January 2007 – English Class

Chloe was well into her fourth year at senior school. She was in the second term of year 10. There was no sixth form at her school, so she was in the second oldest year group. Chloe was sitting at her desk in her favourite class, English Literature. It was the only subject in which she had any interest, or showed much ability. The public library was only a few hundred yards from her door, and ever since the start of the seniors, Chloe had been a frequent visitor. Her vocabulary wasn’t too bad.

Her favourite teacher was Mr Craven. He was glad to find a keen student and had spent time with her recommending books. He had taught her two years ago and was now taking the top set for their GCSE years. Chloe had surprised herself by being selected for this group. She was far from achieving that level in any other academic subject. And she absolutely loathed science and maths.

That morning Chloe was sat in the lower floor classroom, behind one of the ancient wooden desks. Unusually for a class at her school, even one of the top sets, calmness reigned. They were engaged in a discussion of their set text, Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Chloe had thoroughly enjoyed most of the book. The descent into darkness seemed terribly believable to her. Chloe could even relate to the children in the book, although they were from a different background. And of course they were all boys. But she wasn’t satisfied with the ending. It seemed unsatisfactory to her that a rescue ship appeared from nowhere. Didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the story. A bit contrived, unrealistic if you like.

She had felt so strongly that she had spoken up in class when Mr Craven had asked for comments on the ending.

“Excellent, Chloe. I was hoping someone would bring up that very point.”

She felt her face flushing. She wasn’t used to this sort of public praise. Her teacher went on to explain that this sort of literary technique was known as ‘Deus ex machina’. It meant literally, God out of the machine. Her teacher explained that the phrase derived from classical Greek plays, where actors would be lowered by crane into the theatre to resolve a plot line. Chloe wasn’t completely focused on the explanation. She was just amazed that she’d managed to make a contribution without being laughed at.