Wednesday 26 January 2011

Shades of Grey by Linda Strachan

Why would you take the phone?
Checking there is no one there to see her, a girl checks the pockets of some coats hanging on a coat rack. She draws out a mobile phone she slips it into her own pocket,                     
Has she committed a crime?   Possibly.
Do we as readers know for sure, or do we know why? Not yet.
We have questions about her actions and motivations. How we feel about what she has done will probably depend on her reason for taking it.
1-     If we discover she is taking back a phone that is the lifeline for her sick mother and a bully has forcibly taken it from her, we feel she is justified and we're on her side.
2-     If we discover she is a nasty individual who is stealing it through jealousy or maliciously causing trouble for someone else, especially if the phone owner is vulnerable, then we are led to distrust and dislike the girl.
Crime is not straightforward it comes in many shades of grey –

Over to you…
What do you think was going on?
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7 comments:

  1. Anonymous26 January 2011 at 14:57

    It was her own coat, her own phone and she didn't want anyone at school to know she felt home sick and was ringing her mum! But someone who *was* stealing something round the corner noticed her doing it and reported her for theft...

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  2. Miriam Halahmy26 January 2011 at 16:27

    It's her sister's coat and phone. She is stealing the phone because there is really really bad news at home and she is trying to protect her sister. But she is spotted and reported.....

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  3. Keren David26 January 2011 at 17:18

    I think it's her exboyfriend's. He has some comprising pictures of her and she wants to destroy them. But she's caught on CCTV stealing the phone.

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  4. catdownunder26 January 2011 at 21:07

    There is a group of students holding the school hostage. The girl plans to slip into an ajacent cubicle and send a text message to the police even though...

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  5. Linda Strachan28 January 2011 at 05:09

    All great ideas, but what if she isn't such a nice person. Perhaps she is stealing the phone to send a malicious message to someone and then planning to put it back before anyone sees, so that the phone's owner gets the blame?

    Howdy, Cat, from the sunny Gold Coast, blue skies and waving palms. Really enjoying the warm weather on your side of the world!

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  6. catdownunder28 January 2011 at 09:10

    Oh hi Linda - don't get caught up in the cyclone! I am sure it is otherwise very nice up there! Cooler than it is here in fact.
    You will note I did put "even though..." at the end of my suggestion and now I will ask "what if..."

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  7. Linda Strachan28 January 2011 at 12:58

    Hopefully it is much further north, Cat! But I'm off to New Zealand on Sunday and hopefully I'll be over the jetlag before then.

    Yes, there is an 'even though...' and now a 'What if..' All sorts of possibilities, that's why I love this kind of thing, it can go any way you want it to.

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