Searching for one's true self
you will recognise the values in real life and in the text
you will develop the efficiency of attentive reading and listening
you will reflect on universal humanistic values
you will create consistent oral statements
Listen to the recording in which Piotr is talking about his experiences. Make a note of the emotions he experienced. You can follow the text below.
I had to see her and tell her all about it. Right now, no waiting till she gets back from work. There was just one problem. Sara worked in an office on the forty‑third floor of a skyscraper. The only way to get there was either the fire escape or the lift. I’d been terrified of lifts ever since I was a child. Almost every night I dream of being trapped in a compartment rushing downwards with an unusual speed about to be smashed into pieces. That is why lifts horrify me. I couldn’t imagine, though, taking the stairs to the forty‑third floor! I had to use the lift.
I entered the building and went towards the lifts. It was all empty and quiet, I was there alone. I had three lifts to choose from. I picked the middle one thinking that it would bring me luck and that I would not be afraid for once. Lift arrived after a few seconds. When the door opened I held my breath and then quickly filled my lungs with air as if I had to take the ride without breathing. Three, two, one, and...
I’m inside and immediately I’m feeling hot. I press the button: the forty‑third floor. I’m looking around. The lift is small and has mirror walls. When the lift starts I’m feeling out of breath right away. I decide to count to get away from the unpleasant thoughts. One, two, three, four... Why is it so slow? Five, six, seven, eight, nine... It’s only the seventh floor! Ten, eleven... Sweat runs down my back, I have to loosen my tie. Ten, eleven, twelve... It’s the 27th floor... I feel an acute pain in my stomach, I bend in half to stop it. Twelve, twelve, twelve... What if it stops between floors? Or when it starts to fall? I feel as if my heart were about to burst out of my chest! Hold on, take it easy, take a deep breath, one, two, one, two, there’s nothing going on, there’s nothing wrong, get it? It’s just a lift, just a lift, just a lift, just your imagination. But those dark spots before my eyes are not a product of my imagination... Aaaaaaaaah! I’m hurt, it’s suffocating me! Quick, I must get out of here, I’ll press something... Oooh... it opens, my freedom, my aiiiiirrr! Hang on, which one is it? It’s just twelve floors to go... Nobody will force me to get back into that lift! I’ll walk the rest of the way...
Many contemporary ethics‑centred novels of manners focus on young people’s dilemmas, especially their relations with parents and peers, friendship and first love, i.e. on the popular motifs of this genre. The book “Pozłacana rybka” [A Gold‑plated Fish] (2007) by Barbara Kosmowska is one example here. While they are searching for happiness and their own path in life, the characters face various difficulties such as divorce of their parents, illness of their loved ones and financial problems. As youthful dreams clash with reality, the protagonists change: they adopt different approaches to life, they let their identity be shaped by their experience and they learn how to be “everyday heroes”.
This emotional coming‑of‑agecoming‑of‑age story focuses mainly on establishing relationships with other people and gives a valuable lesson in the closely related ability of empathy, i.e. the ability to feel and share another person’s psychological state. Understanding another human being is the key to understanding and knowing oneself. The psychological portrait of „Pozłacana rybka”’s main character, Alicja, captures the process of emotional coming‑of‑age. The book’s multi‑level narrative, which is comprised of opinions on the events expressed by a teenage protagonist (objective narrationobjective narration), letters written by Alicja to herself (first‑person narrationfirst‑person narration) and Alicja’s direct involvement in conversations (dialogues), help readers follow the novel’s lesson in empathy.
Read the extracts from the novel by Barbara Kosmowska „Gilded fish” included in the lesson „O poszukiwaniu siebie”. Pay attention to the differences between Alice and Robert.
In what house did Alice grow up? Characterize her family situation before her parents' divorce.
Compare Alice housing situation with the conditions in which Robert and his father lived.
Empathy is the process of placing oneself into other people’s mental states. Can you see it in the relationship between mother and daughter? Did Alice behave empathically with her half‑brother? Give reasons for your opinion.
Describe Robert's and Alice’s dreams.
Together with a friend discuss the topic of conversations between Alice and her younger brother – Frycek. What effect does the situation of the heroine have on the behaviour (responses) of the teenager?
Read the definitions of the feelings. Match them with their names.
feel distaste for or hostility towards, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, a feeling of regard or fondness, a feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, a feeling of great pleasure and happiness, a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility, feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune
| empathy | |
| sympathy | |
| liking | |
| dislike | |
| anger | |
| sorrow | |
| joy |
What features as a genre of epic does the novel have? Which features belong to drama and which to lyrics?
division into roles, division of text into acts and scenes, developed plot, written in prose, variety of stylistic means, presence of narration, presence of descriptions, stage directions, lyrical subject, may be written in stanzas
| Features of the epic | |
|---|---|
| Features of the drama | |
| Features of lyrics |
In reference to the cited fragments of the novel by Barbara Kosmowska – explain in writing – how you understand the term „heroismheroism of everyday life”.
Keywords
heroism, growing up, empathy
Glossary
heroizm
dojrzewanie
narracja pierwszoosobowa
narracja obiektywna