Anyone taking CIE English Literature?
If so what texts are you doing? And how do you revise them?
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Original post by monstrous-icebox
If so what texts are you doing? And how do you revise them?
Yeah
Original post by monstrous-icebox
If so what texts are you doing? And how do you revise them?
Yes! I do. I’m doing cat on a hot tin roof, maya angelou, Dracula, hamlet, stories of ourselves and the wild iris. For me, I’m just going through flashcards to memorise quotations and critical interpretations. Currently predicted an A* and I hope to continue that trend!
Original post by ontologicalpotat
Yes! I do. I’m doing cat on a hot tin roof, maya angelou, Dracula, hamlet, stories of ourselves and the wild iris. For me, I’m just going through flashcards to memorise quotations and critical interpretations. Currently predicted an A* and I hope to continue that trend!
any predictions for the questions on hamlet, dracula, cat on a hot tin roof or wild iris for this year !! literally have no idea what to expect.
Original post by ontologicalpotat
Yes! I do. I’m doing cat on a hot tin roof, maya angelou, Dracula, hamlet, stories of ourselves and the wild iris. For me, I’m just going through flashcards to memorise quotations and critical interpretations. Currently predicted an A* and I hope to continue that trend!
I'm doing cat too! do you have any idea of what question might come up few days later, i don't really enjoy this play and i'm struggling with it
Original post by treebytheroad08
I'm doing cat too! do you have any idea of what question might come up few days later, i don't really enjoy this play and i'm struggling with it
I mean my guess is as good as yours, but they usually stick to similar themes. It’s either going to be about racial inequity, sexism, bricks alcoholism/anger issues, big daddy’s selfishness/materialism and governmental corruption.
Key context here would be looking at America in the 1950s - HUAC committee. The house of un American activities was a sort of intelligence group brought about by the government to combat communism. Gay people during this period were usually suspected of being communists pioneering the red movement. I suppose linking that to the play we could say that Brick’s internalised homophobia was not only psychological but also politically instilled within him. Him being potentially queer would’ve been subverted to paint him as the enemy of the state. I suppose he feels internally enslaved by this, and of course his guilt about Skipper’s death can’t be sequestered so he resorts to alcohol and being so dehumanising to Maggie. I feel for both people, but for some reason, there’s something so disgustingly human about Brick as a character that I deeply resonate with. He is the archetypal model of disorder and dysfunction.
Anyways, random tangent over - I find it interesting that you don’t particularly like the play! I suppose it is truly subjective. I really loved the play - I found it to be quite offensive and raw. It really points out the flaws of the corporatocracy (through Big Daddy’s insufferable personality) and state-level corruption (mendacity) in a way that I find quite entertaining and almost amusing at times. It is emotionally compelling when you can look beyond the somewhat satirical content of the play.
Original post by ontologicalpotat
I mean my guess is as good as yours, but they usually stick to similar themes. It’s either going to be about racial inequity, sexism, bricks alcoholism/anger issues, big daddy’s selfishness/materialism and governmental corruption.
Key context here would be looking at America in the 1950s - HUAC committee. The house of un American activities was a sort of intelligence group brought about by the government to combat communism. Gay people during this period were usually suspected of being communists pioneering the red movement. I suppose linking that to the play we could say that Brick’s internalised homophobia was not only psychological but also politically instilled within him. Him being potentially queer would’ve been subverted to paint him as the enemy of the state. I suppose he feels internally enslaved by this, and of course his guilt about Skipper’s death can’t be sequestered so he resorts to alcohol and being so dehumanising to Maggie. I feel for both people, but for some reason, there’s something so disgustingly human about Brick as a character that I deeply resonate with. He is the archetypal model of disorder and dysfunction.
Anyways, random tangent over - I find it interesting that you don’t particularly like the play! I suppose it is truly subjective. I really loved the play - I found it to be quite offensive and raw. It really points out the flaws of the corporatocracy (through Big Daddy’s insufferable personality) and state-level corruption (mendacity) in a way that I find quite entertaining and almost amusing at times. It is emotionally compelling when you can look beyond the somewhat satirical content of the play.
Key context here would be looking at America in the 1950s - HUAC committee. The house of un American activities was a sort of intelligence group brought about by the government to combat communism. Gay people during this period were usually suspected of being communists pioneering the red movement. I suppose linking that to the play we could say that Brick’s internalised homophobia was not only psychological but also politically instilled within him. Him being potentially queer would’ve been subverted to paint him as the enemy of the state. I suppose he feels internally enslaved by this, and of course his guilt about Skipper’s death can’t be sequestered so he resorts to alcohol and being so dehumanising to Maggie. I feel for both people, but for some reason, there’s something so disgustingly human about Brick as a character that I deeply resonate with. He is the archetypal model of disorder and dysfunction.
Anyways, random tangent over - I find it interesting that you don’t particularly like the play! I suppose it is truly subjective. I really loved the play - I found it to be quite offensive and raw. It really points out the flaws of the corporatocracy (through Big Daddy’s insufferable personality) and state-level corruption (mendacity) in a way that I find quite entertaining and almost amusing at times. It is emotionally compelling when you can look beyond the somewhat satirical content of the play.
omg thank u so much you're being so helpful!! yeah I am definitely being subjective probably because I have struggled with a similar play A View From the Bridge by Arthur Miller (also family drama, homosexuality themed) that I find myself difficult to go deep in the conflicts (both family and internal) and be like "i don't consider myself as a very complicated person why do I need to get involved with all these complicated issues that I can't interpret well" lolll . But I think you're right! I should always link to back to as a criticism of society and values/norms.
btw, I know it's kind of late now to read a new book but i think it might be helpful for you to take a glance at a view from the bridge and squeeze in one or two sentences to make a cross-textual comparison. I just randomly came up with this idea and my literature teacher said this is actually feasible and might get me into level 6 if im doing this effectively, so i guess you can try this as well or with other relevant texts.
Anyways, fingers crossed for both of us today/tomorrow!
Original post by treebytheroad08
omg thank u so much you're being so helpful!! yeah I am definitely being subjective probably because I have struggled with a similar play A View From the Bridge by Arthur Miller (also family drama, homosexuality themed) that I find myself difficult to go deep in the conflicts (both family and internal) and be like "i don't consider myself as a very complicated person why do I need to get involved with all these complicated issues that I can't interpret well" lolll . But I think you're right! I should always link to back to as a criticism of society and values/norms.
btw, I know it's kind of late now to read a new book but i think it might be helpful for you to take a glance at a view from the bridge and squeeze in one or two sentences to make a cross-textual comparison. I just randomly came up with this idea and my literature teacher said this is actually feasible and might get me into level 6 if im doing this effectively, so i guess you can try this as well or with other relevant texts.
Anyways, fingers crossed for both of us today/tomorrow!
btw, I know it's kind of late now to read a new book but i think it might be helpful for you to take a glance at a view from the bridge and squeeze in one or two sentences to make a cross-textual comparison. I just randomly came up with this idea and my literature teacher said this is actually feasible and might get me into level 6 if im doing this effectively, so i guess you can try this as well or with other relevant texts.
Anyways, fingers crossed for both of us today/tomorrow!
Of course!!! Thank you for mentioning the play - I actually feel dumb now because I haven’t read Miller’s play. I feel like I’d thoroughly enjoy it. I’ll take a look tomorrow early morning and try to squeeze in some quotations.
Although I will say, it’s not a requirement in the CIE assessment objectives to provide cross textual references! I’m sure it’ll elevate our work but my teacher had told me that it’s a key feature of the OCR literature syllabus.
Omg the biggest thing for getting top marks though is critical interpretation. It helps so much!! If you haven’t already I’d recommend memorising a few key quotations from different people offering opinions about the play. They’re really good for building on in the exam.
Original post by treebytheroad08
omg thank u so much you're being so helpful!! yeah I am definitely being subjective probably because I have struggled with a similar play A View From the Bridge by Arthur Miller (also family drama, homosexuality themed) that I find myself difficult to go deep in the conflicts (both family and internal) and be like "i don't consider myself as a very complicated person why do I need to get involved with all these complicated issues that I can't interpret well" lolll . But I think you're right! I should always link to back to as a criticism of society and values/norms.
btw, I know it's kind of late now to read a new book but i think it might be helpful for you to take a glance at a view from the bridge and squeeze in one or two sentences to make a cross-textual comparison. I just randomly came up with this idea and my literature teacher said this is actually feasible and might get me into level 6 if im doing this effectively, so i guess you can try this as well or with other relevant texts.
Anyways, fingers crossed for both of us today/tomorrow!
btw, I know it's kind of late now to read a new book but i think it might be helpful for you to take a glance at a view from the bridge and squeeze in one or two sentences to make a cross-textual comparison. I just randomly came up with this idea and my literature teacher said this is actually feasible and might get me into level 6 if im doing this effectively, so i guess you can try this as well or with other relevant texts.
Anyways, fingers crossed for both of us today/tomorrow!
Also, good luck! I’m sure we will do amazingly. I’ll send through a message after the exam and we can maybe chat about it?
Hii, I'm doing Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Songs of Ourselves, Atonement, Hamlet, Experiment with an Air Pump, Pride and Prejudice and Native Guard. How did everyone's paper 1 and 2 go? And how are you revising for paper 3 and 4 (if you're also doing A2)?
Original post by Judithbellmunt
Hii, I'm doing Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Songs of Ourselves, Atonement, Hamlet, Experiment with an Air Pump, Pride and Prejudice and Native Guard. How did everyone's paper 1 and 2 go? And how are you revising for paper 3 and 4 (if you're also doing A2)?
Hi!! I’m doing hamlet, Dracula, the wild iris and an experiment with an airpump!
My first two exams were on the adventures of huckleberry finn (decided to study it last minute because I found it to be more interesting than stories of ourselves vol 1 that my teacher had covered last year), Maya Angelou and Cat on a hot tin roof.
The first two papers went really well for me personally! I found the questions to be quite broad so as to allow for my own creativity and textual analysis (while of course sticking to the question). What about you?
I enjoy all of my texts and find them to be very contextually fascinating.
As for revision, I’m mainly focusing on critical interpretation, context and flashcarding quotations. I make flash cards for all of my subjects as rote memorisation works well for me. If I can bring it out of my long term memory on exam day, that’s really all I need. I find that my analysis flows from adrenaline and I am able to expound upon it in exams so I don’t focus too heavily on it.
What about you?
Just realised I asked ‘what about you’ twice lmao
Yess, I'm also trying to focus on critics right now for my A2. Also I'm revising quotes as well as structure and form. I've kind of focused all year more on A2 texts and these last weeks only focused on refreshening my knowledge for AS, so now I have to revisit A2 again.
I also got good questions for paper 1 and 2. For Cat on a Hot Tin Roof did you do the passage? And for the unseen did you go for the poem or the prose? It would be nice to compare answers if we've answered the same questions!
I also got good questions for paper 1 and 2. For Cat on a Hot Tin Roof did you do the passage? And for the unseen did you go for the poem or the prose? It would be nice to compare answers if we've answered the same questions!
Original post by Judithbellmunt
Yess, I'm also trying to focus on critics right now for my A2. Also I'm revising quotes as well as structure and form. I've kind of focused all year more on A2 texts and these last weeks only focused on refreshening my knowledge for AS, so now I have to revisit A2 again.
I also got good questions for paper 1 and 2. For Cat on a Hot Tin Roof did you do the passage? And for the unseen did you go for the poem or the prose? It would be nice to compare answers if we've answered the same questions!
I also got good questions for paper 1 and 2. For Cat on a Hot Tin Roof did you do the passage? And for the unseen did you go for the poem or the prose? It would be nice to compare answers if we've answered the same questions!
So for Cat I did not do the extract question. I usually stay away from it unless I’ve been unable to fit in preparation as I find it difficult to expand upon points restricted to one extract only. I chose the one about sex and talked about how there’s a difference between the intimacy that Maggie desires and Big Daddy’s primitive and animalistic desires for a woman to be subordinate to him. I talked about how Brick and Maggie’s sexless marriage is described as being chaste as per the ‘snowy white surface’ of their bed, and the implications that this holds for their marriage as sex is more than a mere bodily act. It binds two people. Also talked about the implications of Brick’s closeted homosexuality and the fact that Eisenhower’s government was staunchly anti homosexual so Brick feels that he cannot express his sexuality, thus taking away Maggie’s right to experience pleasure.
As for the unseen I chose the prose and talked about how oppression begins when we silence and control people’s thoughts. The oppressors always seek to suppress free thought as it threatens their stronghold on society. I then talked about the caste system as the extract was based in India. Then talked about a few other things like the asyndeton of the way in which the servant listed all their undesirable facial features.
What about you?
Original post by ontologicalpotat
So for Cat I did not do the extract question. I usually stay away from it unless I’ve been unable to fit in preparation as I find it difficult to expand upon points restricted to one extract only. I chose the one about sex and talked about how there’s a difference between the intimacy that Maggie desires and Big Daddy’s primitive and animalistic desires for a woman to be subordinate to him. I talked about how Brick and Maggie’s sexless marriage is described as being chaste as per the ‘snowy white surface’ of their bed, and the implications that this holds for their marriage as sex is more than a mere bodily act. It binds two people. Also talked about the implications of Brick’s closeted homosexuality and the fact that Eisenhower’s government was staunchly anti homosexual so Brick feels that he cannot express his sexuality, thus taking away Maggie’s right to experience pleasure.
As for the unseen I chose the prose and talked about how oppression begins when we silence and control people’s thoughts. The oppressors always seek to suppress free thought as it threatens their stronghold on society. I then talked about the caste system as the extract was based in India. Then talked about a few other things like the asyndeton of the way in which the servant listed all their undesirable facial features.
What about you?
As for the unseen I chose the prose and talked about how oppression begins when we silence and control people’s thoughts. The oppressors always seek to suppress free thought as it threatens their stronghold on society. I then talked about the caste system as the extract was based in India. Then talked about a few other things like the asyndeton of the way in which the servant listed all their undesirable facial features.
What about you?
Hii, I answered the opposite questions! I have to say your responses sound really high level to me, you're really going to get a good grade. So for Cat's extract I argued how Mae and Gooper are acting inapropietly given the situation when they should be acting most loving and supporting and went in to analise their speech language and tone for that, as well as how they are juxtaposed with Maggie. I also went on to talk about how this brutal/crude behaviour is contrasted by the soft background with golden light. Then I talked about how they are greedy and jelous and contriving seen by their duality in dialogue, for which I argued they lose all sympathy and the audience feels alienanted from them.
Then for the unseen I argued the sea is presented as soft and peaceful and talked about rhyme and alliteration, then I talked about how it was simulaneously presented as powerful and possibly dangerous with the present participle verbs and the irregular form which resisted a regular rythm. And I also talked about how humans can't ever fully understand the sea and thus actually nature as a whole analising the similies and metaphors.
Also how did paper 3 go? I did passage again for both Hamlet and Experiment. What about you?
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