The pupils are also sly, sneaky and under hand. We know this by ‘stuffing themselves with sweets … not a bottle of lemonade or chocolate bar in sight’. This shows that when the driver comes on to the coach all the pupils hide there sweets because the driver said there was no sweets allowed. This shows that they are sly and cunning. ‘Reilly and Digga sit on the two small kids who move to make room for them’. This shows that the smaller children feel threatened and frightened by the older pupils.
‘Thousands of little fingers raise in a V-sign out of the windows’. This shows that after Mr Briggs had warned them, they still went ahead and did it anyway. This shows a lack of respect for Mr Briggs and they take no notice of him. Also it suggests a poor up bringing and that they are rude. ‘At the back, the kids are all stifled and bored by Briggs presence’. Again this also shows the lack of respect for Mr Briggs and that they don’t care about what he has to say. ‘The kids look up bored’. They don’t care about what Mr Briggs has to say about Conway Castle and they are bored by the experience. I can suggest that if they would have had a good education then they might understand and appreciate the experience. ‘Turning on him’, this is a quotation from where Mr Briggs is trying to rescue her from the cliff. Carol doesn’t like Mr Briggs and she isn’t taking much notice of him. By this quotation we can see that Carol isn’t in a good frame of mind and she doesn’t like Mr Briggs.
‘Mrs Kay smiles at her and links her arm’. This is a stage direction of Mrs Kay and Carol linking their arms. This shows a close relationship between Carol and Mrs Kay as they link arms, a loving relationship which many of the remedial pupil long for. Another quotation to back up the evidence is ‘look more like mother and daughter than teacher and pupil’. This emphasizes the fact that the pupils need love and affection. We can assume by this quotation that Carol needs a mother figure and Mrs Kay is doing that.
The pupils rebel against society by stealing and smoking. ‘The kids are robbing stuff left, right and centre’. This shows that they don’t care about anyone and they’ll do any thing to get what they want. They do this in a sneaky and under hand way, so therefore, we can presume that the pupils have done this before and they know what they are doing. This again emphasizes their poor up bringing and their need for an education. ‘Inside the kids sit like angels’. This shows that they are devious and cunning as they have stolen the animals from the zoo. However, this shows that the pupils just want to be loved and to love. ‘The kids look back innocently’. This quotation suggests that they are naive and are used to been told off and they don’t care. ‘Resigned’ the pupil’s show that they don’t care and are prepared to accept what Mr Briggs has to say because they have heard it all before.
Mr Briggs is portrayed as a teacher that is strict and a rule abider. When he comes on the trip with the progress class he isn’t someone who’ll make it fun. Far from it. ‘Begrudgingly’, this quotation immediately suggests that he is short tempered and also bad tempered. ‘He is a cloud on the horizon’. This is a metaphor saying that he blocks their fun and excitement like a cloud bloke out the sun. The pupil’s day is now cloudy and dull now he has arrived. ‘Sharply’, suggests that he is harsh and is a dictator.
‘Leaning in close. Threatening’, this shows that the pupil’s are threatened by Mr Briggs. I think that this is because he is portrayed as a strict and senior person. His persona is a stressed and harsh member of staff at the school. ‘Sighing, shaking his head’, this is where he has caught a pupil smoking and he is given him a lecture. This shows that he is a didactic person and must believe that his lecture will do the pupil some good. ‘Briggs frantic’, it shows that he is worried about the pupils because they are remedial, whereas Mrs Kay is the opposite. He can’t cope with the pupils because he isn’t used to them.
‘Conspiratorial’, this is where Mr Briggs is trying to acquire information from Colin about Mrs Kay. This shows that he is under hand and is trying to get Colin to say something bad about Mrs Kay. ‘Briggs starts to walk away. The two girls link his arm, one either side. He stops’. This shows that he isn’t comfortable with the girls showing his emotions, so he stops.
He is portrayed as a cold and unfriendly person. ‘He stares icily’, this metaphor is saying that he is as cold and unfriendly as ice! ‘His face is like thunder’, again another metaphor used. Now this one is saying that his face is as harsh and screwed up like a thunder storm.
When they are at Conway Castle we can see the way Briggs keeps order of his group of pupils and the way he acts around them. We know this by ‘ordered’. Again this is the opposite of Mrs Kay. When they are at the beach Mr Briggs separates himself from the group. This is showing that he is not one of the group like Mrs Kay, Colin and Susan. We know this by ‘Briggs sits on the rock apart from the main group’. He is isolating himself from the group. I think this is because he doesn’t understand the way of the remedial pupils and the way they are taught.
‘Briggs stares back in impotent rage’. This immediately suggests that he doesn’t understand why Carol Chandler is on the cliff top. It also shows that he is angry about the incident. But, as he begins to understand he begins out his more humane side. ‘Briggs slowly holds out his hand’. This is where I think he is turned, so to speak. He is wanting to help her. But, is he doing it for his job or because he actually cares about Carol? Another piece of evidence that he has a humane side is, ‘Briggs wraps his arms around her’. This enforces the idea that he is only human.
From that point forward we see a different side to Mr Briggs. For example, ‘snapped eating candy-floss’. This again shows that he can relax. In my opinion I think that he is beginning to understand the way of the remedial pupils. ‘Briggs is also on the back seat – cowboy hat on’. Backing up that he has a human side and that he isn’t what everyone thought he was.
However, when they arrive back in school he reverts back to how he was. We know this by, ‘He pulls open the film and exposes it to the light’. He is destroying all the good aspects of the trip because he is ashamed of the way he loosened up toward the end of the day.
