News Break

News Break

by Max Fatchen

News Break – Stanza and
Meaning

STANZA 1

Why so loving, darling, MEANING STANZA 1
And why the sudden
kiss? • The parent is surprised that
You’d help me with the child has a sudden
some little jobs? change of behaviour.
For goodness sake,
what’s this? • The child has become so
loving and gives the parent
a kiss.

• The child also helps the
parent with chores around
the house.

• The parent is bewildered.

STANZA 2

Your face is clean for MEANING STANZA 2
once, dear.
• The parent cannot believe
Your clothes without that the child’s face is clean
a crease. and his clothes are neat
without any wrinkles. The
You saved your child has also saved his
luncheon money? lunch money. The parent is
Will wonders never totally dumbfounded.

cease?

1. clothes without a crease / baju tidak berkedut /衣服没有奏摺 / ஒ ம இ லாம

ஆைடக பண
2. luncheon money /duit makan tengah hari /午餐的零用钱 / மதிய உண
3. Will wonders never cease?/adakah keajaiban tidak akan berhenti? /
奇迹会停止吗？/ அதிசய க ஒ ேபா நி வ டா ?

STANZA 3

MEANING STANZA 2

No dropping of your school • The parent is surprised when the
books, child does not drop his school
books around the house.
No shrieking, childish
treble. • The child also does not scream
and shout.
Today you are a lamb,
love, • On that day, the child is as
innocent and gentle as a lamb
Where yesterday a rebel. which is a sharp contrast from the
day before where he was
rebellious.

No shrieking, childish treble /Tiada jeritan /没有小孩的吵闹和尖叫声 / சலி ,
நக ஒ
ழ ைத தனமான ெரப இ ைல

Today you are a lamb, love /hari ini awak mendengar kata / 今天你很乖 / இ

ஆ ,அ

STANZA 4

But surely you’re some MEANING STANZA 4
stranger,
• The parent begins to
No rage or hullabaloo, wonder if the child is a
Come closer, let me stranger.
look, dear,
Can this be REALLY • The child does not show any
you? anger nor make any noise.

• The parents want to have a
clearer look to confirm the
identity of the child.

No rage or hullabaloo /tiada kemarahan dan huru-hara / 没有生气，大乱 / ஆ திர

அ ல ஹலபா இ ைல

STANZA 5

Now were you struck by MEANING STANZA 2
lightning
• The parent wonders if
Or were you stunned at lightning has struck the child
sport? or if he was shocked while
playing sports.
Ah…now i see the reason.
You’ve brought your school • However, the parent finally
finds out the truth about the
report! child’s improved behaviour.

• The child has brought home
his school report.

struck by lightning /dipanah petir/ 被雷劈到 / மி ன தா கி

The Title

News Break means reporting something that is
unusual. The title is used to indicate that the
boy is doing something unusual by showing a
change in his behaviour.

Point Of View
• The first person point of view is used

Setting
• The setting is in a house.

Theme

Honesty
• We should be honest with our parents and always tell

them the truth. If we lie to them we might make them
feel sad when they find out.
• If we are honest to our parents , we can avoid
unnecessary arguments.
• It can also improve our relationships with one another.
• Learning to be honest and eliminating the need for lies
can help to clean up one’s conscience and his
relationship with others

Theme

Becoming a good person
• If we want others to treat us kindly, we must first behave accordingly.

In the poem, the child changes his behavior so that the parent would not
be upset with him when the latter sees his school report.
Contrast in child’s behavior and their way of thinking
• The poem mainly talks about how children usually behave. They can be
messy, loud and rebellious. They can also be kind, gentle and
compassionate.
• Depending on situations, children know how to act to avoid from getting
into trouble. The changes in behavior can sometimes confuse parents.
• However, every change has a reason behind it in which the child would
not/never tell. Therefore, parents should investigate whether the reason
of the change is positive or negative.

Moral values

• We should be honest with our parents, even
though it make us feel bad.

• We should not be afraid to tell our parents
about out results.

• We should be responsible for all the things we
do.

• We should not find excuses for our mistakes.

Tone

• The persona is surprised and astonished with
the child’s behaviour.

• The poem creates a reflective mood as the
persona compares the child’s past and present
behaviour.

• Overall, it is light-hearted and a little
humorous.

Exercise

1.From the line ‘ your face is clean for once’ ,
what can you say about ‘you’

2. What do you think ‘you’ would normally do
with his/her luncheon money?

3. Who is ‘dear’?

4. What normally happens to the school books
when the child comes home?

5. In your opinion, how would the child’s clothes
look like after a normal school day?

6. Who is the persona?

7. Why does the persona ask if the child is struck
by lightning?

8. How do you think the persona feel when the
child comes back home?

9. What might be the reason the child is acting
nice that day?

10. Predict the child’s result.

11. If you were the child, would you have done
the same thing? Why

12. Suggest two ways to make sure we do well in
school.

13. Describe the relationships between the child
and the parent.