International Baccalaureate: World Literature
- Peer Reviewed essays 10
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Coyote and the Enemy Aliens is a satirical commentary that explores the employment of language as a weapon to manipulate societal stereotypes; contemplating its ability to eradicate communal bonding.
They corrupt society and alienate Japanese by legalizing this crime via a paper? Order -in- council 469?(57). King satirizes this notion depicting how an inefficient dimwit like Coyote obtains immense power via his legalization as the? Custodian of Enemy Alien Property? (57) by white-men. King compares the destructive capabilities of ?legal? to ?White magic? (59), constructing an image of white politicians using ?magic? to hypnotize society. The white-men assert a tag of ?Enemy Aliens? to Japanese, which is ironic as most of them were Canadian citizens. This irony elaborates on the immense manipulation of language by the government as it used ?white magic words? to imprison its own citizens.
- Word count: 1377
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Comparing Sealand and Waknuk in "The Chrysalids"by John Wyndham
Often they were shut off still more by different languages, and different beliefs. Some of them could think individually, but they had to remain individuals. Emotions they could sometimes share, but they could not think collectively. When their conditions were primitive they could get along all right, as the animals can; but the more complex they made their world, the less capable they were of dealing with it. They had no means of consensus. They learnt to co-operate constructively in small units; but only destructively in large units. They aspired greedily, and then refused to face the responsibilities they had created.
- Word count: 754
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In Wyndham's "The Chrysalids" Sealand or Waknuk, which is the desirable society?
Discrimination is a huge part of what makes Waknuk society so intolerant. They believe that everything should abide by the "True Image of God" (Wyndham 17-20). An extremely biased opinion, where everything should be one way and anything different is considered a deviation and must be banished or destroyed. This results in many people being exiled to the Fringes and animals and livestock destroyed, leading to a fear of being or having deviants or offences. This is also the main problem that David and his friends have, as they are considered deviants because of their ability. Sealand however completely has this flipped. "'The kind of people that God intended, perhaps?' . .
- Word count: 749
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How far and in what ways is Pat Barkers reader invited to challenge the accepted norms in Regeneration ?
An interesting aspect of his point of view is that his reluctance to go back to the front is never explicitly stated, but manifested through his early mutism and his avoidance of a clear answer when asked: ? ?Do you think you?re fit ?? ?I?m not a doctor.? ?. This is contrasted to a will to prove his virility and self-worth, both to himself and his father: ?When all this is over, people who didn?t go to France, or didn?t do well in France - people of my generation, I mean - aren?t going to count for anything.
- Word count: 1402
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(Love song, with two goldfish) is a poem written by Grace Chua, it is about the relationship of two goldfishes.
indicating he is attracted to her and giving him a shallow demeanor. Contrastingly, his lover ?darts/behind pebbles? (9-10), indicating she is near the bottom of the bowl. She ?swallows/his charms hook, line and sinker,? (10-11) this contrast of deep and shallow reflects their love and how their relationship is viewed from different angles, but what can he do he was hooked. The male fish just ?float[s]? (2) and ?wish[es]? (3) unlike the female fish who ? makes? (8) and ?darts? (9), the juxtaposition of their effort and actions explains their failing love, one is passive and the other active.
- Word count: 693
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Prose Analysis on The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by Moyez Vassanji
nature of what is going on inside, is described as a ?some celebration.? This subtle disconnection from the town, shows the reader that the narrator has insufficient knowledge of the celebration observed. This was done to signify the power of understanding all religions and their culture. Immediately, Vassanji mentions to the audience of a religious division that plagues the people of the town. Religion is the first major theme introduced to the audience as though to allude to its significance and its tense effect it has on the town.
- Word count: 1211
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In this extract from the dystopian novel "1984" by George Orwell, the two main themes are the totalitarian government and the inevitability of death
In line two the author introduces an unknown character ?he? to begin focusing this extract on ?him?, conveying his thoughts and feelings as well. Between lines two and three the author introduces a negative state of mind in the protagonist through using ?wandering in the forests of the sea bottom?. This is pursued by the reader as though ?he? is drowning in society?s negative impact on his world. In the line 3 the author again brings in the theme of a totalitarian government, by bringing in darkness through the description of a ?monstrous world?.
- Word count: 1063
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In David Maloufs Fly Away Peter (1982) Jims life as an ordinary working class Australian youth is quickly suspended for the emerging disturbance that is WWI
In the sanctuary of Jim?s work he gives tours in a ?flat-bottomed boat?, drifting over ?brackish water? with its depths the ?colour of brewed tea? and its surface a ?burnished gold? (p.29). The very water and air that is the sustenance of life is juxtaposed by the horrific environment on the Western Front, where water and air are the invisible enemies which bring death to the soldiers in the trenches. In the terrible reality of trench warfare the soldiers march on surrounded by the smell of ?damp earthwalls and rotting planks? accompanied by ?decaying corpses? with an odd hand or foot ?all ragged and black? (p.78).
- Word count: 1052