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Question 2: 8 marks
Analysis is that thing you've done in English since day 1: pick a word or phrase and show you've understood it. There are loads of different ways you can approach this question - PEA, PEARL, PETAL, WHAT HOW WHY, etc... but they all boil down to the same thing:
Analysis is that thing you've done in English since day 1: pick a word or phrase and show you've understood it. There are loads of different ways you can approach this question - PEA, PEARL, PETAL, WHAT HOW WHY, etc... but they all boil down to the same thing:
POINT: What is the writer trying to do? (This will normally be the question)
POINT: What is the writer trying to do? (This will normally be the question)
EXAMPLE: Take a quote from the text where they writer has tried to do this - and mention the technique if you can.
EXAMPLE: Take a quote from the text where they writer has tried to do this - and mention the technique if you can.
ANALYSIS: How does the quote achieve the point?
ANALYSIS: How does the quote achieve the point?
Most of your marks will come from your analysis.
Most of your marks will come from your analysis.
So: What is ANALYSIS?
So: What is ANALYSIS?
To give you lots to write about, remember that analysis should include the following:
To give you lots to write about, remember that analysis should include the following:
Show you've understood the language by making a clear point and embedding the quote.
Show you've understood the language by making a clear point and embedding the quote.
Explore any connotations or suggestions from the language.
Explore any connotations or suggestions from the language.
Explore the impact of the language on the characters, and the writer's intended effect on the reader.
Explore the impact of the language on the characters, and the writer's intended effect on the reader.
Example 1: from Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Example 1: from Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Q: How has the writer used language to present the constants?
Q: How has the writer used language to present the constants?
The girl tribute from District 1, looking provocative in an opaque gold gown, steps up the centre of the stage to join Caesar for her interview. Her mentor didn’t have any trouble coming up with an angle for her: flowing blonde hair, emerald green eyes, a body that’s tall and lush… she’s sexy all the way. But I won’t forget that she’s trained to kill.
The girl tribute from District 1, looking provocative in an opaque gold gown, steps up the centre of the stage to join Caesar for her interview. Her mentor didn’t have any trouble coming up with an angle for her: flowing blonde hair, emerald green eyes, a body that’s tall and lush… she’s sexy all the way. But I won’t forget that she’s trained to kill.
Each interview only lasts three minutes. Then a buzzer goes off and the next tribute is up. I sit like a lady, the way Effie showed me, as the districts slip by. Two, three, four… Everyone seems to be playing up some angle. The monstrous boy from District 2 is a ruthless killing machine. The fox-faced girl from District 5 is sly and elusive. Eight, nine, ten… The crippled boy from 10 is very quiet.
Each interview only lasts three minutes. Then a buzzer goes off and the next tribute is up. I sit like a lady, the way Effie showed me, as the districts slip by. Two, three, four… Everyone seems to be playing up some angle. The monstrous boy from District 2 is a ruthless killing machine. The fox-faced girl from District 5 is sly and elusive. Eight, nine, ten… The crippled boy from 10 is very quiet.
Possible Answer:
Possible Answer:
The girl from District 1 is presented as beautiful but deadly. For example, she is described as "looking provocative." The adjective "provocative" means that she can create a strong emotion in those around her. It can mean that she's ready to start a fight - such as when you provoke someone into a violent act - or it could mean to try and trigger attraction in someone, a provocative dress would be on that is sexy and alluring. This clearly suggests that she's confident and wants to stand out. Here, Collins is presenting this girl as being a significant threat to Katniss, and it makes the reader worried for her. Also, she's described as being "tall" and "lush," both of these adjectives suggest that she is powerful and healthy - lush means rich with life, which suggests that she's strong. Again, this suggests that she is going to be a deadly threat to Katniss, and it leaves the reader feeling scared and sorry for our hero.
The girl from District 1 is presented as beautiful but deadly. For example, she is described as "looking provocative." The adjective "provocative" means that she can create a strong emotion in those around her. It can mean that she's ready to start a fight - such as when you provoke someone into a violent act - or it could mean to try and trigger attraction in someone, a provocative dress would be on that is sexy and alluring. This clearly suggests that she's confident and wants to stand out. Here, Collins is presenting this girl as being a significant threat to Katniss, and it makes the reader worried for her. Also, she's described as being "tall" and "lush," both of these adjectives suggest that she is powerful and healthy - lush means rich with life, which suggests that she's strong. Again, this suggests that she is going to be a deadly threat to Katniss, and it leaves the reader feeling scared and sorry for our hero.
The boy from District 2 is described as being "monstrous" which suggests he's like some kind of nightmare figure, who should be feared. He's also described as a "ruthless killing machine." This description objectifies him as a machine, whose only function is to kill. Being ruthless means he has no emotions. Both of these phrases reinforce the idea that Katniss should be scared of these contestants, and put the reader on edge.
The boy from District 2 is described as being "monstrous" which suggests he's like some kind of nightmare figure, who should be feared. He's also described as a "ruthless killing machine." This description objectifies him as a machine, whose only function is to kill. Being ruthless means he has no emotions. Both of these phrases reinforce the idea that Katniss should be scared of these contestants, and put the reader on edge.
If you read back over those answers you should see that I will often shift between red and blue - quote and analysis. This means I'm finding some quotes, analysing the effects of them, and then talking about how all those quotes might affect a reader or a character. Remember that most of your points will come from your analysis, and remember that, really, analysis is just showing that you've understood the language.
If you read back over those answers you should see that I will often shift between red and blue - quote and analysis. This means I'm finding some quotes, analysing the effects of them, and then talking about how all those quotes might affect a reader or a character. Remember that most of your points will come from your analysis, and remember that, really, analysis is just showing that you've understood the language.
You could try extending this answer - there's more to write about the girl from District 1, and even the simple phrases from District 5 and 10 have something to say about them.
You could try extending this answer - there's more to write about the girl from District 1, and even the simple phrases from District 5 and 10 have something to say about them.
Example 2: from Farenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury
Example 2: from Farenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury
Q: How has the writer used language to describe fire?
Q: How has the writer used language to describe fire?
It was a pleasure to burn.
It was a pleasure to burn.
It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history. With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. He strode in a swarm of fireflies. He wanted above all, like the old joke, to shove a marshmallow on a stick in the furnace, while the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house. While the books went up in sparkling whirls and blew away on a wind turned dark with burning.
It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history. With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. He strode in a swarm of fireflies. He wanted above all, like the old joke, to shove a marshmallow on a stick in the furnace, while the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house. While the books went up in sparkling whirls and blew away on a wind turned dark with burning.
Possible Answer:
Possible Answer:
The writing here is a clear celebration of fire and burning, but in quite a disturbing way. The short paragraph in the opening: "I was a pleasure to burn" immediately sets the reader on edge. The fact that it sits alone focuses our attention on it, and we can't help but wonder how someone could find pleasure in such a destructive thing as fire. The main paragraph opens with three key verbs: "eaten," "blackened" and "changed" each of which describe a powerful shift that takes place in things once they are burned. At one point the writer compares the character to an "amazing conductor" playing "symphonies." Here, the process of destruction is compared to the production of art. This is a strange contradiction that, again, sets us on edge: how is this person taking such pleasure from something so destructive? A "symphony" is a complex piece of art that requires a lot of talented people working together; here, however, it is being compared to one person starting a fire. The writer makes the fire seem important when he says it will "bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history." To bring something "down" means to destroy or humiliate it, and so here the writer is suggesting that this fire will humiliate or destroy "history" itself - history being the entire sweep of human evolution and everything we have built.
The writing here is a clear celebration of fire and burning, but in quite a disturbing way. The short paragraph in the opening: "I was a pleasure to burn" immediately sets the reader on edge. The fact that it sits alone focuses our attention on it, and we can't help but wonder how someone could find pleasure in such a destructive thing as fire. The main paragraph opens with three key verbs: "eaten," "blackened" and "changed" each of which describe a powerful shift that takes place in things once they are burned. At one point the writer compares the character to an "amazing conductor" playing "symphonies." Here, the process of destruction is compared to the production of art. This is a strange contradiction that, again, sets us on edge: how is this person taking such pleasure from something so destructive? A "symphony" is a complex piece of art that requires a lot of talented people working together; here, however, it is being compared to one person starting a fire. The writer makes the fire seem important when he says it will "bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history." To bring something "down" means to destroy or humiliate it, and so here the writer is suggesting that this fire will humiliate or destroy "history" itself - history being the entire sweep of human evolution and everything we have built.
This example contains a broader mix of red, green and blue as I bounce between finding a quote, explaining what it means, and then talking about the effect on the reader. Really, that should be your golden triangle: Find a quote, show what it means, talk about the effect on the reader. If you can bounce between these three points you should do well.
This example contains a broader mix of red, green and blue as I bounce between finding a quote, explaining what it means, and then talking about the effect on the reader. Really, that should be your golden triangle: Find a quote, show what it means, talk about the effect on the reader. If you can bounce between these three points you should do well.
Example 3: from Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Example 3: from Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Q: How has the writer used language to describe Bombay?
Q: How has the writer used language to describe Bombay?
The first thing I noticed about Bombay, on that first day, was the smell. I could smell it before I saw or heard anything of India, even as I walked along the umbilical corridor that connected the plane to the airport. I was excited and delighted by it, in that first Bombay minute. I’d just escaped from prison and was new to the wide world, and so for me it was the sweet, sweating smell of hope, which is the opposite of hate; and it's the sour, stifled smell of greed, which is the opposite of love. It's the smell of gods, demons, empires, and civilisations in resurrection and decay. It's the blue skin-smell of the sea, no matter where you are in the Island City, and the blood-metal smell of machines. It smells of the stir and sleep. It smells of heartbreak, and the struggle to live. It smells of ten thousand restaurants, five thousand temples, shrines, churches, and mosques, and of a hundred bazaars devoted exclusively to perfumes, spices, incense, and freshly cut flowers. Karla once called it the worst good smell in the world, and she was right, of course, in that way she had of being right about things. But whenever I return to Bombay, now, it's my first sense of the city—that smell, above all things—that welcomes me and tells me I've come home.
The first thing I noticed about Bombay, on that first day, was the smell. I could smell it before I saw or heard anything of India, even as I walked along the umbilical corridor that connected the plane to the airport. I was excited and delighted by it, in that first Bombay minute. I’d just escaped from prison and was new to the wide world, and so for me it was the sweet, sweating smell of hope, which is the opposite of hate; and it's the sour, stifled smell of greed, which is the opposite of love. It's the smell of gods, demons, empires, and civilisations in resurrection and decay. It's the blue skin-smell of the sea, no matter where you are in the Island City, and the blood-metal smell of machines. It smells of the stir and sleep. It smells of heartbreak, and the struggle to live. It smells of ten thousand restaurants, five thousand temples, shrines, churches, and mosques, and of a hundred bazaars devoted exclusively to perfumes, spices, incense, and freshly cut flowers. Karla once called it the worst good smell in the world, and she was right, of course, in that way she had of being right about things. But whenever I return to Bombay, now, it's my first sense of the city—that smell, above all things—that welcomes me and tells me I've come home.
Possible Answer:
Possible Answer:
I'm not going to write this one for you - you've got to learn to do this yourself - but I've bolded some of the key phrases you could write about:
I'm not going to write this one for you - you've got to learn to do this yourself - but I've bolded some of the key phrases you could write about:
The first thing I noticed about Bombay, on that first day, was the smell. I could smell it before I saw or heard anything of India, even as I walked along the umbilical corridor that connected the plane to the airport. I was excited and delighted by it, in that first Bombay minute. I’d just escaped from prison and was new to the wide world, and so for me it was the sweet, sweating smell of hope, which is the opposite of hate; and it's the sour, stifled smell of greed, which is the opposite of love. It's the smell of gods, demons, empires, and civilisations in resurrection and decay. It's the blue skin-smell of the sea, no matter where you are in the Island City, and the blood-metal smell of machines. It smells of the stir and sleep. It smells of heartbreak, and the struggle to live. It smells of ten thousand restaurants, five thousand temples, shrines, churches, and mosques, and of a hundred bazaars devoted exclusively to perfumes, spices, incense, and freshly cut flowers. Karla once called it the worst good smell in the world, and she was right, of course, in that way she had of being right about things. But whenever I return to Bombay, now, it's my first sense of the city—that smell, above all things—that welcomes me and tells me I've come home.
The first thing I noticed about Bombay, on that first day, was the smell. I could smell it before I saw or heard anything of India, even as I walked along the umbilical corridor that connected the plane to the airport. I was excited and delighted by it, in that first Bombay minute. I’d just escaped from prison and was new to the wide world, and so for me it was the sweet, sweating smell of hope, which is the opposite of hate; and it's the sour, stifled smell of greed, which is the opposite of love. It's the smell of gods, demons, empires, and civilisations in resurrection and decay. It's the blue skin-smell of the sea, no matter where you are in the Island City, and the blood-metal smell of machines. It smells of the stir and sleep. It smells of heartbreak, and the struggle to live. It smells of ten thousand restaurants, five thousand temples, shrines, churches, and mosques, and of a hundred bazaars devoted exclusively to perfumes, spices, incense, and freshly cut flowers. Karla once called it the worst good smell in the world, and she was right, of course, in that way she had of being right about things. But whenever I return to Bombay, now, it's my first sense of the city—that smell, above all things—that welcomes me and tells me I've come home.
A few key things to think about:
A few key things to think about:
The two quotes I've highlighted in blue are begging to be linked - it's quite sophisticated to do that
The two quotes I've highlighted in blue are begging to be linked - it's quite sophisticated to do that
The repetitious mention of smell encourages you to think about the significance of smell - you can't escape it, it's quite literally in the air you breathe
The repetitious mention of smell encourages you to think about the significance of smell - you can't escape it, it's quite literally in the air you breathe
Look at the use of lists - how does that effect us?
Look at the use of lists - how does that effect us?
Focus on the use of contradictions and oppositions in the text: it's like Bombay contains everything!
Focus on the use of contradictions and oppositions in the text: it's like Bombay contains everything!
Remember that you can always find more writing to practice on inside the classroom
Remember that you can always find more writing to practice on inside the classroom
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