Trouble Comprehending my Text

[HawthornM8]

Hi,

This may appear as a little babyish but I'm really having trouble comprehending what is going on in my text. Over the holidays we were instructed to read the book called 'Ransom' and down to being slack, I only read about 75/220 of the pages. However, whilst reading so little I still have no idea what is going on. It's almost like when I'm reading it that I'm just reading words and occasionally picking up on the basic outline of the text which I only picked up on due to seeing the movie Troy (which the book is related to) on the holiday.

We had this 'quiz' thing to do for the book. As I had read the first few chapters, I should have been able to answer 15 out of the odd 46 or so questions but I just couldn't. All the questions were down to really fine details and despite, like aforementioned, knowing the basic outline of the story, I don't know the meat of the story. Questions were so in-depth and whilst most people were at least passing the test at an average of around 60% I attempted the first five questions and received 0.46%.

I'm really not sure what to do. I'm trying to read this book each night, a few pages at a time trying different methods. I've tried reading it silently in my head, with classic music in my ears or even reading it out loud. Although I'm not worried about what my teacher thinks of me failing, I am pretty worried for when SACS come around the corner as I am a pretty competent writer but not in VCE English, and it will just make it worse for me not knowing the book; previously, in class we have read the book out aloud and after each chapter had a discussion on it whilst in class people are just talking about the end result of the book and fine details within it so I'm just left clueless.

1. Should I get a tutor?
2. How should I address this issue to my teacher? Despite not really caring what he thinks (in terms of me failing), I don't want him to write me off for the year and I'd like to tell him that I'm having difficulties .. but I just feel like the other odd 20 students seem to be on the guidelines he has set so he won't be able to give me much individual help .. ?

Please help me

[literally lauren]

If you haven't even finished it yet, don't worry about a lack of comprehension. Most teachers/ study guides/ past students will recommend reading a text at least 3 times for assessment, though if yours is a little longer some sparknotes might help. Even just wikipedia-ing the summary so you have an idea of what to expect. Usually the best thing to do is get through it on your own, but if you're not retaining it or it's not making sense then look up a general plot outline and try reading it again.
Don't be afraid to go to your teacher either. This happens a lot with certain texts, and Ransom is so steeped in history that if you're not familiar with the background info it can be a little daunting. Teachers are usually sympathetic towards students feeling like "everyone gets it but me." S/He might be able to provide some notes themselves. And I'm sure they won't write you off, it's their job to improve your performance and if comprehension is your only issue they can help get that out of the way.
I wouldn't say you should get a tutor since they're usually of use in terms of fine-tuning your abilities for the exam, but if it's a recurring problem for other texts it might be good to have a few lessons and learn some analytical reading techniques.
I'd recommend starting all this now though, since having read the book is a very early hurdle in the lead up to SACs and the exam.
Pay no attention to the pre-reading quizzes; they're cruel and unusual and are only in the syllabus to hinder your self-esteem I know a boy who failed his and got a 50. So long as you can get to a stage where you're comfortable with discussing the text as soon as possible, you'll be fine

[literally lauren]

Also there are quite a few threads on here about your text, some are just slabs of essays but if you can revive some of the discussion ones you might find your peers are able to help too

[meganrobyn]

Right now, if you're struggling with basic comprehension, don't worry about any of the history or the finer points of language. You need to practise boiling it down to the basics (a good technique for any text, though).

Ransom is a story about two guys (Achilles and Priam) who are really big and important. Achilles is a famous warrior and Priam is a famous king.

Achilles isn't allowed to be soft and human because he's a warrior, and Priam isn't allowed to be soft and human because he's a king. So Achilles can't be sad about missing his son, his farm and his best friend (who gets killed); and Priam can't have a proper fatherly relationship with his kids or enjoy the small things in life that regular people do, like cooking and eating and spending time outside chatting. Achilles has to be a "warrior" and Priam has to be a "king".

The thing is, Achilles and Priam are at war, and Achilles has the dead body of Priam's son - and Priam would like it back so he can bury it. The whole 'being at war' thing doesn't seem to be working, so Priam gets this crazy idea to just go *ASK* Achilles for the body - man to man, father to father, human being to human being. So he does, and it works.

Of course everyone goes back to killing each other and being warriors and kings and everything afterwards - but for a brief moment they're just two guys connecting with each other. So we know it's possible. Human beings may be dumb and prefer conflict and status etc in the long run instead of getting along and being real with each other, being human... but maybe we can learn our lesson bit by bit?? Maybe???


And that's the story. Obviously it's missing detail, but you fill that in later. A body has a skeleton first; then it has muscles and organs; then it has skin and hair; then maybe it puts some clothes on. Get the basics first.

A tutor can be a real help with this kind of thing, but in the meantime I suggest you do the following:

Take out a piece of lined paper. Have it next to you. Read the first passage in the book - write down what happens (ie "A guy is standing on the beach"). In really basic language that you 100% understand. Then read the next bit until something different happens - when something different happens, write that down. Repeat.

It will take a fair while to get through the book, but you need to *process* each paragraph/section before moving on to the next or it will all be a big blur. If you summarise all the things that happen in really basic language that totally makes sense to you, you will have your own 'version' of the book that you can read through afterwards to help it make more sense. Then, once you understand it, you go back to the original for some detail and language.

[brenden]

^ Brilliance.

[meganrobyn]

^ Aw, thanks, Bren!

Yep. And that's why I rake in the big bucks. Lol. (Please note: purely ironic use of 'lol' on English board )

[literally lauren]

Hey Hawthorne,
Once you've got you're aforementioned skeleton, wesites like this: <http://www.vcestudyguides.com/guides/text_response/ransom> can be good for "fleshing" things out
  lol english bodily humour 
I'll be quiet now.

[HawthornM8]

Thank you Megan and Lauren! You helped me out so much!