Module B: Critical Study of Texts - Speeches
SADAT NOTES
Sadat speech
Documentary Sadat context - Death on the Nile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iJyKvrjceM
Article on Israel's six day war victory and ramifications
History of Yom Kippur War
Lengthy articles on Sadat's achievements
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/sadat-and-his-legacy-egypt-and-the-world-1977-1997and http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1225.html
Atwood context
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/margaret-atwood
Margaret Atwood Review http://www.theage.com.au/news/reviews/curious-pursuits/2005/06/30/1119724752181.html
http://www.opb.org/radio/programs/literary-arts-archive-project/segment/the-archive-project-nov-19-2014/
Keating
Keating speech
Reconciliation, Nationalism and the History Wars
http://www.abc.net.au/archives/80days/stories/2012/01/19/3415316.htm
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2012/12/10/20-years-redfern-park-speech
Who wrote it Keating or Watson? Read Keating's view. What do you think? Is it the ideas or words that make a speech great?
For Keating and Pearson know these terms: Reconciliation process, Mabo Case and land rights, Wik Decision, Terra Nullius, History Wars, Black arm band view of history.
Pearson
Howard's History Documentary
Noel Pearson - Background Info/criticism - The Noel Pearson Dossier.
Pearson
Brooks
http://geraldinebrooks.com/
Why Everyone should read Brooks article
Developing a Personal Response Table
Module B: Critical Study of Texts
This module requires students to explore and evaluate a specific text and its reception in a range of contexts. It develops students’ understanding of questions of textual integrity.
Each elective in this module requires close study of a single text to be chosen from a list of prescribed texts.
Students explore the ideas expressed in the text through analysing its construction, content and language. They examine how particular features of the text contribute to textual integrity. They research others’ perspectives of the text and test these against their own understanding and interpretations of the text. Students discuss and evaluate the ways in which the set work has been read, received and valued in historical and other contexts. They extrapolate from this study of a particular text to explore questions of textual integrity and significance.
Students develop a range of imaginative, interpretive and analytical compositions that relate to the study of their specific text. These compositions may be realised in a variety of forms and media.
2015 CLASS NOTES
SADAT
IMPORTANT SUPPORT INFORMATION FOR MODULE B - Why your interpretation is vital and how to consider the perspectives of others.
"Since deep knowledge and understanding of the prescribed text is the primary aim of Module B, it must also be the primary focus in the planning and delivery of the teaching and learning program. Misplaced emphasis may lead students to rely on the views of others, rather than developing their own informed view. Exploring the perspectives of others, and discussion and evaluation of how the prescribed text has been received in different contexts should enhance rather than overshadow a student’s personal engagement with and close analysis of the prescribed text. The view students develop must continue to be supported with detailed textual reference from the prescribed text.
Students refine their interpretation by testing their perspective against the perspectives of others. During this process students consider aspects of the text that they may not have considered previously, thereby deepening their own understanding and sharpening their personal view of the text’s value and its meaning. The teacher’s careful direction of students as they refer to other perspectives will enable them to develop and demonstrate their understanding of the prescribed text.
The syllabus does not require students to engage with particular critical theories in order to generate possible ‘readings’ of the text. Exposure to specific critical theories, such as feminist theory, postcolonial theory or New Historicism, is not a requirement of the English Stage 6 Syllabus in any of the compulsory English courses and modules. A focus on ‘readings’ of a text without a student’s personal engagement with and understanding of the text does not constitute a critical study of text, as required by this module.
Engagement with others’ perspectives of the text is not an end in itself. Substantial and valid ‘other perspectives’ may include the view of a literary critic, of a fellow student, or of the student’s teacher, for instance. The judicious introduction in class of others’ perspectives is a matter of careful professional teacher judgement. The suitability of particular perspectives will depend on the prescribed text being studied and on the needs, interests and abilities of the students.
Module B deals with questions of textual integrity, significance and value. Students must engage with the prescribed novel, film, drama or nonfiction text in its entirety to develop a deep understanding and personal view of the text and to develop their understanding of questions of textual integrity. Similarly, the study of poems or speeches in Module B requires the study of all of the prescribed poems and prescribed speeches.
The syllabus defines textual integrity as:
The unity of a text; its coherent use of form and language to produce an integrated whole in terms of meaning and value. (p 100)
Evaluating a text in terms of its textual integrity requires the students to consider the features and elements of a text and the extent to which it may possess an overall unity, integrated structure and unifying concept. Students’ close analysis helps them to evaluate how these features and elements function in different ways, leading to the consideration of the text’s overall coherence and complexity. In this way, they arrive at a sense of the text’s distinctiveness and enduring, or potentially enduring, value.
EXAM RUBRIC
Section II – Module B: Critical Study of Texts
In your answer you will be assessed on how well you:
- demonstrate an informed understanding of the ideas expressed in the text
- evaluate the text’s language, content and construction
- organise, develop and express ideas using language appropriate to audience, purpose and form
2017 MARKER'S NOTES
General Feedback
Students should:
- specifically address all aspects of the question
- support and develop responses using aptly chosen and detailed textual references from the prescribed text
- demonstrate sustained and skilful control of language and ideas
- consolidate and demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the prescribed text
- develop a strong and sustained argument in response to the question.
- respond to a variety of question types without memorising a prepared extended response
- write a complete response in 40 minutes.
- understanding the HSC rubric and requirements for Module B: Critical Study of Texts
- ensuring that their knowledge of the prescribed text is thorough and detailed
- practise writing responses on all the poems or speeches set for study using past HSC papers
- developing an informed understanding of textual integrity in relation to their prescribed text.
Question 3: Shakespearean Drama –William Shakespeare, Hamlet
In better responses, students demonstrated:
- skilful exploration of context and how this influenced Shakespeare’s work
- clear understanding of the text’s form
- insightful understanding of contextual values to explore the notion of conventional heroes and the extent to which Hamlet and other characters were ‘conventional’ according to Elizabethan expectations
- discerning use of relevant textual examples to support their argument.
In better responses, students demonstrated:
- clear understanding of how audience, context and purpose are integrated
- skilful discussion of the power of speeches to persuade and the rhetorical devices used
- balanced discussion of the prescribed speech ‘Speech to the Israeli Knesset’ and one other speech.
PAST EXAM QUESTIONS
2017
Question 9 — Nonfiction – Speeches (20 marks)
Speeches aim to manipulate the audience through powerful rhetoric at the expense of substance. To what extent does this statement align with your view of the speeches set for study?
In your response, you must make detailed reference to Speech to the Israeli Knesset and at least ONE other speech set for study.
The prescribed speeches are: * Anwar Sadat – Speech to the Israeli Knesset, 1977 * Paul Keating – Redfern Speech, 1992 * Margaret Atwood – ‘Spotty-Handed Villainesses’, 1994 * Noel Pearson – ‘An Australian history for us all’, 1996 * William Deane – ‘It is still winter at home’, 1999 * Doris Lessing – ‘On not winning the Nobel Prize’, Nobel Lecture, 2007 * Geraldine Brooks – ‘A Home in Fiction’, Boyer Lecture 4, 2011
2014
Question 9 — Nonfiction – Speeches (20 marks)
In your view, how does the speaker’s portrayal of the complex nature of national identity contribute to the enduring value of the speech? In your response, make detailed reference to It is Still Winter at Home and at least ONE other speech set for study.
The prescribed speeches are: * Margaret Atwood – Spotty-Handed Villainesses, 1994 * Paul Keating – Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier, 1993 * Noel Pearson – An Australian History for Us All, 1996 * Aung San Suu Kyi – Keynote Address at the Beijing World Conference on Women, 1995 * Faith Bandler – Faith, Hope and Reconciliation, 1999 * William Deane – It is Still Winter at Home, 1999 * Anwar Sadat – Speech to the Israeli Knesset, 1977
2013
Question 9 — Nonfiction – Speeches (20 marks)
Explore how time and place are used in the prescribed speeches to shape the audience’s understanding of how knowledge of the past sheds light on the present. In your response, make detailed reference to at least TWO of the speeches set for study.
The prescribed speeches are: * Margaret Atwood – SpottyHanded Villainesses, 1994 * Paul Keating – Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier, 1993 * Noel Pearson – An Australian History for Us All, 1996 * Aung San Suu Kyi – Keynote Address at the Beijing World Conference on Women, 1995 * Faith Bandler – Faith, Hope and Reconciliation, 1999 * William Deane – It is Still Winter at Home, 1999 * Anwar Sadat – Speech to the Israeli Knesset, 1977
2012
Question 9 — Nonfiction – Speeches (20 marks)
An inherent tension between the actual and the possible is revealed through the development of ideas in a speech. To what extent does your interpretation of Bandler’s Faith, Hope and Reconciliation and at least one other speech align with this view? In your response, make detailed reference to Faith, Hope and Reconciliation and at least ONE other speech set for study.
The prescribed speeches are: * Margaret Atwood – Spotty-Handed Villainesses, 1994 * Paul Keating – Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier, 1993 * Noel Pearson – An Australian History for Us All, 1996 * Aung San Suu Kyi – Keynote Address at the Beijing World Conference on Women, 1995 * Faith Bandler – Faith, Hope and Reconciliation, 1999 * William Deane – It is Still Winter at Home, 1999 * Anwar Sadat – Speech to the Israeli Knesset, 1977
2011
In the context of your critical study, to what extent does your response to the closing statements
of Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech inform your judgement of this speech and the speeches set for
study?
In your response, make detailed reference to Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech and at least ONE
other speech set for study.
‘The speeches set for study continue to engage readers through its rhetorical treatment of human aspirations and beliefs.’
In light of your critical study, does this statement resonate with your own interpretation of these speeches?
2009:
Through their portrayal of human experience, the speeches you have studies reinforce the significance of justice.
To what extent does your interpretation of these speeches support this view?
2008:
In your view, how have rhetorical techniques been used to reveal memorable ideas in the speeches set for study?
Support your view with detailed reference to at least TWO of the speeches set for study.
2007:
Ultimately, in these speeches, it is the representation of deeply held ideals that captivates audiences.
Explore the representation of at least ONE deeply held ideal, evaluating its significance in at least TWO speeches prescribed for study.
2006:
To what extent has your personal response to the speeches been shaped by the enduring power of their intellectual and artistic qualities?
Support your evaluation with a close analysis of TWO speeches.
2005:
Your class has been exploring the question, “What will continue to make the selected speeches worthy of critical study?”
Your personal response has been challenged by another student. Defend your response through a critical evaluation of the selected speeches, analysing the construction, content and language of the text.
In your response, refer to THREE speeches you have studied.
2004:
‘Interpretations of texts can shift and change with time and place’.
Considering your time and place, reflect on the ways in which context has shaped your critical interpretation of the prescribed text.
In your response, refer to TWO speeches you have studied.
2003:
Compose an argument for or against the topic: “That every text has its used-by-date”.
Consider your prescribed text’s ideas, language and form and its reception in different contexts.
2002:
Two people who value your prescribed text in different ways and for different reasons are having a conversation.
Compose their conversation which should include consideration of the structure, language and ideas of the text.
More resources @
Keating's speech
Handbook of Rhetorical devices
Tutor Tales
Exploring the Art of Rhetoric
The Art of Rhetoric
Aristotle's Rhetoric
Inspirational Speaking
www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9LE-7V_VrY
AREA OF STUDY - DISCOVERY
ETA Discovery Resource
2015 HSC Area of Study paper
Marking Criteria
The Tempest resources
The Tempest Critical Introduction
The Tempest Notes
The Tempest & Discovery
http://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-tempest
The Tempest -Discovering Prospero
The Tempest - Discovering Miranda
The Tempest - Language & Dramatic Techniques
The Tempest (2010 film)
The Tempest trailer
Scenes from The Tempest
Act 1.2 Pete Postlethwaite"[I] Will cry it o'er again"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiLWIZgN8uo
Act 1.2 The Tempest: Act 1, Scene 2 | Shakespeare's Globe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6WU66H5YF4
Act 1.2 John Bell, Miranda Tapsell, Damien StrouthosBell Shakespeare, "This island's mine"http://education.abc.net.au/home?sf71395910=1#!/media/1575409/-the-tempest-two-sides-of-caliban
Act 1.2 Helen Mirren, Felicity Jones, Djimon Hounsou2010 Taymor film, "This island's mine"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd6NGXbN2-4
Act 1.2 Helen Mirren, Ben Whishaw2010 Taymor film, "Hast thou forgot"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTk_ubzL0dU
Act 2.2 Alfred Molina, Russel Brand, Djimon Hounsou2010 Taymor film, "... bears celestial liquor"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH6nUuu5A4s
Act 3.3 Christopher Plummer, Julyana SoelistyoStratford Shakespeare Festival, 2010https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZRNJeZFnQ4
Act 4.1 David Bailie"Our revels now are ended"https://youtu.be/jTg6xTi4QHw?t=16s
Act 4.1 John GielgudFrom "Looking for Richard"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFS0y3zEa3s
Act 5.1 Christopher Plummer, Julyana SoelistyoStratford Shakespeare Festival, 2010https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38N1QcUarTE
Epilogue John BellBell Shakespeare http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/1575453/-the-tempest-set-free-at-last-
You will need to brainstorm ‘CONCEPT STATEMENTS’ which fit most accurately with your texts..
Here are some examples:
Discovery is the process by which our lives are enriched. Discovery is a transitional and transformative process which influences the values and perceptions of individuals, groups and the broader world. It is through discovery that we grow to maturity. Discovery allows us to view life in a new and fresh way. Discovery can initiate new values in both a personal and global context. The process of discovery is the journey of life. Discovery is the process by which humanity advances. Discovery can lead to the rejuvenation of friendships and wellbeing. Discovery allows us to speculate about the real and the imagined. Finding that which was lost enables us to expand our horizons. Discovering our own perspectives leads to self-awareness. Rediscovering can lead to new understandings of ourselves and others. Time can change one’s perspective of a discovery. Discoveries that seem valuable at the time may later be challenged as to their worth. Travelling to new places, or viewing a familiar place through new eyes, can transform our understanding of ourselves and the world. It is through the process of discovering what we really believe, that we actually affirm our beliefs. Discovery allows us to view the hidden experience as a common human experience. Discoveries allow audience’s contextual perspectives to be affirmed as common human experience.
THE PROCESS OF DISCOVERY
The “ORDINARY WORLD” (before the discovery) The TRIGGER to the discovery The PROCESSES and reactions to the discovery The long-term or significant CONSEQUENCES of the discovery
METROPOLIS FILM LINK
http://1984metropolis.weebly.com/
Overview
Sample Band 6 Essay
HSC work sample
Final Scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3U83QLoATU
https://themetropolistimes.com/2010/09/10/metropolis-a-proto-fascist-anti-utopia/
http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/206/hitlers-use-of-film-in-germany-leading-up-to-and-during-world-war-ii
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/16/1052885404118.html
MODULE A: INTERTEXTUAL PERSPECTIVES
Syllabus requirements
Make sure that you are familiar with the English Stage 6 Syllabus . Module A requires students to:
A holistic understanding of each text – ideas, language/film techniques
You must have a deep understanding of both Metropolis and Nineteen Eighty-Four for this module. You should view/read each text more than once to be able to analyse the content and technique of each. A broad and deep understanding of each text will enable you to access the question for Module A in the HSC, and draw on textual detail most relevant to the question. You must be able to analyse WHAT meaning is created (values and ideas) HOW meaning is created in each text by analysing language and film techniques, and providing specific textual references – examples and quotes.
A deep understanding of the values explored in each text
If you read the syllabus rubrics again, you will note that there is a focus on values in this module. That means that you are not just talking about ‘ideas about power’ or ‘issues of class struggle’, but you need to frame these ideas in terms of the values that are explored or promoted or criticised in each text. In Metropolis, Lang criticises capitalist values. He promotes values of empathy and love by creating a world devoid of them. In Nineteen Eighty-Four the Party values power and control at the expense of personal freedom, and thus Orwell criticises the values of totalitarian governments. Both composers create divided societies to warn of a future where individuality is not valued. Framing your exploration of the ideas in each text in terms of the values that each composer presents is imperative in this module. Discuss the values and analyse HOW they are conveyed by language and film techniques.
An analysis of how context influences values, ideas and attitudes
Exploring how context impacts on the values and ideas presented in texts is central to Module A. You must explore how each text is a product of its time and place, in terms of its form, techniques, and the content (values). As you analyse the values presented in each text, you will also need to integrate contextual information into your response to explain WHY each composer explores particular values, and uses particular film and language techniques. What was happening in Germany at the time that Lang directed Metropolis, and how may that be reflected in the ideas and values and medium of the film? What was happening in Europe as Orwell developed his novel, and how did that manifest itself in the text’s values? How can the social, cultural, and historical contexts of the composers, their political beliefs, and personal backgrounds, shed light on the content and perspectives in their texts? Purpose and audience are closely related to context. Consider each composer’s purpose, and target audience, and the implications of purpose, audience and context on the values explored.
Develop a personal thesis around your comparative study
Develop a personal response that explores how your study of the two texts together has enhanced your understanding of each. Metropolis and Nineteen Eighty-Four have stark similarities. They criticise totalitarian regimes by creating dark dystopias. Draw parallels between the values explored in the texts, and discuss similarities in context. Conversely, contrast contextual influences and values. How might similarities in content have come from different contexts? How might similar contextual influences have manifested in the different text forms? There is much scope in the comparative study for originality of ideas and expression in terms of how you approach your response to these texts. Remember, of course, that in the HSC you must answer the question on the day. A depth of understanding of both texts in relation to each other, and personal perspective of how the comparative study has heightened your understanding of each, will prepare you well to answer any question in the exam.
In summary
In a nutshell, this elective requires you to create an integrated analysis of how the context of each text affects the values, attitudes and ideas explored by each composer. You will also consider how the context, purpose, and audience of each text influenced the text form and techniques. Inherent in this is a detailed comparison of the content and perspectives presented in the two texts. You need to be able to draw links between the texts, and tease out similarities and differences in ideas, values, attitudes, perspectives, and film/language techniques. You need to explore how your personal understanding of the two texts has been enhanced by your comparative study – how has your analysis of one text heightened your understanding of the values, significance and context of the other?
Feedback from the marking centre
The highest quality responses in Module A:
Syllabus requirements
Make sure that you are familiar with the English Stage 6 Syllabus . Module A requires students to:
- compare texts in order to explore them in relation to their contexts
- develop understanding of the effects of context and questions of value
- examine ways in which social, cultural and historical context influences aspects of texts, or the ways in which changes in context lead to changed values being reflected in texts
- study and use the language of texts, consider purposes and audiences, and analyse of the content, values and attitudes conveyed through a range of readings
- develop a range of imaginative, interpretive and analytical compositions that relate to the comparative study of texts and context, in a variety of forms and media.
- compare and explore the content and perspectives in a pair of texts in order to develop your understanding of the effects of context, purpose and audience on the shaping of meaning
- examine the ways in which particular social, cultural and historical contexts can influence the composer’s choice of language forms and features, and the ideas, values and attitudesconveyed in each text
- consider how the treatment of similar content in a pair of texts canheighten our understanding of the values, significance and context of each.
A holistic understanding of each text – ideas, language/film techniques
You must have a deep understanding of both Metropolis and Nineteen Eighty-Four for this module. You should view/read each text more than once to be able to analyse the content and technique of each. A broad and deep understanding of each text will enable you to access the question for Module A in the HSC, and draw on textual detail most relevant to the question. You must be able to analyse WHAT meaning is created (values and ideas) HOW meaning is created in each text by analysing language and film techniques, and providing specific textual references – examples and quotes.
A deep understanding of the values explored in each text
If you read the syllabus rubrics again, you will note that there is a focus on values in this module. That means that you are not just talking about ‘ideas about power’ or ‘issues of class struggle’, but you need to frame these ideas in terms of the values that are explored or promoted or criticised in each text. In Metropolis, Lang criticises capitalist values. He promotes values of empathy and love by creating a world devoid of them. In Nineteen Eighty-Four the Party values power and control at the expense of personal freedom, and thus Orwell criticises the values of totalitarian governments. Both composers create divided societies to warn of a future where individuality is not valued. Framing your exploration of the ideas in each text in terms of the values that each composer presents is imperative in this module. Discuss the values and analyse HOW they are conveyed by language and film techniques.
An analysis of how context influences values, ideas and attitudes
Exploring how context impacts on the values and ideas presented in texts is central to Module A. You must explore how each text is a product of its time and place, in terms of its form, techniques, and the content (values). As you analyse the values presented in each text, you will also need to integrate contextual information into your response to explain WHY each composer explores particular values, and uses particular film and language techniques. What was happening in Germany at the time that Lang directed Metropolis, and how may that be reflected in the ideas and values and medium of the film? What was happening in Europe as Orwell developed his novel, and how did that manifest itself in the text’s values? How can the social, cultural, and historical contexts of the composers, their political beliefs, and personal backgrounds, shed light on the content and perspectives in their texts? Purpose and audience are closely related to context. Consider each composer’s purpose, and target audience, and the implications of purpose, audience and context on the values explored.
Develop a personal thesis around your comparative study
Develop a personal response that explores how your study of the two texts together has enhanced your understanding of each. Metropolis and Nineteen Eighty-Four have stark similarities. They criticise totalitarian regimes by creating dark dystopias. Draw parallels between the values explored in the texts, and discuss similarities in context. Conversely, contrast contextual influences and values. How might similarities in content have come from different contexts? How might similar contextual influences have manifested in the different text forms? There is much scope in the comparative study for originality of ideas and expression in terms of how you approach your response to these texts. Remember, of course, that in the HSC you must answer the question on the day. A depth of understanding of both texts in relation to each other, and personal perspective of how the comparative study has heightened your understanding of each, will prepare you well to answer any question in the exam.
In summary
In a nutshell, this elective requires you to create an integrated analysis of how the context of each text affects the values, attitudes and ideas explored by each composer. You will also consider how the context, purpose, and audience of each text influenced the text form and techniques. Inherent in this is a detailed comparison of the content and perspectives presented in the two texts. You need to be able to draw links between the texts, and tease out similarities and differences in ideas, values, attitudes, perspectives, and film/language techniques. You need to explore how your personal understanding of the two texts has been enhanced by your comparative study – how has your analysis of one text heightened your understanding of the values, significance and context of the other?
Feedback from the marking centre
The highest quality responses in Module A:
- provide a balanced discussion of both texts and effectively integrate their discussion of the two texts
- support their responses with well-selected evidence from the full body of both texts
- discuss parallels between the two texts
- analyse the impact of context on values, and integrate contextual information into an exploration of values/ideas/attitudes – no blocks of biographical/contextual information
- demonstrate awareness of the differences between the texts, which also reflect context
- don’t make sweeping generalisations about composers and their contexts
- are aware of the texts as reflections of the identity of the composers
- develop a thoughtful thesis, and support their thesis with relevant and accurate textual detail
- discuss the purposes of the composers
- use complex literary terms or metalanguage with understanding
- use cohesive language to connect paragraphs
- analyse the texts rather than giving too much biographical information about the authors
- discuss the way the composers use language and structure to influence their respective audiences
- What drives us?
- How is power used by some to control others?
- What is the role of the state (government) in the lives of its citizens?
- What is the value of individuality, or relationships, or human connections?
- How can the needs of the state and the needs of its people be balanced? What power does an individual have against the state? Can power structures ever be changed?
- What are our rights to education, the access to truth, accurate and objective accounts of history? And most importantly, what is freedom?
- Both Metropolis and Nineteen Eighty-Four are political texts. They explore questions of government, power, and class, which have arisen out of each composer’s social, cultural and historical contexts
- Both texts are speculative – they present dystopian visions of the future – societies that could eventuate if the contemporary socio-economic-political structures were allowed to flourish at the time.
- Both texts represent the Marxist struggle of the underclasses in totalitarian societies (totalitarianism is a concept in which the state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life) – in Metropolis, Lang criticises capitalist values and principles of ‘scientific management’ by creating a totalitarian state ruled by the powerful industrialist Fredersen, whilst Orwell, in Nineteen Eighty-Four, satirises the totalitarian communist regimes of his time by projecting a future Earth of super-states ruled by tyrannical leaders where even anti-government thought is a crime.
- In both texts, state power and control suppresses individuality, choice and freedom. Each state values socio-economic power (in Metropolis) and socio-political power (in Nineteen Eighty-Four) - as control over the people. Humans are not valued as individuals, rather as functional mechanisms of the state machine.
- Both Orwell and Lang utilise protagonists who reject the structures of their societies, and rebel against them (Winston in Nineteen Eighty-Four; Freder and Maria in Metropolis). Winston struggles to break free from the orthodoxy required by the Party; Freder and Maria struggle for a more egalitarian society. None of these protagonists are entirely successful. Winston is tortured and broken to the point where he loves Big Brother at the end of the novel, and while Fredersen enters into dialogue with the workers through the ‘mediator’ – his son Freder – the challenge to his power throughout the film has only strengthened his control over the people. Through Freder, Fredersen now has access to the workers’ minds, as well as their bodies.
- Both texts developed out of tumultuous contexts. The Weimar Republic in Germany in the inter-war period was characterised by economic and political instability, inflation and unemployment and a scarred national psyche in the aftermath of the German loss in WWI. Lang comments on technological innovation, ‘scientific management’ practices, which were growing in popularity and espoused by industrialists such as Henry Ford, the increased sexualisation of his time, and class struggles related to the economic instability of the Weimar Republic. Similarly, twenty years later, Orwell was deeply affected by the events of WWII, the division of the world at Tehran by the Soviet Union, USA and the UK, the ‘dumbing down’ of the mass media as he saw it, the rise and immense power of totalitarian states in Russia and Germany, the corruption of language for political power, and the control and mutability of history as a means of population control.
- Both texts have been criticised for sacrificing plot for political message. Both plots are quite simplistic, and characters are undeveloped. Both favour an exploration of the issues facing humanity in their contexts over complexity of plot and depth of characterisation.
MODULE C: REPRESENTATION AND TEXT - REPRESENTING LANDSCAPES
JUDITH WRIGHT
libguides.msben.nsw.edu.au/ld.php?content_id=11378534
/www.realteachertutors.com.au/judith-wright-poetry-hsc-english-advanced-module-c/
Hawthorn hedge analysis
Definitions of landscape
From the Dutch landschap about 1600, originally used in painting to describe an artwork that depicts natural scenery
· expanse of scenery that can be seen in a single view
· all the visible features of an area of land.
· a tract of land with distinguishing characteristics is the modern meaning, and this dates from the 1880s.
· a cityscape is an urban landscape.
Etymology
The word land is of Germanic origin and connotes a place to which people belong, which is highly relevant in an elective which focuses on the relationships between people and place.
The suffix scape has its roots in the Old English sceppan, which means to shape. This generates an abstraction, the idea that the land shows, reveals or exhibits a condition, quality or state.
Type or aspects of relationships with landscape
· spiritual
· religious
· traditional ownership
· tribal relationships
· cultural
· historical
· economic
· social
· institutional
· aesthetic
· artistic
· economic
· political
· legal
· any others?
From “The importance of Landscape”
“Landscape is important, not just as scenery but because it links culture with nature, and the past with the present. It has many values, not all of them tangible (such as sense of place); and it matters to people – it is people who create and value landscape.
Well-looked after and highly valued landscapes are essential to social well-being and an economically healthy society. We value our landscapes because of their inherent interest, their contribution to both our national identity and our local distinctiveness, their artistic inspiration - and for the goods and services they can provide.”
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/landscape/importance/default.aspx
“Landscape is more than just scenery: it is the interaction between people and place; the bedrock upon which our society is built. The European Landscape Convention defines landscape as ‘an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors.’
http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/environmentplanning/natural_environment/landscape/whatislandscape.htm
Key statements from the syllabus rubric notes
(Mod. C – People and Landscapes)
PRACTISE HSC TRIAL EXAMINATION QUESTIONS FOR MODULE C – PEOPLE AND LANDSCAPES – Poems of Judith Wright.
Allow about 40 minutes for this section Answer the question in a SEPARATE writing booklet.
In your answer you will be assessed on how well you:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
SAMPLE QUESTION 1.
“Judith Wright is widely regarded as one of Australia’s greatest poets. Her work is valued for its representation of the Australian environment and relationships between humans and nature”
Evaluate how Judith Wright’s poetry and one other text represents the relationship between humans and nature.
In your answer, you must make detailed reference to at least TWO of the prescribed poems and one other text of your own choosing.
***
SAMPLE QUESTION 2.
“In her poetry, Judith Wright represents the experience of particular landscapes and their significance for the individual or society more broadly.”
Evaluate and explain how composers represent this experience.
In your answer, you must make detailed reference to at least TWO of Judith Wright’s prescribed poems and one other text of your own choosing.
***
SAMPLE QUESTION 3.
How do various textual representations of people and landscapes cultivate a deeper understanding of ideas and attitudes about the relationship between individuals and the natural environment?
In your answer, you must make detailed reference to at least TWO of the prescribed poems and one other text of your own choosing.
***
Flame Tree in A Quarry
(life and death / regeneration / time and the cycle of life / the awesome power of nature)
SAMPLE ANALYTIC PARAGRAPH:
A bleak view emerges in the poem “Flame Tree in a quarry”. The juxtaposition suggested in the title of the “flame tree” in the “quarry” sets up the negative impact of time on nature, as the beauty of the tree is taken over by the quarry. It seems that nature is sacrificed this time to the commercial activity of the quarry but Wright only refers to “quarry” in the title and implicitly in the first alliterative line “broken bone of the hill”. The destruction of the landscape is revealed by the cumulative imagery created by the lexical chain of “broken”, “stripped”, “left for dead,” and the simile “like a wrecked skull” . By representing the deathly landscape Wright is accentuating the tragedy of the loss of nature. The visual tragedy is further emphasised through the aural effect of the alliterative metaphor of the “bush of blood”, creating a violent pounding sound. Further, the biblical allusion to the burning bush is a sign of regeneration. This time the singer is not a bush storyteller as in ‘South of my Days’ but the earth struggling to make a “cry of praise”, a biblical allusion to a hymn. The land in this poem takes on a spiritual dimension, with the biblical allusion to the act of communion in “the song made flesh”. Wright is not just an observer but an active participant in the spiritual communion offered by the land, evident in “I drink you with my sight/ and I am filled with fire.” She herself stated in an interview (1965) that in nature “we can perceive… an inescapable correspondence with the processes of our own bodies” and this is clearly elucidated in the poem. The appearance of the vibrant red flowers of the flame tree becomes the alliterative “bush of blood”, the symbolic “fire” and the “scarlet breath”. The metaphoric “fountain of hot joy” paradoxically is also a “living ghost of death” like the “host” of the communion. Despite the tragedy of the scene, there is a strong sense of hope that with the passing of time, nature will return and reclaim the space of the quarry. Wright’s Flame Tree in A Quarry is a powerful representation of romantic ideals of the awesome and regenerative power of nature. Nature symbolically represents the natural and inevitable cycle of human life and human experiences of loss and renewed hope.
RELATED TEXTS
Remembering Babylon - David Malouf
A little Piece of Ground- Elizabeth Laird
Eucalyptus - Murray Bail
The White Earth - Andrew McGahan
Valley of Lagoon - David Malouf
The Sparrow Garden (Memoir) - Peter Srzynecki
Lives of Girls and Women (novel extract) - Alice Munro
Island Home - Tim Winton (memoir)
The Secret River - Kate Grenville
http://kategrenville.com/The_Secret_River (novel)
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/secret-river/ (TV show)
Trailer
https://clickv.ie/w/4cXe
Window - Jeannie Baker (Picture Book)
http://www.slideshare.net/MrsJuteau/windows-2992791
Various paintings - John Olsen, Brett Whitely
Tracks (film)
JUDITH WRIGHT
libguides.msben.nsw.edu.au/ld.php?content_id=11378534
/www.realteachertutors.com.au/judith-wright-poetry-hsc-english-advanced-module-c/
Hawthorn hedge analysis
Definitions of landscape
From the Dutch landschap about 1600, originally used in painting to describe an artwork that depicts natural scenery
· expanse of scenery that can be seen in a single view
· all the visible features of an area of land.
· a tract of land with distinguishing characteristics is the modern meaning, and this dates from the 1880s.
· a cityscape is an urban landscape.
Etymology
The word land is of Germanic origin and connotes a place to which people belong, which is highly relevant in an elective which focuses on the relationships between people and place.
The suffix scape has its roots in the Old English sceppan, which means to shape. This generates an abstraction, the idea that the land shows, reveals or exhibits a condition, quality or state.
Type or aspects of relationships with landscape
· spiritual
· religious
· traditional ownership
· tribal relationships
· cultural
· historical
· economic
· social
· institutional
· aesthetic
· artistic
· economic
· political
· legal
· any others?
From “The importance of Landscape”
“Landscape is important, not just as scenery but because it links culture with nature, and the past with the present. It has many values, not all of them tangible (such as sense of place); and it matters to people – it is people who create and value landscape.
Well-looked after and highly valued landscapes are essential to social well-being and an economically healthy society. We value our landscapes because of their inherent interest, their contribution to both our national identity and our local distinctiveness, their artistic inspiration - and for the goods and services they can provide.”
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/landscape/importance/default.aspx
“Landscape is more than just scenery: it is the interaction between people and place; the bedrock upon which our society is built. The European Landscape Convention defines landscape as ‘an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors.’
http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/environmentplanning/natural_environment/landscape/whatislandscape.htm
Key statements from the syllabus rubric notes
(Mod. C – People and Landscapes)
- You will engage with and respond to the representations of nature within the selected poems. Wright’s portraits of people within distinctive Australian landscapes are striking and poignant in themselves, and are often used by the poet to represent and reflect on the process of poetic creation.
- The evocative language of the poems and subtle nuances of mood and tone reflect the poet’s deep appreciation of and love for the countryside.
- You will consider the power of poetry to represent individuals’ experiences of the natural environment and the significance it holds for them.
- Judith Wright is widely regarded as one of Australia’s greatest poets. Her work is valued for its representation of the Australian environment and relationships between humans and nature.
- Wright’s political activism focused on conservation and social issues, primarily Aboriginal land rights. These impulses, and particularly her environmental concerns, are reflected in many of her poems.
PRACTISE HSC TRIAL EXAMINATION QUESTIONS FOR MODULE C – PEOPLE AND LANDSCAPES – Poems of Judith Wright.
Allow about 40 minutes for this section Answer the question in a SEPARATE writing booklet.
In your answer you will be assessed on how well you:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
- demonstrate understanding of and evaluate the relationship between representation and meaning within the context of People and Landscapes
- organise, develop and express ideas using language appropriate to audience, purpose and form
SAMPLE QUESTION 1.
“Judith Wright is widely regarded as one of Australia’s greatest poets. Her work is valued for its representation of the Australian environment and relationships between humans and nature”
Evaluate how Judith Wright’s poetry and one other text represents the relationship between humans and nature.
In your answer, you must make detailed reference to at least TWO of the prescribed poems and one other text of your own choosing.
***
SAMPLE QUESTION 2.
“In her poetry, Judith Wright represents the experience of particular landscapes and their significance for the individual or society more broadly.”
Evaluate and explain how composers represent this experience.
In your answer, you must make detailed reference to at least TWO of Judith Wright’s prescribed poems and one other text of your own choosing.
***
SAMPLE QUESTION 3.
How do various textual representations of people and landscapes cultivate a deeper understanding of ideas and attitudes about the relationship between individuals and the natural environment?
In your answer, you must make detailed reference to at least TWO of the prescribed poems and one other text of your own choosing.
***
Flame Tree in A Quarry
(life and death / regeneration / time and the cycle of life / the awesome power of nature)
SAMPLE ANALYTIC PARAGRAPH:
A bleak view emerges in the poem “Flame Tree in a quarry”. The juxtaposition suggested in the title of the “flame tree” in the “quarry” sets up the negative impact of time on nature, as the beauty of the tree is taken over by the quarry. It seems that nature is sacrificed this time to the commercial activity of the quarry but Wright only refers to “quarry” in the title and implicitly in the first alliterative line “broken bone of the hill”. The destruction of the landscape is revealed by the cumulative imagery created by the lexical chain of “broken”, “stripped”, “left for dead,” and the simile “like a wrecked skull” . By representing the deathly landscape Wright is accentuating the tragedy of the loss of nature. The visual tragedy is further emphasised through the aural effect of the alliterative metaphor of the “bush of blood”, creating a violent pounding sound. Further, the biblical allusion to the burning bush is a sign of regeneration. This time the singer is not a bush storyteller as in ‘South of my Days’ but the earth struggling to make a “cry of praise”, a biblical allusion to a hymn. The land in this poem takes on a spiritual dimension, with the biblical allusion to the act of communion in “the song made flesh”. Wright is not just an observer but an active participant in the spiritual communion offered by the land, evident in “I drink you with my sight/ and I am filled with fire.” She herself stated in an interview (1965) that in nature “we can perceive… an inescapable correspondence with the processes of our own bodies” and this is clearly elucidated in the poem. The appearance of the vibrant red flowers of the flame tree becomes the alliterative “bush of blood”, the symbolic “fire” and the “scarlet breath”. The metaphoric “fountain of hot joy” paradoxically is also a “living ghost of death” like the “host” of the communion. Despite the tragedy of the scene, there is a strong sense of hope that with the passing of time, nature will return and reclaim the space of the quarry. Wright’s Flame Tree in A Quarry is a powerful representation of romantic ideals of the awesome and regenerative power of nature. Nature symbolically represents the natural and inevitable cycle of human life and human experiences of loss and renewed hope.
RELATED TEXTS
Remembering Babylon - David Malouf
A little Piece of Ground- Elizabeth Laird
Eucalyptus - Murray Bail
The White Earth - Andrew McGahan
Valley of Lagoon - David Malouf
The Sparrow Garden (Memoir) - Peter Srzynecki
Lives of Girls and Women (novel extract) - Alice Munro
Island Home - Tim Winton (memoir)
The Secret River - Kate Grenville
http://kategrenville.com/The_Secret_River (novel)
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/secret-river/ (TV show)
Trailer
https://clickv.ie/w/4cXe
Window - Jeannie Baker (Picture Book)
http://www.slideshare.net/MrsJuteau/windows-2992791
Various paintings - John Olsen, Brett Whitely
Tracks (film)
MODULE A: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TEXTS - Texts in Time
OR FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe..."
Mostly by using this new whiz bang high tech thingee called the Internet. Here are a few resources to help you in your comparative study of Frankenstein and Blade Runner.
NEW!!! Mrs Anderson's Slideshow from Module A Study Day
NEW!!! Notes on Context from Module A Study Day
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM THE BOARD OF STUDIES
- Module A: Comparative Study of Texts and Context
- Each elective in this module requires the study of groups of texts which are to be selected from a prescribed text list. These texts may be in different forms or media.
- Students examine ways in which social, cultural and historical context influences aspects of texts, or the ways in which changes in context lead to changed values being reflected in texts. This includes study and use of the language of texts, consideration of purposes and audiences, and analysis of the content, values and attitudes conveyed through a range of readings.
- Students develop a range of imaginative, interpretive and analytical compositions that relate to the comparative study of texts and context. These compositions may be realised in a variety of forms and media.
In your answer you will be assessed on how well you:
- demonstrate understanding of the meanings of a pair of texts when considered together
- evaluate the relationships between texts and contexts
- organise, develop and express ideas using language appropriate to audience, purpose and form
Past HSC Questions:
2012:
Our interest in the parallels between Frankenstein and Blade Runner is further enhanced by consideration of their marked differences in textual form. Evaluate this statement in light of your comparative study of Frankenstein and Blade Runner.
2011:
In what ways does a comparative study accentuate the distinctive contexts of Frankenstein and Blade Runner?
2010:
Analyse how Frankenstein and Blade Runner imaginatively portray individuals who challenge the established values of their times.
2009:
‘A deeper understanding of disruption and identity emerges from considering the parallels between Frankenstein and Blade Runner.’
Compare how these texts explore disruption and identity.
Comparing the texts - The depiction of the body
Watch the video for this old intelligent sounding guy's tips on understanding Frankenstein and Bladerunner
A visual comparison (Student produced)
Context - Understanding the context of both texts is crucial.
Frankenstein (1818, England)
19th Century epistolary novel, The Romantic Movement, Gothic Fiction, The French Revolution, Industrial Revolution, Galvanism, Science Fiction (19th Century), Prometheus legend, The Sorrows of Young Werther - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Paradise Lost - John Milton, William Goodwin (Caleb Williams/ Political Justice)
Bladerunner - (1982 - Director's Cut 1992, USA)
Hollywood film, late 20th Century capitalism, cyberpunk, dystopia, science fiction, film noir, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Phillip K. Dick, Metropolis - Lang (film), William Blake
Both texts have biblical allusions that include:
The Creation story of Genesis, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, The Prodigal Son
KEY THEMES and IDEAS
The role (and abuse) of science and knowledge
The quest for identity and what it means to be human
Religion and morality in a secular society
Frankenstein - The Over reacher, (Modern Prometheus) critique of the Romantic ideal.
Bladerunner - What is reality? The real versus the artificial.
Both texts have biblical allusions that include: The Creation story of Genesis, Cain and Abel, The Prodigal Son
KEY THEMES and IDEAS
The role (and abuse) of science and knowledge
The quest for identity and what it means to be human
Religion and morality in a secular society
Frankenstein - The Over reacher, (Modern Prometheus) critique of the Romantic ideal.
Bladerunner - What is reality? The real versus the artificial.
"Its Alive!" Frankie Links
A good site for a definition, explanation and history of the Gothic novel http://www.jahsonic.com/GothicNovel.html
This site http://www.frankensteinfilms.com/ is great for a summary of Mary Shelley's personal history, how she came to write Frankenstein, the context and Frankenstein's legacy in popular culture.
A summary of Shelley's context
As is this one http://www.nlm.nih.gov/frankenstein/preface.html for an overview of the main ideas and themes and relevant quotes. For an 'interesting' (well I think it's interesting) take on the religious and moral element of the novel read this article.
While for a discussion of Mary Shelley's novel as a nineteenth-century, Romantic, and Feminist reading of Paradise Lost read: http://www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/mshelley/pva229.html
"All these moments lost like tears in rain..." Blade runner links
Bladerunner Analysis
A good general overview of film and film techniques as well as the filmic influences on Bladerunner and the films it has influenced.
Bladerunner - a sociological analysis
A more detailed look at the social meaning behind the text
The source material for Blade Runner "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" was written by sci-fi writer Phillip K Dick.
To learn more about him, his work and his influence go to: www.philipkdick.com
and www.wired.com
Get an insight into Dick's mind through his speech How to build a universe that doesn't fall apart in two days - pay attention to Dick's ideas on reality and what constitutes an authentic human being - an
important theme in BR and throughout his stories.
For links to analysis of the film go to: http://br-insight.com/analysis/
And for a great review and side by side comparison of Dick's novel and the film try: http://www.filmsite.org/blad.html
Bladerunner script
early Bladerunner script 1981