Well done people :)
Night night
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Final words of encouragement
I know you're probably all really stressed. It's natural to be. But remember, you're all really clever (even if you don't feel 100% prepared).
You are all capable of dissecting and understanding any text put in front of you. That's what you're good at. Even if you didn't revise for this, I'd still be expecting some decent essays from you.
You'll be awesome.
Just remember for each text/author, remember the CONTEXT that they are writing in. Remember that they are writing for a reason (personal, contextual, historical - sometimes many different reasons)
Your job is to pick out just some of the many thousands of genius things that these authors have done (just a few - a small percentage of what there is actually there) and try to tell the marker WHY you think they have done this, and how it links to the theme that they throw at you.
You have the ability to pick out evidence and twist it to fit the question. If you are BRAVE in your answers, many of you will make points that totally impress the markers.
You really are THAT good.
Have faith in yourselves. Learn useful chapters/sections so that you can find them easily. Don't forget to use context/terminology.
Other than that, go in there and smash it.
You'll be boss.
Singing off now. Try to get a decent night's sleep after you've done your revision.
NW
You are all capable of dissecting and understanding any text put in front of you. That's what you're good at. Even if you didn't revise for this, I'd still be expecting some decent essays from you.
You'll be awesome.
Just remember for each text/author, remember the CONTEXT that they are writing in. Remember that they are writing for a reason (personal, contextual, historical - sometimes many different reasons)
Your job is to pick out just some of the many thousands of genius things that these authors have done (just a few - a small percentage of what there is actually there) and try to tell the marker WHY you think they have done this, and how it links to the theme that they throw at you.
You have the ability to pick out evidence and twist it to fit the question. If you are BRAVE in your answers, many of you will make points that totally impress the markers.
You really are THAT good.
Have faith in yourselves. Learn useful chapters/sections so that you can find them easily. Don't forget to use context/terminology.
Other than that, go in there and smash it.
You'll be boss.
Singing off now. Try to get a decent night's sleep after you've done your revision.
NW
FINAL WARNING!!
I'm going to be signing off in about ten minutes. If there's anything you really need to ask, do it soon!
NW
NW
Narrative Techniques for section A
Remember, in Section A, you'll always be asked something to do with narrative techniques, or the way the story is told.
As well as all the literary techniques which I posted on the blog yesterday, you should also think about the following.
*Reliable/Unreliable narrator. How closely involved in the action/story is the narrator? Are they telling us everything? Are they skewing the accuracy of the story for any reason? How much can we rely on them, considering the subject matter?
*Person - (First/Third) What are the benefits/disadvantages of these? Which is used? In the Kite Runner, there are switches in person. Why is this done?
*Narrator - Both the Kite Runner AND Gatsby switch narrators at times. Why? What does this do? How does this affect our understanding of the story?
*Sequence of events. Are any of the following techninques used?
-Cinematic sequencing?
-Telescoping?
-Deletion (of events)
-Ellision (of unimportant events)
-Flashback
-Change in time-frame or era
*Anaphoric reference - referring back to parts of the novel from earlier
*Foreshadowing
*Allegory (the plot refers to a much wider context)
*Inter-textuality - referring to other texts to support the meaning of this one.
Mention some or all of these in section A if you can.
As well as all the literary techniques which I posted on the blog yesterday, you should also think about the following.
*Reliable/Unreliable narrator. How closely involved in the action/story is the narrator? Are they telling us everything? Are they skewing the accuracy of the story for any reason? How much can we rely on them, considering the subject matter?
*Person - (First/Third) What are the benefits/disadvantages of these? Which is used? In the Kite Runner, there are switches in person. Why is this done?
*Narrator - Both the Kite Runner AND Gatsby switch narrators at times. Why? What does this do? How does this affect our understanding of the story?
*Sequence of events. Are any of the following techninques used?
-Cinematic sequencing?
-Telescoping?
-Deletion (of events)
-Ellision (of unimportant events)
-Flashback
-Change in time-frame or era
*Anaphoric reference - referring back to parts of the novel from earlier
*Foreshadowing
*Allegory (the plot refers to a much wider context)
*Inter-textuality - referring to other texts to support the meaning of this one.
Mention some or all of these in section A if you can.
REALLY IMPORTANT!!! Elle's Question - What exactly are we meant to write? A 6 point guide.
A 6 point guide to answering section B.
As you can see from the example answers I posted earlier, you are trying to find a series of points that relate to your particular theme in each of the three authors you choose to answer about.
Follow this process, and you won't go far wrong.
1. Know each of your texts well enough that you can find relevant parts easily. You don't need to know all kinds to say about them yet, you just need to remain clam enough to find your evidence once you're in the exam.
Done that? Onto 2....
2. Have a look at your choice of 2 questions, and pick the theme you think you can write most about, or the theme that links the three texts best. Don't faff about too much. Make the decision and go.
Ok so far? Onto 3...
3. Get your highlighter/pencil out and skim through your key texts. Obviously I'm not talking about whole chapters here. Skim read until you find the good bits. Then, look for the following:
*Structural techniques which link to theme in the question
*Lexical choices which link to the theme in the question
*Imagery that links to the theme in the question.
Remember, for each author, you're probably only going to need about 8 quotes/bits of evidence to comment on.
So, hopefully now you have found your evidence (you can do this author by author if you want). Onto 4...
4. You obviously chose that evidence for a reason, so start formulating it into paragraphs. So, write your paragraphs like this...
POINT - What is the first thing that the first author has done which links to your theme? For example, have they used a particular type of lexis to reflect the theme? Have they used a particular strucutral device to reflect the theme? Have they used particularly strong imagery to relate to the theme?
EVIDENCE - Explain where your evidence is from in the text, then put your quote in.
EXPLAIN (there are many different ways you can make you EXPLAIN good) - What is SO special about this quote? What EXACTLY has the author done (use terminology if possible)? What is the author trying to say? How does it link to the historical context of the text? How does it make you feel?
Then, to make your paragraph as strong as possible, add MORE EVIDENCE and MORE EXPLAIN if possible,
So now you have your first paragraph, what next?
5. Do you have a similar point to make about another author? If so, begin your next paragraph, but begin it with "In the same way, we see a very similar technique used by Tennyson..."
Do you have a point which is so different that it is almost the opposite? If so, begin your next paragraph, but begin it with "Conversely, we see a very different technique used by Tennyson..."
Similarities always look nice and neat, so try and get as many of them in as possible. But differences are OK too.
Last point?
6. Carry on doing this until you've used up all your points. However, make sure you include an equal focus on all three authors. Don't just go mental on one. You'll REALLY lose marks.
Follow this, and you'll be fine.
NW
As you can see from the example answers I posted earlier, you are trying to find a series of points that relate to your particular theme in each of the three authors you choose to answer about.
Follow this process, and you won't go far wrong.
1. Know each of your texts well enough that you can find relevant parts easily. You don't need to know all kinds to say about them yet, you just need to remain clam enough to find your evidence once you're in the exam.
Done that? Onto 2....
2. Have a look at your choice of 2 questions, and pick the theme you think you can write most about, or the theme that links the three texts best. Don't faff about too much. Make the decision and go.
Ok so far? Onto 3...
3. Get your highlighter/pencil out and skim through your key texts. Obviously I'm not talking about whole chapters here. Skim read until you find the good bits. Then, look for the following:
*Structural techniques which link to theme in the question
*Lexical choices which link to the theme in the question
*Imagery that links to the theme in the question.
Remember, for each author, you're probably only going to need about 8 quotes/bits of evidence to comment on.
So, hopefully now you have found your evidence (you can do this author by author if you want). Onto 4...
4. You obviously chose that evidence for a reason, so start formulating it into paragraphs. So, write your paragraphs like this...
POINT - What is the first thing that the first author has done which links to your theme? For example, have they used a particular type of lexis to reflect the theme? Have they used a particular strucutral device to reflect the theme? Have they used particularly strong imagery to relate to the theme?
EVIDENCE - Explain where your evidence is from in the text, then put your quote in.
EXPLAIN (there are many different ways you can make you EXPLAIN good) - What is SO special about this quote? What EXACTLY has the author done (use terminology if possible)? What is the author trying to say? How does it link to the historical context of the text? How does it make you feel?
Then, to make your paragraph as strong as possible, add MORE EVIDENCE and MORE EXPLAIN if possible,
So now you have your first paragraph, what next?
5. Do you have a similar point to make about another author? If so, begin your next paragraph, but begin it with "In the same way, we see a very similar technique used by Tennyson..."
Do you have a point which is so different that it is almost the opposite? If so, begin your next paragraph, but begin it with "Conversely, we see a very different technique used by Tennyson..."
Similarities always look nice and neat, so try and get as many of them in as possible. But differences are OK too.
Last point?
6. Carry on doing this until you've used up all your points. However, make sure you include an equal focus on all three authors. Don't just go mental on one. You'll REALLY lose marks.
Follow this, and you'll be fine.
NW
Quick time check
It looks like quite a few of you are on here (100 hits in the last hour or so), so you're obviously finding this a help.
I'll carry on posting til 21.00
Hope you're not too stressed.
Beat it down,
NW
Symbols and Motifs in The Kite Runner
Photographs - Photographs are used in multiple parts of the novel. There are photographs up in Baba's house of him meeting various important people? Perhaps to show the pretence of the circles he moves in? Perhaps to show how easy it was for people to socialise within these circles at one point in Afghan's history? Perhaps to show the narrator's insecurity that his father values others so highly?
These photographs are some of the only possessions that they take with them when they evacuate Afghan.
There is also another VERY important photograph in this novel - the one Amir gives to Sohrab.
The Kite - As I was explaining earlier, the Kite is one of the most monumental images in the whole of the novel. It represents so much:
*Symbol of Afghan pride/freedom (Kite fighting is banned under the Taleban)
*Symbol of Baba's pride for Amir (albeit brief)
*Symbol of Hassan's loyalty to, and love for Amir
*The reason Hassan gets raped (protecting the Kite for his friend Amir)
*Difficult to obtain/collect - but Hassan is an EXPERT at running kites. Shows his worth/skill although he is not valued by Amir.
Trees - Trees are mentioned in almost EVERY chapter of this novel. I'm afraid I haven't been able to find much about what each particular SPECIES of tree represents. Apparently POMEGRANATE TREES have held particular significance for many of the world's religions in the past. You could say that this makes it seem sacred. The main thing you need to say about trees is that they add a sense of nature/goodness to the scenes. Later in the novel, when the landscape had been abused, and the pomegranate tree is wilting, it is a symbol or motif for the invasion and abuse of the land, and the loss of innocence which we empathise with in relation to Amir and Hassan's upbringing and childhood. They have been forced to grow up in unnatural ways, and the trees serve as a reminder of this.
Think about the message carved into the tree - Amir and Hassan, The Sultans of Kabul - Talk about the imagery of this. The unspoken love between the two of them. The irony that A. Hassan was NEVER treated like a Sultan, and B. The message remains long after both families are driven out of Kabul by enemy forces.
Pashtun Dialogue - Right through this novel, the narrator introduces us to Pashtun terms and dialogue. You may well find you want to comment on this if it is relevant. What you need to focus on is how sometimes he EXPLAINS what the words mean, and sometimes not. Possible reaons for this:
*The mood the narrator is in at this particular time in the novel (upset, happy, regretful, angry etc)
*A reflection of the sense of national pride he feels at this stage (does he feel like he needs to explain himself and his nation, or is he quite comfortable with his place in society at this point?)
*Possibly it reflects a trust placed in the reader as we continue along. Later in the book, we know the customs and culture well enough not to need constant translation.
The Slingshot - The ultimate understated (almost peaceful) weapon. Showing how humble Hassan is, but what lengths he is willing to go to to protect Amir. This Motif is made all the more important when we discover that Sohrab (the orphanage scene) has also inherited this skill, and uses a slingshot to blind Assef).
The following are taken from Shmoop...
These photographs are some of the only possessions that they take with them when they evacuate Afghan.
There is also another VERY important photograph in this novel - the one Amir gives to Sohrab.
The Kite - As I was explaining earlier, the Kite is one of the most monumental images in the whole of the novel. It represents so much:
*Symbol of Afghan pride/freedom (Kite fighting is banned under the Taleban)
*Symbol of Baba's pride for Amir (albeit brief)
*Symbol of Hassan's loyalty to, and love for Amir
*The reason Hassan gets raped (protecting the Kite for his friend Amir)
*Difficult to obtain/collect - but Hassan is an EXPERT at running kites. Shows his worth/skill although he is not valued by Amir.
Trees - Trees are mentioned in almost EVERY chapter of this novel. I'm afraid I haven't been able to find much about what each particular SPECIES of tree represents. Apparently POMEGRANATE TREES have held particular significance for many of the world's religions in the past. You could say that this makes it seem sacred. The main thing you need to say about trees is that they add a sense of nature/goodness to the scenes. Later in the novel, when the landscape had been abused, and the pomegranate tree is wilting, it is a symbol or motif for the invasion and abuse of the land, and the loss of innocence which we empathise with in relation to Amir and Hassan's upbringing and childhood. They have been forced to grow up in unnatural ways, and the trees serve as a reminder of this.
Think about the message carved into the tree - Amir and Hassan, The Sultans of Kabul - Talk about the imagery of this. The unspoken love between the two of them. The irony that A. Hassan was NEVER treated like a Sultan, and B. The message remains long after both families are driven out of Kabul by enemy forces.
Pashtun Dialogue - Right through this novel, the narrator introduces us to Pashtun terms and dialogue. You may well find you want to comment on this if it is relevant. What you need to focus on is how sometimes he EXPLAINS what the words mean, and sometimes not. Possible reaons for this:
*The mood the narrator is in at this particular time in the novel (upset, happy, regretful, angry etc)
*A reflection of the sense of national pride he feels at this stage (does he feel like he needs to explain himself and his nation, or is he quite comfortable with his place in society at this point?)
*Possibly it reflects a trust placed in the reader as we continue along. Later in the book, we know the customs and culture well enough not to need constant translation.
The Slingshot - The ultimate understated (almost peaceful) weapon. Showing how humble Hassan is, but what lengths he is willing to go to to protect Amir. This Motif is made all the more important when we discover that Sohrab (the orphanage scene) has also inherited this skill, and uses a slingshot to blind Assef).
The following are taken from Shmoop...
The Monster in the Lake
The morning of the kite-fighting tournament, Hassan tells Amir about a dream he had: The two of them at Ghargha Lake. However, no one's in the water because apparently there's a monster in there. In Hassan's dream, Amir jumps into the water anyway and Hassan follows. They swim out into the middle of the lake and the people on the shore cheer. The lake is renamed "Lake of Amir and Hassan, Sultans of Kabul." So what does Hassan's dream mean?
It's possible Hassan made up the dream. Amir is very nervous on the morning of the tournament. Hassan could be trying to comfort him through this story. Don't worry, Hassan is saying, a monster isn't waiting for you out in the streets of Kabul. Hassan's truthfulness probably isn't worth too much consideration.
Another fact, however, is worth quite a bit of consideration: later that day, Assef rapes Hassan in the streets of Kabul while Amir stands by and watches. Does this mean Amir is the monster in the lake and that Hassan is horribly wrong? Is Amir's jealousy of Hassan the monster? Or is Assef the monster? Much like the people on the shore, Baba and Rahim Khan cheer for Amir when he wins the kite tournament. Does this mean Baba and Rahim Khan are oblivious of the monster?
This is a complicated little dream. There's probably no one way to interpret it. We can't even say for sure if Hassan is wrong about the monster. If Amir redeems himself later in the novel and overcomes his past, doesn't that mean he and Hassan scare away the monster? That Amir gets rid of the monster inside himself? We can say one thing for sure: even Shmoop's Department of Parapsychology and Dreams had a tough time with this one.
It's possible Hassan made up the dream. Amir is very nervous on the morning of the tournament. Hassan could be trying to comfort him through this story. Don't worry, Hassan is saying, a monster isn't waiting for you out in the streets of Kabul. Hassan's truthfulness probably isn't worth too much consideration.
Another fact, however, is worth quite a bit of consideration: later that day, Assef rapes Hassan in the streets of Kabul while Amir stands by and watches. Does this mean Amir is the monster in the lake and that Hassan is horribly wrong? Is Amir's jealousy of Hassan the monster? Or is Assef the monster? Much like the people on the shore, Baba and Rahim Khan cheer for Amir when he wins the kite tournament. Does this mean Baba and Rahim Khan are oblivious of the monster?
This is a complicated little dream. There's probably no one way to interpret it. We can't even say for sure if Hassan is wrong about the monster. If Amir redeems himself later in the novel and overcomes his past, doesn't that mean he and Hassan scare away the monster? That Amir gets rid of the monster inside himself? We can say one thing for sure: even Shmoop's Department of Parapsychology and Dreams had a tough time with this one.
Baba and the Black Bear
Early in the novel, as we're getting to know Baba, Amir relates one of the legends about his father. Apparently Baba wrestled a black bear in Baluchistan and has the scars to prove it. Now, we know what you're thinking: no one could wrestle a bear and live to tell the tale. But Amir reassures us this story isn't typical Afghan laaf (exaggeration). The story has obviously affected Amir because he imagines it "countless times" and even dreams about it (3.1). And here's the interesting part. In his dreams, Amir can't tell Baba apart from the bear.
On one level, you can interpret the bear story fairly simply: it tells us just how towering of a figure Baba is to Amir. This guy is no joke – he wrestles bears. The fact that Amir believes the story, too, tells us a little about their relationship. It's one of distant awe. But there's also the oddity of the bear and Baba morphing into each other. Perhaps Baba becomes a fearful beast to Amir? Or perhaps Baba, in wrestling with his sins, merges with them? We're not totally sure. But Baba and Amir both wrestle with major betrayals in the book. At one point Amir explicitly compares the troubles and hardships of Baba's life to a bear Baba couldn't beat (see 13.51).
Later in the novel, when he's in the hospital in Peshawar, Amir has a hallucination. In the hallucination, Baba is in Baluchistan fighting the bear. It's a rip-roaring fight. Fur flying and all that. When the dust clears, Amir gets a good look at the person wrestling the bear. It's not Baba – it's Amir. Now Amir has taken on the fight with the bear. Does this mean Amir achieves some sort of manhood – or only that he's taken on his father's sins? (They could be the same thing.) If we keep in mind the earlier dream in which Amir can't tell his father apart from the bear, an interesting interpretation pops up. Perhaps when Amir wrestles with the bear he is really wrestling with his father. We'll say this for Amir and Baba – Hosseini has them wrestling with one of the most dangerous animals on the planet. We would choose a cuddly kitten or maybe a lame gerbil.
On one level, you can interpret the bear story fairly simply: it tells us just how towering of a figure Baba is to Amir. This guy is no joke – he wrestles bears. The fact that Amir believes the story, too, tells us a little about their relationship. It's one of distant awe. But there's also the oddity of the bear and Baba morphing into each other. Perhaps Baba becomes a fearful beast to Amir? Or perhaps Baba, in wrestling with his sins, merges with them? We're not totally sure. But Baba and Amir both wrestle with major betrayals in the book. At one point Amir explicitly compares the troubles and hardships of Baba's life to a bear Baba couldn't beat (see 13.51).
Later in the novel, when he's in the hospital in Peshawar, Amir has a hallucination. In the hallucination, Baba is in Baluchistan fighting the bear. It's a rip-roaring fight. Fur flying and all that. When the dust clears, Amir gets a good look at the person wrestling the bear. It's not Baba – it's Amir. Now Amir has taken on the fight with the bear. Does this mean Amir achieves some sort of manhood – or only that he's taken on his father's sins? (They could be the same thing.) If we keep in mind the earlier dream in which Amir can't tell his father apart from the bear, an interesting interpretation pops up. Perhaps when Amir wrestles with the bear he is really wrestling with his father. We'll say this for Amir and Baba – Hosseini has them wrestling with one of the most dangerous animals on the planet. We would choose a cuddly kitten or maybe a lame gerbil.
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