Rockwell – the passive voice

(Tip : en mettant bout à bout toutestes réponses, tu obtiendras un résumé de la présentation “The Problem We All Live With” en anglais)

Task 1: Fill in the grid
ABOUT THE PAINTING

ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE FORM
Rockwell painted « The problem we all live with » in 1963.
It was published in ‘Look’ magazine.
The magazine was bought by millions of people.
Rockwell explored similar themes in the late 1960s.
The painting depicts a black child protagonist.

Task 2 : Make sentences in the passive form using the following elements. Then translate them into French.
ROCKWELL & THE SATURDAY EVENING POST  

  1. Rockwell / not expect / to paint controversial paintings
  2. He / ask / to repress his personal views
  3. His paintings / say / to be idealistic
  4. He / think/ to be a story-teller more than anything
  5. Rockwell / tell / to stick to conservative imagery

Task 3 : Say if the following sentences are in the active (A) or passive voice (P)
THE POLITICAL BACKGROUND

A P
The « Jim Crow » laws were enacted after the Reconstruction period.
Segregation mainly applied to Southern states.
Civil rights and civil liberties of Afro-Americans were dramatically restricted.
State-sponsored school segregation was declared unconstitutional in 1954
The Jim Crow laws were eventually overruled by the Civil Rights in 1964.

Task 4 – Rephrase the sentences as in the example (2 solutions each time)
LITTLE RUBY GOES TO SCHOOL

Ex : ‘Look’ offered Rockwell a forum to express his views.
a. Rockwell was offered a forum to express his views.
b. A forum was offered to Rockwell to express his views.

1. Ms Henry showed her new school to little Ruby.

2. Someone sent nasty letters to Ruby’s parents.

3. Infuriated parents wrote protest letters to the Head of Ruby’s school.

4. Pupils taught a racist song to Ruby.

5. Some white neighbours gave unreserved support to Ruby’s family.

Task 5 : Complete the blanks with a verb in the passive or the active voice.
RUBY’S FIRST YEAR AT SCHOOL

1. Ruby’s father (not make) … redundant: he (fire) … from his petrol station job because of his decision to send Ruby to a all-white public school.
2. White parents (drag) … their children out of the school.
3. Ruby (escort) … by her new teacher to a classroom on the second floor.
4. A trained child psychiatrist (offer)… to help the little girl.

Task 6 : Put the verbs into the passive voice – Choose the relevant tense each time.
THE PAINTING

1. “The problem we all live ” (consider) … as an iconic image of the Civil Rights movement in the USA.
2. She (escort)… by four US marshals because of the many threats against her.
3. The racial insult “nigger” (write) … on the wall, above her head.
4. A tomato (throw) … at the little girl.
5. The focus (set) … on her.
6. The little black girl (dress) … in white, so she stands out in the background.
7. The US marshals’ heads (crop) … at the shoulders so that the viewers should focus their attention on the little girl.
8. Colour saturation (use) … to enhance the intensity of the colours chosen for little Ruby.
9. The little girl obviously (not disturb) … by the angry mob.
10. Even though she (expose) in her white dress, she remains pure, innocent and serene.

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