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The Shoe-Horn Sonata

by John Misto

Currency Press, Sydney, 1996 (reprinted 2000)

This unit was prepared by Pauline Byrne

Getting ready to face the examiner

Scoring well in the HSC examination is not a matter of luck. It’s more like playing in the finals of any sport. Training is crucial, and if you’ve done your training as thoroughly as you can, you can feel relaxed and confident.

Training has two main parts

Getting to know what you’ll have to do
Practising doing it.

This section looks at drama questions from the viewpoint of the HSC markers What do they hope to see in your answer and what will they reward with good marks?

1. You have to show them that you know this play thoroughly.

You do this by referring closely to what happens in the play, including actions, projected images and sound effects as well as the spoken dialogue.

How do you get ready to do this?

You have to find out what works for you. Some students make tapes of important speeches, and play them over and over again till they know them well. Others put important speeches on wall charts. You can make a chart of all the photographic images, linking them to what is revealed in the play at the point they’re shown. See more details in Activities and writing tasks. Play some of the songs over several times to get the emotional tone of them.

It is vital to make your own diagram of the action of the play, identifying the ‘spine’ of each scene: the crucial happening that propels the action forward, the major confrontation in each scene. As this play has only two main characters, Bridie and Sheila, the revelation of their earlier relationship and the development of their relationship during the timespan of the play are the main dramatic focus. For the modern audience, also, the play reveals to us the nature of war for captives.

2. You have to deal with a playscript as an example of the genre we call drama.

You have to make it clear to the marker that you recognise the particular characteristics of dramatic form.

Students who refer to The Shoe-Horn Sonata as a ‘novel’ are suggesting to the markers that they have not achieved one of the most vital Syllabus outcomes: to

“learn about the wayslanguage forms and features, and structures of texts shapemeaning and influence responses” (H4)

The task of the playwright is to manipulate the emotions of the audience and students have to be able to explain how the particular play they are studying does this. It has to be clear to the marker that you understand that this is a playscript, that it is a ‘recipe for performance’. In other words, a play is constructed to happen ideally on a stage in front of a receptive audience-it is not like a novel or poem designed to provide an imaginative experience that takes place primarily in the mind and emotions of a solitary responder. The composer of a play aims to influence the responses of a collective group.

How do you show the marker that you do recognise the genre of drama?

As you write about the play, make clear that you know it is NOT static. It moves through time, one thing happens after another, and may be the consequence of another. There are causal connections and links; as the play proceeds, feelings and past events are revealed and characters clash, change and develop. You need to write about these developments. It helps to visualise important scenes in your imagination as you write. Think about how these scenes would make the audience respond.

Be sure to know in detail, and to refer to, specific scenes. If you find it hard to recall the numbers (e.g. Act 1, Scene 8), give each scene a tag or nickname by which you remember it. A good answer is usually supported by reference to three or four important scenes.

[Do NOT stick to scenes from the first quarter of the play only unless you are explicitly asked to do so. A play moves forward towards a destination, and you want to show the examiner that you’re aware of this progression.]

3. You must answer the precise question given to you.

First, check whether you’ve been asked to give a critical response or a creative response. Then craft your answer in the appropriate form. A critical response is structured as an argument or debate and follows a case line. This is the type of response you would give to the question on the Board of Studies specimen HSC paper:

How does John Misto present Bridie and Sheila as much more than tragic victims of war?

An imaginative response requires you to create a situation, based on the text, or to write in a particular form, or to do both. For instance, you could be given this task:

Imagine you are a journalist preparing a feature article to be published in a weekend newspaper before Rick’s documentary program goes to air. Interview either Bridie or Sheila about her reactions to doing this program.

You will be expected to show accurate knowledge of the play, but also to write in the form of a newspaper feature article. It is important to stick closely to the facts of the character’s life and emotions as revealed in the play. You could where appropriate use direct quotations from the play’s dialogue.

Read the question very carefully and make certain you answer every part of it.

4. Your supporting references to the play need to be accurate.

You need to spell the names of characters and places correctly. You need to remember the order in which things happen, because this is how the playwright has built up suspense or added surprise. When you quote, get it right-when a marker sees hundreds of exam scripts, the student who seems to be making up the quotations and has no idea of accuracy looks very obvious. If you are not sure of the exact words used but you are sure of the meaning, use a paraphrase. (That means, you express the meaning in your own words in reported speech as in, ”She told him that...”)

To improve your knowledge and practise answering HSC questions, go to Activities and writing tasks.

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