Jade Jackman, Com B1 “Do Angels Wear Brassieres?

” Essay

The extract from 'Do Angels Wear Brassieries?' By Oliver Senior is centred upon a young girl named
Rebecca who is being prepared for confirmation and has a peculiar question to ask her Archdeacon. For
the majority of the passage the writer uses creole. A few reasons for this could be to appeal to a
Caribbean audience or to highlight the narrator's cultural background. As a result, non-West Indians may
experience trouble understanding colloquial language and grammar. A video presentation would
enhance the comedic effect by showing facial expressions and movement.

First and foremost, the writer used creole for the majority of the extract. Therefore, the writer may be
attempting to appeal to a Caribbean audience. For example, line 13 reads, ‘Mary stop braps … when she
hear Beccka’s question.’ The use of colloquial language, ‘braps’, and incorrect use of tense, ‘when she
hear’, are examples of creole and would be familiar to persons of the Caribbean. This familiarity would
engage and encourage Caribbean persons to read the extract therefore the writer would be able to
appeal to a Caribbean audience. Also, the writer may have chosen to write in mainly creole to highlight
the narrator’s cultural background. For instance, lines 13-14 reads, ‘She stop so sudden that Cherry
bounce into …all down Auntie Mary back.’ The narrators incorrect use of tense highlights her use of
creole language and therefore allows the reader to know that the narrator is from the Caribbean.
Therefore, the writer is able to highlight the narrator’s cultural background through language and this
may be the reason for their language choice.

Furthermore, the writer’s use of creole may pose issues for Non-West Indians as they try to understand
the passage. Colloquial language may make it difficult for non-West Indians to understand the passage
due to unfamiliarity. For example, lines 15-16 reads, ‘Milk and sugar a rain down on Archdeacon’. The
phrase, ‘a rain down’ may not be known by persons outside the West-Indian region and therefore may
cause difficulty in understanding this sentence. Additionally, the grammar used in the passage may
cause difficulty for non-West Indians in understanding the passage. For instance, line 6 reads, ‘Right
away Archdeacon sit up straighter.’ The incorrect use of tense may confuse non-West Indian readers as
this grammar is not familiar to them and they may have to re-read the sentence.

Moreover, a video presentation could enhance the comedic effect of the extract by showing facial
expressions and movement. A video presentation could enhance comedic effect by showing facial
expressions. For example, in line 8 which reads, ‘Beccka screwing up her face in concentration’. By
showing this facial expression, comedic effect will be enhanced as she puts on her look of puzzlement
before asking her question which causes chaos. Further, a video presentation could enhance the
comedic effect by illustrating movement in the passage. For example, lines 13-14, ‘Mary stop braps in
the doorway with fright … Cherry bounce into her and spill a whole pitcher of cold drink all down Auntie
Mary back.’ A video presentation will effectively capture this moment and add to the comedic effect as it
will provide a greater visual aid of the occurrence.

In conclusion, the writer’s choice to use mainly creole in the extract may have been to appeal to a
Caribbean audience or to highlight the narrator’s cultural background. As a result, non-West Indians may
have difficulty understanding the passage due to colloquial language and grammar. Meanwhile, a video
presentation can enhance the comedic effect by showing facial expressions and illustrating movements.