Letter to Daniel: Despatches from the Heart (BBC)

Product Information

NarrativeNarrative – Focus changed from – Focus changed from Daniel to father.Daniel to father.MetaphorMetaphor – Idea that his view of – Idea that his view of life has totally changed. Is this life has totally changed. Is this wholly positive?wholly positive? The colony is no more. The baby has grown into a boy and he now has a lovely younger sister. And I have greying hair and no longer roam the war zones of the world. This much - at least- has changed. MetaphorMetaphorWord choice – effect of Word choice – effect of “occasional” and of “occasional” and of “moments”.“moments”.

ACTIVITY 2ACTIVITY 2• Consider the following possibilities and decide which one Consider the following possibilities and decide which one DiscussDiscuss the following statements about the audience the following statements about the audience for the letter, decide which one you agree with most for the letter, decide which one you agree with most and be prepared to report your conclusions.and be prepared to report your conclusions.StructureStructure – lists most dangerous – lists most dangerous places he has been to emphasise places he has been to emphasise the risks he once tookthe risks he once took The big idea in Letter to Daniel is about the writer writing a letter for when he grows up. He is very proud of his son and wants to protect him. He is writing this letter with Daniel cradled in his left arm. This story describes a person; the person is Daniel. Also the writer expresses their own thoughts and Letter to Daniel’ is a Letter to Daniel’ is a non-fiction textnon-fiction text and in non- and in non-fiction we would normally expect authors fiction we would normally expect authors to write as to write as themselvesthemselves – rather than to adopt a different persona. – rather than to adopt a different persona.

But, Daniel, time had some bad surprises in store for them. The cancer of alcoholism ate away at the man and he lost his family. This was not something he meant to do or wanted to do, it just was. When you are older, my son, you will learn about how complicated life becomes, how we can lose our way and how people get hurt inside and out. By the time his son had grown up, the man lived away from his family, on his own in a one-roomed flat, living and dying for the bottle. He died on the fifth of January, one day before the anniversary of his son's birth, all those years before in that snowbound city. On his own, in a one roomed flat, On his own, in a one roomed flat, living and dying for the bottle.’living and dying for the bottle.’ The divides between periods of time The divides between periods of time are blurred or removed and time are blurred or removed and time means nothing.means nothing.The writer’s profession and his daily The writer’s profession and his daily routine are both entwined and routine are both entwined and connected: successful work depends connected: successful work depends on the quiet.on the quiet.From Our Own Correspondent." As a BBC correspondent, Keane has reported from various international crises areas including

learning a new grammar, a long sentence whose punctuation marks are feeding and winding and nappy changing and these occasional moments of quiet. But his son was too far away to hear his last words, his final breath, and all the things they might have wished to say to one another were left unspoken. Yet now Daniel, I must tell you that when you let out your first powerful cry in the delivery room of the Adventist Hospital and I became a father, I thought of your grandfather and, foolish though it may seem, hoped that in some way he could hear, across the infinity between the living and the dead, your proud statement of arrival. For if he could hear, he would recognise the distinct voice of family, the sound of hope and new beginnings that you and all your innocence and freshness have brought to the world. The text takes the format of a letter from a new father to his newly born son. Keane uses this to reflect on his life experience as not only a new father but also a war correspondent. It also reflects on the horrors of child suffering he has witnessed, his relationship with his alcoholic father and how fatherhood clearly changes his outlook on life. No longer recognises the person No longer recognises the person he was. Realises the need to put he was. Realises the need to put his son before everything else. his son before everything else. Will this impact on how he does Will this impact on how he does his job?his job? his newborn son was broadcast on the his newborn son was broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 programme, ‘From our BBC Radio 4 programme, ‘From our own Correspondent’. own Correspondent’.Model Paragraphs: We offer exemplar paragraphs that illustrate top-notch analysis and writing skills. In-Depth Exploration: Our unit delves deep into the themes of Keane’s “Letter to Daniel,” offering profound insights into the text’s core concepts. Because Fergal Keane has used Because Fergal Keane has used very precise detail in his letter to very precise detail in his letter to his son, the reader is given much his son, the reader is given much more powerful imagery and a real more powerful imagery and a real sense of what Keane writes about.sense of what Keane writes about.