Lesson02 - Champagne Flight

Nedenfor finder i et uddrag af en kursist-besvarelse.
Meningen er at den skal kunne hjælpe jer med jeres arbejde til mdtl. eksamen, hvis I nu skulle være så heldige at trække en tekst med det pågældende tema.

1.    Where does the story take place?

-       The story takes place on board an airplane on its way to Washington via Chicago.

2.    How old is the narrator?

-       The narrator is sixteen years old. She tells us in the first line of the text.

3.    Why is she going to fly to Washington on her own?

-       Her mom and dad have already moved there, because of her father’s job, but the narrator had to finish her school terms before she could move along.

4.    How does she feel when she starts off on her first flight?

-       She feels real grown-up. Mostly because of her grey suit and the way she had put her hair, but also because she is taking her first flight, alone.

5.    Why does she order red wine instead of a soft drink, and how does she feel about it?

-       She isn’t ready to lose the feeling of being grown-up, as she would if she ordered a soft drink, and after ordering the wine she is just about to regret her choice, but ends up feeling pretty pleased by her decision and maybe even more grown-up.

6.    What does Serena Sinclair look like? What do you think of her name?

-       Serena Sinclair is a blond haired woman. According to the narrator, she looks old, maybe forty. I think it’s odd to change your name, I wouldn’t change mine. But if she really is in show business, it might help her with a more stylish name such as Serena Sinclair, which I think it is.

7.    Why do you think she contacts the narrator?

-       She might be having problems controlling her use of alcohol, and she might not like drinking alone, or maybe she just wants company because she feels lonely or hates to fly.

8.    What condition is Serena Sinclair in and how does she behave?

-       Serena Sinclair is in a good mood. She is very loud and offensive in her way of talking and asking. That might be because she’s been drinking.

9.    How does the narrator react to Serena Sinclair?

-       She gets nervous that Serena might find out she’s only 16. Therefore she forces herself to drink the champagne Serena ordered, and avoids to tell the truth about her reason to go to Washington.

10.  How does Serena Sinclair react when the narrator asks her about her profession?

-       She hardens the look on her face and answers flatly. But doesn’t give any details about what kind of job she has in show business.

11.  Why does the narrator say that she has a job in Washington?

-       If she tells the truth, Serena might find out she’s only 16, and then she will be treated like a child again.

12.  What is it that Serena Sinclair pops into her mouth?

-       It’s some kind of pill, maybe she has become addicted to a drug, and takes the pill to relax and feel better. Maybe Serena needs to takes these pills to make her “performance” on the stage better, or at least easier for her to complete.

13.  What is going on when the narrator wakes up?

-       The plain is about to land, and the narrator realizes that Serena is gone. There is some fuss about a person stuck at the toilet.

14.  What has happened to Serena Sinclair? Where is she taken to?

-       Serena has passed out on the plain, and is taken to a first aid room, at the airport, by two stewardesses. Probably because of the pill she took while she was drinking on the plane, at least that’s what the nurse at the airport thinks.

15.  “She was celebrating”, the narrator tells the nurse, what does that remark tell us about the narrator?

-       In some way the narrator want’s to protect Serena by speaking to her favor, now that Serena can’t do it herself. The narrator could have been more honest by saying: “she was drinking” or “she took some kind of pill”, but she doesn’t because she knows that would put Serena in a worse situation.

16.  Is it possible to guess what Serena Sinclair’s profession is earlier on in the story?

-       You could make a guess on her profession as a stripper, and that might be the most obvious guess, but technically her profession could be many other things in show business; singer, dancer or another kind of performer.

17.  Why do you think the narrator doesn’t tell her parents about the incident with Serena Sinclair? Explain her feelings at the end.

-       She feels sorry for Serena, and wonder what might have become of her. She doesn’t tell her parents about Serena, because she knows that they wouldn’t have liked her kind of person, and the fact that the narrator had so much interference with her.