Post by missmcgrory on Jan 30, 2012 14:42:08 GMT
Essay notes
The Test
1860s: slavery ends
1950s: this story is set
Late 50s/60s: civil rights movement
The story is set after slavery (almost a century!) but before CRM
Link to theme/message: The inspector’s overt racism shows how little progress has been made in people’s minds since the end of slavery and highlights the need for CRM to enforce equal rights and end discrimination.
Talking about it being “thought-provoking” and/or “interesting”
Not good to simply point out examples of racism in the story, you need to focus on WHY the story is unique/interesting and WHAT IT TEACHES US about racism in the 1950s.
- time setting (see comment above)
- word choice about the inspectors/fascism stuff – drawing a parallel like this is interesting because it highlights the extent and severity of racism and prejudice and directly links it to other evil and sinister aspects of 20th c history.
- Marian as admirable/superior – she is more highly qualified the inspector and one can easily assume, Mrs. Ericson. Yet they treat her as if she is beneath them and she is forced to do a low-skilled job, working for a white person. She is subject to prejudice and discrimination, but behaves with dignity and control at all times. Her obvious superiority to those who oppress her highlights the injustice of racism in the 1950s.
- Mrs. Ericson’s affection for Marian: She (possibly) does not consider herself a racist and is never overtly offensive on purpose. Marian obviously likes her, too, as they embrace at one point. She has been conditioned by society to just accept that black people are to be treated this way. She praises Marian, but in her praise, she hints at the superiority of white people: “slatternly white girls who found housework demeaning”. Comment: racism pervades society in the 1950s and even affects the mentality of people who avoid being overtly rude, ignorant and prejudiced. (People were racist without realising it).
- The inspector’s racism: Openly racist, patronising and rude to Marian. Shocks us as modern readers and reminds us of the severity and extent of racism in the 1950s. Pervades society to such an extent that his behaviour is acceptable. Remember, this seems to happen to Marian a lot!
A View from the Bridge
Don’t say “later on in the play….”, say “in Act 1….
Don’t tell the story, answer the question
Key scenes/incidents to write about:
The kiss: Act 2 – quote from the stage directions and explain what this tells us about Eddie. Why does he do something so strange? What is he trying to prove by kissing Rodolfo?
Show that he is the alpha male, humiliate Rodolfo, emasculate Rodolfo in front of Catherine
He kisses her because he is
attracted to her, he may be sexually frustrated, but most of all, he is trying to show possession – that she belongs to him and no-one else should touch her.
Fight for authority/to be the alpha male:
The chair scene at the end of Act 1. Marco challenges Eddie, because he feels Eddie’s ego and behaviour are getting out of hand. He is sending a message to Eddie that he is stronger and more powerful and could destroy Eddie (foreshadowing, as this is what actually happens)
Marco “transforms what might appear like a glare of warning into a smile of triumph, and Eddie’s grin vanishes as he absorbs his look”
Law and justice: EXPLAIN why Eddie feels he is right and there should be some support for his cause in the law. EXPLAIN why this is conflict between law and justice is an integral part of Italian-American immigrant community (hence the mafia). This is also why they harbour illegal immigrants and outcast anyone who reports them – they make up their own rules. The story about the boy, references to carthage in the prologue, reference to Al Capone and the mafia, the meeting with Alfieri, the fact Alfieri symbolises the American legal system, he is a half way point between America and Italy, he sticks to the law exactly, Marco at the end seeks out justice for himself his own way.
In the Snack Bar
The poem is called IN THE SNACK BAR. Not “At the Snack Bar”, “The Snack Bar” “In a Snack Bar” or anything similar. You MUST get the title right – it is a very famous poem.
Include a summary of the poem in your introduction, so that your essay makes sense to the reader.
When you quote an example of a technique being used by the poet, you MUST put the quote into context/explain what is happening in the quote or what it is about.
Theme/message: talk about the hardships he faces and how the poet admires him.
Don’t start a sentence with a quotation. Don’t start a paragraph with a quotation. Start the paragraph with a point, or topic sentence, then bring in the quotation to back up what you have said. Explain the context so it makes sense, obviously. Introduce the quotation (integrate).
Try to develop analysis beyond “this makes us feel sympathy because it shows how difficult every day life is for the man”. Give more details and link to the theme.
A lot of what you have to say will link to the snack bar as a hostile environment and a microcosm of a cold, unfriendly world.
A Study of Reading Habits
Philip Larkin is a very famous poet. You need to get his name right. Larkin, not LARKING.
You cannot say the poem is about Larkin himself, although the speaker does seem to be slightly autobiographical (socially awkward, low self-esteem, intellectual, bookworm). You need to say that the speaker is based on Larkin’s personality OR Larkin adopts a persona loosely based on himself for the speaker in the poem.
Always say THE SPEAKER as opposed to LARKIN when writing about what is written in the poem. E.g. The speaker is shown to be a bookworm as a child through Larkin’s word choice NOT “Larkin was a bookworm when he was a child”.
The poem is in three stanzas which correspond with three stages of the speaker’s life. (Childhood, adolescence, adulthood)
Childhood = boy’s books, heroes, gangsters etc
Adolescence = vampire stuff that links with/alludes to sex
Adulthood = he cannot use books to escape from reality any more because he cannot pretend to be the hero, even in his own imagination. It just reminds him of how inadequate he is.
The Test
1860s: slavery ends
1950s: this story is set
Late 50s/60s: civil rights movement
The story is set after slavery (almost a century!) but before CRM
Link to theme/message: The inspector’s overt racism shows how little progress has been made in people’s minds since the end of slavery and highlights the need for CRM to enforce equal rights and end discrimination.
Talking about it being “thought-provoking” and/or “interesting”
Not good to simply point out examples of racism in the story, you need to focus on WHY the story is unique/interesting and WHAT IT TEACHES US about racism in the 1950s.
- time setting (see comment above)
- word choice about the inspectors/fascism stuff – drawing a parallel like this is interesting because it highlights the extent and severity of racism and prejudice and directly links it to other evil and sinister aspects of 20th c history.
- Marian as admirable/superior – she is more highly qualified the inspector and one can easily assume, Mrs. Ericson. Yet they treat her as if she is beneath them and she is forced to do a low-skilled job, working for a white person. She is subject to prejudice and discrimination, but behaves with dignity and control at all times. Her obvious superiority to those who oppress her highlights the injustice of racism in the 1950s.
- Mrs. Ericson’s affection for Marian: She (possibly) does not consider herself a racist and is never overtly offensive on purpose. Marian obviously likes her, too, as they embrace at one point. She has been conditioned by society to just accept that black people are to be treated this way. She praises Marian, but in her praise, she hints at the superiority of white people: “slatternly white girls who found housework demeaning”. Comment: racism pervades society in the 1950s and even affects the mentality of people who avoid being overtly rude, ignorant and prejudiced. (People were racist without realising it).
- The inspector’s racism: Openly racist, patronising and rude to Marian. Shocks us as modern readers and reminds us of the severity and extent of racism in the 1950s. Pervades society to such an extent that his behaviour is acceptable. Remember, this seems to happen to Marian a lot!
A View from the Bridge
Don’t say “later on in the play….”, say “in Act 1….
Don’t tell the story, answer the question
Key scenes/incidents to write about:
The kiss: Act 2 – quote from the stage directions and explain what this tells us about Eddie. Why does he do something so strange? What is he trying to prove by kissing Rodolfo?
Show that he is the alpha male, humiliate Rodolfo, emasculate Rodolfo in front of Catherine
He kisses her because he is
attracted to her, he may be sexually frustrated, but most of all, he is trying to show possession – that she belongs to him and no-one else should touch her.
Fight for authority/to be the alpha male:
The chair scene at the end of Act 1. Marco challenges Eddie, because he feels Eddie’s ego and behaviour are getting out of hand. He is sending a message to Eddie that he is stronger and more powerful and could destroy Eddie (foreshadowing, as this is what actually happens)
Marco “transforms what might appear like a glare of warning into a smile of triumph, and Eddie’s grin vanishes as he absorbs his look”
Law and justice: EXPLAIN why Eddie feels he is right and there should be some support for his cause in the law. EXPLAIN why this is conflict between law and justice is an integral part of Italian-American immigrant community (hence the mafia). This is also why they harbour illegal immigrants and outcast anyone who reports them – they make up their own rules. The story about the boy, references to carthage in the prologue, reference to Al Capone and the mafia, the meeting with Alfieri, the fact Alfieri symbolises the American legal system, he is a half way point between America and Italy, he sticks to the law exactly, Marco at the end seeks out justice for himself his own way.
In the Snack Bar
The poem is called IN THE SNACK BAR. Not “At the Snack Bar”, “The Snack Bar” “In a Snack Bar” or anything similar. You MUST get the title right – it is a very famous poem.
Include a summary of the poem in your introduction, so that your essay makes sense to the reader.
When you quote an example of a technique being used by the poet, you MUST put the quote into context/explain what is happening in the quote or what it is about.
Theme/message: talk about the hardships he faces and how the poet admires him.
Don’t start a sentence with a quotation. Don’t start a paragraph with a quotation. Start the paragraph with a point, or topic sentence, then bring in the quotation to back up what you have said. Explain the context so it makes sense, obviously. Introduce the quotation (integrate).
Try to develop analysis beyond “this makes us feel sympathy because it shows how difficult every day life is for the man”. Give more details and link to the theme.
A lot of what you have to say will link to the snack bar as a hostile environment and a microcosm of a cold, unfriendly world.
A Study of Reading Habits
Philip Larkin is a very famous poet. You need to get his name right. Larkin, not LARKING.
You cannot say the poem is about Larkin himself, although the speaker does seem to be slightly autobiographical (socially awkward, low self-esteem, intellectual, bookworm). You need to say that the speaker is based on Larkin’s personality OR Larkin adopts a persona loosely based on himself for the speaker in the poem.
Always say THE SPEAKER as opposed to LARKIN when writing about what is written in the poem. E.g. The speaker is shown to be a bookworm as a child through Larkin’s word choice NOT “Larkin was a bookworm when he was a child”.
The poem is in three stanzas which correspond with three stages of the speaker’s life. (Childhood, adolescence, adulthood)
Childhood = boy’s books, heroes, gangsters etc
Adolescence = vampire stuff that links with/alludes to sex
Adulthood = he cannot use books to escape from reality any more because he cannot pretend to be the hero, even in his own imagination. It just reminds him of how inadequate he is.