Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Grade 12 Place Writing by Sat Mandir Singh
The Grade 12 English class was given an assignment to write about place, appealing to the five senses. It could be a simple description, or a description as part of a story. Here is one of the results from Sat Mandir Singh:
The girl awoke to the blinding light and blazing heat of the mid-day desert sun. As she sat up, she felt the uncomfortable tickling sensation of sweat streaming down her bare back. She shielded her eyes and scanned the horizon. Enormous mounds of yellow stretched off into the distance. A light breeze bristled against her cheek. She sat there and let the breathtaking magnitude of the sea of sand sink in. She was a rag doll in the overpowering realm of Mother Nature.
The girl had no idea how long she had slept, but she knew she had to get moving if she wanted to live. She stumbled forward, climbing and descending dune after dune. Every dune looked just like the last and she soon lost count. The sun was her only guide through the maze of sand. She realized the irony in the fact that the spherical inferno hanging over her was the only means of escape, yet it was the very thing she was trying to escape from.
After what seemed like days she paused to catch her breath. As she stood there, panting, she felt the liquid being sucked from her chapped skin. Her cracked lips burned as she licked them with a dry tongue. She had to keep moving.
She trudged on. Up. Down. Up. Down. The waves were neverending. She was a machine. Her legs became disconnnected from her mind. She tried to stop but could not. Suddenly, she realized that she had stopped sweating. Her body's water reserves had dried up. She had little time.
Rounding the top of the next mountain, she stared down into the valley. Her jaw dropped, heart fluttering. Nestled in the valley, in the heart of this barren hell, was a lush oasis.
She sprinted down the slope towards an oversized palm. A dozen ripe coconuts hung below a ceiling of branches. She doubled her speed. She was less than fifty paces away! She blinked as sand was kicked up into her eyes. When she opened them the tree was gone. Everything was gone. There was nothing but sand. She cried out with disbelief and her legs gave way. Her head slammed into the firmly packed sand. Darkness.
The Grade 12 English class was given an assignment to write about place, appealing to the five senses. It could be a simple description, or a description as part of a story. Here is one of the results from Sat Mandir Singh:
The girl awoke to the blinding light and blazing heat of the mid-day desert sun. As she sat up, she felt the uncomfortable tickling sensation of sweat streaming down her bare back. She shielded her eyes and scanned the horizon. Enormous mounds of yellow stretched off into the distance. A light breeze bristled against her cheek. She sat there and let the breathtaking magnitude of the sea of sand sink in. She was a rag doll in the overpowering realm of Mother Nature.
The girl had no idea how long she had slept, but she knew she had to get moving if she wanted to live. She stumbled forward, climbing and descending dune after dune. Every dune looked just like the last and she soon lost count. The sun was her only guide through the maze of sand. She realized the irony in the fact that the spherical inferno hanging over her was the only means of escape, yet it was the very thing she was trying to escape from.
After what seemed like days she paused to catch her breath. As she stood there, panting, she felt the liquid being sucked from her chapped skin. Her cracked lips burned as she licked them with a dry tongue. She had to keep moving.
She trudged on. Up. Down. Up. Down. The waves were neverending. She was a machine. Her legs became disconnnected from her mind. She tried to stop but could not. Suddenly, she realized that she had stopped sweating. Her body's water reserves had dried up. She had little time.
Rounding the top of the next mountain, she stared down into the valley. Her jaw dropped, heart fluttering. Nestled in the valley, in the heart of this barren hell, was a lush oasis.
She sprinted down the slope towards an oversized palm. A dozen ripe coconuts hung below a ceiling of branches. She doubled her speed. She was less than fifty paces away! She blinked as sand was kicked up into her eyes. When she opened them the tree was gone. Everything was gone. There was nothing but sand. She cried out with disbelief and her legs gave way. Her head slammed into the firmly packed sand. Darkness.
# posted by MPA Student Work @ 3:33 AM 
