Q. Explain how Happy Bapetsi presents her experience of meeting her father for the first time. (Jan 2013) By Umer Ali Abbasi

This is an extract based on the life story of a girl named happy, who is presumably also the author in this case.The extract is called,”The No.1 ladies detective agency.”From the title one can infer that something dramatic has occurred in the authors life and now she seeks help. This extract is uniquely structured. With a variation in sentence structure and frequent use of short sentences, the author gives her write a dramatic appeal.The purpose of this extract is solely to entertain the reader and that is done so by adding humour,irony and other techniques to keep the reader hooked.
The language used in this extract ranges from hopeful to disappointed and then hopeful again. This extract targets multiple audience groups such as adults, young adults, the elderly, as well as children. This is clear from the fact that the author uses simple language and jokes that can be understood by anyone. In addition to that she uses a simple tone that appeals to all of her audience, a positive, calm and humble one.

Firstly, the author starts off with an anecdote. “Let me tell you a little about myself….”Through this anecdote she explains her life story to the audience. This builds a relationship with the audience right from the beginning as the audience get to know the character and support her. She is developed as a protagonist in the audience’s eye.
Secondly, the theme of this extract mainly revolves around ‘Family’ and ‘loyalty’. This can be seen through the writers use of diction such as, “my daddy”, “after all” and “mother”. She constantly relates back to her family and her time growing up in it. She says ‘after all’ because she knows that after all that man could be her dad and she is bound to help him as she is loyal to her own. This develops Happy’s character in the audience’s eye and makes them feel sympathetic towards her. This also leaves them curious to know how she handles the situation, hooked wanting to read ahead.
Furthermore, the writer maintains a nostalgic attitude since she’s recalling her past. This is evident from, “I was still a little baby”,“Back then” and “I didn’t have to work at all”.Here the author feels nostalgia as she relives the happiest moments of her life .As the story develops the attitude changes from positive to negative, but in the end it changed back to positive as she doesn’t want to leave the reader on a negative note. This is done so to trigger an emotional response from the reader and make them agree to the authors perspective.

Moving on, The author uses significant bias in her extract. This bias is against men , since on many occasions she favors women And undermines men Just because of the actions of one man, her dad. This is clear from the fact that during the discussion she says ,“many men are like that”.By doing so she generalizes the behavior of all men Gaining the sympathy of her female readers And bringing her male readers to the realization of acceptance.
In addition,the author uses irony in the extract. This is done so that the audience feels sorry for Happy, keep them hooked to the extract and add colour to the passages.The irony being that her name is happy, on the contrary her life is far from happy. She goes though a lot in her life with very little exposure happiness herself.

Finally,the author uses humour is her passage.This adds emphasis,and colour to the write.This also keeps the reader entertained and builds her character as a funny one.This can be seen ,”all the men are worried that I’ll make them look stupid”. Here she jokes about how she can’t get a higher position at her office.This also shows the reader where her bias against men is really coming from.

In conclusion, the author completely builds Happy’s character for the reader, then she gains their sympathy and pushes her points through to them.She targets a wide audience by keeping language simple and understandable to anyone.She tries her best to keep the reader hooked and entertained. She uses bias, irony and humour from time to time,only to give the reader her view on the topic.

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‘Can happiness be found?’ by Raphael Khalid

As helpless as mankind has proven itself to being the past, it is undeniable that despite atrocities we face, it is the little things that manage to make us happy. Simple things like taking your shoes off after a long, hard day; Finding a bit of cash in our old trouser pockets. There can also be life changing moments however. Such as beating everyone else and receiving first place in a competition and being handed a glowing trophy in front of hundreds of applauding people. Regardless, happiness is a feeling that is hard to explain. It is as hard as explaining what the color red is to a blind man.

This is a story of Nathan. Nathan was a seventeen year old, fair and blonde boy. He had a short bulky build. He lived, much like a troll, under a bridge. He had no memory of his parents or of his life before two years for that matter. He had woken in a dank alcove near a barrel spilling with fire. Nathan called that home. His friends were the rats and roaches. Every night he pillaged garbage cans. Sometimes he found a juicy leftover. These were the things that made Nathans nights happier. The most pleasant welcome to his long night of hunting that day was his radiant, flaming fire. ‘Evening darling…’ said Nathan in monotone to the boring barrel. The barrel crackled in a rhythmic tone and it spilled a piece of fire from its fiery hair.

‘I’m good too’ said Nathan to the barrel with a smile. The chilling night could not penetrate Nathans warm alcove. Nathan edged closer towards the fire. He was feeling lonely that night, more so than usual.

“Take me away; take me from this miserable excuse of a life…” Nathan whispered to the rusty, hot barrel as he moved ever closer, closer than he had ever been. His eyes stared wildly into the depths of the raging fire. An intense sweat covered his face. His vision was getting cloudy with all the perspiration. The barrel was pulling him deeper into sleep, and he wanted to pass away into its warm clutches and never let go. Nathan started groaning as his mind ceased to function. He had forgotten all as he slipped away into a white, snowy land.

“How long had it been?” Nathan thought to himself as he awoke, sunken into soft snow. There was just snow around him, and a barrel. This one was quiet, and cleaner, but still the same one. The snow clawed beneath his skin and rampaged through his bones. He tried to scream for help, but his voice failed him.

“Do you feel happy? You called me to help you again… I was there when you were cold, scared and alone. I’m here again. Why end yourself, just because you can’t find happiness anywhere? Is that the excuse you give for ending your reign? I will give you another chance; now let me thaw your frail body, let’s go back. I’ll warm you in the world you left once again.”

Nathan woke, drenched in a sweat and covered in sand near the barrel, everlasting with its blazing fire. ‘You can’t find happiness!’ That line replayed itself and tormented Nathan. He glared at the barrel and felt a hot thrill rising in his body. “I’ve lived under you for too long. I don’t need you. I can make my happiness.” Said Nathan as he got up and kicked the barrel down the river and ran out to create his own happiness.