GCSE AQA English Literature - June 2016 *Official Thread*

How did you guys find Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird? I felt like I waffled about Jack a little bit too much and ended up rushing my TKAM conclusion about Calpurnia a little. (the question was about attitudes to black people so I brought Cal up but didn't get a chance to bring in 1930s context.)

That said I couldn't of asked for a better Part B question for Mockingbird! The whole book's about racism and given more time, I would of wrote even more events, and I already wrote 4 paragraphs!

Shame Roger didn't come up for LOTF but I wrote lots of complicated points about Jack and he's a very fun character to pull apart IMO. A little annoyed because after the exam I realized I made a typo with caesura, I said cejura! (I was analyzing the use of the caesura in a Jack quote). I think my analysis will make up for it and I'm pretty sure that was my only typo. Somehow I typed disapprobation right in my essay, but not caesura. I have no clue.

I said some random thing loool:
I talked about the broken dialogue which is littered with ellipses and the use of George constantly at the beginning if sentences - the broken dialogue reflect s the broken relationship and dream while the use of George reminds the reader that he is going to be alone

Use of sounds - ever nearer sounds add tension to the novel and link to the initial chapter where the sound were distant. Reminds the reader destiny is inescapable

Physical appearance of the passage- beginnings as a paragraph and then transforms into single lines- again emphasizes the gradual destruction of the dream in combination with gradual end of Lennie's life

The shadow was blue- connotations with gloom and sadness while the shadow contrasts to the golden light in the first chapter- hope is personified as escaping the valley as Lennie's death brings darkness
Hopefully these are ok lool please tell me what u think !
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Aha thanks, idk because I had to rush OMAM as I stayed on section A for about 55 minutes

I waffled on about Jack as well, to the point where I didn't get a chance to analyse some quotes in the last few chapters and I just had to say my points.

Part B, I talked about the attitudes shown in the court case and the links to Tom and the Grey Ghost

Same, I did something very similar. What are you predicted in English Lit ?

I failed the OMAM part I said that the voices, although were probably Carlson and Curley, was his conscience! argh I just want to crawl into a hole and i have geography tomorrow!! Noooooooooooooo

I think they're great you should be really proud of yourself for getting all those down. My favourite is the dialogue point and I love the blue thing, that is actually so good! Definitely agree with it.

Do you mind reading some of my points. (I can't remember exactly what I put)

Sibilance (can't remember quote) something like "spine and skull" creates suspicion and that George has pre-mediated the death of lennie.

Repitition - the "rabbits" Shows how George and Lennie are connected and interlinked. George wants Lennie to think about something he loves and he emphasises the American Dream the moment b4 he dies.

Short sentences - George's lack of enthusiasm for having to kill lennie and the fact that he's disengaged and doesn't want to kill him. like it's causing him so much pain

Semantic field of heaven or hell - "the place". Ambigious language. Maybe creates introduces theme of christianity and if lennie will go to hell or heaven (he commited a sin by killing CW).

Thanks

I talked about the attitudes of Mrs Dubose ("your fathers no better than the n*****s and trash he works for was a quote I analyzed), how white men gamble in the black church, how Atticus treats the black community different to the rest of Maycomb and it's this that makes him stand out as a person in Maycomb and then I briefly wrote a paragraph on Calpurnia taking the children to church and how Lula asks why she's bringing white children to their church.

Jesus, that's a lot for Part B! Some really good points as well!

I really like the religious point! Because its an important thing in the novella so well done for including that the sibilance point is really original as well - really good overall u should be proud and thank you!

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I am doing short stories, of mice and men and the conflict poems

Hah, thanks. I didn't get to talk about Cal in as much detail as I'd hoped and only just got to finish my sentence in time (I only got very brief context of how bad it was for black people, esp black women in the 30s)

What did you talk about for Jack? I mentioned the idea of him being a 'little boy' and the quote where he says he 'doesn't want to play anymore', him swearing for the first time and the idea of him wanting lots of rules, then not wantign any (you probably know the quote I mean, hah) and him having a superiority complex ('Why should I be Jack? I'm Merridew.) For the quote they gave us I mentioned his red hair possibly being symbolic of evil and anger and his blue eyes being the opposite.

What was the exact question for part B of OMAM? I think I've done it wrong, I wrote about Curley's Wife and Candy then added 3 sentences about Crooks at the end!

Thank you! it makes me feel slightly more confident haha because part b was much more jumbled up and some of my points for part b were just really unorganised. I probably really pissed off the examiner with my scruffy handwriting What characters did you say for the AD?