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Sample Commentary (Literature HL)
Excerpt (from "We came on the wind of the carnival" to "This time it may even be true.")
This extract, the opening of the novel Chocolat by Joanne Harris, tells how a mother and her young daughter, Anouk, arrive at a small rural town in France with a possibility that they might settle there.
In the town, Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, a carnival is taking place when the two arrive and it is interesting to see how some of the participants are described: “Rapunzel in a woollen wig, a mermaid with a Cellophane tail, a gingerbread house all icing and gilded cardboard ...” These descriptions are a mixture of the fantasy and the ordinary, even the carnival float is merely “A wooden cart, hastily decorated with gilt and crêpe”. They suggest a strong degree of transparency – perhaps a symbolic indication of what is to come further in the novel. Indeed, the carnival itself appears to be a weak attempt to impress when compared, by Anouk's mother, with other carnivals she and her daughter have seen: “a procession of two hundred and fifty of the decorated chars in Paris, a hundred and eighty in New York, two dozen marching bands in Vienna, clowns on stilts … drum majorettes with batons spinning and sparkling”.
The small town itself is described in a less than favourable light. Some of the descriptions used, such as “a blip on the fast road ...”, “Blink once and it's gone”, rather than implying a quaint rural village appear to emphasize its insignificance. There is also the suggestion of something secretive and sinister about the place. For example, the “main street” is described as a “double row of dun-coloured houses leaning secretively together” and this is surrounded by “Farms scattered across the watchful land”. These descriptions are not only effective in portraying an isolated, tight-knit community but they also arouse a degree of curiosity in the reader as to why they might be considering settling there.
There is obviously a strong religious presence within the community, although from the way both the church and the priest are described, this appears to be a restricting, dominating force in the town. For instance, the church is described as being “aggressively whitewashed” and the priest himself a “black figure” who could be mistaken for a character from the procession, “the Plague Doctor”, appears to be not only a spoilsport but a dominant figure as he insists on making the playing children clean up carnival debris by just “a gesture”. Later in the piece the priest is described in greater detail, in a way that reinforces the idea that he is a dominant but unpleasant figure, with a “rigid stance”, “pale eyes”, and his “high cheekbones” suggest a degree of superciliousness, especially with his “fingers resting on the silver cross which hangs from his neck”. In addition, his look is described as “measuring”, which implies that he is somewhat judgemental in an unchristian way.
The adult residents are also described in an unfavourable manner, which contrasts markedly with the descriptions of the children of the village. For instance, the adults are described as being somewhat insignificant: “They look much like all others we have known” and are “a little drab”, and the colours used to describe their clothing and hair project “dull” images: “brown, black or grey”. Their faces are described in an unfavourable manner, which contrasts markedly with the descriptions of the children of the village. For instance, the adults are described as being somewhat insignificant: “They look much like all others we have known” and are “a little drab”, and the colours used to describe their clothing and hair project “dull” images: “brown, black or grey”. Their faces are described as being “lined like last summer's apples”, which gives a wizened impression and suggests a sense of lifelessness which is also emphasized by their eyes being “pushed into wrinkled flesh like marbles into old dough”. The descriptions of the children, on the other hand, contain life and vivid colour: “A few children, flying colours of red and lime-green and yellow”. Indeed, they “seem like a different race” and they appear to inject a degree of energy in a town where even the dog is described as “sad”.
The residents seem to be quite insular and suspicious of “outsiders”, and although the mother in the story tells us that “No one looks at us” she gets the impression that “We are a curiosity to them”. This seems not to be surprising considering how the mother's appearance contrasts with that of the villagers, “her long silk scarf fluttering at her throat ...” and with her “exotic” clothes. However, it is interesting to see that the daughter's appearance, although she too wears “exotic” clothes, is as colourful as the other children in the village. Perhaps this is an indication that she will be accepted more easily than her mother. Indeed, the daughter appears to like the place: “I like it, I like it here. Are we staying?”
There is an indication that the unwelcoming fee of the place might alter later in the novel, in the line “Vines looking blighted and dead … but awaiting triumphant resurrection by March”. This appears to be supported by the sense of magic induced into the writing in the opening line “We came on the wind of the carnival”, the phrase being reminiscent of “the winds of change”. Indeed, it would appear that magic is needed if the rural town with its “strips of earth enclosed and regimented according to the strict apartheid of country farming” is to become anything else but “drab”.
Harris uses language to great effect in this piece. The many sensory inclusions, such as “hot greasy scents of frying pancakes and sausages and powdery-sweet waffles”, helps us to share the carnival experience, and the simile used to describe the confetti falling is particularly effective here: “like an idiot antidote to winter”, especially considering the weak attempts made to dress up for the carnival. She also uses and abundance of adjectives in her similes, which add a richness to the narrative. For instance, she describes her daughter's eyes as being “the blue-green of the Earth seen from a great height, shining”. Harris also includes a degree of ambiguity which succeeds in arousing curiosity. For example, at the beginning of this piece, the line “but at six the world retains a special lustre” seems a little out of place and its meaning is unclear. A little later, the line “At six it is possible to perceive subtleties which a year later are already out of reach” also appears to be unconnected, but the meaning will become clear later in the novel. In addition, some of the words are written in French and their meaning can be tentatively assumed. For example, the word “char” is unusual, but, through the reading of the passage, can be assumed to be a carnival float. This technique adds a degree of interest and colour to the extract.
The piece is definitely an effective opening. The ambiguity created and the curiosity raised by Harris makes the reader want to find out whether such a well-travelled pair who have visited Paris, New York, and Vienna will stay in such a “drab” town – indeed, why they have ever gone there in the first place.
Teacher comments:
This is a perceptive commentary in which the student pays attention to
• the vocabulary used by the writer
• the effects of imagery in conveying the atmosphere of the town
• the sensual descriptions
• the contrast between the visitors and the people of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes
• the narrative technique which makes one wonder what will happen next
• the hints of conflict – perhaps between the narrator and the priest.
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