A reminder: Crooks

Hi,

Th doc below is particularly useful in showing the ways in which Steinbeck presents Crooks.

Note the similarities with Curley's Wife in that he lives his life under 'layers of protection' - perhaps they all do.

Another key quote is the one about his deep set eyes that 'glittered with intensity'. This represents the light, the hope, the dream that lays buried deep inside of him. However, this innocent dream of the past has been damaged by bitter experience. Now he is sullen and cynical; he knows he has to keep people at arm's length to protect himself.

In this chapter, Steinbeck makes him physically grow - but then shrink again as a result of Curley's Wife's attack. In the end, the circular structure (not that again!) of the chapter shows he's going nowhere.

Anyway, here's the doc:

Mr M

English Lit 1: Monday

Hello Y11,

Stay calm - it's English Lit 1 on Monday!

First thing to remember: BRING YOUR COPIES OF THE TEXTS!

Next, double check that you know what to do in the exam. Here's my exam guide:


 And a past paper: 

And here are the top ends of the two mark schemes:

Finally, don't forget the importance of writing about the writer's methods. The words Priestley and Steinbeck must be prominent in your responses. Remind yourself of the writer's methods: Priestley here and Steinbeck here:

Finally, please look at the Browse by topic section on the right on the page for more stuff on the texts.

I'll be posting more over the weekend. Also, follow us on Twitter for last minute advice and to fire your panicky last minute questions at us!

Good luck troopers!

Mr M

What do the Lit papers look like?

Hello.

Here are some past papers for your viewing pleasure. Remember, your Literature exams are:

English Literature Unit 1: Exploring Modern Texts (Of Mice and Men and An Inspector Calls)
English Literature Unit 2: Poetry Across Time (Poetry Clusters and Unseen Poetry)...

There is a higher and foundation paper for each exam below. Make sure you pick the right one.

Please follow us on Twitter. Last year I tweeted out links to past papers - it's quicker and easier than uploading them here - and I'll be doing the same again shortly.

Anyway, here are some papers. Don't say I never give you anything!







Mr M

One final OMAM hunch...

Hi,

I've just tweeted links to all the past Lit Unit 1 papers, and one thing that struck me was that there's never been a part b question about...

... the American Dream!

Now how can that be? It seems so obvious. Well, it's still yet to come up.

So, if the exam board decided on a part b question on this topic, what might it look like? And what extract would they pick?

How about this:

Or this...

Revise your Of Mice and Men themes here and here. The second link has quotes to connect with each theme.

Finally, if you need some last minute context revision, check these out:

BBC - Of Mice and Men Historical Context Part 1
BBC - Of Mice and Men Historical Context Part 2
BBC - Of Mice and Men Historical Context Part 3
BBC - Of Mice and Men Historical Context Part 4

Or this, a powerpoint that's nearly as old as my teaching career:

Good luck everyone!


Mr M 

Priestley's methods and message

Hi all,

One last blog before the Lit Unit 1 exam.

Well done to those of you who have been firing practice exam questions at me over the last week or so. Some of you can rest assured that you are going to do very well in this exam. It's not too late to do some serious, high impact revision - and trying exam questions is as high impact as it gets. You don't want to experience writing a 45 minute An Inspector Calls essay for the first time in your final exam, do you? That'd be like arriving at your driving text without first having any experience of driving a car. That's a slightly rubbish simile, but you get the idea.

One last thing I wanted to re-inforce is the assessment objectives you have to hit in Section A (An Inspector Calls). Unlike the part b OMAM question, you don't have to write about context (though it'd be hard not to mention it). You are only being assessed on:

AO1: respond to texts critically and imaginatively; select and evaluate relevant textual detail to illustrate and support interpretations

and 

AO2: explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes and settings

So, a big part of what you need to do in this question is to write about Priestley's methods and how they get across his ideas.

Here's a few reminders:

• It's a well-made play. That means it's set in real time, in a realistic setting, a tightly focused storyline. The effect is that it feels like you are watching real life unfold in real time. That is, until Priestley breaks the conventions of the well-made play at the end. But more of that later.
• The initial stage directions are worth exploring. It is through these that Priestley sets up our initial impressions of the Birlings. For instance, the phrase 'comfortable, but not cosy and homelike' is the first suggestion we get that we are seeing an awkward, unnatural facade of perfect family life. The reference to the lighting, which goes from 'pink and intimate' to harsh and bright symbolises the light of truth. There will be nowhere for the Birlings to hide.
• Priestley's stage directions are revealing once the dialogue kicks in too. Sheila, for instance, is always 'half-serious, half-playful' or showing 'mock aggressiveness' in the opening stages. This shows that she's a little giddy and immature; she's never had to grow up as she's lived a sheltered, privileged life so far.
• Dramatic irony is used heavily, especially to undermine Mr Birling. The effect is easily achieved as the play is set in 1912, but the audience are watching in 1946 or after. So the Titanic reference and war references have a great impact in revealing Birling's complacency. This makes it quick and easy to position his audience against Mr and Mrs Birling from the early stages of the play.
• Characterisation: Priestley sets up his characters to show contrasts. The younger Birlings are dynamic characters who experience change. They're believable humans with faults and redeeming features. Eric and Sheila are like us in many ways - too concerned with our own problems to see the big picture, but basically good. They just need a wake-up call, which is what Priestley is trying to give us. Sheila in particular acts as our representative on the stage. She reacts with horror as we should, and she realises what's really going on as we do. Her words make sure that we keep up (eg. when she tells Mrs B to stop blaming the father of the child for everything.)
• The older Birlings are static characters. They're less believable as human beings; in fact, they seem to be used by Priestley to encapsulate ideas (Mr B = Capitalism; Mrs B = inherited wealth + status). They're almost caricatures. Priestley uses dramatic irony to undermine them, and he makes sure we dislike them from the start.
• The two generations create a dichotomy between the selfish attitudes of Edwardian Britain and the social conscience of the post-war generation. Capitalism vs socialism. In this way, Priestley's play contains hope for the future - beyond the 'fire and blood and anguish'.
• The Inspector is an unusual character. He is moralistic and seems to be more focused on teaching the Birlings a lesson than uncovering the truth about Eva Smith. For instance, he says they can 'divide the responsibility between them after' he's gone. He represents socialism in the play. Perhaps Priestley uses him as his own mouthpiece - it certainly seems that way at the end - allowing him to go back in time to point the finger of blame at those he saw as being responsible for everything that went wrong.
• The play makes use of dramatic, cliffhanger endings at the end of each act. These pauses give the audience time to reflect on their own actions. This is also what happens at the end - Priestley delivers his final message, then leaves everything open for us to interpret for ourselves. It's not really about Eva at all, or the Birlings; it's about the 'millions and millions' of Evas, and us.
• Priestley builds lots of tension. From whether Birling knows about port or not, to the Croft's absence, to Eric's behaviour and to the talk of what happened last summer - there's clearly more to these relationships than initially meets the eye. The general feeling is that appearances and reality are very different things. This is highlighted by the Alderman Meggarty conversation later. 
• The sounds of doors knocking and slamming, as well as ringing telephones also help to create tension. Each time, they mark a change in direction or emphasis. When Eric goes out, we know he is involved too. When the phone rings at the end, we only hear half a conversation, but it is clear from Birling's face that something is wrong. This final phone call is a great way of stalling the narrative and maximising the tension.
• The Inspector's final lines have the feel of a rhetorical speech. It has repetition, use of 'we', and the metaphor of 'fire and blood and anguish'. Is he referring to war, or hell? Priestley is being intentionally ambiguous because he wants us to think. This speech feels like it is directed at us.
• Afterwards, Priestley's play comes full circle. The older Birlings return to their old, self-satisfied and complacent ways. They drink and feel confident about the future. Then... an Inspector calls! This circular structure (like in OMAM), leaves us wondering and forces us to ponder our own behaviour. We have to accept that the message is not about the Birlings - Priestley wants us to write our own ending. The circular structure suggests that if we don't change our ways, we're doomed to make the same mistakes as the Birlings.
• The twist at the end is made all the more effective because of Priestley's use of the conventions of the well-made play. We expect a neat ending, but we don't get it. We expect realism, but we are left pondering whether Goole really was a ghoul.

Before I sign off, I just wanted to throw a few docs your way. First up is a model answer about the initial impressions of Mr B that I wrote years ago:




And this is a study guide packed with useful information and things to think about:



The last one is an Of Mice and Men related task. Comment on examples of light/dark imagery and symbolism:



Okay, I think I'm out of Unit 1 chat. But I'll be back soon to re-focus you on Lit 2: Poetry.


Good luck (it's not about luck)!



Mr M 

Curley attacks! Analysing Steinbeck's methods...

Hi,

For the first part of your Of Mice and Men question, you have to analyse Steinbeck's methods in a short passage. Some of you will have had a go at annotating this extract, which I posted a week or so ago. 

Here's what I made of it. There's more here than you could possibly write about in the time you have in the exam, but hopefully it shows how much there is to say about Steinbeck's methods if you look closely.

To see the comments, you'll have to download a copy of the doc below by clicking the menu tab and then view in Word.

How much did you notice? Did I miss anything?




Make sure you practise this kind of close-reading with the other extracts I've posted.


Mr M

Analyse this: another Curley extract (plus free Whit!)

Hi,

When it comes to preparing for the Of Mice and Men part a question, perhaps the best bits to re-read and revise and the character introductions. When each character first appears, there is a cinematic physical description followed by some dialogue. By cinematic, I mean Steinbeck shows us the character visually in the same way you'd meet a character in a film. With the notable exception of Slim (who appeared in last year's paper), he doesn't tell us what to think of the characters; he shows us.

I've already said that I fancy a Curley question this year - and we've had a go at annotating the initial description of Curley. But perhaps this extract would be even better. It's the bit where Curley attacks Lennie.

Why not have a go at annotating it, then have a go at the questions that follow:


 

Another feeling that's nagging me is how obvious this Curley question might be. YouTube sensation Mr Bruff is spreading the word online that he expects a Curley question, and I fear that the exam board might want to throw a spanner in the works. So how about this one. It's Whit!

This might feel like a tricky extract to pick, but in reality it's pretty do-able. Just use the mindmap below (which you should be committing to memory) to pick out Steinbeck's methods.

 
If I see any of you this week, I might get you to help me analyse these extracts so that we can post the results here for all to see.

One last doc. With the Whit extract, the inevitable question would be about loneliness. Here's a one page summary of this theme courtesy of Teachit:

 

As always, leave a comment, email or find me in school if you need anything. And follow the English Department on Twitter for regular exam tips and links (@BeverleyHighEng). Don't worry, we won't follow you and have no interest in your online alter-egos! 

You wouldn't want to miss anything! 


Mr M

'Of Mice and Men' - Survival of the Fittest

Hi folks,

As you already know, my tip for the Of Mice and Men question is... Curley.

In a recent lesson, we tried to predict a part b question (remember, a related discursive essay that requires you to refer to context) to follow up a possible Curley extract question. 

Here's what we came up with:

In the rest of the novel, how does Steinbeck show that life on a ranch in 1930s America is all about survival of the fittest? 

And here's the plan we came up with (coutesy of Lindsey's exercise book). 

I'd recommend starting with an intro which discusses how Steinbeck first introduces this theme in chapter 1 (eg. nature distrubed by humans, heron & water snake, George comparing Lennie to a coyote etc). 

Here's the rest of the plan:

Now for a useful revision task, fill out this plan with key quotes from the text. And why not write it up? You bring it - I'll mark it.

I'll be blogging later about an 'An Inspector Calls' question.


Happy revising!



Mr M

Revision materials on YouTube

Hi all,

I keep finding lots of useful resources in all sorts of places.

This guy (Mr Bruff) has a channel on YouTube where he posts advice and model answers for the AQA English Lit exams.

Here is just one example - a full mark answer on Of Mice and Men:

Check his other videos on Unseen Poetry, An Inspector Calls etc. by clicking the YouTube icon in the player above.


Mr M

Steinbeck's style

My little mindmappy thing...

Now try analysing an extract like this:

The deep green pool of the Salinas River was still in the late afternoon. Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan mountains, and the hilltops were rosy in the sun. But by the pool among the mottled sycamores, a pleasant shade had fallen.

A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side; and it swam the length of the pool and came to the legs of a motionless heron that stood in the shallows. A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically.

A far rush of wind sounded and a gust drove through the tops of the trees like a wave. The sycamore leaves turned up their silver sides, the brown, dry leaves on the ground scudded a few feet. And row on row of tiny wind waves flowed up the pool’s green surface.

As quickly as it had come, the wind died, and the clearing was quiet again. The heron stood in the shallows, motionless and waiting. Another little water snake swam up the pool, turning its periscope head from side to side.

Suddenly Lennie appeared out of the brush, and he came as silently as a creeping bear moves. The heron pounded the air with its wings, jacked itself clear of the water, and flew off down-river. The little snake slid in among the reeds at the pool's side.

Other good passages might be the introduction of Curley's wife, Slim or Crooks.

Mr M

Crooks's journey

Hi all,

 A few days until Lit 1!

 I've got a funny feeling about a question about Crooks, so here is a little flow chart to map out Crooks's emotional journey through Chapter 4. Look out for how Steinbeck describes his physical growth and shrinking through the chapter...

Literature Past Papers

Hello.

Here are some past papers for your viewing pleasure. Remember, your Literature exams are:

English Literature Unit 1: Exploring Modern Texts (Of Mice and Men and An Inspector Calls)
English Literature Unit 2: Poetry Across Time (Poetry Clusters and Unseen Poetry)...

There is a higher and foundation paper for each exam below. Make sure you pick the right one.

Don't say I never give you anything!

Of Mice and Men - Audiobook

Here's the link to the rest of the audiobook online. Click on Curley's Wife...

You can either stream from the webpage or download.

Of Mice and Men Audiobook - Chapters 2 & 3

Instructions: Download the files. Stick them on your phone or MP3 player. Pop your earphones in. Take a long walk. Bob is your uncle.                                                                      
 

Why are 90% of British schools teaching Of Mice and Men?

Read, think, discuss:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12829392

Of Mice and Men - Audiobook - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Part 1 Chapter 1 Part 2 Chapter 1 Part 3 Chapter 1 Part 4 Chapter 1 Part 5

Of Mice and Men - Video Sparknote

Of Mice and Men - The Text

Click the link to go to a PDF of Of Mice and Men.

Of_Mice_and_Men.pdf

Easter Revision Advice

Easter Revision Advice English

1)     Know the three exam papers and audit your knowledge – if there’s a poem or a part of the exam you’re not sure about, it’s up to you to sort it out. There’s loads of help out there. And you can still email me if you’re desperate for help.

2)    Read the news – any article could be the basis for Section A of the English Language paper. Think about how your article gets across its key points using  language and presentational devices. This will help you get used to noticing a writer’s techniques in a previously unseen text.

3)    Re-read Of Mice and Men. This is vital – you’ll pick up much more the second time around. It’ll take around three hours.

4)    Read 2/3 poems a night. Knowing the poems inside out is much more valuable than revising your notes. The more you’ve thought about the poems, the more you’ll be able to respond to the question rather than awkwardly trotting out ideas and techniques you jotted down in your anthology. We can tell! Try using the ‘comparing poems’ sheet. You could also test out your ‘unseen poetry’ skills by reading poems from sections outside of Character and Voice.

5)    Revise the Lit poems in thematic clusters. Eg: power, identity, male and female relationships, outsiders  etc. These themes allow you to predict questions. Use the comparing poems sheet to show how you’d compare them. Try a practice question!

6)    Sign up to the GCSE English Revision page on Moodle. (Enrolment key: ilovepoetry)

This page is being updated from the old spec, but there’s already some useful stuff on writing and Of Mice and Men. Look out for the resources under the highlighted areas – they’re particularly helpful.

7)    Use your exercise books – you have your own revision guide!

8)    Don’t forget about writing – plenty of advice on Moodle. Revise persuasive techniques and practice. If you have a particular weakness (eg. paragraphing/ apostrophes), work on it.

Useful sites:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/
• http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/drama/inspectorcalls.htm
• http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/prose/ofmiceandmen.htm
• http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/micemen/
• http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Of-Mice-and-Men.id-101.html
• http://poetrystation.org.uk/search/topics/category/aqa-gcse-voice-and-relationships/
• http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/newgcses/english/index.php
• http://wildernenglish.wordpress.com/category/gcse-english-literature/unit-2-poetry-across-time/character-and-voice-poetry/

Have fun (but not too much!)

Mr M