English Literature Coursework

as part of my A- level i need to choose 2 texts totally or my choice and i need to write a comparative essay on them so really they need to have common themes etc, i am thinking about using ‘to kill a mockingbird’ but i’m unsure what text i could compare it to, any suggestions? :smile:

Reply 1

username3724468

What would you say are the main themes in to kill a mockingbird? I may be able to suggest texts you can compare it with. Stay safe, stay home 💛

Reply 2

cgs03

mostly good and evil, social inequality and racism would probably be a good place to start :smile:

Reply 3

username3724468

In 'An Inspector Calls' by J.B. Priestley there's social inequality that stems from social class. Also there's racism and the sense of the 'other' inferior race in the novella 'The Sign of Four' by Conan Doyle. Hope this helps pet :smile:

Reply 4

hrusse2

I wouldn't suggest using 'An Inspector Calls' or 'The Sign of Four' as they are commonly deemed GCSE texts and you may be marked down for them not being sophisticated enough - or at least this was the case at my school. 'To Kill a Mockingbird' may also fall into this category - people at my school were told not to do it because of this. I compared 'Atonement' by Ian McEwan and 'A Streetcar Named Desire' by Tennessee Williams in terms of the guilt and regret that affected the psyche of the main characters, Briony and Blanche.

Reply 5

cgs03

i cannot do ‘a streetcar named desire’ because it is already one of our guided texts for the course, we also do ‘frankenstein’, ‘othello’ and ‘a handmaids tale’,

Reply 6

hrusse2

Original post by cgs03

i cannot do ‘a streetcar named desire’ because it is already one of our guided texts for the course, we also do ‘frankenstein’, ‘othello’ and ‘a handmaids tale’,

Have you tried looking at the prescribed texts of different exam boards? I did 'The Great Gatsby' and 'The Grapes of Wrath' which compared very nicely when looking at social class and social inequality.