Category Archives: Year 11 English

Poetry of Robert Frost

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Robert Frost

Robert Frost

Frosts poetry is a Metaphor for the ways in which we make sense of our lives

The ways in which people develop their imaginative landscapes, their attitudes and values and how they respond to the world around them are influenced by their sense of place.  In analysing texts the landscape may be seen in literal or metaphorical terms.  Places where we have lived and people we have lived with contribute to our outlook on life and how we respond to particular situations.  For some people these memories stay with them throughout life.  The imaginative landscape derives from the diversity of these experiences over the years.  The physical landscape of a person’s life forms a literal and metaphorical yardstick with which to measure the passage of time and the acquisition of personal characteristics.  The physical becomes intertwined with their imaginative landscape.

Robert Frost’s Imaginative Landscape

Encompasses both the beauty and dark side of the land and of human nature.  While his love of the natural world is evident, inspiring him as a poet and a person, he does not romanticize it, rather he imbues it with strong moral tones, reflecting in his love of rural America.

As well as describing the physical world, Frost is also preoccupied with how the human figures are placed in the landscape and in time.  His characters are aware of where they have come from and their history.  They move in time from the past but also encompass the future.  Frost’s imaginative landscape helps us to construct versions of ourselves by exploring where and who we have come from and who we might become.

‘The Road Not Taken’ Poem by Robert Frost

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The speaker stands in the woods, considering a fork in the road.  Both ways are equally worn and equally overlaid with un-trodden leaves.  The speaker chooses one, telling himself that he will take the other another day.  Yet he knows it is unlikely that he will have the opportunity to do so.  He admits that someday in the future he will recreate the scene with a slight twist, he will claim that he took the less-travelled road.

One of the attractions of this poem is its archetypal dilemma, one that we instantly recognise because each of us encounters it numberable times, both literally and figuratively.  Paths in the woods and forks in the roads are ancient and deep-seated metaphors for life, its crises and decisions.  Identical forks, in particular, symbolise for us the nexus of free will and fate.  We are free to choose, but we do not really know beforehand what we are choosing between.  Our route is, thus, determined by an accretion of choice and chance, and it is impossible to separate the two.

The Fourth Stanza Holds the Key to the Poem with 2 Tricky Words

“I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference”.

Those who interpret this poem as suggesting non-conformity take the word “difference” to be a positive difference.  There is nothing in the poem that suggests that this difference signals a positive outcome.  The speaker could not offer such information, because he has not lived the “difference” yet.

The other word that leads non-discerning readers astray is the word “sigh”.  By taking “difference” to mean a positive difference, they think that the sigh is one of nostalgic relief.  However, a sigh can also mean regret.  There is the “oh, dear” kind of sigh, but also the “what a relief” kind of sigh.  Which one is it?  We do not know.

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If the the sigh is one of relief, then the difference means the speaker is glad he took the road he did.  If the sigh is one of regret, then the difference would not be good, and the speaker would be sighing in regret.  The speaker of the poem does not even know the nature of that sigh because that sigh and his evaluation of the difference his choice will make are still in the future.  It is a truism that any choice we make is going to make “all the difference” in how our future turns out.

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Brief Synopsis of ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens

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What is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens about?

Set in the 1840s on Christmas Eve, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens chronicles the personal transformation of the protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge, the proprietor of a London counting house.  A wealthy, elderly man, Scrooge is considered miserly and misanthropic: he has no wife or children; he throws out two men collecting for charity; he bullies and underpays his loyal clerk, Bob Cratchit; and he dismisses the Christmas dinner invitation of his kind nephew, Fred.  Moreover, Scrooge is a strong supporter of the Poor Law of 1834, which allowed the poor to be interned in workhouses.

As he prepares for bed on Christmas Eve in his solitary, dark chambers, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley.  In life Marley was very similar in attitude and temperament to Scrooge: remote, cruel, and parsimonious.  In death he has learned the value of compassion and warns Scrooge to reform his ways before it is too late.  Marley announces that Scrooge will be visited by three more specters: the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back to his unhappy childhood, revealing that the young boy’s experiences with poverty and abandonment inspired a desire to succeed and gain material advantage.  Unfortunately, Scrooge’s burgeoning ambition and greed destroyed his relationship with his fiancée and his friends.

The Ghost of Christmas Present is represented by a hearty, genial man who reminds Scrooge of the joy of human companionship, which he has rejected in favor of his misanthropic existence.

Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come appears in a dark robe and shrouded in mystery.  Silently, the ghost reveals the ambivalent reaction to news of Scrooge’s own death. Scrooge realizes that he will die alone and without love, and that he has the power and money to help those around him – especially Bob Cratchit’s ailing son, Tiny Tim.  Scrooge begs the ghost for another chance and wakes in his bed on Christmas morning, resolved to changing his life by being generous and loving to his family, employees, and the poor.

Classifying A Christmas Carol

For some readers A Christmas Carol resonates as a gothic ghost story, at times chilling and terrifying and at other times, extremely funny.  Other readers see the story as a time travel narrative.  Dickens in effect blended realism and the supernatural to create a world in which the gothic and the mundane sit side by side.  Dickens himself said he was here taking old nursery tales and “giving them a higher form” (Stone, Harry 1999, ‘A Christmas Carol: Giving Nursery Tales a Higher Form’).  With its dark, chilly setting and its supernatural visitors, A Christmas Carol draws on elements of the gothic novel when Scrooge’s door-knocker turns into Jacob Marley’s face.  The narrator provides a number of descriptions in which gothic elements are interwoven with freezing, icy imagery to emphasise the atmosphere of mystery and to remind us of the protagonist’s icy heart.

A Christmas Carol as a Cultural Myth

According to Juliet John, A Christmas Carol has become a “cultural myth” providing “a parable for the modern, commercial age” (John, Juliet 2011, ‘Dickens and Mass Culture’).  As a morality tale, in which evil is exposed, virtuous characters like the Cratchits are rewarded, and everyone celebrates at the conclusion.  However, there are issues raised in A Christmas Carol that remain unresolved at the conclusion of the novel. The sinister children of Want and Ignorance, do not go away just because Scrooge has been reformed, but the narrator tells us nothing of their future.  Their role is more allegorical than that of other characters. Dickens uses them as an important warning to his readers and to Scrooge as the frighteningly ugly face of 19th century poverty.  Unless social reform takes place urgently, Want and Ignorance will grow into hungry, resentful predators.  The fact that Dickens even raised the issue of the miserable lives of street children at all marks an important attempt by him to make his readers ponder their own social responsibilities.

Historical Context of A Christmas Carol 

While A Christmas Carol is primarily received as a ghost story, it is also a damning expose of social inequality in 1840’s Britain.  Dickens was deeply agitated by what he perceived as the inertia of the British government and wealthy middle classes to help those less fortunate than themselves.  A Christmas Carol was written at the beginning of the ‘Hungry Forties’ a period that encompassed the catastrophic Irish potato famine, as well as intense suffering for the English working classes.  Dickens uses A Christmas Carol to not only attack the Utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham, who justified the centralisation of Poor Relief in workhouses, but also to lambast the work of Thomas Malthus in his Essay on the Principle of Population.  Whilst in abstract these principles might seem logical, when applied to suffering individuals, their underlying brutality becomes obvious.

Ebenezer Scrooge

For most readers Scrooge represents the worst charactertistics of his society.  Fixated with material goods at the expense of all human connection, particularly with his clerk Bob Cratchit, Scrooge is an allegorical embodiment of the forces of capitalism underpinning Britian’s economy in the 1840’s.  For Dickens, he represented everything that was wrong with society in an increasingly industrialised world where human relations took second place to profits.

Dualism in Dicken’s Writing

The world of the early Dickens is organized according to a dualism which is based in its artistic derivation on the values of melodrama: there are bad people and there are good people, there are comics and there are characters played straight. The only complexity of which Dickens is capable is to make one of his noxious characters become wholesome, one of his clowns turn out to be a serious person. The most conspicuous example of this process is the reform of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol shows the phenomenon in its purest form.

We have come to take Scrooge so much for granted that he seems practically a piece of Christmas folklore; we no more inquire seriously into the mechanics of his transformation than we do into the transformation of the Beast into the young prince that marries Beauty in the fairy tale. Yet Scrooge represents a principle fundamental to the dynamics of Dickens’ world and derived from his own emotional constitution – though the story, of course, owes its power to the fact that most of us feel ourselves capable of the extremes of both malignity and benevolence.

Redemption in A Christmas Carol 

Can A Christmas Carol be seen as a tale about redemption in a man who has ostracized himself from his society?  While the narrative is focused on Ebenezer Scrooge’s learning experiences and his reintegration into the community, his story also forms part of a broader allegory through which Dickens invites his readers to consider Christmas as a time of renewal and hope and to think about how they themselves might redeem and be redeemed.

The ‘Scrooge Problem’ – the Questioning of Scrooge’s Transformation

Elliot L. Gilbert’s essay: ‘The Ceremony of Innocence: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol’ addresses ‘the Scrooge problem’, that is, the critical tradition of questioning the sincerity of Scrooge’s sudden transformation from being mean-spirited to kind-hearted.  Gilbert admits that his support for Scrooge’s change of heart is not free from doubt, as similarly to House and Johnston, he feels that the ease of Scrooge’s alteration is questionable. Furthermore, to accept the overnight metamorphosis of a man who has spent a lifetime bullying clerks, revelling in misanthropy and grinding the faces of the poor, is ‘to deny all that life teaches in favour of sentimental wishful thinking.’

Gilbert’s essay provides a new hypotheses to explain the reader’s misgivings regarding the plausibility of Scrooge’s radical conversion; he is merely returning to his childhood innocence. He explains why he views A Christmas Carol to be metaphysical; it is because it portrays the journey of a human being trying to rediscover his own childhood innocence. Such innocence Gilbert claims is evident in Scrooge’s encounter with the ghost of Christmas past, when Dickens has Scrooge’s fiancé break off their engagement, because the man she sees before her is not the man she first knew. Here, he reveals that Scrooge was not always bitter and mercenary, and therefore not so different from the man we are shown at the end of the novel. Thus, Scrooge’s new self is believable as it is in part his old self.

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ORAL & POV CRITERIA YEARS 11 & 12 MAINSTREAM ENGLISH

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This Resource is for students studying Mainstream English in the Victorian VCE Curriculum. The criteria is a check list for students about to undergo an Oral Presentation or write a Point of View (POV) Essay.

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Follow the check list below to help prepare for your Oral or POV

  1. KNOW THE ISSUE’S CONTEXT
    • Have a clear understanding of the BIG ISSUE
    • Why do you feel strongly about this particular issue?
    • Select carefully your focus from the big issue
    • Your Main Contention should be clear and easy to understand
    • Do not have an ambiguous contention
  2. THE AUDIENCE
    • Decide who is your intended audience
    • Make sure your target audience is appropriate for the issue
    • The target audience will be connected to the public forum you choose to write your article in
  3. WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?
    • What exactly do you want to achieve through your arguments?
    • What are your aims for positioning your audience?
    • Are you wanting to:
      1. Shock
      2. As a Call to Action
      3. To effect change
      4. To ridicule
      5. To demonise someone
      6. To attack
  4. WHAT IS YOUR FORM OF PRESENTATION / PUBLIC FORUM?
    • A speech
    • Opinion piece for a newspaper / online media such as ABC News Online or The Conversation or Crikey or Mamamia
    • Letter to the Editor of a newspaper
    • A debate in Parliament
    • Guest panellist on a current affairs program
  5. CONSTRUCT YOUR ARGUMENTS
    • Clearly state your Main Contention
    • List your arguments with evidence to support your reasoning
    • Consider a Rebuttal & your Counter Arguments
  6. USE PERSUASIVE LANGUAGE TECHNIQUES
    • Opinions need emotive language to persuade
    • Use Idioms as figurative language
    • Consider your tone – are you forceful enough
    • Don’t ‘tell’ with boring information be able to ‘show’ with descriptive language
  7. STRUCTURE OF POV/ORAL
    • Introduction / Hook / Main Contention
    • Body Paragraphs – at least 3 + a Rebuttal
    • Use single sentences or rhetorical questions in between body paragraphs to change structure and make it more interesting to read
    • Conclusion

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy: The Basics

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Brief Analysis for Mainstream English Year 11 Students studying ‘The God of Small Things’ by Arundhati Roy, AOS1 Unit 1 Analytical Study

The God Of Small Things By Arundhati Roy

Historical Context of The God of Small Things

The God of Small Things takes place mostly in 1969 and 1993, in Ayemenem, in the district of Kerala in India. Marxist ideas grew popular in Kerala soon after India’s liberation from British colonial rule, and in 1967 the Naxalite party split off as a more radical Communist group than the mainstream. The growing social unrest from these labour movements affects the action of the early novel. The ancient Hindu caste system (dividing Untouchables from Touchables, among other rules) was abolished around 1950, but many Indians still clung to old traditions and the class divide. Some of the characters in the novel are also Syrian Christians, an ancient community in Kerala originating with St. Thomas.

Setting/Place

Ayemenem: where most of story takes place; where Estha/Rahel come home to when they are older (1993), where the death of Sophie Mol takes place (1969).

New York: where Rahel lives shortly while married to Larry

Delhi: where Rahel goes to school studying architecture.

Cochin: where the family see “The Sound of Music” and Estha gets molested by the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man. On the way Rahel sees Velutha participating in a communist rally. Location of the airport when the family picks Sophie Mol & Margaret Kochamma up from their London flight.

Main Plot

  1. In Ayemenem Pappachi and Mammachi live together. Pappachi is an imperial entomologist who discovers a new species of moth and never gets credit for it, making him resentful for the rest of his life. Elements of pappachi are mentioned later on, Sophie mol has his nose and throughout the novel it is mentioned that Rahel has a moth on her chest, spreading its wings when traumatic events happen.
  2. Pappachi beats Mammachi who starts Paradise Pickles and Preserves and is a talented violinist. Pappachi also smashed Mammachi’s violin.
  3. When Chacko comes back from studying in England where he meets his only love, Margaret, he sees Pappachi beating Mammachi and tells Pappachi that it will never happen again. After this Pappachi and Mammachi never talk again.
  4. Chacko has his heart broken by Margaret while she is pregnant with their child. He moves back to Ayemenem. Meanwhile, Ammu wants to leave Ayemenem and does so by marrying Baba and has the twins with him, she then goes back to Ayemenem after he tells her about his bosses proposal for sex after he loses his job. Baba is an alcoholic, compulsive liar and Ammu later sends Estha back to him when she can’t afford to care for him.
  5. The family in Ayemenem go on one of their routine trips to Cochin where they see the sound of music, and Estha is molested by a vendor there. On the way to Cochin they witness a communist rally where Rahel sees Velutha.
  6. The next day in Cochin the family pick up Sophie Mol and Margaret from the airport. Rahel then describes everything as if it were a play and everyone is trying to impress Sophie Mol.
  7. Velutha tells the twins that the person at the rally is his twin brother when they bring it up.
  8. There is a moment where Velutha and Ammu make eye contact, signaling their relationship to begin.
  9. Estha is still fearful of the man who molested him, and while he is stirring jam at the factory Rahel walks and he tells her about his plan.
  10. They go to the history house on a boat and bring their toys and food. They go multiple times, and on their way back with Sophie Mol, she dies in an accident.
  11. Around this same time, the house is alerted by Velutha’s dad about Ammu and Velutha’s forbidden relationship.
  12. Ammu is locked in her room by Baby Kochamma and Mammachi. When she comes out she yells at the twins and they go to the history house with Sophie Mol, who dies.
  13. Baby Kochamma fabricates a story to the police that Velutha raped Ammu and kidnapped the kids, and is responsible for Sophie’s death. He is beaten to death by police.
  14. Ammu later goes to the police station and tries to tell them the truth, but they do nothing and she leaves crying saying “I killed him”
  15. Baby Kochamma uses Chacko’s grief to kick Ammu out of town for her actions. Estha is ‘returned’ and Rahel stays with Mammachi and Baby. Ammu dies soon after.
  16. Baby Kochamma abandons her garden and becomes consumed by the TV. Kochu Maria joins her. The returned Estha at the house doesn’t speak.
  17. Rahel watches Estha as he enters the shower after his walk in the rain and they end up having sex in the bed after.

Narrative Structure

The book is written in a non-linear format using multiple narrators and flashbacks. The story unfolds in two time periods, 1969 and 1993, and the unknown narrator gives details about events outside those times. The non-linear technique with gaps in the plot until the end keeps the reader interested and leaves them with many questions.

Things are seen from Rahel and Estha’s childlike perspectives, for example Rahel is convinced Sophie Mol is alive and that Velutha didn’t die, it was his fictitious twin. The climax of the novel is surrounding Sophie Mol’s death, and it is known from the beginning that she will die due to the non-linear format. This technique creates anticipation regarding Sophie’s death. Even more shock is present during the climax when the Ammu and Velutha’s unexpected relationship is revealed by the sobbing Vellya, the only clue of their relationship mentioned previously being their eye contact.

The non-linear format allowed for Estha and Rahel’s love scene being juxtaposed with Ammu and Velutha’s because they are placed back-to-back. The reader is shocked by the incestuous relationship and also by the graphic nature of Ammu and Velutha’s love scene.

Themes

Love relationships & forbidden love / sexuality / death / dreams / Indian caste system / narrative past / narrative present / time is stagnant / family influence & obligations / change versus preservation of time / western values / white westerners superior / gender politics / Communism / social structures / Indian politics / imperialism / religion / the environment

Symbols

Small Things = small moments, objects and changes that lead to the big things in life, small talk that is a mask for larger hidden feelings, relevant to the taboo relationship of Ammu & Velutha

Big Things = big events in life like love, death and political upheaval

Pappachi’s moth = signifies the family’s downfall and acts as a carrier of negativity

Spider = relates to Ammu and Velutha’s relationship & part of the ‘small things’ they focused on

Rahel’s watch = the time on the watch stays the same at ten minutes to two signifying that time is stagnant, the novel is literally frozen in time

Sophie Mol’s death = while it is a tragic accident her death is tied to many elements in the novel including Estha’s sexual abuse, Ammu & Veluthas taboo relationship & Estha & Rahel’s sexual encounter

The Heart of Darkness = Joseph Conrad’s novel connected to the History House that Chacko explains to the twins how to understand history

The History House = Kari Saibu’s house the Englishman who had ‘gone native’ and was mentally unstable and been corrupted

Communism = Chacko, Pillai and Velutha are communists from different classes yet shows how widespread communism is in India

Love = love and the rules about “who should be loved.  And how.  And how much” refers to love laws in India that are controlled by the caste system

The Sound of Music = the movie is popular because it represents western values and links to the theme of natural beauty against society’s demands on the individual

Ammu’s dream = represents her physical reaction to Velutha as the one-armed man that she cannot touch and Ammu’s own romantic death

Colours as Symbols

White = the association of whiteness as being superior and privileged in status as westerners like Margaret Kochamma and Sophie Mol who are British are compared to the twins who are Indian and darker skinned made to recognise as subordinate their own ways of seeing.  Sophie Mol’s white skin is precious as Rahel says “she’s very delicate, if she gets dirty she’ll die”.

Blue = blue can be negative associated with sadness, fear and depression but on the positive side it can signify harmony, confidence and cleanliness.  Pappachi, Baby Kochamma and Margaret Kochamma represent the old social order under threat of losing its grip everything about them is blue, symbolised by the “skyblue Plymouth”.

Red = red represents rebellion and change in the characters of Ammu, Rahel, Estha, Velutha and Comrade Pillai with the Communist “red flags”.  Red and blue signify warring parties.  Red is also associated with impending danger and an omen of bad consequences such as Velutha’s red blood is his symbolic sacrifice at the blue altar of the Ayemenem Police Station.  Rahel’s “yellow-rimmed red plastic sunglasses” make her a prophet predicting the future.

Yellow = represents fear in the context of cowardice, illness, dishonesty and weakness.  The “yellow church” is a chorus of fear and tragic fate that is the sadness of Sophie Mol’s funeral.  Sophie Mol’s “yellow Crimplene bellbottoms” are bell shaped indicative of silent, fearful bells.  The “yellow teeth” of the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man represent fear.

Green = green is the colour of earth, fertility, youth and the undergrowth.  Green can also have final cruel power taking over Baby Kochamma’s garden but most importantly is linked to the river that is part of the cause of Sophie Mol’s death with its “thick, viscous water … of green scum”.

Main Characters

  • Pappachi:               Imperial Entomologist position in Delhi, upper-class education, father to Chacko and Ammu, habitually beats his wife Mammachi with a brass vase until Chacko forces him to stop.  Never overcomes the professional disappointment of discovering a new species of moth but not having it named after him.
  • Mammachi:           Esther & Rahe’s blind grandmother who is unhappily married to Pappachi who regularly beats her and smashes her violin before he dies.. After Pappachi dies becomes an entrepreneur starting successful Paradise Pickles and Preserves business.
  • Baby Kochamma:                Pappachi’s sister who is fearful because of the western media she consumes. Loves Father Mulligan and tries to become nun to win him over but fails, embittering her. Was forced to wave communist flag in rally by men and is traumatized by this, aims all her anger about this event towards Velutha after finding out about him having sex with Ammu.
  • Chacko:                   Ammu’s brother and self-proclaimed communist, takes over factory and makes female factory workers call him comrade and flirts with them. Has a door built into his room so the women he sleeps with can secretly leave. His only love is Margaret Kochamma, who divorced him and took their daughter Sophie Mol to live with her and her husband Joe in England, who dies. Margaret is his only love.
  • Ammu:                    mother of Estha and Rahel who got married to Bengali Hindu man Baba in order to escape from her parents to an alcoholic, then separated from him after he offered her to his boss for sex. Had a taboo sexual relationship with the Paravan Velutha, leading to his death. Dies at 31 while waiting for a job interview/trying to provide for her twins.
  • Baba:                        Estha & Rahel’s father and Ammu’s ex husband, is an alcoholic who tires to persuade Ammu to safeguard his job by sleeping with his boss.  He gives Estha a loveless home for 2 decades, then decides to emigrate to Australia sending Estha back to Ayemenem
  • Rahel:                      fraternal twin of Estha who studies architecture and moves to America marry Larry McCaslin. She separates from her husband and eventually moves back to Ayemenem in 1992 as a 31 year old because she hears Estha has returned.
  • Estha:                       Rahel’s male fraternal twin, in 1969 after the death of Sophie Mol is sent to live with his alcoholic father Baba in Calcutta & stops speaking, due to his traumatic abuse in childhood, remains mute for rest of the novel. His reunion with Rahel after a 23 year long separation is a poignant event in the novel.
  • Velutha Paapen:                  Paravan/untouchable son of one-eyed father Vellya. Mutual love between him and the twins. Works as a handyman in the Paradise Pickles factory. Has a taboo sexual relationship with Ammu, is the God of Loss & Small Things. Member of the Communist Party. Tragic figure betrayed by everyone and dies as a result of being beaten by the police.
  • Vellya Paapen:                     is in debt to the Ipe family for providing a glass eye, putting his son in the Reverend John Ipe’s Paravan school and allowing his family to live on the land. Confesses to Baby Kochamma and Mammachi about seeing his son have sex with Ammu.
  • Sophie Mol:           daughter of Chacko and Margaret Kochamamma.  After Joe’s death she and her mother arrive in Ayemenem for a Christmas visit.  Dies because she is flipped off a boat with Rahel and Estha in the Meenachal River. Her death is the central traumatic event that leads to the disintegration of the Ipe family, separating the twins and her death is blamed on Velutha by Baby Kochamma, contributing to the climax of the story.
  • Kochu Maria:        Temperamental cook and housemaid at Ayemenem House, lives with Baby Kochamma until the twins return as adults, watches constant TV like her employer.
  • Comrade K.N.M Pillai:       Leader of the Communist Party who takes advantage of Velutha’s death by causing a strike that shuts down Chacko’s pickle factory. He is not interested in protecting Velutha when he is arrested by Inspector Mathew.

Nineteen-Eighty Four by George Orwell: The Basics

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Brief Analysis for Mainstream English Year 11 Students studying ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ by George Orwell in AOS1 Unit 1 Analytical Study

Image result for nineteen eighty four front cover

Introduction

George Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ is a dystopian fiction novel set in a futuristic Britain which has become part of a global party state.  The story is told via the protagonist Winston Smith who desperately tries to hold on to his sense of identity while fighting the impregnable doctrines of ‘Big Brother’ and ‘The Party’.  Defying a ban on individuality, Winston dares to express his thoughts in a diary and pursues a relationship with Julia. These criminal deeds bring Winston into the eye of the Party, who then must reform the nonconformist.

First published in 1949 as a dystopian fiction and social criticism, the novel is intended to shine a light on the problems of the present day, even if they are set in the future.  In Orwell’s case this meant highlighting the dangers of totalitarian regimes such as the Nazis in Germany during WW11 and the Communists in the Soviet Union (Russia) after WW11.  By extrapolating into the future, Orwell depicts such a regime being in power in England and explores what the implications of that might be for its citizens. 

Structure of the Novel

Part One – Eight Chapters

  • Introduces/describes main characters
  • Describes society and control of the masses
  • Winston is used to contrast the reality of life in Oceania versus the stated reality of the government
  • Relationship between Winston and Julia
  • The Proles are introduced

Part Two – Ten Chapters

  • Winston and Julia’s relationship develops
  • Their commitment to O’Brien

Part Three – Six Chapters

  • Winston’s torture/ ‘cure’
  • The mighty power of the Party
  • The destruction of the individual

Character Study

Winston Smith

Winston Smith is the protagonist and ‘hero’ of 1984.  The novel is told from his point of the view so it is not surprising that the reader connects with him and his plight.  Winston is an individual living in a demoralizing, totalitarian government trying to fight for his right to personal inner and outer freedom.  He is aware of what has been lost and the deceit and immorality of the society.  In his own small way, he stands up for truth and freedom.

Intellectually Winston questions the status quo and is frustrated by the lack of privacy. Every element of life is controlled and people need to even watch their expressions so they so not commit ‘face crime’. Winston can see things as they really are – life is not good. Conditions are poor and lies are everywhere. In fact, he works at the Ministry of Truth, where he has to change facts, history and current news to suit the Party.

Winston is a true hero because he puts in a brave fight and knows on some level that he is doomed. The novel highlights how unorthodox people who rebel are not tolerated and quickly destroyed in such authoritarian governments.  He is a hero but not in the traditional sense of the word.  Key Point is that Winston is characterised by both pessimism and hope.  He feels that he will inevitably be discovered and tortured by the Thought Police, yet he rebels anyway and holds onto hope as long as he can, locating that hope eventually not in his own rebellion but in the proles.

Along the way the reader clearly sees that Winston is genuinely naïve and delusional regarding how much change he can enact.  His tendency towards his nostalgic, emotional yearning probably encourages him to be too trusting of O’Brien and Mr Charrington.  

Winston Quotes

‘Now that he had recognised himself as a dead man it became important to stay alive as long as possible’ (p.33)

‘The one thing that matters is that we shouldn’t betray one another, although even that can’t make the slightest difference’ (p.192)

‘But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished.  He had won the victory over himself.  He loved Big Brother’ (p.342)

Julia

Everything we know about Julia is through Winston’s observations so we may not have the full picture.  Like Winston, Julia is rebellious and an independent thinker.  Unlike Winston, she is confident, daring, determined and very selfish. Julia wants to improve her life and that is enough.  She sees no point in trying to change the political landscape or harp on about the past.  When Winston tries to talk about his memories or the past as well as his dreams, she either does not understand him or does not care and falls asleep on him.  Julia is resilient and ruthless in the way she lives her life.  She has gained remarkable knowledge and knows how to use the black market to get what she wants.  In the end, Julia is a survivor.

Julia Quotes

‘Life as she saw it was quite simple.  You wanted a good time; “they” meaning the Party, wanted to stop you having it; you broke the rules as best you could’ (p.151)

‘As they walked back across the grass, she looked directly at him for the first time.  It was only a momentary glance, full of contempt and dislike’ (p.336)

O’Brien

O’Brien is the embodiment of cold hard evil as he is the system and keeper of the power. O’Brien has lost the ability to separate himself from the Party and he does not care. As quite an intelligent man, he is dangerous because he has no need for emotions. He is both a physical and mental sadist – toying with ideas, facts and memories. When it comes to torture, O’Brien sees all his victims as inferior and deserving of their punishment. It becomes sickly clear O’Brien is doing his ‘job’ with extra zealousness, representing the worst Nazis like Dr. Mengele and his ‘scientific’ experiments on the Jews.

O’Brien loves the power that he has over people and his role in the Inner Party. His arrogance is also due to the fact that he is one of the favourite ‘insiders’ who knows what is really going on; and he lives a more affluent lifestyle.

O’Brien Quotes

‘But at any rate he had the appearance of being a person that you could talk to, if somehow you could cheat the telescreen and get him alone’ (p.13)

‘An unmistakable message had passed.  It was though their two minds had opened and the thoughts were flowing from one into the other through their eyes’ (p.20)

Big Brother

Big Brother is the public face of the Party, the face that watches over all the citizens of Oceania from posters and telescreens.  Orwell based Big Brother’s appearance on that of Joseph Stalin and in the mythology of the Party he was the revolutionary leader who swept them to power.  The slogan that accompanies many of the posters is ‘BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU’, and he therefore embodies the surveillance state that monitors the citizens at every moment.  O’Brien asserts that Big Brother exists when he tells Winston ‘Of course he exists.  The Party exists.  Big Brother is the embodiment of the Party’ (p.296).  In the end Winston accepts that he loves Big Brother which shows the ultimate victory of the Party over the individual.

Parsons

Parsons comes across as ridiculous through Orwell’s use of black humour.  He is happy when his daughter informs on him to the Thought Police.  He represents the powerlessness of people and the hardships they have to put up with it and never complain about, assuming they can see what is wrong. Despite his loyalty and conformity, Parsons becomes a victim – again highlighting the lack of control and security people have.

Symes

Symes is clearly intelligent, which may have led to his downfall.  As the expert on Newspeak, Symes was quick to gloat and talk to others.  ‘One of these days, thought Winston with sudden deep conviction, Syme will be vaporized.  He sees too clearly and speaks to plainly.  The Party does not like such people.’

Goldstein

Goldstein is a scapegoat, blamed for all the problems.  He is stereotyped as Jewish and is meant to symbolize Trotsky.  In Russian history, Trotsky became Stalin’s scapegoat – taking the focus away from his own selfish, evil deeds.

Charrington

For a while, Charrington held for Winston what he yearns for from life – individuality, beauty, the romance of the past.  The items in the shop lure Winston in.  When Winston and Julia are arrested, Charrington’s appearance is changed and he is revealed as a spy for the ‘Thought Police’.

Social Structure of Oceania

INGSOC – Inner Party 2% of Oceania

  • INGSOC is the name of the English Socialist Party – representing the political ideology of the totalitarian government in Oceania – Inner Party make policies, decisions and govern whilst living an upper class/privileged lifestyle
  • Big Brother is the leader but he may or may not exist
  • As history is constantly altered and rewritten, the origins of the Party are somewhat blurred
  • At one point Emmanuel Goldstein was a significant member but then he supposedly betrayed the Party or he is classified as an enemy of the Party
  • The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism written by Goldstein refers to the Party as an Oligarchical Collectivism

The Outer Party – 13% of Oceania

  • Administrative workers such as Winston
  • Implement, manage policies
  • Voiceless and powerless
  • Spied on through telescreens and other surveillance
  • Allowed Victory cigarettes and gin as their only luxury
  • Very poor living conditions and food rations despite being called ‘middle class’
  • Sex is forbidden except for procreation in marriage
  • Intimacy, love, relationships are seen as ‘dangerous’ as they may encourage an emotional life with others rather than the Party

The Proles – 85% of Oceania

  • Lowest class, manual labourers. 
  • Live in poverty, but under less surveillance
  • Kept happy with seemingly more freedom – sex, alcohol, sport, gambling, pornography and fiction
  • Most are uneducated and thus do not impose such a threat to the Party
  • Minimal surveillance for potential ‘thinkers’ by Thought Police
Major Themes
Dangers of totalitarianism / control & powerInterrogation / torture / violencePropaganda / history / control of the past / manipulation of historySurveillance / informers
Courage / resistance / rebellionLove / connectionLanguage / communicationLanguage as mind control
Philosophical viewpointstechnologyPsychological manipulationrepression
Death of privacyAbolishment of sex and intimacyMemory and the pastWarfare
Major Symbols & Literary Motifs
Big Brother / posters of Big BrotherEmmanuel GoldsteinNewspeakDoublethink
Mutability of the pastTelescreensGlass paperweightSt Clements Church
Victory Gin / Victory CigarettesJulia’s scarlet anti sex sashThe place where there is no darknessRed armed prole woman
Urban decayDreamsWinston’s motherRoom 101
Memory holesSong Church bells / Oranges & lemonsBirdsWinston’s varicose ulcer
2+2 = 5Goldstein’s bookThought PoliceMinistry of Truth
INGSOC slogan ‘Our new happy life’Song ‘Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree’Ministry of LoveWar is peace / freedom is slavery / ignorance is strength
ThoughtcrimeBombing of Airstrip OneOceania/Eastasia allegiance at war2 minutes of Hate / Hate week
Big Brother’s ‘Order of the Day’Confessions of ‘Thought Criminals’News in Oceania emphasis on figuresWinston’s job revisits history

Essay Introductions on the Film ‘Lion’ Directed by Garth Davis

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For Year 11 students studying AOS1, Unit 1 Reading and Creating Texts, the film Lion Directed by Garth Davis, please find two essay prompts with their Introductions that include the Main Contention and Message of Director colour coded.

Prompt #1   “Every night I imagine that I’m walking those streets home and I know every single step of the way and I whisper in her ear I’m here”.  Lion portrays the bonds of family.  Discuss.

Introduction / Main Contention / Message of Director

Lion the movie directed by Garth Davis is about love, the bonds of family and the remarkable bond between mother and son that transcends continents.  As a young five year old we see Saroo working with his birth mother Kamla in the hills behind their village of Ganesh Talai, Khandwa, India.  There is a clear sense of belonging to family and knowing Saroo is accepted and loved shown in the scene where his mother feeds her children with the milk in packets Guddu got in the market.  In 1987 Saroo is adopted by Sue and John Brierly who prove a quiet dedication to the bonds of family in the life they provide for Saroo in Tasmania.  Then the film transports us 25 years later as the adult Saroo scours Google Earth for clues to the whereabouts of his village in India.  The more vivid the memories become for Saroo he feels the more his love for his birth mother is reignited.  The pivotal moment is in 2012 in the village of Ganesh Talai when Saroo’s birth mother sees his face after 25 years of separation.  The memory of her face had been embedded in Saroo’s mind for such a long time in the many flashbacks he experienced throughout the film.  No matter how long Kamla had been apart from her son she knew who he was and their tears spoke for themselves as the bonds of unconditional love is celebrated.  Director Garth Davis said that for him the film reminds us that if you can love unconditionally and give a child a home and hope, like Sue gave Saroo, then you can overcome anything through love.

Introduction / Main Contention / Message of Director

Prompt #2  Explore how the landscape plays a significant part in the film Lion.

The film Lion directed by Garth Davis hosts a range of beautifully shot landscape sequences by cinematographer Greig Frasier both in India and Tasmania.  The rugged and stunning landscapes play a significant part in the film as they are used to convey Saroo’s current state of mind.  The landscape shots were based on stories told by the real Saroo Brierley to the cinematographer with the effect that it allows the viewer to empathise with and create a connection with Saroo.  When Saroo says “I have to find my way back home” these words are like a pledge to accomplish something seemingly impossible to achieve across continents of landscapes.  Geography is at the heart of the film and we see at the very beginning of the film overhead shots take place as the credits appear which carry great meaning to the real life of Saroo.  The landscapes are meant to simulate astral-travelling that Saroo used to do as a child when he would allow his mind to travel across Australian landscapes to Indian landscapes to find his home.  Throughout the sequencing of the sweeping landscapes of both India and Australia the film tells the viewer Saroo’s story in sections so that we compare the two. Consequently, it is impossible not to reflect on the juxtaposition between the comfortable, suburban, middle-class upbringing Saroo enjoyed in Hobart, and the tough, dirty, poor lifestyle he inadvertently escaped back in India.  More importantly, by mimicking astral-travelling within the magnificent landscapes, Director Davis wanted his audience to appreciate the sense of Saroo as a tiny speck against a massive world and the enormous effort needed to find his way home to the village of Ganesh Talai.

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Themes and Message of Authors in Montana 1948 and Twelve Angry Men

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For students studying Year 11 Mainstream English, AOS1, Unit 2 Reading and Comparing Texts, the novel Montana 1948 by Larry Watson compared to the play Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose, they should look carefully at the Themes and Message of Authors in both texts.

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Aspects of a Theme

Authors explore themes from different perspectives and use a range of characters and situations to consider different points of view, complexities, implications and consequences.  This gives rise to different aspects of a theme as well as a number of related ideas.  Look at the themes in both texts below noting how many are the same or different.

Themes in Montana 1984

the importance of family prejudice family feuds & disagreements growing up / adolescence
abusing power justice / injustice suicide opinions
guilt sexual harassment deceit law and order
loyalty bravery trust responsibility
racism innocence oppression discrimination
truth / lies / secrecy murder favouritism moral integrity

Themes in 12 Angry Men

fallibility and memory prejudice / sympathies the value of facts stereotypes
abusing power justice / injustice stubbornness / taking a stand reflection of American society
guilt / innocence doubt and certainty death penalty law and order
reasonable doubt Judicial system trust duty
racism social justice / social responsibility honesty discrimination
truth / lies self interest bigotry moral integrity

Important Aspect of the Theme ‘Justice’ in both Montana 1948 & Twelve Angry Men

Pay particular attention to the theme of ‘JUSTICE’ and specifically ‘the importance of achieving justice’ in both texts.

Message of Authors in regards to Justice

Rose examines the justice process through the microcosm of the jury room and the subsequent deliberations that take place.  Watson explores this within the confines of the small town Bentrock in Montana.  Both texts explore the flaws of the individuals who administer justice hinder its provision.  Both texts reveal that justice is driven and achieved by the individuals which oversee its administration and as such, its achievement is dependent upon the overcoming of prejudice, self interest and abuse of power.

See also that Linked to ‘Justice’ is ‘Prejudice’ and ‘Abuse of Power

Message of Authors in regards to Prejudice

Rose presents prejudice as a consequence of individual prior experience and paranoia, a factor that results in subjective interpretations of the truth and justice.  In contrast, Watson depicts prejudice as determinedly racial, systemic and ingrained within the social fabric of 1950’s Mercer County, not only skewing the justice process but the notion of which groups are deserving of justice.

Message of Authors in regards to Power and Abuse of Power

Watson exposes the people in positions of power like Julian Hayden who create their own version of the truth.  In contrast Rose suggests that the American justice system will ensure that power does not equate to the creation of false truths.  At the same time, he explores the decision-making process by the jury and their responsibility not to use power in a corrupt manner.

Draft Essay Prompt on Justice

Note this draft essay prompt on achieving justice in Twelve Angry Men and Montana 1948.  I have colour coded the Introduction with the Main Contention in Red and the Message of Authors in Green.

Prompt                 ‘Both Twelve Angry Men and Montana 1948 explore the challenges in achieving justice.’

Introduction / Main Contention / Message of Authors

Both Reginald Rose’s Twelve Angry Men and Larry Watson’s Montana 1948 take place within the 1950s’ post-war American context, providing commentaries on the challenges which impede justice from being attained.  Rose examines the justice process through the microcosm of the jury room and the subsequent deliberations which take place, while Watson explores this within the confines of the small town, Bentrock of Montana.  Within both texts, the flaws of the individuals who administer justice hinder its provision. Rose presents prejudice as a consequence of individual prior experience and paranoia; a factor that results in subjective interpretations of the truth and justice. In contrast, Watson depicts prejudice as determinedly racial, systemic and engrained within the social fabric of 1950s’ Mercer County, not only skewing the justice process but the notion of which groups are deserving of justice. Furthermore, within both texts, self-interest is a factor which obstructs the legal process. Rose’s depiction of self-interest is depicted through the jurors’ frequent distractedness and consumer-driven nature, while Watson presents self-preservation and familial loyalty as being the chief factors that impede justice.  Finally, both authors explore the abuse of power and responsibility through the corrupt nature of decision-making amongst both the jury and by the former Sheriff of Bentrock, Julian Hayden. Ultimately, each of the texts reveal that justice is driven and achieved by the individuals which oversee its administration and as such, its achievement is dependent upon the overcoming of the prejudice, self-interest and abuse of power.

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Gattaca and Nineteen Eighty Four are Social Commentaries

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Image result for gattaca imagesFor Year 11 students studying AOS1 Unit 2 Reading and Comparing Texts look carefully at the context of the futuristic dystopian science thriller film Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol and the dystopian totalitarian state novel Nineteen Eighty Four written by George Orwell.

Pay particular attention to the message of the Author/Director when you write your comparative text essays.

Social Commentaries in Context

Both Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol and 1984 written by George Orwell are social commentaries which explore the broad social wrongs of a totalitarian government.  Both texts depict a futuristic, dystopian society in which individuality is destroyed in favour of faceless conformity.  Protagonist Winston in 1984 cannot understand the rhetoric of the government party and on a similar note, Vincent in Gattaca is trapped, unable to achieve his dreams because of his imperfect genome.  Both characters demonstrate individual rebellion against society and explore the significant social injustices of their respective totalitarian states.

Destruction of Individuality

Destruction of individuality is explored by both Niccol and Orwell to expose the broad social wrongs of an oppressive society.  In 1984 Winston fights to maintain his individuality in a society that has eliminated “love, friendship or joy of living” by making him hollow.  As Winston is tortured in order to be psychologically broken down by O’Brien’s relentless interrogation in Room 101, he is eventually made to accept that 2+2=5 and that he ‘loves’ Big Brother.

Similarly, in Gattaca destruction of individuality and the consequences of an oppressive society are found in close up shots focusing on Vincent’s cleaning process and the constant DNA checks to reinforce how authoritarian societies can demolish all sense of self.  As an ‘Invalid’ Vincent must take extreme measures to overcome the prejudices of a genetically controlled society if he is to achieve his dream of joining Gattaca and going into space.

Message of Niccol in Gattaca

Director Andrew Niccol celebrates the power of self-belief in the film Gattaca to inspire individuals to scale the heights of their desires and dreams to motivate them to succeed against the odds.

Message of Orwell in 1984

Writer George Orwell was deeply disturbed by the widespread cruelties and oppression he observed in communist countries and he wrote 1984 as a warning to the West of totalitarian regimes who used powerful measures to control their citizens.

The Most striking differences between Gattaca and 1984

The most striking difference between Gattaca and 1984 is the total victory of the Party over Winston and Julia’s attempts at resistance/rebellion against Big Brother compared with Vincent’s ability to undermine and find the flaw in the Gattaca DNA system to achieve his dreams of going into space.  Another important difference is that Winston is broken by the absolute power of the Party to suppress his individual happiness and thoughts of any freedom against the oppression.  Whereas, in contrast, Vincent proves that the philosophy underpinning discrimination by DNA is flawed and that his success is determined by other variables that are not within the control of science.

Resistance, courage and determination of Vincent against the regime in Gattaca

Vincent possesses a dream, an ambition and is willing to use courage and determination to do whatever is required to achieve it, even in the face of insurmountable odds.  Vincent is able to undermine the discrimination of Gattaca by purchasing his ‘Valid’ status with the use of Jerome’s DNA in order to circumvent the Gattaca system.  His metamorphosis into Jerome allows him to join the elite Gattaca space program.  Yet he stays true to himself, maintains his vision and integrity to achieve his goal in spite of a society that is designed to ensure he fails in any attempt to better himself.  He does use a process of deception to join Gattaca but he does not aspire to be one of them, rather he uses Jerome’s DNA as a tool to achieve his dream of flying in space.

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Introductions for Comparative Texts On the Waterfront and The Crucible

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Image result for pictures of on the waterfront DVD coverFor Year 11 students studying AOS1 Unit 2 Reading and Comparing Texts it is important to be very clear in your Introductions to make your Main Contentions and Message of Author/Message of Director answer the essay prompt.

Image result for pictures of the crucible book coverPlease see 3 prompts comparing the film On the Waterfront directed by Elia Kazan and the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller.

For clarity I have colour coded the Main Contention / Message of Author / Message of Director

Prompt #1            Both The Crucible and On the Waterfront explore how easy it is for one group to control an entire community.  Discuss.

Throughout both texts it is fear that enables the mob boss Johnny Friendly in On the Waterfront and the judges and court in The Crucible to influence their respective communities and control the majority.  Predominantly it is fear of unemployment which leads to poverty that controls the longshoremen making them vulnerable to the power and corruption of Johnny’s mob.  However, it is fear of the unknown, in particular the Devil, that enables Deputy Governor Danforth and his court to manipulate and control the Puritans of Salem.  The desire for individual freedom stands in stark opposition to the powerful authority of the mob boss and the totalitarian authority of the theocratic state.  In both texts those authorities in power are willing to ruthlessly crush any hint of rebellious thinking but underestimate the resolve of a select group of determined individuals who are prepared to stand up rather than bow to the corrupt actions of those in power.  In The Crucible it is those characters like John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and Giles Corey who pass the most severe test of all in the ‘crucible’: death; by choosing to maintain their personal integrity and refusing to justify an unjust court to save their lives.  On a similar note, in On the Waterfront it is those characters like Joey Doyle and KO Dugan who show moral integrity and courage to stand up to Johnny Friendly and speak out against the corruption on the waterfront, but their murders show the risks for others to see the world in terms of moral choices.  In the end it is left to an unlikely character Terry Malloy to abide by his conscience and need for justice to testify against the mob at the Waterfront Crime Commission and stand up for what is right and good.

Prompt #2            Elia Kazan’s film On the Waterfront and Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible tell similar stories when you compare the characters of Terry Malloy and John Proctor.  Discuss.

Both texts On the Waterfront directed by Elia Kazan and The Crucible written by Arthur Miller highlight similar stories with their respective protagonists who are plagued by their sins and desperately seek redemption.  Miller’s protagonist John Proctor views himself as a highly flawed man who has sinned against God and man’s laws by his adulterous affair with a teenage servant girl Abigail.  As a consequence of his ‘single error’ Proctor is a tormented character, unable to forgive himself for succumbing to temptation and as a result publicly confesses his sin to the court in order to save his wife Elizabeth from going to jail but in doing so damns himself.  Miller presents Proctor as a heroic man who maintains his integrity even to the point of death, in the face of a demonstrably corrupt authority.  On a similar note, Kazan presents the redemption of his protagonist Terry Malloy and his transformation from a self-confessed “bum” to a symbol of the power an individual can exercise even in the face of seemingly insurmountable corruption.  Terry’s journey towards a moral perspective allows him to grapple with questions of loyalty and conscience only to discover that ultimately one’s greatest loyalty must be to what one knows to be right.

Prompt #3            Compare how Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible and Elia Kazan’s film On the Waterfront parallel the McCarthy era of the 1950’s in America.

During the McCarthy era of the 1950s in America, countless individuals, some innocent and some guilty, were subjected to a wide range of injustices and punishments, ranging from ridicule in society to the loss of their lives.  Two dramatic works, a play The Crucible, written by playwright Arthur Miller and On the Waterfront, a film directed by Elia Kazan can both be seen as parables that are illustrative of the events of the McCarthy Era itself.  The play and film have similarities dealing with power, corruption, executions, fear, hearings and trials.  Both texts have their own relative strengths each revealing different facets of McCarthyism in their own unique ways and are representative of the different experiences and reactions of Miller and Kazan to the phenomenon of McCarthyism.  In both the play and the film, the protagonists, the environment in which they are placed, and the situations and trials they endure, are closely parallel to the events of 1950s America.  Kazan testified before Senator McCarthy’s Committee, naming names and giving details of people he knew were affiliated with the Communist Party and his personification of Terry Malloy was Kazan’s parallel to his own positive interpretation of identifying wrongdoers.  In direct contrast Miller viewed Kazan’s testifying as a betrayal and considered the tyrannical judges in Salem to be in parallel with the HUAC.  Miller’s personification of John Proctor was a parallel with his own negative interpretation and refusal to slander and black list Communist screenwriters to the McCarthy Committee.

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Understanding Characters in Texts Years 11/12 English

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Year 11/12 students studying Mainstream English texts in AOS1: Reading and Creating Texts and Reading and Comparing Texts, need to look carefully at the characters in their texts to be able to write an analytical interpretation for their SACs and the final English exam.

Understanding Characters in Texts

Characters generate the action of narratives /plays / films so they engage us as readers / viewers by their roles in the stories and we often become emotionally engaged by their fortunes and misfortunes, their aspirations and challenges.  If we understand the characters we come a long way to understanding the themes and values presented in the text and how the author constructs meaning.

What Do We Need to Know About Characters?

To build an understanding of characters it is a good idea to create a list of information about them that includes:

  1. Their name and age that spans the narrative
  2. If they are a protagonist (main character) or minor character
  3. Where they live or if they move around in the narrative
  4. If there is a description of what they look like (will be able to see a physical appearance if in a play or film)
  5. Their main personal qualities, attitudes and values, decisions and choices made, life experiences (which may change as the narrative develops)
  6. Relationships with other characters and interactions with others
  7. Key allies and enemies
  8. Key events in the narrative that affect their lives ie. crisis points or resolution

How Do Characters Respond at Crisis Points in the Narrative or Change as Events Unfold?

Characters can be tested at crisis and turning points in the narrative and are forced to make choices and decisions, which in turn reveal their true priorities and aspirations.  Difficult choices and decisions that characters make in narrative texts are closely linked to ideas and values.

Like real people characters are not static but develop and adapt sometimes changing dramatically.  Important changes should be noted such as a shift in the way a character thinks or interacts with another, a transformation of the way they think of themselves and a change in their own beliefs and values.

The Importance of Narrative Viewpoint

The narrative viewpoint determines what we know about the characters and how we as readers relate to them.  Narrative viewpoint perspectives are:

  1. First Person Narrative Voice = Where a character uses the first person ‘I’ gives an inside account of events but limits the reader’s knowledge to one person’s perspective.
  2. Third Person Narrative Voice = Where the voice is located outside the text and uses ‘he, she, they’ to give a more detached and objective account. In effect the reader is put in a position of observer rather than participant.  May be an ‘omniscient’ or all knowing narrator which allows the reader to know the thoughts and feelings of as many characters as the author wishes.  This narrator encourages the reader to form their own judgements and see complexities in issues.

Characters in Non-Fiction

In a non-fiction narrative the author portrays real people rather than imaginary ones and so they have to stick to the real facts and may be even have photographs of the characters in the text.  However, the author’s own attitudes towards the characters can affect the way the reader interprets those characters.  In effect readers are subjected to the feelings of the author about the character and sometimes these feelings can be extremely subjective.

Characters in Drama and Films

Characters portrayed by actors in plays and films are obviously conveyed visually and by sound as much as the words in their dialogue.  In this way other elements help to make viewers understand a character either by visual elements such as costumes, sets, facial expressions and body movements.  Conveying meaning can be shown through directors stage directions, mise en scene, camera angles, sound tracks, music as well as the actors own style and how they represent the character they are portraying.

Identifying Themes, Ideas and Values of Characters

It is really important to identify the main themes, ideas and values of characters so you can respond to the perspective of the author through their characters and also explore the ‘big picture’ the text is trying to explore.

  1. What is a Theme?

Themes are more general terms that the author is either showing clearly or inferring by implication repeated throughout the whole text.  These general themes can be perspectives explored in texts such as:

growing up gender issues
love family
injustice prejudice
war power
survival

  1. What is an Idea?

An idea reflects on part of the theme and is the author’s message about the topic.  Think of an idea as part of the big picture that the text uses as its conduit to explore the main theme.  You can discuss different ideas and characters highlighting through their difference how people are and see the world.  Ideas can reflect the discoveries, emotions, conflicts, and experiences of a story’s main character.  They are commentaries about the way the world works and or how the author views human existence.

  1. What is a Value?

These make up our belief system.  Values are beliefs that guide our behaviour. Values define what we accept as good, right or acceptable.  We may have our own personally thought-out and constructed values but many of the values we accept are socially or culturally constructed.  Characters embody values through their thoughts, feelings and attitudes, beliefs and actions.  Values that are generally held by society:

honesty loyalty
patriotism tolerance
integrity justice
equality respect for others
compassion responsibility

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