Paper 2
Paper-specific notes
How to approach Paper 2:
The work is a synonym for any genre.
Pick the question that makes or will make sense in a minute
Pick 3 or 2 books, if you know for sure that it will be enough
Right down as bullet points how the question's topic is portrayed in the books
Link the point between 2 books and sort them into paragraphs. Put the paragraphs in the logical order of the book events or from general to more specific.
Write a body paragraph.
Intro sentence
Observation, observation, evaluation (highlighting comparison or stating similarity)
Observation, evaluation, observation, evaluation
Write conclusion
Write introduction
The list of words to abuse
Therefore, hence, thus
Portray, convey, depict, demonstrate, illustrate, show, is perceived, is constructed to show.
Conversely, hence, therefore, moreover, nevertheless
Common mistakes
Use present tense, not past tense (NO Satrapi wrote, YES Satrapi depicts it)
Oppression vs suppression
Oppression of people (that
Suppression of the information (preventing information from getting out)
NO main character, but YES protagonist
NO book
Persepolis has a physical limitation in how long the dialogues and speeches can be. It thus shows the accent of the impact using the pictures and visualising it, unlike in Fahrenheit 451, where the novel form allows an employee of more literary devices at greater length.
Briefly about each book
To prepare for paper 2, for the 2 or 3 books that I have decided on, I need to memorise the basic information (author, genre, main features…)
Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury
Famous American science fiction novel
Written when he was a young author
He more or less combined all his ideas from the short stories
He wrote it in the basement of a library
A dystopian science fiction novel
Core themes
Impact of totalitarianism on an individual and the society, as well as how this impact is different on them.
Free thought vs censorship
Consumerism
Digitalisation and technological sensory overload
See shells vs the green bullet. The green bullet works like a headphone, communicating knowledge as well, as Motags receive the information he wants. See, shells communicate what the government wants society to hear. In this sense, it works similarly to the TV.
Curiosity vs control and how it corresponds with enslavement
Symbolism style
The nurturing and destructive fire
Animal and nature similes. Nature stands against society and highlights what is missing from this world. The final chapter opposes the forest with the city.
Phoenix and the salamander. Phoenix is one of the emblems of the fire department. Using symbols in this way is relatively ironic because it represents the destruction of old things. However, the city gets destroyed, and dust jackets come to build the new city from the ashes. It portrays how shallow society is because they don’t solve their problems but toss them in the fire. They don’t face their problems.
Frequent use of metaphor
Limit 3rd person narration
Constant allusion to literature
Persepolis
Memoir in graphic novel form by Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian who lives in France, initially written in French, published in 2000/2001 (at the beginning of the 21st century)
The character is Marji. The author is Marjane Satrapi
Themes
Iranian revolution (religious fanaticism)
Cultural identity
Satrapi says the book aims to “dispel stereotypes.”
Illustration style:
Heavily simplified or iconic
It means that they are more universal and less specific. Easier to identify with
There are two perspectives: the author’s narration commenting on the past events and little Marji telling current events.
Andorra
Andorra is a play written by Swiss author Max Frisch originally in German and published in the early 60s.
Comment on CH during the ww2
Andorra is a model, not a real country.
Andri has lived his entire life believing that he is a Jew. Hence, everyone treats him in a certain way. Andri is the Teacher’s biological son.
Themes
Identity
Building a life on a lie
Racism and anti-semitism
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