USEFUL QUOTES AND LINKS: SHORT TEXTS
IT USED TO BE GREEN ONCE
“Mum was cruel to us”. This describes how Kiri used to get the kids out of bed and
sit them on the cold floor if they didn’t get up when they were told. A lot is said in
this quote because although the narrator is remembering her mum as “cruel”, it is
clear from what she has just said that she just has high standards and has to be
organised, with so many children to take care of. Question: what do you think the
author is trying to make you think here?
“Warrant? What’s warrant?” This shows that Kiri is not sophisticated or educated.
She has not used correct syntax (we would say what’s a warrant?). Despite this, she
shows more ability in many areas than a lot of educated people do. Question: can
you think of any examples? E.g., Maths, science.
“Oh, the shame.” “We were all ashamed.” “We tried everything to stop her
shaming us all.” (etc.) These quotes provide a repeated theme throughout the story
– a motif – that is ironic because although it is repeated constantly throughout the
story, it is clear from everything else she says that the author is anything but
ashamed of her mother. Question: what is the effect of this repeated motif as the
story goes on?
“Your dad’s a rich man. Your dad, he’s just won fifty thousand dollars in a
lottery.” This quote is interesting because it shows a time before the equality of
women. Despite Kiri’s dominance of her family she still looks to her husband as the
head of the family. Question: do you think Kiri’s husband really is the head of the
family?
“We all changed…Mum didn’t change at all. Neither did Dad.” This quote shows
the essential goodness and humility of Kiri and her husband. It points out that their
values and their family are the most important thing to them and that these will
never change. It is the most important thing they have passed on to their children
and the thing the writer remembers most about her parents. Question: think about
teenagers and their parents today. Are these values (hard work, generosity,
humility, community) still important?
THE MAGPIES
“Tom’s hand was strong to the plough/Elizabeth’s lips were red.” This quote
shows that when Tom and Elizabeth were young and first worked the farm, they
were strong and healthy. It contrasts with the later paragraphs and gives us our
strongest description of the two. Question: the poet gives you very little detail
about the two characters. Why do you think this is?
“All the beautiful crops soon went/to the mortgage man instead.” This quote is
important because it shows how the bankers gradually wore away at Tom and
Elizabeth until they had nothing left. Question: who is the poet trying to blame for
Tom and Elizabeth’s problems? Do you agree?
“’Quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle’, the magpies said.” This quote comes in as a
chorus in each verse. It is a technique the poet uses to represent the magpies as pests
that are impossible to get rid of, even once everything else has been destroyed. He
also uses it to show the heartlessness of the bankers. Whatever was happening to
Tom and Elizabeth, the magpies continued to sing the same song, unsympathetic to
the misery around them. Finally, the poet is hinting that the bankers spoke
gobbledy-gook that no-one understood. They probably spoke in jargon about things
like diminishing returns, which simple farmers like Tom and Elizabeth, trying
desperately to make a living the only way they know how, could never understand.
Question: do you think this an effective technique? Why?