AS and A Level: Drama

Conclusion analysis

Good conclusions usually refer back to the question or title and address it directly - for example by using key words from the title.
How well do you think these conclusions address the title or question? Answering these questions should help you find out.

1. Do they use key words from the title or question?
2. Do they answer the question directly?
3. Can you work out the question or title just by reading the conclusion?

• Discuss the presentation of Faustus' inner conflict in Act 1 scene 5 of Doctor Faustus.

  "In conclusion we, as the audience, are clearly able to see that towards the beginning of Act 1 Scene 5, Faustus demonstrates his inner turmoil and uncertainty as to what is the right decision for him to make. His inner turmoil is presented primarily, through his monologues, which let the audience know what is happening in his mind, and the through the contrary manifestations of the "Good" and "Evil" Angels. The "Good" and "Evil" Angels symbolise the two extremes of his conscious thought and make it easier for the audience to see Faustus' confusion. By the end of the scene it is made clear that through the temptation of Mephastophilis, the terror of Lucifer and Belzebub and the lies of the "Evil" Angel, Faustus' soul will be contractually damned to hell and he does not have a hope of salvation."

• To What Extent Does Death of a Salesman deal with modern issues such as materialism, consumerism, procrastination and alienation, in Act 1 of the play?

  "Alienation is the issue perhaps dealt with the most as it is the end result of the other issues combined and the one which has the largest part in the death of the main character, however Miller's play treats the issues as living off each other and as all counting towards the tragic fate that is the conclusion of the events of the play."

• There is too little to admire in Eddie Carbone for him to be seen as a tragic hero. Discuss this view.

  "In conclusion, Eddie may not be 'purely good, but himself purely' expressing that albeit subject to an array of flaws, Eddie is human and a man whose actions are rooted to his morals and values, which are by far the most dominating reasons for how one can see him as a 'tragic hero'. Eddie remains the unconventional protagonist of Arthur Miller, in that Eddie possesses the classical Aristotelian characteristics of a tragic hero but he is not someone of royalty or great power; he is a 'common man' who has nothing but his family and his morals. Some may view Eddie as a man who fails to 'settle for half', but what marks his tale as special; what places him among the admirable tragic heroes such as Othello or King Lear, is his being 'wholly known'."