-NiE ,
INTERMEDIATE Short story
NiE Activity 1 Critical thinking l Identify l Reason
l Measure
Problem solving l Question l Research
l Present
Communicating l Oral l Written
8 March 2017
9
The story of an outcast BORN with a serious physical deformity, Joseph Merrick was labelled the Elephant Man. He was kept in a cold, dark and smelly room in a shop. The owner Simon Silcock charged people twelve pence to come and view him. One day, Dr Frederick Treves, a doctor at the London hospital, caught sight of a poster advertising the Elephant man. After meeting Merrick, Dr Treves took him to the hospital to examine him. He then gave him his card. Merrick subsequently went missing. Two years later, the police found him and brought him to the London Hospital. After Dr Treves told his hospital chairman Mr Carr Gomm about Merrick, the chairman wrote a letter to The Times. As a result, donations poured in for Merrick, allowing him to live in the hospital for the rest of his life. Merrick made friends for the first time and many important people visited him, including the Queen of England. In April 1890, Merrick was found dead in his bed. He had broken his neck because he was trying to sleep on his back instead of his usual position.
– The Elephant Man, retold by Tim Vicary
l Aural
Collaborating l Listen l Contribute respectfully
l Compromise l Attain goal
In the story, the hospital chairman wrote a letter to the editor of The Times newspaper, highlighting Merrick’s situation. The following is an extract from the letter. The Times, December 4th, 1886 A Letter to the Editor Dear Sir, I am writing to you about a man in our hospital. He needs your help. His name is Joseph Merrick, and he is 27 years old. He is not ill, but he cannot go out of the hospital because he is very, very ugly. Nobody likes to look at him, and some people are afraid of him. We call him the ‘Elephant Man’. But he is a very interesting man. He can read and write, and he thinks a lot. He is a good, quiet man. Sometimes he makes things with his hands and gives them to the nurses, because they are kind to him. Can the readers of The Times help us? This man is not ill, but he needs a home. We can give him a room at the hospital, but we need some money.
Don’t worry, Merrick. It’s what you are inside that really counts.
The readers of The Times responded to the letter in the form of donations. This enabled Merrick to have a permanent home in the hospital. In groups of four, scan The Star for an article, report or picture that highlights a worthy cause that you feel strongly about. Cut it out and paste it on a sheet of A3 paper. On the same page, write a letter to the editor of The Star, seeking help from the readers for this cause. Then, exchange papers with another group. Read the group’s letter and decide how you would contribute to the cause highlighted.
In the story, Merrick felt sad when he found people being repulsed by his appearance. The following is an extract from the conversation he had with Dr Treves.
If people call you ugly, then they have ugly hearts.
– AFP
Everyone has imperfections.
– File photo
I think you are a kind and loving person.
‘I would like to live in a lighthouse, after the hospital, please. A lighthouse, or a home for blind people. I think those are the best places for me.’‘ What do you mean,’ I asked. ‘Why?’ He did not look at me. He put the flower on the picture and looked at it carefully. ‘Lighthouses have sea all around them, don’t they?’ he said. ‘Nobody would look at me in a lighthouse, so I would be happy there. And blind people can see nothing, so they couldn’t see me, could they?’
If Merrick was living in today’s world, how do you think people would react to him? In groups of four, look for four people from The Star. Cut out the pictures and paste them on a sheet of A4 paper. In speech bubbles, write something they may say that is encouraging or helpful to Merrick and those who suffer from physical disfigurement like him. Display your work on your classroom board and take turns to view or comment on the work posted by other groups.
– File photo
– AP
NiE Activity 2 Creative thinking l Imagine l Brainstorm
l Invent
Problem solving l Question l Recreate
l Present
Communicating l Oral l Written
l Aural
Collaborating l Listen l Contribute respectfully
l Compromise l Attain goal