The Winter Oak: Summary

Set in Russia, a young boy called Savushkin, was constantly late for his school lessons. A new teacher Anna Vasilevna, notices this and decides to confront him as to the reasoning behind his lateness.

• Anna talks to Savushkin privately asking to see his mother, he says gladly, innocently, not fully realising why at first. He invites her to meet his mother
• Savushkin walks Anna through the forest path, towards his house. He points out all the nature and beauty of the forest to Anna, explaining it to her when she did not understand
• Savushkin leads Anna to the Winter Oak. She realises why Savushkin is constantly late, but eventually accepts that it is appropriate for Savushkin to walk through the forest

The Red Ball: Summary

Bolan is a young boy who came from Tunapuna and moved to Port of Spain because of his father’s work.

• Bolan is in the square when some boys ask for him to play with them he ignores them not wanting the nicknames to stick, 
• “Aye..Thinny Boney!...In his childish way, the boy had understood that if he answered to any of the names they coined for him, he would have to live with it forever.”
• He is sitting by himself by the fountain and admires the statue of the man thinking of it as a father figure
• One of the other children come up to him and asks his name. After a pause Bolan replies hesitantly and returns to his day dreaming
• After a while Bolan joins in with the boys. They then ask him to play tomorrow after seeing how good he is;  this shows him fitting in
• They go to eat black pudding but Bolan disappears after knowing he cannot afford it, he doesn’t want to accept a free sample because of the way he has been brought up
• When Bolan arrives home his father drunkenly interrogates him and accuses him of being selfish and ungrateful but his mother defends him
• Later his father insinuates that Bolan is the cause of them being in poverty
• The next day Bolan steals money from the savings can and uses it to buy a red ball then buys his ‘friends’ black pudding after the game; he is doing it to fit in and attempting to impress them
• His father comes to get him and drags him to the carpenter’s yard, once there then he beats him and shouts at him. His mother still defends him and stops the beating she understands the his position
• When he goes to bed he dreams that the fountain statue talks to him; the statue symbolises his father

Pieces of Silver: Summary

• The headmaster demands money for the previous headmaster’s retirement and humiliates students who do not/cannot bring it in
• Clement comes home and asks for the money from his parents who refuse
• His sister listens/comforts him and gives him advice on how to raise the money and get back at the head teacher
• They go out busking for money and receive a large amount when they end up going to the previous headmaster’s house
• Clement comes in to school the next day and pays for himself and all the other students who couldn’t pay either

Clement is meant to be a symbolic figure like Jesus. Jesus died to save us, Clement saved his fellow students.