ESSAY QUESTION

1. Describe at least one important technique used in the written text. Explain how the technique created an emotional response in you.

Crump uses narrative point of view and colloquial language to portray Ricky’s authentic New Zealand voice and how his life was affected once he was in the bush in a final escape from the social welfare system. During the story, Ricky uses idiomatic language and colloquialism to show us how the social welfare system has failed him as he gets shifted from house to house, town to town not getting to make any decision for what happens to him. this gives the reader sympathy for Ricky as he ends up at his distant Aunty Bella and Uncle Hec’s farm in the country.

Crump uses Narrative point of view to show us how Ricky takes us on his Journey, this helps us see what his situation is and how he feels like he is at home when he is in the bush and how the city is not the place for a “fat Maori kid” like him. As Ricky grows up he realizes that the city life is not for him and we get a very strong perspective of this because his opinion is very clear cut and he isn’t afraid to say that the system isn’t working for him. “they shifted me around from class to class trying to work out where a fat Maori boy who couldn’t play rugby or learn simple stuff fitted in”.  This shows that Ricky is different from other kids and he is not stupid, he just knows when to try and when not to. Also, he finds that learning things that he enjoys is lots easier than learning things that shoved down his throat. The bush also helps Ricky understand how the city life really works and he discovers how he is going to fit into that life when he and Hec realize that they can’t just live in the bush forever.

Colloquial language is one of the main technique that Crump uses to show how Ricky comes to an informal social and uses words that are used by everyday New Zealanders and reflects our voice. Ricky and Hec aren’t overly educated, Hec can’t even read and Ricky has spent more time out of class than in at school so it’s no surprise that they speak with an informal rural New Zealand slang. some examples of Colloquial language that Ricky and Hec use as they tell their story are; “hey mate”, “the bush”,”flatten me” and “billy” these are all words that the typical New Zealander would understand but someone more foreign might not quite get what they are talking about. This gives us an emotional response to the story because we can feel closer and or like we have something in common with Ricky which makes us feel more involved and interested in Ricky’s story.

Idiomatic language is used as the typical New Zealander uses very informal and idiomatic language when they talk. Ricky uses these types of phrases in during the story to communicate the local and or cultural meaning behind what he says while he is in the bush. It helps show what sort of New Zealand voice he attains. An example of this is “they didn’t think we were game to stick around where we were caught” this part of the quote shows some typical New Zealand Idiomatic language. To “stick around” means to stay somewhere, however, the dictionary definition for to stick is “to become fixed to something, especially by means of a sticky substance,”. This creates an emotional response because of lots of New Zealander who speak like this can relate to Ricky and know what he means when he says things like this and we can feel an emotional connection.

Crump uses narrative point of view and colloquial language to portray Ricky’s authentic New Zealand voice and how his life was affected once he was in the bush in a final escape from the social welfare system. He uses Narrative point of view, colloquial language and idioms to help convey this New Zealand voice. Uncle Hec and Ricky lived and learned from the bush and we can learn from them.