After reading the article I think that Mark Lawson’s attitude towards the programme was one of admiration and praise. He obviously enjoyed watching ‘The 1940s House’ and this is shown throughout his writing which is informative, entertaining and persuasive and I think would encourage many readers to watch the programme.
In this extract from his autobiography, John Walsh recalls his impression of
life in Battersea in the 1960s.
Explain how Walsh evokes his childhood in the sixties?
How effectively does his choice of language convey this period of his life?
John Walsh evokes his childhood memories in the 1960s by making comparisons between Battersea, where he was living and Chelsea where he would have liked to have been living. His descriptions of the two areas are in complete contrast and his desire to cross over the river shows his lack of enthusiasm for Battersea and his desire for a better life.
In his autobiography he describes Chelsea as a ‘swinging’ and ‘happening’ place where he could ‘marvel’ and ‘be dazzled’ by the shops. It was where the sixties were taking place with ‘groovy events’, ‘shops with wacky names’ and ‘beautiful people’ but there was a ‘bridge between’ him and this wonderful place. He implies that this is not just a physical obstacle, crossing a bridge, but crossing into a completely different way of life and one that he did not fit in with. His opinion of Battersea is completely different he describes it as ‘yobdom’, ‘alien, hard, unwelcoming and unhomely’. The shops are ‘meagre’ with their boring names and uninteresting merchandise, and even the air smells disgusting.
In my opinion his childhood was not very happy and his idyllic and dreamy impression of Chelsea gave him something to aspire to.
His life was totally dominated and influenced by his ‘Irish’ roots. His repetitive use of the word ‘Irish’ implies that it was almost suffocating, ‘it hung around like a great green fug’, it was everywhere, and he was unable to escape from it. Although living in London he did not mix with the ‘local people’, they remained strangers. His whole existence revolved around ‘Irish people’, ‘Irish’ traditions, and ‘Irishness’.
He uses sensuous language to describe his mother’s ‘Irish stew’, which she made for lunch every Saturday. He recalls vividly the images of the ‘curlicues of iridescence…that announced a potato had began to disintegrate’. The smell of ‘onions frying, then…the slightly gross, earthy tang of mutton’ and ‘almost hear the elderly meat falling off the bones’. His anticipation and impatience are clearly illustrated ‘I could wait no longer’. His use of words like ‘aroma’ and ‘aromatic’ give images of a wonderful exotic dish and his precise and emotional personal memories contained within his description justify this interpretation. The simile used in the middle of this description it ‘wrapped itself around me like a cloak’ proves that this meant far more to him than his dinner. It was mother doing her best for him, his safety net, and his protection from the outside world.
As this is his autobiography it is written in the past tense and he uses first person narrative to give his personal account. This enables the reader become closer to his thoughts and feelings and appreciate that these were real events that happened in the past. On several occasions he changes to second person narrative, ‘You could not sit still’ and the effect of this is that the reader becomes directly involved in the narration, his actions were the same as anyone else’s would have been.
He uses many nostalgic words in his extract which are directly associated with the 1960s, and therefore the reader can relate to this period from any previous knowledge or readings of this period. He describes the clothes, ‘trumpet sleeves’, and ‘Afghan waistcoats’ that were fashionable in the sixties. Even ‘Bacofoil’ and ‘Drugstore’ are associated more with this period. The sixties were seen as a time of free spirits, the swinging sixties, and John Walsh acknowledges this by mentioning ‘orgiastic parties’. However I do feel that as a teenage boy growing up in Battersea he would not have been aware of some of this things and this emphasizes that it is a mature man looking back at his childhood. This also therefore proves that not all the information is fact, as he is giving his own personal views and opinions, and also he has a wealth of knowledge and experience that he did not have at that time.
He uses rhetorical questions for impact, ‘What on earth could it be?’ he already knows the answer and goes on to describe what it is. By using these questions he draws the reader into his thinking and makes them wonder what it is, this makes the extract more interesting and entertaining to read.
John Walsh gives an insightful view of the 1960s and how they affected his childhood. His use of language and style enables him to convey his confused and difficult teenage years in Batersea. Some of his words were difficult to understand for example ‘synaesthetically’ but this, somehow, just added to the mystical powers of his mother’s stew. He does also manage to give the reader clear indications that he is aspiring to something better in the future, he is studying and he desperately wants to cross that bridge and become part of the good times.
