Matilda: . - The protagonist (main character) - The narrator- A young woman in her early 20s ( most likely) writing about her childhood years of 11-15 during the Bougainville war of independence - she links to all other characters. - 1st person narration: enables us to see her inner-most thoughts and feelings. We never know what Matilda looks like because she does not tell us that information. We certainly learn a lot about other characters in the book through her descriptions and thoughts about them. We hear the story about Mr Watts and the events of this period the way she wants to tell it. At times this is blunt and to the point. Especially when she is retelling more traumatic events from this period. They chopped Mr Watts up and threw him in pieces to the pigs’ (174) ‘This is what deep, deep fear does to you. It turns you into a state of unfeeling’ (pg 174) ‘

Narration and Style As the Narrator of ‘Mr Pip’ Matilda is…. BLUNT: The Author, Lloyd Jones is able to get away with being very blunt with using her as the story teller. He is able to use words like ‘black’, and ‘white’ and ‘redskin’ when talking about racial and cultural divides without being offensive. WITNESS TO THE TRUTH: Therefore, the telling of more traumatic events such as the rape and killing of her mother can be told in a very matter-of-fact way. THE ‘REMOVED OBSERVER’ Matilda chooses to report these events as they happened. She spares the reader’s emotion while allowing them to know about these events. She never states her emotion and does not pass judgement. We are left to make up our own minds. UNBIAS: We know the war is dirty and miserable but Matilda never lays blame on any person or nation. Even the officer who stands by her while her mother is killed wears a human face. EDUCATED: Even though Matilda is talking about a time when she was a teenager living in Bougainville, she is writing the story as a young woman in her early 20s. She has a university education and is doing postgraduate study. Therefore as a narrator, she can use language that is both colloquial to Bougainville and more educated and formal. Eg. ‘Some white fullas do not believe in the devil’ ‘As we watched the soldiers and the Rambo disappear I remember feeling preternaturally calm.’

Matilda Questions: Why does Matilda not express a lot of emotion in her narrative? How does her truthful narrative show she is her Mother’s daughter? Describe Matilda’s relationship with her Mother. Why is their relationship like this? How does Matilda perceive her Father when she meets him again in Townsville compared to how she thought about him while in Bougainville? Extended answers (paragraphs) 1) Explain the reasons why we should not rely on Matilda for telling the entire truth. 2) Describe the ways Matilda has been influenced by Mr Watts.

Quotes by Matilda about Great Expectations. Write down the quote. Explain what is happening in the story at this time and what she means by saying this. "By the time Mr.Watts reached the end of chapter one I felt like I had been spoken to by this boy Pip. This boy who I couldn't see to touch but knew by ear. I had found a new friend." (pg 20) "As we progressed through the book something happened to me. At some point I felt myself enter the story. I hadn't been assigned a part-nothing like that. I wasn't identifiable on the page, but I was there, I was definitely there." (pg.40 ) "Mr. Watts thanked Celia. Her comment, he said, provided us with an interesting insight into the parallel world the reader develops from the words on the page." (pg111) “ What would you call a saviour? The only one I knew went by the name of Mr Jaggers. And so it was natural for me to name my saviour, this log, after the man who had saved Pip’s life. (pg 187)