AS and A Level: Other Criticism & Comparison
Currently browsing by:
- Remove3 star+
- Marked by Teachers essays 11
- Peer Reviewed essays 1
-
Innocence and Experience in "Atonement" and "The Go-Between"
5 star(s)and by the prologue where he laments that he was "let down" by his childhood self; "vanquished, and so was [his] century." The dramatic irony of the reader's superior knowledge over the innocent child is augmented by both the experienced narrator's retrospect and the reader's own historical perspective. While Leo optimistically anticipates the twentieth century "winged with hope," the characters of Atonement, with their "dread of conflict", exemplify the complacency of appeasement and the interwar years, preferring to consider "re-armament and the Abyssinia Question...
- Word count: 2875
-
The English Patient
5 star(s)(Schonmuller, B., 2008:13) The identity of the patient is the mystery around which the novel revolves. "Everyone assumes he is English because of his refined speech and mannerisms." (Ha, K., 2001: 52), but this is just a hypothesis as he is unrecognisable and lacks any identification. Later in the novel and through the patient's fragmented memories, the irony of the book is revealed: the English patient is not, in fact, English. Actually, he is called Alm�sy and is Hungarian by birth, having been in the past a desert explorer and map-maker, part of the National Geographical Society expedition to map the Libyan Desert.
- Word count: 53965
-
Within the three texts, Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, Look back in Anger by John Osborne and The Whitsun Weddings by Phillip Larkin, each writer explores the concept of a changing world.
4 star(s)This disdain can be seen most clearly in Brideshead Revisited through the character of Lieutenant Hooper. Waugh?s unsympathetic portrayal of Hooper as an ignorant and graceless army officer, lacking the sense of tradition present in the character of Charles, is representative of Waugh?s presentation of the working class in the novel and the changing world where they are becoming more prominent. Waugh?s description of Charles seeing Hooper as a ?symbol? of ?Young England?[2] presents Charles? and also Waugh?s view of a new generation whose pragmatism was at odds with the romanticism and splendour of the upper classes.
- Word count: 3400
-
Both A Passage to India and Heart of Darkness can be interpreted as portraying Imperialism in a critical light, as a dark force which spreads from England into foreign environments
4 star(s)For Forster, human defects thrive and are brought to the forefront by the force of imperialism. For men and women living in Forster's England, the defects are less noticeable, but when their environment is changed to an alien landscape and culture under the sway of imperialism, their inner darkness - being the capacity for cruelty, racism, bigotry and a lack of compassion - is brought forward. In Chapter Two, Forster explores the defects in human nature brought to the forefront by this change in landscape and situation from the point of view of some of his Indian characters.
- Word count: 1756
-
Presenation of childhood in Jane Eyre and Once in a House On Fire
4 star(s)This is in contrast to "Once in a House on Fire" which at the beginning of the book presents the reader with a number of facts which are presented by Ashworth in such a way that we do not feel sympathy for her but which allow us to at least empathise with her such as "My father drowned when I was five years old", the humour here undercutting the serious situation. Charlotte Bronte then switches the scene to that of the Reed family, who, in the point of view of Jane Eyre were "clustered around their mamma" in the drawing
- Word count: 1740
-
Blanche and Stanley
4 star(s)The conflict between the two ways of life is concentrated within the battle between the two protagonists Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski. The old civilisation vested in Blanche and the modern in the virile figure of Stanley. The two are like chalk and cheese, the result of their different lifestyles, status and culture. Blanche, an educated woman of wealthy, aristocratic Creole descent and symbolically the last of the Dubois lineage of 19th century plantation owners, is innately refined, "prim and proper," on the surface but in societies eyes is a fallen woman; a metaphor for the corrupt ideas; slavery, racism etc everlastingly associated with the deep south.
- Word count: 1037
-
The strength of Much Ado About Nothing lies in its balance of contrasting elements
4 star(s)The potential tragedy first occurs in the play with a classic case of mistaken identity. Claudio and Don Pedro are misled by the villain of the play, Don John, into believing that Claudio's betrothed is having an affair with Borachio (admittedly Claudio's sheer gullibility does help this cause). This potential tragedy truly unfolds at the wedding scene, with Claudio exposing Hero's 'adultery' to the whole congregation and plunging the whole story into turmoil. However, one of the strengths of comic romanticism lies in the predictability of the story, and in Much Ado About Nothing this convention allows audiences to enjoy the touch of tragedy, knowing the story will end in high spirits.
- Word count: 1786
-
The Theme of Opression in Marriage in "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Story of an Hour".
3 star(s)The way they are treated by their spouses prevents them from being sincerely happy. In Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," the narrator, who is never actually named in the story, is extremely suppressed by her husband. Her husband John is a man and a doctor, which truly makes him an even more powerful person in their marriage, especially when the narrator gets ill. He is constantly condescending and patronizing her. For example, the narrator says, "John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage" (Widger 1). He seems to be laughing at her, and she feels like it?s a normal thing in marriages.
- Word count: 1327
-
Exploration of the ways that Shakespeare and Austen present us with different aspects of love or the theme of love looking at similarities and differences in the two texts and bearing in mind the different times they were written in.
3 star(s)Darcy, the proud, noble nephew, should break from his initial thought of Elizabeth as "not handsome enough to tempt me' and from his prejudice in opposition to her lack of money and the way her family live. Elizabeth's first impressions, however, shows Darcy as arrogant and vain; as an outcome, she later receives offensive accusations in disapproval to him as right. The marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth uncovers the qualities that create a successful marriage. One of these qualities is that the feeling cannot be carried on by look, and should continuously improve as individuals as they get to know each other.
- Word count: 1570
-
In what Sense can we connect the Ideas of the Idealised Self and the Gap between the Signifier and Signified to Link our Understanding of the Ways in which Fitzgerald and Duffy Discuss Love?
3 star(s)The main aspect of love discussed in both texts is the way you see yourself and your lover in the relationship. This view of yourself and the idealised view of your lover, from your state of mind, romanticises the people that you have feelings. This is a major theme throughout 'The Great Gatsby.' Gatsby's ultimate recreation of himself to fit what he believes Daisy wants, that image of him that Jordan discusses with Nick, ultimately pulls Gatsby and Daisy apart due to the evident difference between them, though they do not like to admit it.
- Word count: 2622
-
Discuss the view that The Great Gatsby and 1984 concern the attempt of an impossible idealism to realise itself in a grossly materialistic world.
3 star(s)The greatest idealism within The Great Gatsby is the pursuit of happiness and dreams. Gatsby having been so desperate to achieve his dream that he placed every ounce of his effort into building himself into a strong economic and social figure. The pursuit of this dream and the effect that it had upon him as a driving force and to have created and achieved as much as he did, shows the power of aspiration. However, this novel grows to be especially hedonistic in its portrayal of life, as it seems as though the majority have become hopelessly preoccupied with the acquisition of their own "happiness".
- Word count: 836
- 1
- 2
-
