Intro to AS Week two: Comparative essays

I will consider the best way to structure a comparative essay.

Last week

What did we learn last week? • Discuss how she sees herself? • How does she see her husband?

Now reverse it!

How would he see her and himself? Create a mind map.You are going to write from the perspective of the protagonist’s husband. What could be in his letters? • Who could he be writing to?• Which techniques did Gilman use? • How could we compliment or contrast that? If the wife

is about creativity, surely he should be about formulas and a rigid structure.

• Pupils to read aloud. Introduce the class to the Creative writing mark scheme and get them to self-assess.

Self assessment

• Which of the Assessment Objectives apply to this type of writing?

• Which grade would you award yourself looking at the AO?

A new Short Story

“A Slight Rebellion off Madison”Originally published in the New Yorker during the 1940s

A new Short Story

“A Slight Rebellion off Madison”• Is there anyone/anything that you recognise? • Initial thoughts about the main character? • Are there any themes which have come up in

the extract? Ensure you find evidence to support this.

• Escape-How does the short story explore the theme of escape?

How does the context change our understanding?

• Many events from Salinger’s early life appear in The Catcher in the Rye. For instance, Holden Caulfield moves from prep school to prep school, is threatened with military school, and knows an older Columbia student. In the novel, such autobiographical details are transplanted into a post–World War II setting. The Catcher in the Rye was published at a time when the burgeoning American industrial economy made the nation prosperous and entrenched social rules served as a code of conformity for the younger generation. Because Salinger used slang and profanity in his text and because he discussed adolescent sexuality in a complex and open way, many readers were offended, and The Catcher in the Rye provoked great controversy upon its release. Some critics argued that the book was not serious literature, citing its casual and informal tone as evidence. The book was—and continues to be—banned in some communities, and it consequently has been thrown into the centre of debates about First Amendment rights, censorship, and obscenity in literature.

• Though controversial, the novel appealed to a great number of people. It was a hugely popular bestseller and general critical success. Salinger’s writing seemed to tap into the emotions of readers in an unprecedented way. As countercultural revolt began to grow during the 1950s and 1960s, The Catcher in the Rye was frequently read as a tale of an individual’s alienation within a heartless world. Holden seemed to stand for young people everywhere, who felt themselves beset on all sides by pressures to grow up and live their lives according to the rules, to disengage from meaningful human connection, and to restrict their own personalities and conform to a bland cultural norm. Many readers saw Holden Caulfield as a symbol of pure, unfettered individuality in the face of cultural oppression

Escape-Mind Map

• How does it explore the theme of escape?• You must find examples in the text to support

this.

Writing a comparative essay

• Follow a few simple guidelines to effectively tick al of the AO boxes!

An Excellent Exploration

• Excellent Explorations must:– Look into the deeper meaning of the quotation.– Say what it shows the reader.– Not simply repeat the Point.– Answer the question directly.– Zoom in on particular words or phrases– Explore other possible interpretations– Show your knowledge of context– Show your knowledge of the rest of the text

Practice

• Write a PEHE about either of the short stories based on the theme of escape.

• Once written, your partner will mark it and decide which elements of the AO it addressed.

Homework Essay

• How do Gilman and Salinger explore the theme of escape in the extracts you have read? (700 Words.)