How to achieve the “how”?

How to achieve the “how”? A rough guide to writing it right!

Reflections upon the Prelim • Vast majority know their texts! – hooray • Vast majority quote their texts – hooray! • Vast majority have a sense of writer’s purpose – hooray! • So what’s missing? • ANALYSIS

A typical approach from the Prelims • Forster uses narrative voice to express the conflict between Italian culture and English culture. This can be clearly seen in, • “‘Hateful bishop!’ exclaimed the voice of old Mr Emerson, who had darted forward also. ‘Hard in life, hard in death.” (p20) • Another example of narrative voice is…

So what is wrong with this approach? • What is missing from the last slide is any real sense of why the student has chosen the quotation and how it ‘works’ in transmitting a message. • Why – here you need to convey a sense of why (out of thousands of possible quotations) you have selected this one. • How – here you need to be clinical and show the examiner what qualities convey certain concepts.

Why? • “‘Hateful bishop!’ exclaimed the voice of old Mr Emerson, who had darted forward also. ‘Hard in life, hard in death.” • Ask yourself a few simple questions; • What exactly does this show? • What authorial messages are conveyed? • How does this advance my thesis in relation to the question set?

Why? • What exactly does this show? • It shows how Mr Emerson surprises Lucy with his outspoken nature in the setting of a church. • What authorial messages are conveyed? • Forster takes a subtle opportunity to display the frankness of Emerson and also the flaws of a conservative mentality. • How does this advance my thesis in relation to the question set? • This will help me convey how the two cultural extremes of Italy and England represent two conflicting views of life and how it should be lived.

How? • “‘Hateful bishop!’ exclaimed the voice of old Mr Emerson, who had darted forward also. ‘Hard in life, hard in death.” • How = analysis • STOP – look at the quotation seriously • Break the quotation into parts • Specify the relationship between the original assertion (narrative voice) and the quotation

How? • “‘Hateful bishop!’ exclaimed the voice of old Mr Emerson, who had darted forward also. ‘Hard in life, hard in death.” • STOP – look at the quotation seriously • Where is the key language that makes this appropriate? – “hateful”, “hard” – both come from DIRECT speech. • Break the quotation into parts • Both direct and indirect narrative. Emerson’s voice and the voice of a narrator. • Specify the relationship between the original assertion (narrative voice) and the quotation • The quotation demonstrates the way in which Forster moves from direct to indirect narrative styles. The short piece of indirect narrative here conveys two highly charged terms, “exclaimed” and “darted” that suggest great energy in the older man. This, in the context of the child being ‘ensnared’ in the bishop’s tomb, reflects how Emerson ‘chooses life’ especially that of a child of the falsely revered bishop.

So…there is a ‘pattern’ to follow • Take a long hard look at the question • Figure out your ‘position’ on the question • E.g. why does Forster utilise culture as a means of conveying his ideas about life? • Marshall your evidence – and be logical! • Which quotations will allow me to… • Demonstrate a knowledge of the whole text (beginning, middle, end) • convey conceptual and literary qualities! • Plan your paragraphs so that there is some order in your answer. Give the reader a sense of directtion.

Think about HOW you would use these quotations… • “It so happened that Lucy, who found daily life rather chaotic, entered a more solid world when she opened the piano. She was no longer deferential or patronizing; no longer either a rebel or a slave.” (p28) • “This she might not attempt. It was unladylike. Why? Why were most big things unladylike? Charlotte had once explained to her why.” (p37)

Some more e.g.s • “Mr Beebe felt bound to assist his young friend, and led the way out of the house and into the pine-woods. How glorious it was! For a little time the voice of old Mr Emerson pursued them, dispensing good wishes and philosophy.” (p118) • “ ‘What’s wrong with the boy?’ fired up the other again. ‘Nothing, Mr Emerson, except that he no longer interests me. Marry George, Miss Honeychurch. He will do admirably.’” (p190)

Let’s try this on Pinter! • Comment on Pinter’s dramatic presentation of how authority is imposed upon the individual. • Remember this? • Key terms – • “Dramatic presentation” – no matter what, when writing about drama, think about how the play ‘looks’ and what impact this will have upon an audience • “How authority is imposed” – you must quote because you have been asked specifically to say how this is achieved (paraphrase will only partially achieve this)

So, what would you quote? • Examples can come from a whole host of sources (but sooner or later you are bound to quote Goldberg!) • Think about why you want to use your quote. • I want to demonstrate the idea of the powerless individual and an unseen ‘authority’ • I want to demonstrate how all the characters are in some way victims of an ‘unstoppable force • Etc etc

I want to demonstrate the idea of the powerless individual and an unseen ‘authority’ • “My next concert. Somewhere else it was. In winter. I went down there to play. Then, when I got there, the hall was closed…They’d locked it up. A fast one. They pulled a fast one. I’d like to know who was responsible for that. All right, Jack, I can take a tip.” (p23)

So what about the HOW??? • “My next concert. Somewhere else it was. In winter. I went down there to play. Then, when I got there, the hall wasclosed…They’d locked it up. A fast one. They pulled a fast one. I’d like to know who was responsible for that. All right, Jack, I can take a tip.”

Dramatic significance/presentation • What is the context of the speech? • Stanley’s ‘reverie’ • Talking to Meg? • Quiet but not without emotion “I’d like to know who was responsible for that. (Bitterly.)…” • The significance of taking off his glasses? • Use of pauses? • What are the literary/linguistic features of the speech? • ‘bites’ rather than full sentences (statements – but are they statements of fact?) • Use of vernacular idioms – “All right, Jack, I can take a tip…” • The language isolates the man (Stanley) within his own reverie.

How do I ‘build’ upon this? How do I develop a more consistent argument? • Look for patterns (you should already know them!) • Does Pinter repeat the same or similar device elsewhere – what does it show? • E.g. Goldberg’s “The secret is breathing” speech (p27 – note how soon after Stanley’s reverie this occurs)

“The secret is breathing” • “The secret is breathing. Take my tip. It’s a well known fact. Breathe in, breathe out, take a chance, let yourself go, what can you lose? Look at me…” • Here, the method of presentation is very similar to Stanley’s speech • The same short statements • The same sequence of ideas ‘built’ one upon the other • However, • The tone is different • The setting is different • The mood is different • Goldberg is confident, self-assured, authoritative

So is this all I do? • So I just have to learn quotes and figure out how to write about them convincingly right? • In a way, “yes” BUT you must ensure that everything that you use in the exam can be coherently linked to a view of the novel/play. • Just learning quotations without considering HOW you will utilise them is counter-productive. • You must have a collection of quotations in mind to ‘fit’ a number of occasions.

Reminders • Do not choose quotations just because they reflect characterisation – otherwise the essay will be full of character descriptions. • Do not choose quotations just because they were used in the lecture programme – otherwise you may only have a limited idea of its usefulness • Try to organise your revision so that it is text-based – keep going back to your texts so that you have adequate, intelligent evidence that you can discuss and analyse in exam conditions.

Above all • Know why you have chosen your quotations and … • How they work in the context of the novel/play!

How to achieve the “how”?