Novel ORC

Pelangi 1

Practice 1

The novel, The Elephant Man, tells of the life of a badly deformed man, Joseph Merrick. For more than twenty years, due to the physical deformities, he spends most of his life as a sideshow. freak He is laughed at, teased and rejected until his fortune changes and he is rescued, housed and cared for by the surgeon, Dr Frederick Treves.

         The character I feel shows admirable character traits is Dr Frederick Treves from the London Hospital. He chanced upon Merrick's picture in a shop window and after seeing Merrick, he takes steps to be friend and care for Merrick. He informs the Chairman of the hospital about Merrick's situation which led to a fund being collected to enable Merrick to stay at the hospital. Dr Treves takes the trouble to visit Merrick daily and talks to him about books. He sees the intellectual side Of Merrick and does his best to help him. He introduces a lady friend to Merrick to fill the void in Merrick's life. He takes him to a theatre and helps him stay in the country. This helps Merrick experience the lighter side of life.

         Dr Treves cares for Merrick socially and professionally as a doctor. I feel encouraged as doctors are normally too professional when dealing with patients. Dr Treves has shown that doctors can be good friends, too.

Practice 2

The novel, The Elephant Man, tells of the life of a badly deformed man, Joseph Merrick, during the end of the 19th century. An important incident in the story is when Dr Treves sees a picture of Merrick as the Elephant Man in the window of a shop.

         Dr Treves gets to know about Merrick when he inquires about the man in the picture. For more than twenty years, due to the physical deformities, Merrick spends most of his life as a travelling sideshow freak. He is laughed at, teased and rejected until his fortune changes and he is rescued, housed and cared for by the surgeon, Dr Frederick Treves. In the hospital, Merrick has the chance to develop his intellectual skills, if not fully at least enough for him to feel like a man not a creature. He gets books to read and people to discuss the books with him. To fill the need for female friendship, a young lady introduces her friends to him and for the first time Merrick has friends. He gets lots of visitors too from all levels of society

         This incident also changes Dr Treves to a certain extent. He learns to be more caring and friendly. As he talks with Merrick, he learns to understand Merrick's need to reach out for friendship. His various friends also show that people can be kind and friendly when the need arises. .

         The incident may be unimpressive but it is significant as it makes a few characters more endearing than ever.

Practice 3

The novel, The Elephant Man, tells of the life of a badly deformed, man, Joseph Merrick. His deformities are so bad that he is called the Elephant Man. The novel portrays a few themes and one of the themes is human indignity.

         For more than twenty years, due to the physical deformities, he spends most of his life as .a travelling sideshow freak. He is given away, to. Silcock by his mother. The former uses Merrick as a means of earning an income but does not treat Merrick well. He calls Merrick 'the best Elephant.. Man in England' with hundreds of people coming to see him at two pence per time. Merrick is laughed at, teased and rejected and even screamed at out of fear. Sometimes, when people become terribly scared, he is put in prison by the police. This is definitely a case of human indignity as Merrick is abused and treated less than a human being due to his physical appearance, something that he cannot help as there is no medical cure.

Merrick's fortune changes and he is rescued, housed and cared for by the surgeon, Dr Frederick Treves. Dr Treves manages to restore human dignity to Merrick. He gets Merrick help and a home in the hospital. He helps him to develop his intellectual skills through reading and interacting with other people and society. Merrick gets to visit the theatre and the countryside. Although he does not develop fully and remains childlike, at least his human dignity is restored.

Practice 4

The novel, The Elephant Man, tells of the life of a badly deformed man, Joseph Merrick, during the late 19th century. For more than twenty years, due to the physical deformities, he spends most of his life as a travelling sideshow freak. He is laughed at, teased and rejected until his fortune changes and he is rescued, housed and cared for by the surgeon, Dr Frederick Treves.

         The novel portrays a few moral lessons and one of the lessons I have learned is that we should offer friendship under all circumstances. A situation that seems difficult or trying can be resolved through friendship. Dr Treves meets Merrick under some awkward circumstances. He gives Merrick his name card. This gesture of friendship, saves Merrick's life. The police bring Merrick to the hospital because of Dr Treves's name card when he returns to London after being abandoned by Silcock. Dr Treves stays friendly with Merrick in the hospital - talking and exchanging views with him. Knowing that Merrick 'needs other types of companionship, he introduces a young lady to him and thus Merrick has real friends for the first time in his life. Her Majesty the Queen of. England extends a hand of friendship to Merrick graciously and sincerely making him very happy. Merrick is able to enjoy a good night at the theatre and six wonderful weeks in the country because of friendly people. They help without expecting anything in return.

         Friendship is important. It is the thread that binds society together and that is the moral value I. have learnt from the novel.

Practice 5-like or dont like storey
The novel, The Elephant Man, tells of the life of a badly deformed man, Joseph Merrick, during the late 19th century.

I like the novel for various reasons. When Dr. Treves helps Merrick have a home in the hospital, this is a good example of being kind to the less fortunate. Merrick gets to meet many people who come as friends and not to see how ugly he is. They bring friendship and books to build his self-respect and develop his intellectual side. The human indignity he has suffered for the past 27 years is wiped out and his faith in

people restored. Merrick grows well and though he does not mature fully and is still child-like he has developed intellectually. He learns to appreciate the theatre and the countryside. For these reasons, I like the book. What I do not like is the treatment h gets from Silcock and the loneliness, abuse and indignity he suffers for more than twenty years.

Yes, I will recommend the book to friends. I know

they will enjoy learning about how society treats

situations they do not understand and appreciate the

moral lessons portrayed in the story.

Practice 6-“Don’t judge a book by its cover

The saying “don't judge a book by its cover” means you should not come to a conclusion about people or things based only on what can be seen on the outside. The novel, The Elephant Man, tells of the life of a badly deformed man, Joseph Merrick, during the late 19th century.

         Joseph Merrick may be badly deformed but under that is a very interesting man. He can read and write and thinks a lot. A good and quiet man, he even makes things with his hands and gives them to the nurses because they are kind to him. All these qualities are not obvious to those people who treat him as a sideshow freak. They only see the physical part and feel that a person with such deformities does not have any intellectual skills. Judging a book by its cover is unfair to Merrick. He is not well taken care of and most of the time, is left alone to his own thoughts and self. When Dr Treves shows care and friendship, the inner Merrick surfaces and shows him to be smart, interesting and thoughtful. He holds good conversations with his visitors including the Queen of England.

         So, the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover' is very true. Appearances can be misleading, so before we pass judgement on people or things, we should make an effort to get to know them first.

Practice 8 - "People are afraid of what they don't understand."

The novel, The Elephant Man, tells of the life of a badly deformed man, Joseph Merrick, during the late 19^th century.

         The expression that people are afraid of what they do not understand is true of the story. Merrick has deformities due to a mutation and he ends up with features like that of an elephant. He is exploited and turned into a sideshow freak. People spend two pence per time to stare and be frightened by his terrible physique. They are afraid but they still want to have a look. People who see him along the street scream with fear so much so that he is detained by the police. Even the nurses at the hospital cannot understand the reason for such deformities. They do not talk to him and one of the nurses even runs away from the room.

         Fortunately, there are others who may not understand but they react differently when they see Merrick. They visit him as friends and talk and shake hands with him. The Queen holds his hand while talking to him.

         So, while some people are afraid of what they do not understand, there are others who though they do not understand do not react with fear. They try to be understanding.