The Last Spin

By Evan Hunter
 Unit Learning Intentions
By the end of studying this text you will be able to:
•Analyse characters and their relationship
•Discuss how the setting contributes to the themes
and plot of the story
•Analyse the language used to create certain effects
•Explore and discuss the themes of the story
•Select relevant quotations to show certain
themes/features of the story
•Construct and write a critical essay
 The Last Spin
This is a short story set in America about gang
violence.

It tells the story of 2 boys – Danny and Tigo –

who are from rival gangs who have been elected
by their gangs to play a game of Russian
Roulette to avoid too much violence on the
streets.
 The Last Spin
Learning Intentions
By the end of the lesson you will be able to:
•Show an understanding of the plot of the story
•Show an understanding of the structure of the
story.
 The Last Spin
Task One – The Plot
Write a summary of the story in your own
words. Be sure to include the significant details
of the story.

Your summary should be between 50 and 100

words.
 The Last Spin
For Example
“The Last Spin” by Evan Hunter is about 2 boys
called Danny and Tigo who have been elected by
their respective gangs to solve a dispute by playing
Russian Roulette. They are in a basement, taking
turns to fire the gun and as the story progresses
they realise they have a lot in common and become
friends. They both decide to leave their gangs and
Tigo suggests the next shot should be the last but
sadly Danny is killed.
 The Last Spin
Task Two – The Ending
Think about the ending of the story.

Write the answers to the following questions IN FULL

SENTENCES

1.Did you expect it? If not, what did you expect?

2.Do you think it was satisfying? Give reasons for your
answer.
3.Why do you think Evan Hunter chose to end the story
this way?
 The Last Spin
The story builds towards a climax (or turning
point) – a significant moment in the story where
tension is at its highest and the outcome of the
story is determined.

•What do you think the climax of the story is?

•In what way is it a turning point?
 The Last Spin
The story builds towards a climax (or turning
point) – a significant moment in the story where
tension is at its highest and the outcome of the
story is determined.

•What do you think the climax of the story is?

•In what way is it a turning point?
 Themes
Learning Intentions
By the end of the lesson you will be able to:
• Explain what the themes are in the story
• Justify your ideas with reference to the text.
 Themes
As you already know, every text has a purpose
behind it – a message of viewpoint the writer
wants to communicate to their readers.

Today we are going to explore the themes of the

story.

What do you think the themes of the story are?

 Themes
Some themes:
• violence/gang violence – N, K, C, H, K
• peer pressure – C, L, C
• friendship – S, R, C
• desire for escape – S, A, L
• innocence – J, S, D, A
 Themes
Now, in your pair/small group, identify parts of
the story that highlight your allocated theme.

Be prepared to share your answers with the

class, and to make notes on the other themes
that others in the class have explored.
 Characters
Learning Intentions
By the end of today’s lesson you will be able to:
•Describe the characters’ personalities
•Pick out examples from the text to justify your
ideas about the characters
 Characters
This story could be described as intimate – there
are only two characters and they are sitting in a
room for the whole story.

The story is very heavy on dialogue to give us an

insight into the characters’ personalities and
feelings. Today, we explore them.
 Characters
The class are going to be split in two – one half
looking at Danny, the other at Tigo.

In your jotter, make detailed notes on the

character you have been allocated. You can
choose how you lay this out (bullet points,
mind-map etc) but your notes must contain the
following information:
 Characters
• A profile of the character and how he changes
throughout the story (use the “beginning,
middle and end” structure)
• Quotations to support each of your claims
about the character. In an essay you must be
able to justify your opinions so this is good
practice!
 Characters
For Example
Danny
•Start – doesn’t want to connect with Tigo –
“The boy sitting opposite him was his enemy” –
repeats “enemy” to enforce Danny’s feelings.
 Setting and Language
Learning Intentions
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
• Comment on the setting and how it
contributes to the overall impact of the story
• Identify features of the language used and how
they contribute to the overall impact of the
story.
 Setting and Language
As has been stated before, this is a very intimate
story in that it is quite small scale.

In what way do you think the setting contributes

to the themes/ideas/plot of the story?
 Setting and Language
The setting is a “small basement room” where the
two boys are sitting at either side of a table. This
suggests the division between them – the table
separates them in the same way that their jackets
do. The fact that the room is in a basement
suggests how claustrophobic the place would be,
mirroring how “trapped” the boys are by their
situation. They are almost buried before the story
even begins by being underground, suggesting that
neither of them will escape no matter who dies.
 Setting and Language
The language used in the story is quite basic.
There is very little “fancy” description – no
similes or metaphors etc.

Why do you think that might be?

 Setting and Language
One possible reason is to let the characters lead
the story – the dialogue is the most evocative
and tells the story more than the narrative. The
characters’ personalities are revealed through
their actions and words as opposed to the
narrative voice telling us. This allows us to
connect more with the characters as we learn
about them more gradually.
 Setting and Language
Take a moment to look back through the story
and find the parts that contain description or
examples of figurative language.

Why are these parts described in detail but not

others?
 Setting and Language
Parts/things described in detail:
• jackets – different colours indicates different gangs
therefore sets up “enemy” relationship
•Tigo – D’s focus is on him because of their situation.
Prepares us for their relationship and adds to shock with
D is killed as we expect it to be T.
• gun – a lot of focus on the gun because the boys are
obviously very aware of it, and it is the only prop used. Its
use drives the story onwards.
• Tigo’s reaction when Danny is killed – the first instance
of figurative language gives this moment impact as the
violent imagery gives it prominence and highlights T’s
pain.
 Critical Essay
Learning Intentions
By the end of this task you will be able to:
• choose an appropriate question from a past
paper
• construct an argument in response to the
essay question
• select relevant areas of the text to discuss (in
the form of quotations)
 Critical Essay
This is one of the last critical essays we will
write. It will be done as a practice and will be
started in class and finished as homework.
 Critical Essay - Reminder
For the first essay we wrote on poetry I taught
you the 5 stages to writing an essay.

What are they?

 Critical Essay - Reminder
1. Read the question – BOTH parts
2. Identify the key words – write them at the top
of your answer paper
3. Plan the essay – decide on main points, the
order you will discuss them in and what
evidence you will use
4. Write the essay – using the PEA structure
5. Check it over – does it make sense? Fix any
mistakes – technical accuracy can fail an essay.
 Critical Essay - Reminder
I want to see evidence of ALL of these stages in
the essay you hand in.

Past papers Int 2 – 07, 08, 10, 11, 12

Past papers Int 1 – 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, (12)
 PEA Structure- Reminder
P stands for…
POINT – the first sentence of your paragraph
highlighting the main points in your argument
(using key words from the task).
E stands for…
EVIDENCE – the reference to or quotation from the
text that proves the point you’ve made.
A stands for…
ANALYSIS – your explanation of HOW the evidence
proves the point you have made (using key
words from the task).
 Success Criteria
To be successful your essay should:
•Follow the PEA structure
•Use key words from the question in your point
and in your analysis
•Only use quotations that are relevant to the task
•Analyse in as much detail as you can
•Summarise the points you’ve made in your
conclusion
•Make a judgement on how successful the writer
has been in relation to the task.