Unit 1 – Aspects of Narrative

Exam Questions

W H AUDEN

January 201201) Write about Auden’s narrative method in ‘O Where Are You Going’.

June 201101) Write about Auden’s narrative methods in ‘1st September 1939’.Authorial methods need to be related to the story being told in the poem.Possible content:

narrative perspective/ voices: first person narrator who may be Auden, voices of thecommuters, self-conscious poetic voice of the seer, etc.

setting: place - America, precisely a dive on Fifty-second Street, strong European context, classical past/ time setting: precise date, outbreak of 2nd World War, etc.

nine stanzas of eleven lines, irregular rhyming pattern, significance of the rhyme of the final lines of the stanzas, etc.

chronology - begins in the present and then becomes reflective, excursions into the future, tentative hope at the end, etc.

use of military and political imagery, references to different cultures, real historical figures, the classics, snatches of speech, use of Americanisms, use of complex diction, haunting tone, significance of the title, etc

Jan 201101) Write about Auden’s narrative methods in ‘If I Could Tell You.’

Possible content: narrative perspective/voices: first person narrator who is unidentified, sense of the addressee

possibly the reader, voice of Time, ironic tone etc. setting the time and place . indistinct, sense of a rural and cultural setting, etc. six stanza poem of triplets and an irregular final quatrain, use of only two rhymes, speaking

rhythm, etc. use of statements and ‘If’ constructions to shape the poem, circular narrative, lack of

progression, use of repetition, etc. use of nature imagery, use of questions, use of modal verbs, personification of Time, emotive

language, significance of the title, etc.

June 201001) Write about Auden’s narrative method in ‘As I Walked Out One Evening’.

narrative perspective/voices: first person narrator who is anonymous and detached, sense of a recorder of events, internal voice of the lover who seems to be male, sense of the female addressee, voice of Time? (omniscient and omnipotent - perhaps compassionate)ironic tone of Time, varied tones throughout the poem - detached, romantic, urgent , angry, compassionate, etc

setting: England, Bristol Street in Birmingham, references to a kind of never-never land, desert and glacial landscapes, mid-twentieth century with an awareness of an unspecified future, etc

ballad, use of abcb rhyme scheme, use of quatrains, etc use of framed narration, chronology - a story about an overheard conversation, use of past tense,

then dramatic present for the overheard story, narrative frame to complete, time has moved on and the lovers have long gone, use of repetition and echoes to hold story together, etc

use of romantic imagery, sustained metaphors, clichés, intertextual references, fairy-tale imagery and references, natural imagery, use of hyperbole, personification, use of contrast, use of the apostrophe, use of simple conjunctions, use of parallels and patterns, etc.

Jan 201001) Write about the ways in which Auden tells the story in ‘O What Is That Sound’ (21 marks)

narrative perspective/voices: no narrative frame, immediacy of the two voices, unnamed characters defined by what they say, subtle changes of tone, etc

setting: England, seems like rural England, importance of military background, seems to be set in a previous century, etc

ballad, regular quatrain pattern, regular pattern of longer lines line at the start of the stanzas and a final shorter fourth line, regular abab rhyme, two speaking voices, etc

chronology . present time: determined by the movement of soldiers ever closer to the twospeakers/balanced question and answer format of alternating speakers (seems like a female voice followed by a male’s), etc

use of the urgent apostrophe of the female voice, archaic language, tender (sincere?) forms of address, use of repetition, language of love and betrayal, use of the present participle, use of detail, use of nouns, etc.

June 200901) Write about the ways Auden tells the story in ‘Miss Gee’.

Form: ballad, song (originally set to the tune of ‘St James’ Infirmary’), regular pattern of quatrains, regular rhyme, rhythm, etc

Structure: linear chronology but with a time jump at the end, repetition of phrasing, direct opening, central crisis – her illness, comic ending, etc

Language: simple, often monosyllabic, use of speech, contemporary references – ‘Oxford Groupers’, use of detail, symbolism, imagery – bicycle, clothing, etc./use of names, title of poem, references to time, use of slapstick humour, etc

Narrative perspective/voices: omniscient narrator who offers a wry commentary/variety of voices within the poem Miss Gee, the vicar, Doctor Thomas, etc/the comic tone, etc.

Setting: rural England, 1930s, etc.

January 2012

02) How do you respond to the view that Auden’s poems are too obscure to beenjoyable?

June 201102) ‘The shadow of death hangs over all of Auden’s poetry’.

How do you respond to this view?Some will agree and focus on

‘1st September 1939’ death of society/ death linked to war/ death as a warning as in the given quotation

‘As I Walked ....’ implicit connection between Time and Death (‘A lane to the land of the dead’ at the centre of the poem)

‘If I Could Tell You’ implicit connection between Time and Death again/ hauntingpresence

‘O Where ... . significance of the word ‘fatal’/ implicit ideas about death ‘Ode’ - connected to ideas about war/ images of death/ idea of Love’s being ‘hugged to death’ ‘O what is that Sound’ - death of love/ sound itself might be the Grim Reaper/ implicit

menace of the soldiers’ threat of death

‘Miss Gee’ - death the most significant happening for Miss Gee, etc.Some will challenge the question and focus on the view

that the poems have other major concerns (accept any valid argument) that in ‘Miss Gee’ death is not haunting but is part of the poem’s comedy that death is only peripheral and not central, e.g. in ‘O Where...’ there is a sharper focus on fear

and abandonment, etc. that death is not menacing but more part of an intellectual or philosophical debate, etc.

Jan 201102) How far do you agree with the view that Auden’s poems always leave the reader with a

disturbing sense of uncertainty?Possible content:Some will agree and focus on:

the uncertainty of the narrative voices the lack of clear locations the gaps in the narratives the uncertain endings the uncertainties about antagonists and protagonists, the lack of clarity about dates and times and events the blending of comic and serious tones in ‘Miss Gee’, etc.

Some will disagree and focus on: the view that the uncertainties are not disturbing, but perhaps consoling ‘1st September 1939’ having plenty of certainty since we read the poem in retrospect the comic content of ‘Miss Gee’ the disturbing certainty of time moving inexorably forward in ‘As I walked Out One Evening’ etc.

June 201002) It has been said that the ‘whirr and chime’ of clocks can be heard throughout Auden’s poetry.

How important is time in Auden’s poetry?Some will agree and focus on

the explicit references to time in ‘As I Walked ..., ‘1st September 1939’, ‘If I Could Tell You’, ‘Where Are You Going’

the implicit references in ‘O What Is That Sound’ and ‘Ode’ the use of time as a theme the way time is used in imagery the actual hearing of the clocks through sound echoes, etc.

Some will offer some challenge and focus on other thematic concerns other sounds that can be heard, etc.

Jan 201002) How far would you agree with the view that romantic relationships in Auden’s poetry are far

from happy? Some will agree and focus on

the sense of dependency and betrayal in ‘O What Is That Sound’ the effects of time in ‘As I Walked out One Evening’. the sexual frustration of Miss Gee the emptiness expressed in ‘1st September 1939’, etc.

Some will disagree and focus on the beauty of love in ‘As I Walked’. the possible positive affirmation of love in ‘As I Walked’.

Some might write about different types of love and that Auden moves beyond romantic love. Suchcomments can be credited if there is relevant argument and if there is adequate discussion of romantic love for half the answer, etc.

June 200902) Is ‘Miss Gee’ ultimately a comic poem?

Some will agree and focus on the comic elements of the poem its light hearted tone comic irony the poem’s being about cancer and death but its not having a dark mood

Some will disagree and focus on the horror elements – Miss Gee’s cancer, the body used for medical research perhaps Miss Gee’s disease as a cultural metaphor/destruction of creativity the medical debate about cancer individual failure the uncaring society the ways the reader is made to feel ashamed of laughing at Miss Gee’s sexual repression, genteel poverty, etc. the inadequacies of conventional religion, etc.

ROBERT BROWNING

January 201203) Write about the ways Browning tells the story in ‘My Last Duchess’.

June 201103) Write about the ways Browning tells the story in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’.Authorial methods need to be related to the story being told in this poem.Possible content:

narrative perspective/voices: first person narrator, use of past and present tenses, calm measured tone disguising the disturbed murderous speaker, voice of a psychopath, significantly no voice is given to Porphyria herself, etc.

setting: the lover’s cottage, a rural landscape, single room/ time - seems to be set in an undefined past, events cover one night, etc.

dramatic monologue, use of iambic tetrameters, imitation of speaking rhythms, etc. linear chronology - story moves from the immediate past into the present, begins with a

description and focus on the weather, moves to a focus on Porphyria and theirrelationship, climactic moment is her murder and then the surprise ending: Porphyria is already dead when the narrative begins and the speaker sits with her dead body/ use of enjambment/ use of controlled though irregular rhyme, significance of couplet at the end, etc.

colloquial speech, use of contractions, use of Porphyria’s name, significance of the title, use of detail, use of pathetic fallacy, use of natural imagery, use of sensual imagery, use of repetition, use of abstract nouns, use of contrast, etc.

Jan 2011 03) Write about the ways Browning tells the story in Sections Vll, Vlll, lX, X and Xl of ‘The Pied Piper of

Hamelin’.Possible content:

narrative perspective/voices: third person omniscient narrator, comic tone, voice of stout rat, imagined voice of the piper, voice of the Mayor and the Pied Piper, etc

setting: place - Hamelin, the street, the Weser/time - medieval, immediate time and a sense of a later time when the rat reads his commentary, etc.

Child’s story, extended narrative, clearly delineated stanzas/verse paragraphs, a cautionary tale, a political story, etc.

linear chronology with a flash forward, direct opening in this section, follows the piper luring away the rats, the celebrations of the town, ends with the dramatic confrontation between the Mayor and the Piper, use of rhyme - generally couplets with some variations, use of past tense and present participles etc.

simple language suitable for a child, use of dynamic verbs, use of repetition, use of lists, colour imagery, references to specific wines, semantic field of civic life/German life, use of direct speech, emotive language, use of similes etc.

June 201003) Write about the ways Browning tells the story in ‘The Patriot’.Possible content:

narrative perspective/voices: first person narrator, reflective tone, quiet resignation at the end, etc setting: specific town, Shambles. Gate, reference to scaffold/no exact time setting but seems to be

set in Browning’s past (?) etc regular five-line stanzas, ballad style, regular ababa rhyme scheme, etc linear chronology, set in the present but looking back to a year ago direct opening, story structured

with the use of contrasts, ends in resignation, etc use of speech, natural imagery, time references, specific reference to Shambles’ gate, use of

personal pronouns, use of repetition, patterns, reference to God, use of the subtitle AN OLD STORY, etc.

Jan 201003) Write about the ways Browning tells the story in ‘The Bishop Orders his Tomb’ Possible content:

narrative perspective/voices: first person narrator, use of dramatic present, comic tone in places setting: Rome, state chamber, significance of the bed and tomb, Saint Praxed’s church, 15-,

midnight, etc dramatic monologue, use of iambic pentameters, imitation of speaking rhythms, sense of listening

audience, etc linear chronology, direct opening and introduction of the speaker on his death bed, flashbacks to

memories of earlier times and thoughts, steady movement forward in time, etc colloquial speech, use of contractions, use of specific names, use of dramatic pauses, use of detail,

discourse markers, use of the imperative, use of contrast, use of ‘questions’ especially rhetorical questions, references to the Bible, use of Latin, use of personal pronouns, exclamations, use of similes, etc.

June 200903) How does Browning tell the story in ‘My Last Duchess’?

Form: dramatic monologue, written in iambic pentameters, reads like blank verse/contains three formal elements: an occasion, a speaker, a hearer/all words are heard and intended to be heard by an implied auditor (the Count’s envoy)/has the appearance of being excerpted from the body of a verse drama/use of implicit stage directions (‘Will’t please you sit and look at her?’ and ‘Will’t please you rise?’) etc.

Structure: begins with the Duke pointing out the Duchess’s portrait; unclear at first who is being addressed/focus on the relationship between the Duke and his Duchess/dramatic climax of the possible murder of his wife which is underplayed/use of dramatic surprise /finally the Duke disappears from view as he descends the staircase/linear chronology, but with use of flashback, use of heroic couplets, lines not end stopped – enjambment cuts across the rhyming lines creating a powerful force behind the Duke’s revelations, etc.

Language: use of repetition (Fra Pandolf’s name – perhaps suggests the Duke has control over the artist), use of the word ‘stoop’ which is repeated – this is what the Duke will not do, the title is also repeated in the first line perhaps to emphasise the possessive nature of the Duke, the Duchess is

referred to throughout as ‘she’ and ‘her’, not by name, use of contrast - male figures are named, references to power (‘nine-hundred-years-old name’, ‘stoop to blame’, ‘commands’) – reflecting the Duke’s arrogance, the oral quality of the narrative is suggested by the fragmented sentences when the Duke apparently struggles to find his words (‘but thanked/Somehow – I know not how – as if she ranked/My gift’), lexical fields ofart, business/ natural imagery, colloquial speech, use of contractions, use of specific names, use of dramatic pauses, use of detail, discourse markers, use of the imperative, use of contrast, etc.

Narrative perspective/voices: first person narrator, aristocrat, voice – superior anddetached; the Duke suggests his addressee is inferior, the Duke talks about the Duchess but never quotes her words, the Duke – a performer who mimics voices of others, the mood he creates is chilling and dark, etc.

Setting: the Duke of Ferrara’s palace, upstairs in the gallery, 16th century setting, etc.

January 201204) To what extent do you think that in Browning’s poetry women are powerless?June 201104) How far would you agree with the view that in Browning’s poems women are

important only because they reveal the characters of men?

Some will agree and focus on: the poet’s interest in the characters and attitudes of men Porphyria and her lover and what we learn of his psychology the Duke and the Duchess and his arrogance and need to control Fra Lippo Lippi and the unnamed ‘sportive ladies’ and how his love of life and art are

revealedSome will disagree and focus on:

the ways that women’s characters are revealed in spite of the speakers Browning as a subtle portrait painter the ways the poems reflect the patriarchal world in which Browning was writing the ways the gaps in the narratives invite readers to speculate on the women who are behind the

stories, etc.

Jan 201104) How far would you agree that the most striking feature of Browning’s poems is the way

characters experience extreme changes of fortune?

Some will agree and focus on: the fluctuating fortunes of the Pied Piper and the town of Hamelin the happiness and then death of Porphyria the joy of the Duchess and then the stopping of her smiles the rise and fall and rise perhaps of Fra Lippo Lippi/ the Bishop’s vanity compared with his

imminent death the hero/worship of the patriot and his disgrace and condemnation, etc.

Some will disagree and focus on any number of things, e.g. major thematic concerns, poetic or narrative methods, use of irony or humour, didactic purpose, issues of gender, etc.Accept any relevant argument but at least part of the answer must be on the changes of fortune.

June 2010

04) How far do you agree that the Patriot and the Pied Piper are heroes?

Some candidates will see them both as heroes and focus on: the triumphant occasions the glory and adulation the fickle attitudes of other characters in the poems, etc.

Some will question what hero might mean.

Some will see the Pied Piper as a different kind of hero to the patriot.Some will discuss the irony.Some will discuss the titles of the two poems.Some might not think the word ‘hero’ appropriate at all, etc.Jan 201004) How far do you agree that the characters in Browning’s poetry display a disturbing lack of morality?

Candidates might consider: what the nature of the immorality is whether the immorality shown is ‘disturbing’ whether immorality exists in all the poems - can expect some fierce defence of the Pied Piper whether any of the characters have anything to redeem them whether the flawed characters are fascinating to readers, etc.

June 200904) “The disturbing behaviour of both the Duke of Ferrara and of Porphyria’s Lover makes it

impossible for readers to sympathise with them.” How far do you agree with this view?Some will agree and focus on

the psychopathic behaviour of the two speakers their appalling treatment of women the Duke’s arrogance/ the lover’s terrible jealous obsession, etc.

Some will disagree with the claim and focus on the ways readers might fall under the spells of the two narrators the monologue form and how this can shape attitudes and sympathies the fact that some Victorian readers might well have supported the actions of the two

speakers given the patriarchal world the fact that the narrators are controlling and biased in their narrations and that this

influences sympathy the possibility that Porphyria’s sexual transgressions and betrayal of her class are justly dealt with

Other possibilities: candidates might take each poem separately and argue differently about each poem the terms ‘impossible’, ‘sympathise’ and ‘disturbing’ might be unpicked and challenged in a variety

of ways Browning’s seeming not to privilege either conclusion or his loose didacticism might be discussed,

etc.

KHALED HOSSEINI – ‘THE KITE RUNNER’

Jan 201221) Write about the ways Hosseini tells the story in Chapter 7.

June 201121) Write about the ways Hosseini tells the story in Chapter 2.Authorial methods need to be related to the story being told in this chapter.Possible content:

Narrative perspective/ voices: first person retrospective narrator, use of introspection,serious tone, use of other voices: Ali, Hassan, various children, Sanaubar, older voice of Amir commenting on his younger self, etc.

Setting: place - Afghanistan, Wazir Akbar Khan scenes, scenes in the countryside, inAmir’s mansion and in Ali’s hut/ time - references to 1931, 1963 and 1964, projectionforward to 1975, various daytime settings, etc.

here a bildungsroman, a confessional, a novel about sin and redemption, fictive

autobiography, psychological exploration, etc. a retrospective glance at Amir’s childhood, events are disordered, references to Amir’s pastoral

childhood with Hassan, a factual account of the boys’ births and thedisappearance of Hassan’s mother, snatches of memory in a seemingly random order, etc.

descriptive detail, use of dialogue, pastoral imagery, use of Afghan words, use of emotive language, variety of sentence length, time references, adverbs, use of dates, use of song, references to winter, specific cultural and religious references (Pashtuns, Hazaras, Sunnis, Shi’as), use of speech, dialogue, use of vulgarisms, etc.

Jan 201121) Write about the ways Hosseini tells the story in Chapter 22.Possible content:

narrative perspective/ voices: first person retrospective narrator, use of introspection, serious tone, use of other voices: Farid, Assef, Sohrab and Amir, guards acting like achorus, etc.

setting: place - Afghanistan, Wazir Akbar Khan, the locked room/ time - prolonged sense of the interview and altercation in the 1990’s time frame, reminiscences from earlier points in Afghan history, etc.

adventure/ thriller story, psychological exploration, shades of a bildungsroman, etc. begins with Amir’s arrival at the house in Wazir Akbar Khan, use of flashback through Amir’s memories of Baba - focus on Baba’s death and burial in Hayward, return to the present and

Amir’s meeting with the armed guards, their reminiscences of 1998 and the massacre of the Hazaras, dramatic moment of the meeting with Sohrab, the revelation of Assef as a Talib, flashback of the Russian invasion from Assef, the confrontation between Assef and Amir, the fight and Sohrab’s intervention, their escape, ends with Amir’s passing out/ extensive use of flashbacks in the characters. speech and thoughts, etc.

descriptive detail, use of dialogue, use of Afghan words, use of repetition, use of emotive language, variety of sentence length, time references, adverbs, religious references, violent images, use of italics, capital letters, etc.

June 201021) Write about the ways Hosseini tells the story in Chapter 13.Possible content:

narrative perspective/voices: first person retrospective narrator, use of introspection,dramatic present, serious tone, use of other voices: Baba, Soraya, the mourners at the funeral - dramatic chorus, etc

setting: America, references to Afghanistan, late 1980s, etc adventure/thriller story, psychological exploration, confessional, a love story, shades of a

bildungsroman, etc linear chronology, series of potted stories with paragraph breaks, opens with a direct link with the

previous chapter - the next evening, leads to coverage of various events – the wedding, Baba’s death, married life of Amir and Soraya, Amir’s writing, Soraya’s inability to conceive at end of the chapter, etc

descriptive detail, use of dialogue, use of Afghan words, language of reflection,introspection, use of emotive language, variety of sentence length, time references,references to love, death, birth, irony of the writer within the novel, references to Afghan politics and history, etc.

Jan 2010 21) Write about the ways Hosseini tells the story in Chapter 9.

Possible content: narrative perspective/voices: first retrospective narrator, use of introspection, dramatic present, serious tone, use of other voices: Baba, Ali, etc Setting: Afghanistan, Amir.s birthday, a single day, etc

adventure/thriller story, psychological exploration, a confessional, shades of a bildungsroman, novel about family relationships, etc

linear chronology, opens with Amir reflecting on his birthday presents and his father, dramatic centre is Amir’s planting his new watch under Hassan’s mattress and the ensuing accusations, the leaving of Ali and Hassan concludes the chapter, etc

descriptive detail, use of dialogue, use of Afghan words, use of emotive language, variety of sentence length, time references, use of parallel sequences, language of guilt and pain, use of pathetic fallacy, etc.

June 200921) Write about the ways Hosseini tells the story in Chapter 12.

Form: love story, about social realism, shades of a bildungsroman, etc Structure: linear chronology, framed by the love story of Amir and Soraya, central section the

discovery of Baba’s cancer, etc Language: descriptive detail, use of dialogue, use of Afghan words, use of Russian, use of emotive

language, use of contrast, time references, adverbs, language of love, lexical field of cancer, etc Narrative perspective/ voices: first person retrospective narrator, use of introspection,

serious tone, use of other voices: Baba, the Doctor, Soraya, etc Setting: America, the flea market, the hospital, different time settings, etc.

January 201222) How far do you agree with the view that ‘The Kite Runner’ is a celebration of the bonds

of brotherhood?June 201122) How far do you agree that the most moving moments in ‘The Kite Runner’ are those

that Amir and Hassan spend together as children?

Some will agree and focus on the early days of idyllic happiness between the two boys the love that Hassan has for Amir Amir’s natural love for Hassan Hassan’s loyalty the boys’ closeness with nature Amir’s dependence on Hassan because of his father’s neglect, etc.

Some will disagree and focus on the unhappiness of so much of Amir’s childhood with Hassan and the disturbing effect this has on

the reader the haunting memory for Amir of Hassan’s rape and the horror of this event for the reader the ‘moving’ scenes between Amir and Soraya, Amir and Baba, Amir and Sohrab the kite runner scene at the end of the novel, etc.

Jan 201122) ‘Assef is nothing more than an evil thug’.

How do you respond to Assef’s character and role in ‘The Kite Runner’ as a whole?Some will agree and focus on:

Assef’s treatment of Hassan his behaviour in chapter 22 his sadism his bullying, his paedophile tendencies, his raping of Hassan and Sohrab his attitudes towards women his links with Nazism/ fascism the way he is significant only in his role as a villain the way he is not a rounded character, etc.

Some will disagree and focus on:

his significance as a plot device his importance in the structure of the novel (parallels and mirroring) his being an antithesis of Amir and his helping to reveal Amir’s character the way Hosseini uses him to comment on politics and history, etc.

June 201022) ‘The men are more convincingly portrayed than the women in ‘The Kite Runner’’. What do you

think of this view?Some will agree and focus on

the characters of Amir, Baba, Hassan, Ali, General Taheri, Rahim Khan, Assef, Ali, etc the introspective first person male narrator the most painful relationships being those between brothers, male friends, male enemies and

fathers and sons, etc the guilt felt by Baba and Amir the background war story and the adventure story which is dominated by men the fact that women are only seen as mothers or wives, etc.

Some will disagree and focus on Soraya and her inner strength minor female characters who are courageous and who have voices however small, etc the way that some male characters have female characteristics, etc.

Jan 201022) ‘In ‘The Kite Runner’ the relationships between fathers and sons are never joyful’.

What do you think of this view? Some will agree and focus on

Baba and Amir and their tortured relationship - especially Amir’s childhood Hassan and Ali - their poverty and Ali’s knowledge that he is not the father of Hassan their leaving Baba’s employment falsely accused and with the terrible knowledge of Hassan’s rape the relationship between Baba and Hassan Amir and Sohrab and the problems in their relationship, etc.

Some will disagree and focus on the way that eventually the relationship between Amir and Baba improves the relationship between the surrogate Rahim Khan and Amir the tender and caring relationship between Ali and Hassan the promise of a good relationship between Amir and Sohrab, etc.

June 200922) Is it possible to see Baba as a tragic hero?Some will agree and focus on

classical notions of ‘tragic hero’/some will unpick the paired words and explore (there is no need to refer to classical tragedy/candidates can define their own terms)

Baba’s pride and defiance regarding his illness Baba’s adultery and deceit Baba’s love for Amir and Hassan Baba’s changes of fortune Baba’s love for his country and for fellow human beings the tragedy of cancer Baba’s dignity his ‘heroic’ acts the legacy he leaves behind, etc.

Some will disagree and challenge the concept of tragic challenge the concept of hero focus on Baba simply as a father

say he is only peripheral to Amir’s story, etc

F SCOTT FITZGERALD – ‘THE GREAT GATSBY’

January 201229) Write about some of the ways Fitzgerald tells the story in Chapter 2.

June 201129) Write about some of the ways Fitzgerald tells the story in Chapter 1.Authorial methods need to be related to the story being told in this chapter.Possible content:

narrative perspective/ voices: first person narrator, self-conscious story-teller and author, use of choric voices and rumour, voices of Tom, Daisy, Jordan, naive reflections of the participant narrator, etc.

setting: New York, West Egg and East Egg, the Buchanan house, Gatsby.s lawn and the dock, etc. 20th century tragedy, a novel about writing a novel, a domestic drama, an allegory, etc. begins with a generalised reflection of Nick about himself, introduction to Gatsby.s mansion but not Gatsby, visit to Tom and Daisy.s, return home and mysterious sighting of Gatsby,

etc. educated prose, moralising sententiousness of the start, use of poetic prose, use of

dialogue, intertextual references, references to American history, use of dates, places descriptive detail, sensual description of the women, use of colour, use of irony,significance of names, etc.

Jan 201129) Write about some of the ways Fitzgerald tells the story in Chapter 8.Possible content:

narrative perspective/ voices: first person narrator, self-conscious story-teller and author, use of Gatsby’s voice, Jordan’s, George Wilson’s, Michealis’s story of Wilson, Nick’s imagined story of Gatsby’s murder, etc.

setting: place - New York, Gatsby’s mansion, the swimming pool, the visit to the ash heaps and Wilson’s garage, Daisy’s house in her youth, etc/ time - autumn, the night of the incident and death of Myrtle, flashback to Daisy and Gatsby’s summer time of love, the war and their separation, Daisy’s marriage to Tom, the next morning, six o. clock a.m., two p.m. etc.

20th century tragedy, a novel about writing a novel, love story, etc. begins with Nick’s being unable to sleep, his decision to go and speak to Gatsby,

conversation about Gatsby’s past, ominous instruction of Gatsby to the Gardener not to empty the pool, Nick’s leaving for the train, his conversation with Jordan in the city, the flashback to the night before and George Wilson’s terrible grief, leading to George’s killing of Gatsby, etc

poetic prose, descriptive detail, sensual description, precise time references, melancholic tone, natural imagery, use of colour, use of dialogue, contrast of moods and voices, subtle description of Gatsby’s death, etc.

June 201029) Write about some of the ways Fitzgerald tells the story in Chapter 9.Possible content:

narrative perspective/voices: first person narrator, self-conscious story teller and author, use of choric voices, use of Mr Gatz’s voice, stray voice of Slagle, use of the telephone, etc

setting: New York, Nick’s house, Gatsby’s mansion, the cemetery, Fifth Avenue, early 20 th century, etc

20th century tragedy, a novel about writing a novel, a love story, etc time leap - 2 years have passed, flashback through Nick’s memory, non-chronological/ begins with

the remembered scene outside Gatsby’s house, leads to Nick’s attempt to call Daisy, the arrival of

Gatsby’s father - his story of Gatsby’s youth, Gatsby’s funeral, reflections of Nick’s thoughts about the Mid West, Nick’s final meeting with Tom and Daisy,

Nick’s leaving New York, etc poetic prose, descriptive detail, sensual description, funereal language, use of French, dialogue,

variations of pace, use of Wolfshiem’s letter, use of Gatsby’s schedule, imagery of utopia, valedictory quality, natural imagery, important use of final word which is ‘past’, etc.

Jan 201029) Write about some of the ways Fitzgerald tells the story in Chapter 5. (21 marks)Possible content:

narrative perspective/voices: first person narrator, self-conscious story teller and author, voices of Gatsby and Daisy, etc

setting: Nick’s house, Gatsby’s mansion . importance of the stage management by Gatsby, the mansion not a home but an elaborate prop, etc

20th century tragedy, a novel about writing a novel, a love story, etc centrepiece of the whole novel . the meeting between Gatsby and Daisy; begins with a description

of Nick’s arrival home at night and his telling Gatsby that Daisy is to come to tea the following day, leads to Gatsby’s meticulous preparations, Daisy’s arrival and the romantic encounter; finally Nick leaves the lovers alone, and reflects on whether or not Daisy tumbled short of Gatsby’s dreams, chronological story but told retrospectively, use of page breaks, etc

poetic prose, descriptive detail, sensual description, use of Klipspringer’s songs, use of colour(especially green) and musical imagery, time references, dialogue, repetition, references to the past, reference to Adam, etc.

June 200929) Write about the ways Fitzgerald tells the story in Chapter 4.Possible content:

Form: 20th century tragedy, a novel about writing a novel, a love story, etc Structure: begins with a general focus on some party goers and their assessment of Gatsby, leads to

a series of mysterious meetings between Gatsby and Nick, Nick and Wolfshiem and Nick and Jordan, central revelation is the past relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, ends with Gatsby’s intention to meet Daisy again and how Nick is to assist/disjointed chronology here, use of story of 5 years previously told through Jordan/story framed by the reflections of the retrospective narrator, etc

Language: poetic prose, descriptive detail, use of French ‘amour’, use of children’s song, use of contrast, symbolism of the timetable to write names of Gatsby’s guests, use of irony, image of the dead man, use of dialogue, etc.

Narrative perspective/voices: first person narrator, self conscious story teller and author, use of choric voices and rumour, use of Jordan to tell the story, use of voices of Gatsby and Wolfshiem, slow pace to unravel the mystery, etc.

Setting: New York, Gatsby’s mansion, Nick’s house, Gatsby’s car, specific date 5th July (day after Independence Day), Forty-second Street cellar, tea-garden at the Plaza, flashback October 1917, etc.

January 201230) How do you respond to the view that it is very difficult for readers to feel anything

other than contempt for Tom Buchanan?

June 201130) Some readers are irritated by Nick Carraway as a narrator.

What is your view of Fitzgerald’s use of Nick Carraway as a narrator.Comment might be made about

Nick’s unreliability the way Nick filters the story the focus that Fitzgerald’s use of Nick places on narratives themselves the interest Nick creates as a participant narrator the way Nick reveals Gatsby the way Nick romanticises Gatsby the way Nick acts as a commentator on the other characters the way Nick acts as a moraliser on the American Dream the way Nick is used to create the illusion that we are reading about the people, etc

Good answers will have a clear sense that Fitzgerald has chosen this particular narrator whois Nick Carraway.

Jan 201130) How far do you agree with Nick’s view that Gatsby is ‘worth the whole damn bunch put

together’?Some will agree and focus on:

Gatsby’s capacity to love his capacity to wonder and dream his romance his human decency his mystery the way other characters are so shallow what ‘worth’ actually means in terms of friendship and love (from Nick), etc.

Some will disagree and focus on: his corruption the way Nick is fooled and intoxicated by a false glamour his adultery his immorality the fact that Myrtle Wilson is a victim and Gatsby does not mourn her death his absurd obsession with a worthless woman his naivety, etc.

June 201030) ‘Illusory as it is, Gatsby’s dream gives meaning and value to human experience.’ How do you

respond to this view?Some will agree and focus on

Nick’s enchantment and fascination with Gatsby Gatsby’s being worth more than the rest of the characters because he has a passion,

something to aspire to Gatsby’s dream gives Nick the inspiration to write (and of course the same can be said for

Fitzgerald) Gatsby’s life is given a purpose because of his dream the dream links Gatsby and Nick with the Dutch sailors and the whole of American history the dream preserves the sense of human wonder, human potential, free from limits Gatsby is mourned by Nick and the reader whereas the other characters, the realists,

perhaps, are shallow and dull, etc.Some will disagree and focus on

Gatsby’s deluding himself the dream being death-centred and hollow the dream being based on corruption and crime Gatsby’s having a basic disregard for the feelings and dreams of others the dream being equated with wealth and getting rich

Gatsby’s house becoming no more than a tourist attraction, etc.Relevant references might be made to the American Dream.

Jan 201030) What do you think of the view that obsession with money and the new consumer culture of the

1920s dominates human thinking and behaviour in ‘The Great Gatsby’? Some will agree and focus on

Tom’s flaunting his money Gatsby’s being in love with Daisy whose voice is full of money Myrtle’s random buying of a dog on her way to the drunken party Wilson’s desperation to buy Tom’s car to start a new life Wilson’s being unable to tell the difference between God and an advertisement the focus on conspicuous consumption Gatsby’s constructed world and mansion Jordan Baker’s name - 2 types of car, etc.

Some will disagree and focus on Nick’s valuing Gatsby as a human being his turning his back on the moneyed world of the Buchanans Gatsby’s love of Daisy perhaps and Wilson’s for Myrtle, etc.

June 200930) What do you think about the view that there are no women in ‘The Great Gatsby’ with whom the

reader can sympathise?Some will agree and focus on

the unflattering portrayal of Daisy, Jordan and Myrtle who are all deceivers, materialistic and insincere

the destinations of Jordan and Daisy Daisy’s part in Gatsby’s tragedy, etc.

Some will disagree and focus on the way a male narrator filters the narrative and distorts the picture the way Nick has a romanticised view of Gatsby and this colours his judgement the vulnerability of women their being victims in a male world their charm, etc.

Some will distinguish between the women and discuss them separately in the light of the task

SECTION B

January 201237) A key choice writers make is how they name or refer to characters in their stories.

Write about the significance of the choices writers have made in naming or referring totheir characters in the three texts you have studied.

38) Writers draw upon the conventions of different genres when constructing their narratives:for example, ballads, monologues, elegies, fictive biographies, thrillers, romances.Write about the significance of generic conventions in the narratives of the three writersyou have studied.

June 201137) ‘In narratives, what we are not told is just as important as what we are told.’

Write about the significance of the gaps or of the untold stories in the narratives of the threewriters you have studied.

Gaps in the narratives or the untold stories need to be clearly identified in relation tothe over arching story.Focus might be on:

the ways gaps leave unanswered questions (eg Austen - who told lady Catherine thatDarcy intended to marry Elizabeth?)

the ways readers are invited to fill the gaps or speculate (eg Coleridge - why did themariner shoot the albatross?)

the choices writers make in what they include at the expense of what is not included (eg Hardy – ‘At Castle Boterel’ - what was said by the 2 lovers as they climbed the hill?)

the way gaps can lead to irony and ambiguity (eg Auden - ‘Miss Gee’ - no detailing of the moment of her death)

the form or genre of the text in relation to the gaps (eg Tennyson - ‘Ulysses’ - whathappens on Ulysses’ voyage of adventure?)

the ways texts are structured and where the gaps occur, etc. (eg Roy - what happens to Rahel and Estha in the 1992 story?)

Accept any valid discussion about gaps in texts but there needs to be specific illustration.Accept any valid discussion about different interpretations.

38) Write about the significance of descriptive language as it is used by each of the three writers you have studied.

Descriptive language needs to be clearly identified in relation to the over arching story.Comments might be about:

descriptive language to reveal character (eg Fitzgerald - description of introduction ofDaisy possible significance: to show Nick’s romanticism and unreliability)

descriptive language to reveal places (eg Keats – ‘Eve of St Agnes’ - description ofMadeline’s room to reveal Porphyro’s sexual desire)

descriptive language to reveal events (eg Tyler - the description of Baltimore airport for the first arrival to suggest the absurdity of the families behaviour)

descriptive language to reveal historical information (eg Roy - opening of novel,description of Ayemenem to reveal the exotic potential of India)

descriptive language to reveal actions (eg Dickens - description of Magwich’s turning Pip upside down: to show Pip’s vulnerability, to foreshadow the way Pip’s life is turned upside down)

descriptive language to reveal objects, etc (eg Browning ’My Last Duchess’ -description of the painting: to reveal the relationship between the Duke and the Duchess in which she is objectified)

Accept comment on any kind of descriptive language - figurative; lyrical; ironic; childish;through dialogue; stark; minimalist.Accept any valid discussion of descriptive language and its significance in relation to thestories being told.January 201137) Write about the significance of the ways the three writers you have studied have structured their

narratives.Comment might be about

chronology mirroring journeys events and where they are placed the climax occurs resolutions chapters stanza patterns rhyme, repetition etc.

There will be a variety of approaches.Accept any valid discussion and any valid interpretations about structure.

38) Write about the significance of the ways the three writers you have studied used places in their narratives.

Comment might be about countries cities, towns, villages buildings, houses, churches, rooms, etc. the countryside the sea or ships mythical or actual places places that might change, etc.

Accept valid and supported discussion about any places in the texts and how those places are significant.Accept any valid interpretations about places.Candidates are expected to identify specific places.

June 201037) Write about the significance of the ways writers end their narratives in the work of the three

writers you have studied.Possible content:

inconclusive, open-endedness self-conscious game-playing with the reader eg Enduring Love deliberate pattern or echo of other parts of the text dramatic surprise solemn, subdued elegiac ending, eg ‘The Dead’/ ‘Tithonus’ potted biography/what happened in the future, eg Pride and Prejudice rewritten ending Great Expectations non-chronological ending sense of closure moralistic ending, etc.

38) Write about the significance of narrators in the work of the three writers you have studied.Possible content:

use of a first person narrator who is also a secondary character or participant in the story use of a first person frame narrator use of third person use of authorial intervention use of multiple perspectives use of characters as centres of consciousness use of retrospective narration use of the voice of what seems to be the author, etc.

Jan 201037) Many narratives have one or more significant moments of crisis.

Write about the significance of crises in the work of the three writers you have studied.Possible content:

the interest excited in the reader by the crisis/crises themselves where the crisis or crises occur structurally how it affects the novel’s outcome how the writer controls the crisis whether it is appropriate to talk about crises in all of the texts, etc how the crisis might be interpreted.

38) How do writers use repetition to create meanings in their texts?In your answer, refer to the work of the three writers you have studied.

Expect a variety of approaches focus might be on repetition in the structuring of texts

some candidates might write about motifs some will write about repetition thematically some will write about repetition in terms of character expect comment on repetitions of: patterns in poetry, repeated ideas and happenings, lexical features, time sequences, etc how readers might respond to/find meanings in the repetitions selected.

June 200937) Write about some of the ways characters are created in the three texts that you have studied.Discussion might focus on the ways characters are created:

through authorial or narratorial description through the ways they speak through what other characters say about them through their actions, attitudes and behaviour through what is not said – the gaps in texts through the places in which they live through their relationships with others through the structures of the narrative, etc.

38) Write about the ways authors use time to shape the order of events in the three texts you have studied.

Focus might be on: a specific year or number of years a season or month linear narration the use of retrospective narration disjointed chronology and use of flashbacks and memories single days and night condensed time/protracted time use of adverbs or adverbial phrases of time, etc.