnock establishes that the characters of Enid and Del have what in common?
- complicated relationships with their mothers ✓
- experience of domestic abuse
- a desire to become an obeah woman
- complex relationships with their children
- complex relationships with identity ✓
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- At the start of the play, Del appears uninterested in obeah and her cultural roots.
- At the start of the play, Del’s relationship with Enid is full of conflict.
- Del develops over the course of the play.
- Pinnock links Del’s development to Mai, obeah and Del’s new found understanding of her mother.
- The closing stage directions establish the depth of Del’s development.
Common misconception
You can't analyse stage directions in depth.
The closing stage directions of 'Leave Taking' are integral in understanding Pinnock's final messages about the characters and themes.
Keywords
Obeah - A series of spell-casting and healing traditions found in the Caribbean.
Development - The process by which something may change over time, including people understanding and accepting who they are.
Identity - Who you are; the qualities that make you. Understanding, finding and accepting your identity can be a life’s work.
Topic sentence - The first sentence of a paragraph. It states the paragraph’s main idea.
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