CK

LIT
WRITTEN

The Fat Man

This is a set of lessons by Alan Papprill based on Maurice Gee's novel:

The Fat Man

The unit is designed for Year 10

Introduction

Close reading

Viewing

Telling a Story

Visual Presentation

Plot

Design a Board Game

Setting

Photos of Loomis

Characters

End Piece

Introduction

This unit deals with the themes of bullying, of small town life and the value of family in times of
trouble.

It uses the novel The Fat Man as the text for study. Opportunities for the use of, and reference to
other novels dealing with the same or similar themes are possible.

SKILLS: The skills taught and assessed in this unit relate to those strands and achievement
objectives itemised in the National Curriculum statement.
Close Reading

Before you read the novel here are two "Letters to the Editor" about the novel soon after the
announcement that it had been awarded the AIM Children's Book Award for 1995. They have
been abridged. There are two differing views of the novel presented in the letters.

1. Children's Fiction - What message?

Maurice Gee's The Fat Man, left me staring into the dark, long after I'd turned out the light.
It left me dismayed. The current passion of depriving children of their childhood seems to have
invaded an area I once relied upon to provide the young with entertainment and interest and,
now and again, emotional and intellectual nourishment, and the assurance that the game was
worth a candle.

Gee's eleven year old hero knows that the Fat Man is evil.. unlike the gullible adults present.

This evil reaches the depths of depravity that embraces the cruel and repeated humiliation of
the man's stepdaughter, the physical abuse of his wife and ultimately the murder of his deranged,
pathetic mother. Much is made of the fat man's obesity and near baldness… the equation of evil
with physical imperfection is neatly made.

I suggest the experience of unrelieved hopelessness it provides is more likely to disturb or

even damage the 9 -12 year olds for whom it has been, astonishingly, written.

Dorothy Butler.

2. In reply: Children's Fiction - What message?

Dark tales cannot be equated with depriving children of their childhood. Children have a
natural awareness of cruelty and evil in the world - they will invent bogey men under the bed or
witcvhes in the dark with or without literature to represent these things. It is, in fact , a large part
of childhood, and there is nothing current or fashionable about it.

One could argue that frightening characters in books acknowledge and validate the fears
children already have, and bring them out into the open where they are more controllable.

The more subtle challenge levelled at books such as The Fat Man is that of "open endings"
which children find distressing. Yet in Gee's novel the fat man is destroyed at the end, restoring
safety and security to the child's world. This does not seem to me an open ending…. Isn't some
understanding of the nature of evil our best defence against it? Isn't the understanding the
consequences of our actions one of the greatest themes of all good children's literature?
 Paula Boock.

ACTIVITY A: CLOSE READING - TRANSACTIONAL WRITING

Read the letters carefully and then divide your page into two columns. Head one column FOR
THE BOOK, the other AGAINST THE BOOK. List the points made for and against the book in
each column.

Using the list of points for reference write two paragraphs that summarise the views presented.

Use the format shown to list the points each writer makes about the book.
FOR THE BOOK AGAINST THE BOOK
The message of the book, that evil does not win It has an aggressive title: THE FAT MAN.

Begin your summary of the arguments with:

Paragraph one:

The letter writer argues that Maurice Gee's book The Fat Man is unsuitable for children to read
because.......

Paragraph two:

The letter writer argues that Maurice Gee's book The Fat Man is suitable for children to read
because...........
ACTIVITY B: INTERPERSONAL SPEAKING

Using the information you have summarised from the letters and your own experience with
books and other people's opinion of their suitability hold a class discussion about either:

(a) Should readers be told what sort of book is good or bad for them?

or

(b) Stories for children should always be bright, happy and positive ones in order to protect their
childhood.

Make sure that you consider all the different arguments about books and what should or should
not be read during your discussion. It might be a good idea to have someone in the class act as a
recorder and keep a record of the points your class makes during the discussion.

Viewing
LOOKING AT THE NOVEL

VISUAL LANGUAGE - Viewing

In earlier units you will have looked at the way book covers are constructed and the messages
the designers have tried to give the readers before they begin to read the story.

Look carefully at the front cover of The Fat Man and then answer the following questions:

1. List the parts of the picture that indicate that the story is a scary one.

2. The cover uses two main colours- dark blue and green. Why do you think has the designer
used these colours? What do they suggest to the viewer?

3. The designer has chosen the typeface used for the title for a reason. Why do you think the
typeface was chosen?

4. What, in the picture, ties the three main elements of the cover (the house, the fat man and
the boy) together?

5. Colin Potter has a passion for chocolate. How does the designer show that on the cover?

6. Why do you think the house is half complete? What might that suggest about the story?

7. How effective is the cover in telling you what the story might be about? Write a paragraph
that explains your conclusion.

Telling a Story
BEFORE YOU READ THE FAT MAN:

The blurb on the back cover says:

"When people like Herbert Muskie take up residence in your mind, there's nothing you can do to
get them out."

At some point in your life there has probably been someone who has fascinated or horrified you
in some way and who may have betrayed or hurt you once you met him or her.

ACTIVITY: Interpersonal Speaking & Listening - Transactional writing

1. Tell the person sitting next to you about a person who has fascinated or horrified you and
what happened to you when you met them. Each person should spend about five minutes telling
their stories.

To help you tell the story your partner will prompt you by asking questions like: "And then
what happened?" "What did the person look like?" "Why did the person (or you) do that?"

Once you have finished your story repeat the process with your partner telling his/her story.
 2. When both stories have been told retell your partner's story by writing it out as a news
report for a school newspaper.

Keep the retold story for later use in this unit.

Use the following check-list to make sure that you are writing a proper news story

WRITING A NEWS STORY

Does the introduction tell what the story is about and state the most important aspect?

Is the first sentence brief and complete?

Does the story flow in a logical order?

Are all the interesting and important facts retold?

Does the complete story make sense?

Have you used direct speech correctly?

Have you used indirect speech correctly?

Is your story written in the past tense?

Have you checked the spelling of names and places mentioned in the story?

Have you used the correct punctuation throughout the story?

Is the story organised so that the most important points are stated first and the least important
stated last?

Remember that when you use indirect speech you are reporting what your partner actually said,
without putting it into direct speech (using speech marks). You cannot change the meaning of
what was said.

When you write indirect speech you will use the past tense so all other verbs and pronouns will
have to be changed as well, ie. the verbs will become:

Has = had

Have had = had had

will = would
shall = should

can = could

is = was

The pronouns will become:

I = he / she

My = his / her

We = they

Our = their

Mine = his / hers

Us = Them

Visual Presentation
ACTIVITY: Personal & Close reading - Visual presentation

A novel, like a short story, a film or a play, has four main elements: PLOT, CHARACTERS,
SETTING and THEME, which combine to form the events in the story as the chart shows.
TASK: Use a double-page to copy the chart below with the headings only in each box. As you
read the story write answers to the questions on the chart. This will give you a summary of the
way the novel is written.

SETTING

Where & when the action takes place.

The atmosphere of the setting.

Spooky? Loving? Cold? Warm?

THEME

Why is the story being told?

DRIVES THE PLOT

CHARACTERS
Who are they?

How do they Act/speak?

MAKE THE PLOT HAPPEN

PLOT

The characters in action.

How does it happen?

BEGINNING

How does it introduce the problem?

THE ENDING

How are the problems worked out?

What is your reaction to the story?

POINT OF VIEW

How is the story told?

What is the writer's style?

Sentence structure/vocabulary?

Plot

The plot of THE FAT MAN has a relatively straightforward cause - effect structure which can
be plotted as a flow chart. Chapter one can be plotted as shown on the diagram. It can be
summarised as:

It is 1933 in Loomis, a town in West Auckland. The Potters are poor. They depend on what ever
work Mr Potter can pick up as well as the occasional meal with his parents. Colin Potter decides
to go to his grandparents for a snack but elects to go the long way up the creek to Loomis. He
meets Herbert Muskie, a fat man who has returned to Loomis after 20 years away, who forces
him to burgle old Mrs Muskie's house...
TASK: Design a plot flow chart in your workbook and complete it chapter by chapter as you
read the novel.
A useful idea is to use a different coloured arrow for each chapter so that you can follow the
events as they happen.

Eg:

Chapter 1: THE DEPRESSION 1933; Loomis - In West Auckland. Colin Potter meets the Fat
Man. He is captured and forced to tell his name. The Fat Man forces him to burgle Mrs Muskie's
house. Colin is afraid to tell his parents.

Chapter 2: Colin is horrified to discover the Fat Man is staying at his grandparents' boarding
house...

Design A Board Game

ACTIVITY: Transactional writing, Thinking critically, Processing Information, Presenting using

static images.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA: Media. Processing information. Production ideas & style.

Design a board game based on the plot of THE FAT MAN which takes the players through the
events in the story and tests their knowledge of the novel.

You will be assessed on:

1. the visual presentation of the board game and its appropriateness to the novel.

2. the clarity of explanation of the rules of the game. This will include the appropriateness of
the language used to explain the game and its rules.

3. the knowledge of the novel that the game shows and tests.

4. evidence that you have made extensive use of the novel and your plot summary to develop
the game.

NOTE: If you are able to use a computer why not design your game using the design and draw
programs available?
WRITING THE RULES:

Before you begin work on the board game you need to consider the language and process of
writing rules. This exercise will help you with the steps involved in writing rules so that others
can follow them and relate their actions to them.
ACTIVITY: Exploring Language.

1. Choose a simple game that you have played either at home or at school. It could be a card
game like FISH or a game like HOPSCOTCH. Your class should identify no more than five
different games for you to choose from. Without talking to anyone in the class choose ONE of
the games and then write an account of how you play the game. Your account may be as long or
as short as you want as long as you are satisfied that all the information necessary to play the
game is there.

2. Once everyone has written their accounts about playing the game divide into groups based
on the game you have described. ie: All the people who wrote about playing FISH should be in
one group while those who wrote about playing HOPSCOTCH should be in another group. In
the group read through the different accounts about playing the game. Then use the accounts to
develop and write up a set of rules for the game.

3. a) Once each group has completed writing the rules for their game swap the rules with
another group. Now use the rules given to you to play the game. Remember you MUST follow
the rules given to you. You MUST NOT attempt to play the game as you know it or as you think
the rules should be.

Once you have played the game discuss the rules and their effectiveness. Make notes on the
points made by the members of your group about the rules. You should consider the following
questions:
1. What did the writers take for granted as they wrote the rules?

2. What was not stated in the rules that needed to be said if the game was to be easily
played and understood?

3. What was unclear in the rules and caused you problems in understanding the game?

b) Swap the set of rules you have discussed with another group and attempt to play the game
described in the new rules. If the game is the same as you played before you must still attempt to
play the game by the new rules.

Discuss the new set of rules using the same questions as you used before. If it was the same
game as your first rules you should discuss the similarities and differences between the two sets
of rules.
4. Compare the rules written by the groups with the rules for "Euchre" and "Trivial Pursuit".
List the similarities and differences in the organisation and explanations between the rules
written by the class and those from the commercial games.

5. Each group is to report back to the class on what they discovered about writing rules and
instructions. Use the points made to answer the following questions by filling in the blanks:

1. Rules assume that the reader does not .............. how to play the game.

2. A set of rules should use ................. (easily understood) words so that a reader can
follow them easily.
 3. It helps to follow the rules if they are organised in a .................... order. This can be as
a ........ or as a series of steps. The series of steps can be further organised into ........... that apply
to specific actions or processes in the game.

4. a) Ideally each sentence should be a ........... sentence and contain ......... idea so that there
is no confusion of meaning.

b) Where the rules need a paragraph to explain something the paragraph should be ........
with a limited number of words.

5. Where terms that are unique to the game are used the rules should .............. them by
explaining their meaning.

6. Rules should use more verbs than ............ and ................ because they involve actions
rather than descriptions.

7. The layout and presentation of a set of is helped if .................., ...................

and ................ with .................... is used to identify important parts of the rules.

8. If an action cannot easily be described then the rules should use a .................. which
clearly shows the action.

Keep these rules in mind as you design your board game based on . Once the board games
have been developed and completed they should be tested by being played by other members of
your class. You can even assess them using the criteria your teacher uses to assess your work.

Setting
The Setting for THE FAT MAN is the fictional town of Loomis which is in the Waitakere
hills in West Auckland. In reality Loomis is Henderson in the 1930s. The places where Colin
Potter played and had his adventure with The Fat Man can be traced on map of Henderson.

ACTIVITY:

Look carefully at the map of historic Henderson and from your reading of the novel draw a
map of Loomis showing Colin's favourite places and the location of the houses and places he
mentions.

Photographs of "Loomis"
Corbans Winery 1928 - Colin Potter's Dally Vineyard

Corbans Winery 1999

Falls Hotel 1999

 Falls Hotel 1928 When Colin Potter's Grandparents owned it and as Colin Potter would have
seen it.

Railway outside Henderson Town Hall

Character
Reception:

As you read THE FAT MAN you will discover how Maurice Gee builds up the characters
and setting so that the readers can create pictures of the people and places in their minds. The
first chapter of the novel introduces you to Colin Potter, the Fat Man and to Loomis. The
following questions are designed to test how well you read.
INSTRUCTIONS:

Read CHAPTER ONE carefully and attempt to answer ALL the questions. Make sure you
follow the instructions and that your answers are as thoughtful as possible.

For Level 2 write full sentences. For Levels 3-5 your answers must be between 1-5
paragraphs long. The more thoughtful the answer the more likely you will be to achieve the
higher level of understanding required for these questions. ONE WORD ANSWERS ARE NOT
ACCEPTABLE.

LEVEL 2:
1. The Potters have four drinking glasses. What are they made from?
2. List the items Colin finds in the Fat Man's rucksack.
3. What does the Fat Man have curling up his face?
4. List the birds and animals the characters are compared to?
5. What animal's head formed the buckle of the Fat Man's belt?
6. What is the Fat Man's real name?

LEVEL 3:

To achieve a Level 3 you must answer at least three questions correctly. Each answer should
be at least five sentences long.
1. Describe, in your own words, the things and places Colin sees on his journey from his
home to his Grandparents' house.
2. Describe, in your own words, the scene when Colin first meets the Fat man.
3. How does the Fat Man punish Colin?
4. "It made a popping sound" (p37) What language feature is this an example of? (eg:
metaphor, alliteration, simile, etc.) What is being described and why has this language feature
been used?
5. "He saw the man's behind gleaming like an eel's belly in the water." (p11) What
language feature is this an example of? What is the effect of this language feature. How does it
make you feel? What image does it give you in your mind? Why was it used?
 LEVEL 4:

To achieve a Level 4 you must answer both questions correctly. Each answer should be at
least five sentences long.
1. Why does Colin get exasperated (annoyed) with his mother and decide to go to his
Grandmother's home?
2. Why does Colin search the Fat Man's rucksack (bag)?

LEVEL 5:

To achieve a Level 5 you must answer both questions correctly. Each answer should be at
least five sentences long.
1. How effective is Maurice Gee in showing the reader that the Fat Man is an unpleasant
person who is not to be trusted? Support your answer with evidence (qiuotations and references)
from the chapter.
2. Identify another text you have "read" (eg novel, short story, TV programme, film etc)
that has an unpleasant character in it. How effective was the author in showing that the character
was a disagreeable person? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

EXTENSION TASKS:
1. What age group is The Fat Man written for? Explain how you reached this conclusion.
2. The Fat Man is a bully. What do you think might have made him this way?
3. Colin does not tell his parents straight away about the Fat Man because he is afraid of
him. Describe a time when you have been too afraid to do something you know you should do.
How is your experience simiiar to that of Colin's?

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Chapter One introduces the characters of Colin Potter and Herbert Muskie (the Fat Man) in
some detail. The information can be listed like this:
COLIN POTTER HERBERT MUSKIE
A hungry boy who is often greedy. A burglar who learnt crime in the USA.
Skinny. Creases of fat, pink skinned person.
Sense of ownership of hut. Black haired, balding.
Imaginative - dreams of being a hero. Not impulsive - considers all does.

There are aspects of Colin's mother that Gee introduces in the first chapter as well.

ACTIVITY: (close reading/processing information)

1. Using the Character attributes chart build up and add to the "Description lists" for Colin
Potter and Herbert Muskie as well as: LAURIE & MAISIE POTTER, Mrs MUSKIE, BETTE &
VERNA MUSKIE.
 CHARACTER ATTRIBUTE WEB

HOW CHARACTER ACTS HOW CHARACTER FEELS

1.

2.

3.

4.

1.

2.

3.

4.

WHERE CHARACTER LIVES HOW OTHERS ACT & FEEL

1.

2.

3.

4.

1.

2.

3.

4.

2. Use the listed information for: COLIN, HERBERT MUSKIE and ONE other character
in task (a) to write full (3-5 paragraph) descriptions.

Hint: ensure that your paragraphs include information on

Appearance - body shape, face, way s/he dresses.

Behaviours - how does the character speak, think, act towards others?
 Attitudes - what does the character think about people, the law?
3. Turn back to the description you wrote earlier of a person who horrified you or your
writing partner. Read it again and compare it with the description of Herbert Muskie in the novel
and the description of him that you have written. Which description is more effective? What has
made the description effective? Discuss the descriptions and the ways the writer has made it
effective with your teacher. Record the ideas in your workbook.

End Piece
NEWS WRITING TASK

1. You are a reporter for THE LOOMIS GAZETTE (6 December 1933) and have been
detailed to report on the death of Herbert Muskie in the fall from the flying fox above the river
gully in the hills above Ngatea.
1. You "interview" Colin Potter and Verna as eye witnesses, the Police involved in the
chase and a local farmer- Claude Foreman - on whose land the accident happened about the
chase and Muskie’s death.
2. You also "interview" Bette Muskie, Laurie and Maisie Potter about Herbert
Muskie’s past and what he did to them in Loomis.
3. From the information they give you you are to write the Front Page story for the
Gazette. You must use the Headline - "FLYING FOX FAILS FAT MAN - MUSKIE" as the
Editor has decided that that is the headline for the day’s paper.

2. The Editor decides that a graphic, in the form of a series of cartoon style drawings
showing the events leading up to the Fat Man’s fall from the Flying Fox (similar to the example
from the Hamilton Kidnapping story), should be used to add impact to the story.

As the illustrator - graphic artist for THE GAZETTE you are to draw a series of comic-
book cartoon style pictures with suitable captions that show the events from the time Muskie
seizes Verna and Colin, the drive through Auckland and the Waikato, the hillside chase and the
death at the Flying Fox that could be used with the inside paper story about Muskie.
3. The Editor also says that you are to include a map showing the route taken by the Fat
Man from Loomis to Ngatea as he tried to escape capture. Using information provided in the
novel to plot the journey on a map of the upper North Island. Label the towns or places
mentioned and, if possible, say what happened at each point.

TIME FOR TASK COMPLETION:

You have four class periods plus homework to complete the task.

REMEMBER:
1. You must follow the basic rules of writing a news story.. Most important information
first... least important last.
2. The story is a report of events that have happened so it will be written in the past tense.
3. Use reported (indirect) speech where necessary.
4. All sentences must be complete.
 5. Paragraphs must be correctly written.
6. All spelling must be correct.

Student Checklist
Abel Close reading activities

SPT
I listened to the teacher read parts of the novel

I read part of the novel in a group

I kept a reading log

I completed the close reading (comprehension) exercise.

I wrote a short description of the setting

I filled out a character description sheet

I explained one idea about the text

I wrote a letter to a character in the text

I "interviewed" a character in the text.

I wrote about an important event in the text

I wrote a newspaper story about an event in the text

I created a game based on the events in The Fat Man.

I completed the close reading of the text cover.

I created a static image (poster/book cover) for the text.