Thesis Statement Example:Â Humanity in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Introduction:
Frankenstein is a gothic novel written by Mary Shelly, which poses many questions about the beliefs of the world at that time.
The text details the story of Victor Frankenstien, a scientist who pushed the field of science by creating a living creature, known as the monster, with dead matter. Throughout the text we see the story of both Victor Frankenstien and his creation of the monster. Along with this we see their interactions between them, themselves, and others with acts of emotion, murder, and ect.
Thesis Statement: With the novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelly utilizes her two main characters to show what it truly means to be human, through each of the bodies and souls of the characters.
Topic Sentence: Firstly we see two types of humanities represented in these two characters, humanity's presence and its absence through the cognitive aspects of their characters.
Evidence (include citation): “After days and nights of incredible labour and fatigue, I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter.” (Shelly 31)
Through: Through Victor’s intense self-dignity within his inner dialogue he often thinks very highly of himself.
Effect: With that oftentimes the interpretation is that Victor is claiming himself to be higher than others.
Meaning: Being higher than others and bestowing life represents a character or at least an ideology that one is godly, above humanity or in general inhumane.
Evidence: ”I spent the winter in this manner. The gentle manners and beauty of the cottagers greatly endeared them to me; when they were unhappy, I felt depressed; when they rejoiced, I sympathized in their joys” (Shelly 79)
Through: Through the monster and his acts of empathy the character is shown as realistic.
Effect: It is that realistic effect that gives the character a sense of humanity.
Meaning: With that human aspect of empathy the monster is characterized as human or at least human-like.
Topic Sentence: Absence is shown in Frankenstein due to his soul and character even though his human corporal body.
Evidence (include citation): “I was now about to form another being, of whose dispositions I was alike ignorant; she might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate and delight, for its own sake, in murder and wretchedness.” (Shelly 120)
Through: Through Victor’s dialogue it is shown that when he creates something he often holds disdain for the creature.
Effect: With this, a sense of level or rank appears where Victor is higher than his own creation.
Meaning: The sense of a higher being than his own creation, that which is meant to portray humanity, displays Victor as once again above humanity or inhumane.
Evidence: “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on.” (Shelly 165)
Through: However through this dialogue, he often shows times of distress and woe.
Effect: Within these moments we see a character stricken with low self-esteem to a large point.
Meaning: When Victor is this low he regards himself as below humanity “an abortion” so below it is inhumane.
Topic Sentence: While humanity’s absence is shown in the monster’s corporal body, it is present in his character, through the soul.
Evidence (include citation): “A flash of lightning illuminated the object, and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy dæmon, to whom I had given life.” (Shelly 50)
Through: Through a line of imagery a representation of the monster is shown.
Effect: The depiction is meant to be otherworldly and “more hideous than belongs to humanity.”
Meaning: Through visuals alone, the monster is depicted as just that, an inhumane monster.
Evidence: “Could they turn from their done one, however monstrous, who solicited their compassion and friendship” (Shelly 93)
Through: However through the actions and depictions of the monster there is a different light shown.
Effect: Compassion and friendship are both human traits that go against the corporal depiction of the monster.
Meaning: Meaning, as the quote says, however monstrous the monster is human.
While Frankenstein is a very broad text that covers a lot of concepts and ideas, controversial or not one important thing the text looks at is what it means to be human. Early on the book makes a statement on humanity via the characters Victor and his monster. Victor is a human that often shows triviality on what it means to be human through his soul, however, is directly human through his body. Whereas the monster is depicted as inhumane through the body through the character and soul of the character makes a human being.
In short, Mary Shelly depicts humanity through the corporal bodies of both of these characters. In doing so Mary Shelly reveals what it truly means to be human after all. It is in the content of the character and the soul of the person.
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How to nail a Frankenstein essay
September 7, 2017
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Go ahead and tilt your mobile the right way (portrait). the kool kids don't use landscape....
Whether you consider yourself a Frankenstein expert, or someone who is a bit taken back by the density of the novel and Shelleyâs writing, do not fret! Below I will outline 3 tips which, will hopefully give you a clearer perspective on how to approach writing on Frankenstein! Letâs get started!
1. ALWAYS TRY TO TALK ABOUT SHELLEYâS CONCERNS
Since the book was set during the Age of Enlightenment and the Romantic era, Shelley essentially used Frankenstein as a vessel to criticise and warn readers against many of the values upheld during her era. Itâs therefore crucial that you address this!
The late 18th century and the first decades of the 19th century were exciting times for science and exploration. Shelleyâs two main protagonists, Walton and Frankenstein, both passionately sough to discover what had previously been hidden. Walton wanted to be the first to find a passage through the Arctic Circle; Frankenstein wanted to be the first to create manmade life, to uncover the mysteries of Nature. Â Both men claimed to be desirous of benefitting humankind but both wanted glory more. This obsession to win accolades for their discoveries will destroy Victor, and turn Walton for a while into a hard taskmaster over his crew.
Juxtaposed against these two characters is Henry Clerval. Clerval, too, has an inquiring mind but he also cares about humanity, family and friends. He represents the balanced human being who is sociable, compassionate, intelligent and loyal to his friends. Victorâs ability to reanimate the dead, to bring to life his gigantic Creature using the newly discovered electricity, makes him a genius but also a monster. In his inexperience he botches the work producing a hideous and terrifying creature with, ironically, initially all the virtues of the ideal man of he world. Repulsed by his amateurish handiwork, Victor abandons his creation, setting in place the vengeance that will unfold later.
Try to ground any response to Shelleyâs text in the enormous enthusiasm for new discoveries and new geographic phenomena that attracted lavish praise for those who went where others feared to tread. It was this praise that drove Walton and Frankenstein to exceed reasonable expectations becoming reckless and careless of the consequences of their actions.
2. ALWAYS TRY TO DRAWS LINKS AND CONTRAST DIFFERENT CHARACTERS AND THEMES!
Walton, Frankenstein and the Creature are interconnected in so many ways â whether it be their isolation, ambition, desire for companionship, desire for vengeance or the Romantic values they share. Iâve also noted that it is also really easy to connect themes in Frankenstein as the tragic story-arc of the novel is built upon many different causes. What I mean by this is that there is a clearly define relationship between isolation, ambition and vengeance (and ultimately tragedy) in the sense that isolation is what led to the brewing of unchecked ambition which essentially causes the resultant tragedy.
Take Frankenstein for example: having left his loving family and friends, who provided him with love and companionship for Ingolstadt, there was no one to hold him back from his natural tendencies towards unchecked ambitions, leading him to creating the monster who out of spite towards society kills all of Frankensteinâs loved ones, leading them towards the desire for mutual destruction. Being able to see these links and draw them together will not only add depth to your writing but it also arms you with the ability to be able to deal with a wider array of prompts.
3. ALWAYS TRY TO LOOK FOR MORE NUANCED EXAMPLES AND DISCUSSIONS!
While Walton, Frankenstein and the Creature can be discussed incredibly thoroughly (and by all means go ahead and do it), but it is also very important to consider the novel as a whole and talk about, if not more thoroughly, on the minor characters. While characters such as the De Laceys, villagers and the rustic in the forest can be used to highlight the injustices brought upon the creature and peopleâs natural instincts of self preservation and prejudice, innocent characters such as Elizabeth and Justine can be used to emphasise the injustice of society and the consequences of unchecked ambition and isolation.
Henry Clerval (like previously mentioned) can be contrasted against Walton and his best friend Frankenstein to show that as long as we have a balanced lifestyle and companionship, ambition will not lead us to ruin. Characters such as the Turkish merchant can also have parallels drawn with Frankenstein in telling how our selfish desire and actions, born out of inconsideration for their consequences, can backfire with great intensity. Lastly the character of Safie (someone I used a lot in my discussions) can be compared and contrasted with the Creature to show the different treatment they receive despite both being âoutsidersâ to the De Laceys due to their starkly different appearances.
Mentioning these characters and utilising these contrasts can be monumental in showing your understanding of the novel and by extension, your English analytical ability.
[Video Transcription]
â Hey guys, I'm Lisa, welcome back to Lisa's Study Guides. Today, we're going to be talking about Frankenstein and breaking down an essay topic for it. So in the past, I've done plenty of videos looking at different types of essay topics and breaking them down by looking at keywords and then going into the body paragraphs and looking at those ideas. This time round, the takeaway message that I want you to leave with is understanding what types of evidence you should be using inside your body paragraphs. Specifically, I wanted to talk about literary devices or metalanguage. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein uses so many literary devices that it's impossible to ignore. If you are somebody who is studying this text or other texts that you use and are heavily embedded with literary techniques, then it's really important that you don't just use dialogue as part of your quotes, but actually reading between the lines. I'll teach you on how it's not just about finding dialogue, which you include as quotes inside your body paragraphs, but reading between the lines, so looking at literary devices like metaphors, symbols, imagery, so let's get started. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein constitutes escaping critique of the prioritization of scientific advancement over human welfare and relationship. Dr. Frankenstein is fascinated with science and discovery, he is consumed with the idea of a new and more noble race by stitching up dead body parts from a cemetery. He feverishly works away at his experiment until one day the creature is born. Frankenstein is horrified at the living thing he has made and completely rejects the creature, leaving it without a parental figure. The creature is left alone to look after himself. He educates himself and on repeated occasions tries to approach people in society, however, is rejected every time because of his monstrous appearance. As a result, the creature becomes enraged at humanity and Frankenstein's unfair treatment towards him and consequently exacts revenge on Frankenstein and his family. The essay topic we'll be looking at today is, Our sympathies in this novel ultimately lie with the creature. Discuss. So in previous videos, we've looked at keywords, how to identify them and how to define them. Since it's pretty straightforward for this essay topic, I thought I would skip that part and then go into the more nitty gritty with the body paragraphs. But, if you are unfamiliar with these steps, then I'll link them in the card above and also in the description below so you can have a look at how I went ahead and did the keyword section in my planning, now back to the prompt. Unequivocally within Frankenstein, Shelley portrays sympathy as spread throughout the text through depicting the creature as innately human through his desire for relationship and the challenges he faces at the hands of the prejudice enlightenment society he's born into, Shelley elicits sympathy for his situation. However, through the notable absence of the female gender throughout the text, Shelley portrays those silent within society as most deserving of sympathy. So, with this in mind, here are the potential paragraphs in response to this prompt. Paragraph one, Shelley's depiction of the creature as innately human motivates support for his challenges at the hands of a prejudice society. The action of the creature to open his dull yellow eye, symbolic of his nature as a human being alongside a green wrinkled on his cheeks, with one hand stretched out, indicates his simple desire for paternal connection. Through constructing the creature's actions as innately human Shelley acts proleptically of the inequitable experiences the creature will experience throughout the structural architecture of the text. And through doing so, depicts his character as worthy of support. Similarly, through the metaphor of fire, Shelley explores the duality of progress and innovation of which the creature desires. The fire, one that gives light as well as heat, yet also causes a cry of pain, indicates the hardships of the creature in his isolation, whereby, his forced to withdraw from his desire for education. Upon viewing himself in a pool, the creature becomes "fully convinced that I was in reality [a] monster" with the consequent sensations of despondency and mortification granting the reader the opportunity to sympathize with the creature in order to indicate the intensely negative social prejudices that are inflicted upon the creature. So you can see that we've looked at symbols of the creature's nature and the metaphor of fire to support our topic sentence. Using literary techniques is what's going to make the difference between you and another student who might be saying the same thing. Why? Because when you look at literary devices, it means that you're reading just beyond the lines, just beyond what's in front of you. You're now introducing your own interpretation, so you're looking at fire and thinking about what that means in connection to the text, and why Mary Shelley would use the term of a fire and revolve her discussion around that. So let's see how we keep doing this in the next body paragraph. Paragraph two, Shelley indicates the significance of relationships as a key element of human nature that the creature is denied, motivating affinity from readers. In replacement of human relationships, the creature rather seeks comfort within the natural world. The metaphorical huge cloak that the creature takes refuge within indicates this, illustrative of an ecosystem, the forest allows the creator to surround himself with life. The subsequent attempts to "imitate the pleasant songs of the birds" reveals the desperate urge of the creature for companionship as he is abandoned by the paternal relationship represented by Victor Frankenstein, which forms a core of human relationships. Again, here we've discussed the metaphorical huge cloak and its connection with the forest, I strongly encourage you to have the goal of discussing at least one literary device per body paragraph. And no, there is no such thing as talking about too many literary devices because it's really just about whether or not your argument is concise and whether or not you're backing that up with evidence. Paragraph three. However, it is Shelley's depiction of the submissive female sex within Frankenstein that becomes most deserving of sympathy. Each female character is characterized as passive, disposable, and they're serving a utilitarian function, namely as a channel of action for the male characters within the text. Notably, the complete lack of absence of Margaret Saville, functioning only as an audience for Walton's letters exemplifies this. Margaret's role within the text is simply to enable Walton to relay the story of Frankenstein and as such were the most necessary character of the texts whilst the most distant. This ironic dichotomy enables Shelley to exemplify the difficult role of the female within society, arising sympathy from the readership. Here, even the purposeful emission of a character is discussed as a language technique. So, this type of literary device definitely tops the cake because you're literally looking at what's not even there. That's definitely reading between the lines. Frankenstein is a very complex novel, and sometimes that's what makes it a difficult text to study. But, it lends itself to many unique interpretations and it's heavily dressed with heaps of literary devices or metalanguage, however you want to call it. So, that's what makes it an absolutely fantastic text for high school students to study. If you wanted to find out more on how to nail a Frankenstein essay, then I'll link you to my blog just down below, because there are definitely more tips there to help you excel in this particular text. Thank you so much for watching, and especially even if you're not studying this text, I hope you've been able to take something away from this video. And I'm confident that you have because talking about literary devices is definitely a topic that isn't necessarily the fore front of discussion in classrooms, and it's something that a lot of people struggle with. So, I hope you are able to walk away with a new goal in sight in order to improve your English essays. So, I will see you guys next time, thank you so much for joining me, see you guys soon. Bye!
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Weâve all been doing Text Response essays from as young as Year 7. At this point in VCE, we should be feeling relatively comfortable with tackling themes and characters in our essays. However, the danger with just discussing themes and characters is that we often fall into the trap of simply paraphrasing the novel, or retelling the story. So how do we elevate our essays to become more sophisticated and complex analyses that offer insight?
Before reading on, make sure you've read our Ultimate Guide to VCE Text Response .
An important distinction to be aware of is that the expectation of Year 11 English was geared more toward themes and characters. However in Year 12, teachers and examiners expect students to focus on the authorâs construction of the text . By keeping in mind that the text is a DELIBERATE CONSTRUCTION, this can help eliminate retelling. A good guideline to follow is to include the authorâs name at least once every paragraph.
Some examples are:
- (author) elicits
- (author) endorses or condemns
- (author) conveys
Move beyond talking about character and relationships. How are those characters used to explore ideas? How are they used to show readers what the author values?
To explore the text BEYOND characters, themes and ideas, tackle the following criteria:
Social, cultural and historical values embodied in text
In other words, this means the context in which the text was written. Think about how that influenced the author, and how those views and values are reflected in the text. How does the author create social commentary on humanity?
For a more in-depth look into this issue and how to get it right in your essays, read Context and Authorial Intention in VCE English .
Linguistic structures and features
These involve the authorâs use of symbols, metaphors, subtext, or genres. Consider why the author chose those particular words, images or symbols? What effect did it evoke within the reader? What themes or characters are embodied within these literary devices? Metalanguage is essential in VCE essays, so ensure you are confident in this field.
If the text is a film, itâs important to include why the director chose certain cinematography techniques . Comment on the mise-en-scene, camera angles, overview shots, close ups, flashbacks, soundtrack, to name a few. Or if itâs a play, examine the stage directions. These contain great detail of the authorâs intentions.
How text is open to different interpretations
âWhile some may perceive⌠others may believeâŚâ is a good guideline to follow in order to explore different angles and complexities of the text.
Skilful weaving in of appropriate quotes
This is how to create a well-substantiated essay. To weave in textual evidence, donât simply âplonkâ in sentence long quotes. Instead, use worded quotes within your sentences so the transition is seamless.
Do you know how to embed quotes like a boss? Test yourself with our blog post here .
Strong turn of phrase
Ensure your essay is always linked to the prompt; donât go off on an unrelated tangent. Linking words such as âconverselyâ or âfurthermoreâ increase coherence within your essay. Begin each paragraph with a strong topic sentence, and finish each paragraph with a broader perception that links back to the topic and the next paragraph. To see what this looks like in practice, check out What Does Improving Your English Really Look Like? for multiple sample paragraphs.
This is also where having a wide range of vocabulary is crucial to presenting your ideas in a sophisticated manner. Create a word bank from assessorâs reports, sample essays, or teacherâs notes, and by the end of the year youâll have an extensive list to choose from. Also, referring to literary devices contributes to a great vocabulary, exhibiting a strong turn of phrase!
Consider the topic
What does it imply? Find the underlying message and the implications behind the prompt. There is always tension within the topic that needs to be resolved by the conclusion of your essay. A must-know technique to ensure you actually answer the prompt is by knowing the 5 types of different essay topics, and how your essay structure changes as a result. The How To Write A Killer Text Response ebook is a great way to learn how to identify the type of essay topic you have in front of you immediately, and start writing an A+ essay.
Finally, simply enjoy writing about your text! It will help you write with a sense of personal voice and a personal engagement with the text, which the teachers and assessors will always enjoy.
This blog was updated on 21/10/2020.
2. Background
4. Chapter 1 Plot and Analysis
7. Sample Essay Topics
8. Essay Topic Breakdown
The Secret River is usually studied in the Australian curriculum under Area of Study 1 - Text Response. For a detailed guide on Text Response, check out our Ultimate Guide to VCE Text Response .
The Secret River is a historical novel telling the story of William Thornhill, a poor Englishman from the early 19th century who was deported and transported to New South Wales, Australia in 1806 for theft. This novel tells the story of Australia's founding and the moral choices made when  Europeans colonised land that was already inhabited by Aboriginal people.
During 18th century to mid 19th century, 162,000 men and women were transported to Australia, with majority from England. These people, known as âconvictsâ, had committed crimes such as larceny and robbery â acts which were considered severe offenses and demanded heavy sentences. In order to deal with the overwhelming masses of criminals, the government exported crowds of convicts to Australia to serve their term as labourers. The reason driving the deportation included an attempt to decrease poverty and crime in England while concurrently developing the British colony in Australia.
Many of the fleets from England were destined for New South Wales, Australia. Those on the fleets included the criminals, marines, and their families. Living in a penal colony, the criminals were employed depending on their various skills: farmer, boatman, servant etc. The settlers were award a âticket of leaveâ if they presented good behaviour during labour. This meant that settlers would become emancipists, where they were set free from the governmentâs sentence and could begin a life for themselves by making their own living. This suited the governmentâs goal for a successful and thriving colony since it would only be possible if people were to work for themselves, and not under the terrain of the government.
Although Australia was chiefly populated with Indigenous Australians, the first century of colonisation saw a drastic decline in their population. This was due to a clash of desire for the land; the nativeâs innate protection of their land and the white settlers struggle to declare their right to an area already inhibited by natives â possibly for 40,000 years. The two cultures failed to ever create a peace agreement or compensation and as a result, the frontier was often marked with blood. Overtime, a successful of the British colony meant that white settlement overpowered any possibility of the natives retaining their land. The Secret Riverâs exploration of this powerful change in Australiaâs history is a poignant reflection of the past, and demands attention to the sensitive issue of Australian and native relationship that is still present today.
Set during the early 19th century. Located in London, Sydney and on the Hawkesbury.
Chapter 1: Strangers
The Alexander , a transport ship for convicts has reached New South Wales, Australia after a travelling across the world for majority of the year. William Thornhill, an Englishman convicted to sentence his ânatural life in the Year of Our Lord eighteen hundred and sixâ [pg 3] will serve as a labourer.
During his first night in New South Wales, where their homes are âonly a flap of bark, a screen of sticks and mud,â Thornhill digested the new land with its ârich dank smellsâŚrestless waterâŚno Pole starâ; an environment vastly differentiated from England. The unfamiliar situation is overwhelming as âhe had not cried, not for thirty yearsâŚ.but now his throat was thickening.â In his despair, Thornhill describes how being sentenced to New South Wales could potentially be worse than dying itself.
Initially, Thornhill believed his tears are clouding his vision since the âdarkness moved in front of himâ [pg 5]. However, he then realised that a human, âas black as the air itselfâ stood before him. The unusual appearance of this human struck Thornhill since âhis skin swallowed the lightâŚ[and] eyes were set so deeply into the skull.â Although clothed, Thornhill ironically felt âskinlessâ against the other who was completely naked and holding a spear. Thornhill repeatedly demanded that the man âbe offâ, for fear of his family and himself being attacked. Despite his shouting, this only impelled the man to move closer to the point where they almost touched. The âblack manâ [pg 6] reproduced âbe offâ in Thornhillâs exact tone. While Thornhillâs fear of this strange human is prominent, he grappled the strength to exert a bold, intrepid veneer, as âhe was not about to surrender to any naked black manâ. When he glanced back to his wife and children however, the man promptly disappeared, leaving only the darkness behind. Thornhill returned to his hut where he laid back down to rest yet âevery muscle was tensedâŚthe cold moment of finding that unforgiving thing in his flesh.â
Environmental / Landscape conflict
For Thornhill, who has spent a lifetime in England, the confrontation of a new environment evokes a powerful sense of unfamiliarity. The unknown land presents him with various intrapersonal conflicts, one of which is the difference between England and Australian stars. While the physical distance of this new land from Thornhillâs home is demonstrated by the lack of a âPole Star, a friend to guide him on the Thames, [and] no Bear that he had known all his life,â [pg 4] the unrecognisable stars above Australia only depict a âblaze, unreadable, [and] indifferent.â His conflict demonstrates his physical and emotional distance from Thames, a place he grown up surrounded by compared to Australia, where learning begins from the very basics, as shown when he absorbs the natural landscape around him. The night described as âhuge and damp, flowing in and bringing with it the sounds of its own lifeâ [pg 3] highlights how the Australian land is unique, possessing qualities of existence.
Thornhillâs sense of negligence in the vast forest that continues âmile after mileâ is illustrated through the imagery of the âtrees [which] stood tall over him,â depicting that nature is a powerful and dominant force over the Europeans. While the trees render him insignificant, it also demonstrates his alienation from the environment. The âAlexander,â a common traditional English name, represents an intrusion of the Europeans onto the Australian land, further highlighting the idea that they do not belong on this island.
The Australian land is depicted to be harsh and unforgiving, as highlighted through the imagery of âdirt chill...sharp stab...alien stars' [pg 4] This conflict with the brutal landscape, along with the unknown leaves Thornhill apprehensive of what is to come. His feeling that he was ânothing more than a flea on the side of some enormous quiet creatureâ [pg 4] depicts the Australian land almost like a monster. Additionally, the words ârestlessâ draw to the idea that the land is at discomfort or uneasy to have new inhabitants.
Racial/Cultural conflict
The conflict between two cultures is shown through the initial encounter between Thornhill and an Indigenous Australian. Without any conversation, the tension between the two is clear, merely through their actions in each otherâs prescence. Thornhill notes the Aboriginal maleâs tattoos, yet regards them as âscarsâ since he is unaware to their culture. Even before this man, Thornhill is still infused with a sense of nakedness because of his unfamiliarity. His feeling that âevery muscle was tensedâŚthe cold moment of finding that unforgiving thing in his fleshâ highlights the tension of his first encounter of an Australian Aboriginal while it also foreshadows a suffering and anguish for his time ahead.
If you'd like to see the all Chapter plots, their analysis, along with important quotes, then have a look at our The Secret River Study Guide .
Conflict with land quotes
âNow it had fetched up at the end of the earth.â [pg 3]
ââŚthis prison whose bars were ten thousand miles of water.â [pg 3]
âforeign darknessâ [pg 3]
ââŚsoughing of the forest, mile after mile.â [pg 3]
âHe was nothing more than a flea on the side of some enormous quiet creature.â [pg 4]
Thornhillâs inner conflict quotes
âHe had not cried, not for thirty years, not since he was a hungry child to young to know that crying did not fill your belly.â [pg 4]
âBut every muscle was tensed, anticipating the shock in his neck or his belly, his hand going to the place, the cold moment of finding that unforgiving thing in his flesh.â [pg 6]
Racism quotes
âIt took a moment to understand that the stirring was a human, as black as the air itself.â [pg 5]
âClothed as he was, Thornhill felt skinless as a maggot.â [pg 5]
âThis was a kind of madness, as if a dog were to bark in English.â [pg 6]
âHe was not about to surrender them to any naked black man.â [pg 6]
- Sample Essay Topics
1. William Thornhill is more worthy of our respect than our reprehension. Do you agree?
2. How does Kate Grenville explore hierarchy?
3. How does The Secret Riverâs symbolism enhance its exploration of alienation?
4. âFear could slip unnoticed into anger, as if they were one and the same.â The Thornhillsâ anger is valid. To what extent do you agree?
Now it's your turn! Give these essay topics a go. For more sample essay topics, head over to our The Secret River Study Guide to practice writing essays using the analysis you've learnt in this blog!
Essay Topic Breakdown
Whenever you get a new essay topic, you can use LSGâs THINK and EXECUTE strategy , a technique to help you write better VCE essays. This essay topic breakdown will focus on the THINK part of the strategy. If youâre unfamiliar with this strategy, then check it out in How To Write A Killer Text Response .
Within the THINK strategy, we have 3 steps, or ABC. These ABC components are:
Step 1: A nalyse
Step 2: B rainstorm
Step 3: C reate a Plan
Theme-Based essay prompt: T he Secret River depicts many layers of conflict, within but also between its key characters. Discuss
Step 1: analyse.
The key term of this prompt is conflict , but I think itâs also important to analyse how itâs discussedâas something that exists in layers , and something that can happen both within and between characters. This seems to hint at the idea that conflict can be internalâthat is a single character can feel conflicted about somethingâas well as externalâthat is two or more characters can have some kind of dispute. This prompt will require us to think about all these different types of conflict.Â
Step 2: Brainstorm
Letâs start with the most internal layerâconflicts with the self. In terms of key characters, consider William but also Sal: what debates do they have with themselves, or what do they say or do that shows they feel conflicted or unsure about something? Â
Then, letâs broaden that out to interpersonal conflicts between characters. How do William and Sal, for example, come into conflict with their neighboursâboth their white neighbours and their Aboriginal neighbours? How do they come into conflict with each other, even?
Maybe itâs worth separating the racial conflict into another categoryâconflicts between groups of characters, rather than individual characters. If we make this distinction, we need to be prepared to back it upâin what ways is this conflict of a different nature?
Step 3: Create a plan
I think we can pretty justifiably separate out our layers of conflict into those categories: interpersonal, interpersonal and interracial. This gives us three neat(-ish) paragraphs and a clear, affirmative contention: yes, there are many layers of conflict, and those are the three layers.Â
P1: At its most intimate layer, conflict is internalâthe moral dilemmas of William and Sal are particularly strong examples.
P2: Conflict can also be interpersonalâwe can see this between William and Dan, or William and his neighbours, or between William and Sal even. Itâs up to you which way you cut this paragraph.
P3: However, perhaps the central conflict that the novel is built around is interracial conflict between white colonisers and the Aboriginal people whose land they occupied. To extend the prompt a little, we can talk about conflict not just between characters or people, but also between value systems. For example, the way colonisers saw land and property were fundamentally incompatible with how Aboriginal people saw itâthis is another type of conflict.
In this sense, weâre largely agreeing with the prompt, backing up the distinction between interpersonal and interracial conflict, and finding a way to extend on it a little towards the end. We can build this into the contention as well: there are many layers of conflict, but they occur not just between characters. They can also exist between the broad cultural values of entire groups of people as well.Â
If you find this essay breakdown helpful, then you might want to check out our The Secret River Study Guide where we cover 5 A+ sample essays (written by a 50 study scorer!) with EVERY essay annotated and broken down on HOW and WHY these essays achieved A+ so you reach your English goals! Let's get started.
The Ultimate Guide to VCE Text Response
How To Write A Killer Text Response Study Guide
How to embed quotes in your essay like a boss
How to turn your Text Response essays from average to A+
5 Tips for a mic drop worthy essay conclusion
3. Sample Essay Topics
4. A+ Essay Topic Breakdown
Things Fall Apart is usually studied in the Australian curriculum under Area of Study 1 - Text Response. For a detailed guide on Text Response, check out our Ultimate Guide to VCE Text Response .
Things Fall Apart is set in a fictional group of Igbo villages called Umuofia, around the beginning of the twentieth century. The first half of the novel is dedicated to an almost anthropological depiction of Igbo village life and culture through following the life of the protagonist Okonkwo . Okonkwo is the greatest wrestler and warrior alive in the nine villages and beyond. He has dedicated his life to achieving status and proving his strength to avoid becoming like his father Unoka â a lazy, improvident, but gentle man. Weakness is Okonkwoâs greatest fear. After men in another village kill a woman from Umuofia, a boy named Ikemefuna is given to Umuofia as compensation and lives in Okonkwoâs compound until the Gods decide his fate. Ikemefuna quickly becomes part of Okonkwoâs family; he is like a brother to Okonkwoâs son Nwoye and is secretly loved by Okonkwo as well. Over the next three years, the novel follows Okonkwoâs family through harvest seasons, religious festivals, cultural rituals, and domestic disputes. Okonkwo is shown to be more aggressive than other Igbo men and is continually criticized and rebuked by the village for his violence and temper . When the Oracle of the Hills and Caves decides that Ikemefuna must be killed, Okonkwo is warned by a respected elder to have no hand in the boyâs death because Ikemefuna calls him âfatherâ. However, afraid of being thought weak, when Ikemefuna runs to Okonkwo in hope of protection, Okonkwo delivers the fatal blow. Ikemefunaâs brutal death deeply distresses Nwoye who becomes afraid of his father.Â
At the end of Part One, Okonkwo accidentally kills a clansman at a funeral after his faulty gun explodes and is exiled to his motherland, Mbanta. During his exile, British missionaries arrive in Mbanta and establish a church. Nwoye, disillusioned with his own culture and Gods after Ikemefunaâs death, is attracted to Christianity and is an early convert . This is a heartbreaking disappointment to Okonkwo. When Okonkwo and his family return from exile after seven years they find that the missionaries and colonial governors have established Umuofia as the center of their new colonial government . Clashes of culture and morality occur, and as the British make the Igbo more dependent on them through introducing trade and formal education, the Igbo way of life is continually undermined . When a Christian convert unmasks an egwugwu during a tribal ritual, a sin amounting to the death of an ancestral spirit, the egwugwu burn down the village church. The men who destroyed the church are arrested and humiliated by the District Commissioner, and Okonkwo beheads a court messenger at a village council in rebellion. When none of his clansmen rise with him against the British, Okonkwo realizes his culture and way of life is lost and commits suicide in despair. Suicide is a crime against the Earth Goddess, Ani , so Okonkwo is left to rot above ground in the Evil Forest, like his father Unoka â a shameful fate he spent his life desperate to avoid. The final paragraph, written from the perspective of the District Commissioner, reduces Okonkwoâs life to a single sentence about his death in his planned book The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of The Lower Niger . Achebe has filled an entire novel with evidence of the complexity and sophistication of Okonkwoâs individual and social life and the District Commissionerâs casual dismissal and belittling of him causes us to flinch with horror and dismay. This is a metaphor for the reduction of Igbo culture in the eyes of its colonizers. Â
The title gives away the plot of the novel and anticipates the collapse of Okonkwo and his society. Things Fall Apart is about the connection between the tragic downfall of Okonkwo , who fate and temperamental weakness combine to destroy, and the destruction of his culture and society as the Igbo way of life is assailed by forces they do not understand and are unprepared to face .Â
A Full and Fair Representation of Ibo Traditional Life
The first part of the novel presents the traditional world of the Ibo with specificity and vibrancy . The imbedded descriptions of the patterns of interaction, daily routines and seasonal rituals of Ibo life creates an overwhelming impression of community and shared culture. We see the established system of values which regulates collective life and how closely related this is to natural cycles and environments. The Iboâs moral values are contained in sayings and stories, rituals and festivals. Achebe depicts a comprehensive and sustaining social, spiritual, economic, agricultural, and legal order. (Chapters to consider: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 19)
While Ibo society is marked by the internal coherence of its organization and the poetry of its rituals, this coherence is partially formed by the repression of the individual and the inflexibility of social norms. Achebe shows the violence, dehumanization, and discrimination vulnerable groups experience in Umuofia due to the rigid adherence to tradition and superstition. This includes the customary abandonment of newborn twins, the sacrificial murder of Ikemefuna in the name of justice, and the discriminatory caste structure that denies inclusion to the osu (Chapters 7, 18).
Obierikaâs questioning of the stern logic of some customs suggests that many laws are enacted from a sense of duty and inevitability rather than from a firm conviction in their justice or efficacy (Chapter 13). The cultural demand for conformity places a huge moral and psychological burden on individuals who must reckon with the sometimes heartless will of the gods . This internal tension is epitomized in the character of Okonkwo, discussed below. Â
Clash of Cultures
When the Ibo are confronted with rival institutions a mirror is held up to their society. Fall Apart honestly considers and reflects on Ibo practices, customs, values, and beliefs. The novel is a frank articulation of the nature of the African past and its relevance to the present and future . Achebe wants to illuminate Ibo culture to dispense with lingering colonial prejudices, but he is not sentimental or nostalgic for the past. Instead he is shifting through it to identify the valuable aspects of Ibo culture to bring into the future and help define Nigeriaâs post-independence identity .
Achebe recognises that the colonial encounter which led, swiftly and seemingly inevitably, to the disintegration of Ibo culture revealed its profound weaknesses. Achebe suggests that with the arrival and contrast against another culture, a cultural reckoning was inevitable for the Ibo. However, cultural reckoning and revaluation is not the same thing as destruction and erasure . The British colonialists were a hostile force seeking cultural domination. By pointing out some of the weaknesses of the Ibo tradition, Achebe in no way excuses or justifies colonial domination or diminishes the pain and tragedy of the cultural erasure that occurred.
Colonial Domination
The anti-colonial position and purpose of the novel is powerfully clear. Achebe depicts the process of colonial initial establishment and the resultant cultural suspension of Ibo society. The British colonizers believed in their inherent cultural superiority and arrived in Umuofia with the intention to âbring civilizationâ (p.151) to Africa. They wanted to achieve full control by supplanting Ibo religion and culture with their own.
The British arrived quietly and non-confrontationally with their religion and the clans allow them to stay, misinterpreting their silence as peaceability . An Ibo proverb warns that there is danger in silence and nothing to fear from someone who reveals their motivations (Chapter 15). Obierika recognizes how the white manâs strategy disguised their intentions and gave them the freedom to grow and fortify. He explains the political consequences for the clan, now divided by the new religion, they can no longer act as one (Chapter 20). Without strength in unity, the Ibo are vulnerable to further encroachment of British control in their other institutions .
As only a small number of Ibo initially converted to Christianity, the church was only able to establish itself firmly in the villages because of the Iboâs religious tolerance (Chapter 2, 22). Mr Brown learns about Ibo religion and his willful blindness to its complexity shows how the colonizers justified their colonial rule and imposition through labelling their subjects âprimitiveâ . Mr Brown understands that Christianity held no appeal for people well integrated in Ibo society, concluding that âa frontal attack on it would not succeedâ (p.132) and thus introduces education as a new method of cultural displacement and erasure . Additionally, trade also increased the Iboâs dependence on the introduced economy (Chapter 21).
From the very first introduction of the colonizers we understand that violence and fear were tools of oppression and dominance , forcing the Ibo to submit and keeping them unresisting (Chapter 15, 20, 23). Not only do the British impose foreign rule on the Ibo and judge them by standards they do not recognize, the District Commissionerâs personal brand of âjusticeâ is corrupt and hypocritical. When the elders are arbitrarily and falsely imprisoned, he tells them that what they have done âmust not happen in the dominion of our queenâ (p.141), combining personal corruption with a state apparatus of paternalism, hegemony, and occupation (Chapter 20, 23).
Dogmatic zealot, Reverend Smith, encourages fanaticism in his converts, motivating them to insult and humiliate the clan (Chapter 22). Under Reverend Smithâs wrathful guidance, the colonial agenda becomes transparently aggressive . The grief and pathos of the Iboâs situation and collective trauma is displayed evocatively in the final episodes as Achebe depicts this painful moment of acute crisis (Chapter 22, 23, 24, 25).
A recurring thematic question in Things Fall Apart is to what degree the collapse of the Ibo and the downfall of Okonkwo are due to their own internal weaknesses or the whims of a pernicious fate .Â
The Ibo understand fate to be in a dynamic and somewhat ambiguous relationship with personal agency . This is evident in their proverb âwhen a man says yes his chi says yes alsoâ (p.20) which acknowledges and privileges the role of an individualâs choices in shaping their destiny (Chapter 4). The saying âas a man danced so the drums were beaten for himâ (p.135) also relates this idea â fate is a response to oneâs behaviour. Okonkwo is warned that killing Ikemefuna, his surrogate son, is the âkind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole familiesâ (p.49).This demonstrates the clanâs belief that the goddessâs (or fateâs) punishments are not arbitrary but the result of individual action (Chapter 8).
Although there is an element of chance in Okonkwoâs gun accidentally exploding and killing someone, his exile carries the suggestion of just comeuppance in its echo of the guns failure to shoot when purposely aimed at Ekwefi (Chapter 5, 13). Likewise, although the arrival of the Christians was unexpected and chanced, Nwoyeâs rejection of his father is traceable directly to Okonkwoâs choice to kill Ikemefuna (Chapter 7). The desertion of people injured by Ibo traditions is a blow to the clan that feels equally earned (Chapters 16, 17, 18). Â
After his exile, Okonkwo believes his chi has turned against him (Chapter 14). He renunciates the wisdom of his elders by denying the active role he had in directing the course of events. His refusal to reflect on the connection between his actions and punishment reflect his fatal flaws: hubris and willful lack of self-knowledge. By refusing to self-analyze and self-correct, Okonkwo loses the opportunity of redemption. Comparably, the Ibo, despite believing in a relationship between action and fate, do not reflect on the cause of their kinsmenâs desertion to Christianity. Achebe provides numerous examples of the clanâs dogma and brutal traditions denying people such as Ikemefuna or twins control over their lives (Chapter 2, 7). It was the shortcomings of the Ibo social and religious order that made members susceptible to the attraction of a competing value system with a more articulated concept of individuality. The Iboâs cultural lack of self-apprehension meant they could not adjust their traditions to save themselves .
However, just as Achebe shows how individuals in the clan are at the mercy of rigid overarching authority, he shows how the fateful forces of history constrain human agency . The Britishâs hostile intention to erase and supplant the Ibo way of life is a punishment greater than the Ibo deserve and a force stronger than they can rise to. In his description of the grief and trauma of colonial imposition, Achebe demonstrates his compassion and sorrow for the Ibo as they faced the sweeping and unforgiving forces of change in their moment of historical crisis .Â
1. "Things Fall Apart demonstrates how the values and customs of a society help us to deal with the familiar but not with change." Discuss.
2. "Traditional ideas of honour dominate Okonkwo's life and finally they destroy him." Discuss.
3. "Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories his mother used to tell." How does Achebe explore masculinity in Things Fall Apart ?
Now it's your turn! Give these essay topics a go. For more sample essay topics, head over to our Things Fall Apart Study Guide to practice writing essays using the analysis you've learnt in this blog!
A+ Essay Topic Breakdown
Let's look at an essay prompt in this video below:
[Video Transcript]
In Things Fall Apart , women suffer the most and are victimised by men. Discuss.
Whenever you are breaking a prompt down. Ask yourself...
- What are the key words/ ideas that you need to address?
- Which theme is the prompt referring to?
- Do you agree with prompt? Or do you disagree with it?
The keywords of this prompt would be women, suffer,, victimised and men. The prompt requires us to address the role of women in the text and the ways in which they suffer in a society that is pervaded by patriarchal values. It also asks us, âWho is to blame?â Are men solely responsible for the maltreatment or are there other causes to their suffering? The word âmostâ in this prompt is actually there to give us a bit of room for discussion. Yes, women do suffer, but do they suffer the most? Or do men suffer as well?
Now that weâve thought about the prompt, we can move on to the second step of the THINK part of the THINK and EXECUTE technique. To find out more about this unique strategy, Iâd recommend downloading a free sample of our How to Write a Killer Text Response eBook!
Now, before we write our ideas in beautiful topic sentences, itâs often easier to simplify everything first. One way to do this is to work out whether the paragraph agrees or disagrees with the prompt at hand. We could follow this structureâŚ
â Yes, the prompt is true because X Yes, another reason it is true is X While it is true, it is limited by X
By elucidating the ways in which women are seen as inferior to their male counterparts, the writer establishes his critique on a society that victimises and oppresses women. From the outset of the book, Okonkwo is characterised as a violent man who ârules his household with a heavy handâ, placing his wives in perpetual fear. The frequent beating and violence fortifies the portrayal of him as a man who is governed by his hatred of âgentility and idlenessâ, further showing the terror that his wives are forced to be living in.
"Do what you are told woman. When did you become one of the ndichie (meaning elders) of Umuofia?"
He also sees his wifeâs mere act of questioning as disrespect, as evidenced through the ways in which he implies that she is overstepping her role.
âThere were many women, but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders"
This simile also shows how women are often marginalised and treated as outcasts, underlining the overarching yearning for social justice throughout the text. This pitiful image of women looking âon from the fringeâ also helps Achebe relay his criticism of gender double standards and the unfairness that Igbo women are forced to live with. Achebeâs sympathy for womenâs suffering and condemnation of menâs mistreatment towards are also evident through his depiction of a society that normalises misogyny.
âHis mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they grew womenâs crops⌠Yam, the king of crops, was a manâs cropsâ
The personification of the crops, in particular, the menâs crops, the âyamâ, being the âking of cropsâ establishes this gender hierarchy in yet another way. More specifically, the position of men in the social hierarchy is highlighted and the negative connotation attached to the âwomenâs cropsâ undermine their hard work, rendering it in significant. While women are the main victims of Igbo gendered prejudice, Achebe does not disregard the undue burden that societal expectations impose on men.
âHe was afraid of being thought weak.â
Achebe explores the burdens of unrealistic expectations that are placed on both men and women. This quote exemplifies societal expectations on men to be strong, powerful and fearless leaders who never show emotions. Achebeâs sympathies regarding these expectations show us that this is an important critique in Things Fall Apart that we can analyse.
If you find this helpful, then you might want to check out our Things Fall Apart: A Killer Text Guide where we cover 5 A+ sample essays (written by a 50 study scorer!) with EVERY essay annotated and broken down on HOW and WHY these essays achieved A+ so you reach your English goals! Let's get started.
With contributions from Lindsey Dang.
Finding out that your school has selected to study a Shakespeare play as your section A text can be a pretty daunting prospect. If Iâm honest, I wasnât all too thrilled upon discovering this either...it seemed as though I now not only had to worry about analysing my text, but also understanding what Shakespeare was saying through all of his old-fashioned words.Â
However, letâs not fret - in this post, Iâll share with you some Measure for Measure specific advice and tactics, alongside excerpts of an essay of mine as a reference.Â
Before you start reading, How To Approach Shakespeare: A Guide To Studying Shakespeare is a must read for any student studying Shakespeare.
Historical ContextÂ
Having a basic understanding of the historical context of the play is an integral part of developing your understanding of Measure for Measure (and is explored further in Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare ). For example, for prompts that open with âWhat does Shakespeare suggest aboutâŚ?â or âHow does Measure for Measure reflect Shakespeareâs ideas aboutâŚ?â it can be really helpful to understand Shakespeareâs own position in society and how that influenced his writing.Â
Thereâs no need to memorise certain parts of Shakespeareâs history - as that would serve no purpose - just try to gauge an understanding of what life was like in his time. Through understanding Shakespeareâs position in society, we are able to infer his stances on various characters/ideologies in the play.Â
- Measure for Measure is often regarded as an anti-Puritan satire. Although Shakespeareâs religion has been a subject of much debate and research, with many theories about his faith being brought forward, many believe that he was a secret Catholic. He is believed to be a â secretâ Catholic, as he lived during the rise of the Puritans - those who wished to reform the Church of England and create more of a focus on Protestant teachings, as opposed to Catholic teachings. It was often difficult for Catholics to practice their faith at this time.Â
- Angelo and Isabella - particularly Angelo, are believed to embody puritanism, as shown through their excessive piety. By revealing Angelo to be âyet a devil,â though âangel on the outward side,â Shakespeare critiques Puritans, perhaps branding them as hypocritical or even unhuman; those ânot born of man and woman.â Thus, we can assume that Shakespeare would take a similar stance to most of us - that Angelo wasnât the greatest guy and that his excessive, unnatural and puritanical nature was more of a flaw than a virtue.Â
Tips for Moving Past the Generic Examples/Evidence Found in the PlayÂ
Itâs important to try and stand out with your examples in your body paragraphs. If youâre writing the same, simple ideas as everyone else, it will be hard for VCAA assessors to reward you for that. Your ideas are the most important part of your essay because they show how well youâve understood and analysed the text - which is what they are asking from you, itâs called an âanalytical interpretation of a text,â not âhow many big words can you write in this essay.â You can stand out in Measure for Measure by:Â
1. Taking Note of Stage Directions and Structure of Speech
Many students tend to simply focus on the dialogue in the play, but stage directions can tell you so much about what Shakespeare was really trying to illustrate in his characters.Â
- For example, in his monologue, I would often reference how Angelo is alone on stage, appearing at his most uninhibited, with his self-interrogation revealing his internal struggle over his newfound lust for Isabella. I would also reference how Shakespeareâs choice of syntax and structure of speech reveal Angeloâs moral turmoil as he repetitively asks himself âwhatâs this?â indicating his confusion and disgust for his feelings which âunshapesâ him.Â
- Isabella is shown to â[kneel]â by Mariana at the conclusion of the play, in order to ask for Angeloâs forgiveness. This detail is one that is easily missed, but it is an important one, as it is an obvious reference to Christianity, and symbolises Isabellaâs return to her âgentle and fairâ and âsaintâ like nature.Â
2. Drawing Connections Between Characters - Analyse Their Similarities and Differences.Â
Drawing these connections can be a useful way to incorporate other characters not necessarily mentioned in your prompt. For example, in my own English exam last year, I chose the prompt â ...Power corrupts both Angelo and the Duke. Do you agree? â and tried to pair Angelo and Isabella, in order to incorporate another character into my essay (so that my entire essay wasnât just about two characters).
- A favourite pair of mine to analyse together was Angelo and Isabella. Although at first glance they seem quite different, when you read into the text a little deeper you can find many similarities. For example, while Angelo lives alone in his garden, âsuccumbed by brick,â requiring âtwo keysâ to enter, ânun,â Isabella, wishes to join the nuns of Saint Clare where she âmust not speak with menâ or âshow [her] face.â Shakespeareâs depiction of the two, stresses their seclusion, piety and restriction from the âviceâ plaguing Vienna. Whatâs important about this point is that you can alter your wording of it to fit various points that you may make. For example, you could use this example to prove to your assessor how Isabellaâs alignment with Angelo signals Shakespeareâs condemnation of her excessive puritanical nature (as I did in my body paragraph below) or, you could use these same points to argue how Angelo was once indeed a virtuous man who was similar to the âsaintâ Isabella, and that it was the power that corrupted him (as you could argue in the 2019 prompt).Â
- Another great pair is the Duke and Angelo. Although they certainly are different in many ways, an interesting argument that I used frequently, was that they both were selfish characters who abused their power as men and as leaders in a patriarchal society. It is obvious where Angelo did this - through his cruel bribery of Isabella to âlay down the treasures of [her] body,â however the Dukeâs behaviour is more subtle. The Dukeâs proposal to Isabella at the conclusion of the play, as he asks her to âgive [him her] hand,â in marriage, coincides with the revelation that Claudio is indeed alive. It appears that the Duke has orchestrated the timing of his proposal to most forcefully secure Isabella and in this sense, his abuse of power can be likened to Angeloâs âdevilishâ bribery. This is as, through Shakespeareâs depiction of Isabella, it is evident that she has little interest in marriage; she simply wishes to join a convent where she âmust not speak with men,â as she lives a life of âstrict restraint.â The Duke is aware of this, yet he demands Isabella to âbe [his]â-Â wishing to take her from her true desire and Shakespeare is able to elucidate Isabellaâs distaste through her response to this: silence. By contrasting Isabellaâs once powerful voice - her âspeechless dialectâ that can âmove menâ - with her silence in response to the Dukeâs proposal, Shakespeare is able to convey the depth of the Dukeâs selfishness and thus his similarity to Angelo.
We've got a character list for you in Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare (just scroll down to the Character section).
Whatâs important to realise about these bits of evidence is that you can use them in so many different prompts, provided that you tailor your wording to best answer the topic. For example, you could try fitting at least one of the above examples in these prompts:Â
- âGive me your hand and say you will be mineâŚâ The characters in â Measure for Measureâ are more interested in taking than giving. Discuss.Â
- âMore than our brother is our chastity.' Explore how Shakespeare presents Isabella's attitude to chastity throughout Measure for Measure .
- âI have seen corruption boil âŚ' To what extent does Shakespeare explore corruption in Measure for Measure , and by what means?Â
- âMeasure or Measure presents a society in which women are denied power.â Discuss.
How To Kick Start Your Essay with a Smashing Introduction
Thereâs no set way on how to write an introduction. Lots of people write them in many different ways and these can all do well! This is the best part about English - you donât have to be writing like the person sitting next to you in order to get a good mark. I personally preferred writing short and sweet introductions, just because they were quick to write and easy to understand.Â
For example, for the prompt...
â...women are frail too.âÂ
To what extent does âMeasure for Measureâ examine the flaws of Isabella?Â
...my topic sentences were...
- Isabella is depicted as a moral, virtuous and pious woman, but it is this aspect of her nature that paradoxically aligns her with the âtyrannousâ Angelo.Â
- Shakespeare explores the hypocrisy and corruption of Isabella as a flaw, as she deviates from her initially âgentle and fairâ nature.
- Despite exploring Isabellaâs flaws to a large degree, Shakespeare does indeed present her redemption at the denouement of the play.Â
...and my introduction was:Â
William Shakespeareâs play, âMeasure for Measureâ depicts a seventeenth century Viennese society in which disease, misconduct and licentiousness are rife. It is upon a backdrop of such ordeals that Shakespeare presents the character of Isabella, who is initially depicted as of stark contrast to the libertine populate of Vienna. To a considerable extent, âMeasure for Measureâ does indeed examine the flaws of the âgentle and fairâ Isabella, but Shakespeare suggests that perhaps she is not âsaintâ nor âdevil,â rather that she is a human with her own flaws and with her own redeeming qualities.Â
Instead of rewording my topic sentences, I touched on them more vaguely, because I knew that I wouldnât get any âextraâ points for repeating them twice, essentially. However, if you feel more confident in touching on your topic sentences more specifically - go ahead!! There are so many different ways to write an introduction! Do what works for you!Â
Body ParagraphsÂ
This body paragraph included my pairing between Angelo and Isabella. My advice would be to continue to incorporate the language used in the prompt. In this paragraph, you can see me use the word âflawâ quite a bit, just in order to ensure that Iâm actually answering the prompt , not a prompt that I have studied before.Â
Isabella is depicted as a moral, virtuous and pious woman, but it is this aspect of her nature that paradoxically aligns her with the âtyrannousâ Angelo. Where Angelo is âof ample grace and honour,â Isabella is âgentle and fair.â Where Angelo believes in âstricture and firm abstinence,â Isabella too believes that âmost desire should meet the full blow of justice.â This similarity is enhanced by their seclusion from the lecherous society in which they reside. Angelo lives alone in his garden, âsuccumbed by brick,â requiring âtwo keysâ to enter, whilst Isabella desires the life of a nun where she âmust not speak with menâ or âshow [her] face.â This depiction of both Angelo and Isabella stresses their seclusion, piety and restriction from the âviceâ that the libertine populate is drunk from. However, Shakespeareâs revelation that Angelo is âyet a devilâ though âangel on the outward side,â is perhaps Shakespeareâs commentary on absolute stricture being yet a facade, a flaw even. Shakespeare presents Isabellaâs chastity and piety as synonymous with her identity, which ultimately leaves her unable to differentiate between the two, as she states that she would âthrow down [her] life,â for Claudio, yet maintains that âmore than our brother is our chastity.â Though virtuous in a sense, she is cruel in another. Although at first glance, Shakespeareâs depiction of Isabellaâs excessive puritanical nature appears to be her virtue, by aligning her with the âdevilâ that is Angelo, it appears that this is indeed her flaw.Â
Conclude Your Essay by Dazzling Your Assessor! Â
My main tip for a conclusion is to finish it off with a confident commentary of the entire piece and what you think that the author was trying to convey through their words (in relation to the topic). For example, in pretty much all of my essays, I would conclude with a sentence that referenced the entire play -Â for example, how it appeared to be such a polarising play, with largely exaggerated, polarising characters/settings (eg. Angelo and the Duke, or the brothels that stood tall next to the monastery):Â
Ultimately, Shakespeareâs play âMeasure for Measure,â depicts Isabella as a multifaceted character. She is not simply one thing - not simply good nor bad -Â her characterâs depiction continues to oscillate between the polar ends of the spectrum. Although yes, she does have flaws, so too does she have redeeming qualities. Though at times deceitful and hypocritical, she too is forgiving and gentle. Thus, as Shakespeareâs play, âMeasure for Measure,â does centre on polarising characters in a polarising setting, perhaps through his exploration of Isabellaâs flaws alongside her virtues, he suggests that both the good and the bad inhabit us.
Measure for Measure is usually studied in the Australian curriculum under Area of Study 1 - Text Response. For a detailed guide on Text Response, check out our Ultimate Guide to VCE Text Response .
Last updated 20/10/19
Planning is an essential part of any successful text response essay. It helps you ensure that youâre answering the prompt, utilising enough quotes and writing the most unique and perceptive analysis possible! The hard part of this is that you only have about FIVE MINUTES to plan each essay in the Year 12 English exam⌠(more info on the best way to tackle that challenge in this video !)
So, I developed the FIVE TYPES of essay prompts to help students streamline their planning process and maximise every minute of their SACs and exams.
By identifying the type of prompt youâre being challenged with immediately, a number of parameters or guidelines are already set in place. For a specific type of prompt, you have specific criteria to meet â for example, in a metalanguage-based prompt , you immediately know that any evidence you brainstorm in your planning stage should be based around the literary techniques used in your given text.
If youâd like the full picture on our best FREE advice on Text Response, check out our Ultimate Guide to VCE Text Response here .
1. Theme-based prompt
âAmbition in the play Macbeth leads to success.â Discuss. ( Macbeth )
When youâre presented with a theme-based prompt, you can automatically shift your brainstorming and planning towards the themes mentioned in the prompt along with any others that you can link to the core theme in some way.
In regard to this Macbeth prompt, for example, you could explore the different ways the theme of ambition is presented in the text. Additionally, the themes of guilt and power are intimately related to ambition in the text, so you can use those other ideas to aid your brainstorming and get you a step ahead of the rest of the state come exam day.
2. Character-based prompt
âFrankensteinâs hubris is what punishes him.â Discuss. ( Frankenstein )
These prompts are pretty easy to spot â if you see a characterâs name in the prompt, there you have it; you have a character-based prompt on your hands.
Once you know this, you can assume that each example you brainstorm has to be relevant to the specific character named in the prompt in some way. Also, you can explore how the actions of characters donât occur in isolation â theyâre almost always interrelated. Remember, however, that the actions of characters are always connected to the themes and ideas the author is trying to convey.
This type of prompt also grants you some freedoms that other types donât give. For example, unlike a Theme-based prompt, a character-based prompt means that itâs perfectly fine to write about characters in the topic sentences of your body paragraphs.
3. How-based prompt
âHow does Grenville showcase Rookeâs inner conflict in The Lieutenant ?â ( The Lieutenant )
Unlike other prompts, the âHowâ positions you to focus more on the authorâs writing intentions. This can be achieved by discussing metalanguage â language that describes language (read my blog post about it here ). These prompts tell you immediately that you need to be thinking about the literary techniques explored in the text and explain how they affect the narrative.
Rather than using specific techniques to frame your specific arguments, itâs best to use them as evidence to support arguments that attack the main themes/ideas mentioned in the prompt.
4. Metalanguage or film-technique-based prompt
âHitchcockâs use of film techniques offers an unnerving viewing experienceâ. Discuss. ( Rear Window )
This type of prompt is very similar to How-based prompts, specifically in the fact that the discussion of literary techniques is essential.
For this type of prompt specifically, however, the actual techniques used can form more of a basis for your arguments, unlike in How-based prompts .
5. Quote-based prompt
âOut, damned spot!â How does Shakespeare explore the burden of a guilty conscience in Macbeth ? ( Macbeth )
Countless students ask me every year, âWhat do I do when thereâs a quote in the prompt?!â My reply to these questions is actually fairly straightforward!
There are two main things that you should do when presented with this type of prompt. Firstly, contextualise the quote in your essay and try to use it in your analysis in some way. Secondly, interpret the themes and issues addressed in the quote and implement these into your discussion. The best place to do both of these is in a body paragraph â it weaves in seamlessly and allows for a good amount of analysis, among other reasons!
When faced with unknown prompts in a SAC or your exam, it's reassuring to have a formulaic breakdown of the prompt so that your brain immediately starts categorising the prompt - which of the 5 types of prompts does this one in front of me fall into? To learn more about brainstorming, planning, essay structures for Text Response, read our Ultimate Guide to VCE Text Response .
Weâve explored historical context, themes, essay planning and essay topics over on our Like a House on Fire by Cate Kennedy blog post. If you need a quick refresher or youâre new to studying this text, I highly recommend checking it out!
Hey guys, welcome back to Lisa's Study Guides. So this week I have another essay topic breakdown for you. So eventually I'm going to get through all of the VCAA texts that are on the study design, but we're slowly going to get there and are just want to say yet again, even though this one is like a house on fire, I am really glad if you've clicked on this video and you're not necessarily studying it because as always with all my videos, I try to give you an overall message for you to take away that can be applied to any single text. So that is the same for this particular text today. And so even though the takeaway message for this video is quite specific to short stories, it's still an important consideration for any text that you're studying. Ideally, you want to use a diverse range of evidence for any text, but in particular, for short stories, you don't just want to rely on a small handful, but to try and make links between the different short stories. So let's see what that means on the other side of this quick overview of the text. Like a House on Fire is a collection of short stories by the author, Cate Kennedy, and unlike a lot of other texts on the study design, this book portrays a lot of very domestic situations, which seems fairly boring compared to some of the other texts that other students might be doing. However, I'm really excited about this text because the short stories are great. Not because they have groundbreaking premises, which they don't, but because of how effortlessly and deeply emotive they are. So the domestic scenarios actually help us relate to the characters in the stories and empathize with the complexity of their experiences. The essay topic we'll be looking at today is in Like a House on Fire, Kennedy finds strength in ordinary people. Discuss. Here, the term which you really have to think about is strength. We already know that she depicts the story of ordinary people, of people like you or me, or even just people we may know, but does she find strength in them? It could be physical strength, but more often than not, it might be other types of strength. For instance, the mental strength it takes to cope with intense pressure or the emotional strength it takes to make a difficult choice or action. It's important to think about how they might actually apply throughout the book. In this sense, our essay will have essentially two halves. The first two body paragraphs we'll look at scenarios of intense pressure, be it through the loss of control in one's life or a domestic situation which has become emotionally tense. The last two body paragraphs will then consider the types of strength that Kennedy evinces in these stories. And we'll contend that she does find strength in the characters who face a difficult decision, but that she also finds a lot more strength in the characters who managed to cope with their situation and grapple with the tensions in their lives.
Paragraph one
In many of her stories, Kennedy portrays characters who experience powerlessness. This loss of power can come a number of ways. For instance, both Flexion and Like a House on Fire tell the story of men who have injured their previously reliable bodies and have thus been rendered immobile. But they also tell the story of their respective wives who have lost some control over their lives now that they have to care for their husbands. On the other hand, there are the kids in Whirlpool whose mother insists that they dress a certain way for a Christmas photo. Her hand on your shoulders, exerting pressure that pushes you down. Kennedy's use of second person really makes you feel this pressure that keeps you from going out to the pool you so desperately desire to be in. Evidently powerlessness is an experience that comes in many shapes and forms in several stories.
Paragraph two
In addition to this, Kennedy explores other emotional tensions across the collection, subverting the idea that the home is necessarily a safe sanctuary. This is where she really goes beyond just the idea of powerlessness, but actually jumps into scenarios that are much more emotionally complex. In Ashes for instance, we see the homosexual protagonist struggle with feeling useless and tongue tied, embarrassed by the floundering pause between his mother and himself. There is a significant emotional hurdle there, which is particularly poignant given that mothers are usually considered a source of safety and comfort for their children. Kennedy's story of domesticity actually subvert or question what we might think of the domestic space shared by family members. If you have the Scribe edition of the book, the artwork on the cover would depict a vase of wilting flowers, an empty picture frame, and a spilt cup of coffee. These are all visual symbols of an imperfect domestic life. A similar rift exists between husband and wife in both Five Dollar Family and Waiting, the women find themselves unable to emotionally depend on their partners. While Michelle in Five Dollar Family despises her husbands startled, faintly incredulous expression, an inability to care for their child, the protagonist in Waiting struggles to talk about her miscarriages with her husband who is already worn down as it is. Kennedy takes these household roles of mother, son, husband, wife, and really dives into the complex shades of emotion that lies within these relationships. We realize through her stories that a mother can't always provide comfort to a child and that a husband isn't always the dependable partner that he's supposed to be.
Paragraph three
However, Kennedy does find strength in some characters who do take a bold or courageous leap in some way. These are really important moments in which she is able to show us the strength that it takes to make these decisions. And she triumphs however small or insignificant that can be achieved. A moment that really stands out to me is the ending of Laminex and Mirrors, where the protagonist rebelliously smuggles a hospital patient out for a smoke only to have to take him back into his ward through the main entrance and therefore get them both caught. She recounts this experience as the one I remember most clearly from the year I turned 18. The two of us content, just for this perfect moment. And their success resonates with the audience, even though the protagonist would have lost her job and therefore the income she needed for her trip to London, Kennedy demonstrates her strength in choosing compassion for an elderly patient. Even the sister in Whirlpool, who wasn't exactly kind to the protagonist in the beginning, forms an unlikely alliance with her against their mother, sharing a reckless moment and cutting their photo shoot short. Bold leaps such as these are ones that take strength and therefore deserve admiration.
Paragraph four
However, more often than not, Kennedy's stories are more about the strength needed to simply cope with life, one day at a time. She explores the minutiae of her characters lives in a way that conveys the day to day struggles, but also hints at the underlying fortitude needed to deal with these things on a daily basis. In Tender, the wife feels as if everything at home is on the verge of coming apart since her husband is only able to cook tuna and pasta casserole for their kids. However, when she must get a possibly malignant tumor removed, her concern of whether there'll be tuna and pasta in the pantry just in case, demonstrates her selfless nature. Kennedy thus creates a character who is strong for others, even when her own life at home is disorderly and her health may be in jeopardy. The strength of gritting one's teeth and getting on with things in spite of emotional tension is a central idea across this collection, and many other examples are there for you to consider as well. And so we come to the end of our essay. Hopefully going through this gives you an idea of how to cover more bases with your evidence. Remember that you don't have to recount lots and lots of events, but it's more important to engage with what the events are actually telling us about people. This is particularly important for prompts like this one, where it heavily focuses on the people involved. That is it for me this week, please give this video a thumbs up. If you wanted to say thanks to Mark, who has been helping me write these scripts up for a lot of the text response essay, topic breakdowns. If you enjoyed this, then you might also be interested in the live stream coming up next week, which will be on Friday the 25th of May at 5:00 PM. I'll be covering the topic of analyzing argument for the second time, just because there's so much to get through. I'll also be announcing some special things during that particular live stream. So make sure you're there so you're the first to hear it. I will see you guys next week. Bye.
Like a House on Fire by Cate Kennedy
How To Get An A+ On Your Like A House On Fire Essay
Close Analysis Of 'Cake' From Like A House On Fire
For an overview of the EAL study design plus tips and tricks for language analysis, time management and more, check out The Ultimate Guide to EAL .
EAL Language Analysis Introductions
Both EAL and mainstream English students will need to complete a Language Analysis task as part of the VCAA Exam. The introduction of Language Analysis essays for VCE English is somewhat rigid as there are multiple components that must be included, for instance: issue, form, contention, name, publishing date, tone, etc. However, many of the âmust haveâ components of mainstream English essays are not required for EAL students or the EAL end-of-year examination. Check with your school/teacher to find out their opinion and criteria on this matter though, as they mark your internal assessments/Language Analysis SAC!
The 2019 VCE English as an Additional Language Examination Report states:Â
âIntroductions should be limited to showing an awareness of the audience, the context and the overall contention of the piece.â
With this guideline in mind, the advice I am sharing in this blog post is based on the understanding and assumption that EAL Language Analysis introductions DO NOT need background information such as where the article is published, when is it published, style, etc. But again, make sure you check with your school/teacher to find out exactly what criteria YOU need to meet for your assessments/SACs that are marked internally.Â
Using Templates in Your EAL Language Analysis Introductions
Since EAL is more flexible than mainstream English, and requires fewer elements, you can adopt a template for introductions that you are comfortable using to save time during the assessments.Â
For example, these sentence templates below are really versatile and can be easily adapted and/or combined to suit your essay:Â
- In response to the divisive issue ofâŚ(AUTHOR 1) implicitly/explicitly/inadvertently contends thatâŚ
- (AUTHOR 1) takes on a...tone to grab the attention of...(SPECIFIC AUDIENCE)
- Similarly/contrastingly,...,(AUTHOR 2) implicitly/explicitly/inadvertently contends that...in a...tone.
Using the templates above, here are some examples of what the final product for your introduction may look like. I have bolded the âtemplateâ parts so that you can see exactly how the templates have been used, but remember these are just templates, so you can adjust the wording slightly to suit your needs:
And if you want to learn more about tones, head to 195 Language Analysis Tones .
Example 1 (Using Templates 1 & 3)
(1) In response to the divisive issue of building an Apple global flagship store at Federation Square, the COMAAFS implicitly contends in an accusatory and defiant tone that the flagship store should not be built to replace one of Melbourneâs most popular landmarks. (3) Contrastingly , the web post written by the Victorian Government explicitly rejects the accusation from COMAAFS and advocates for the immense benefits that Victorians will receive from the Flagship store in an explanatory and reassuring tone .
Example 2 (Using Templates 1 & 3)
(1) In response to the divisive issue of homeless people camping in the city of Melbourne, Christopher Bantick contends in an accusatory and heated tone that the âmove-onâ law must be introduced in order to remove the homeless in Melbourne. (3) Contrastingly , Dr. Meg Mundell insists that making it illegal to sleep on the street will only exacerbate the problem in a demanding tone . Â
Example 3 (Using Templates 1 & 3)
(1) In response to the recent furore of the increasing use of cars, Tina Fanning contends in an alarming and mobilising tone that cars are no longer a viable mode of transport in the foreseeable future. (3) Similarly, Lucy Manne predicts the catastrophic consequence of excessive car use on Australian society in a composed and authoritative tone .
If you want to take your introduction to the next level, see The Importance of the Introduction for tips!
Comparison of Arguments & Contentions in EAL Language Analysis
Unlike mainstream English, comparison of arguments/contention between the two writers is not essential for EAL, but it will probably earn you bonus brownie points if you do have time to add it in your essay :) For further explanation on comparative analysis, you can refer to this step-by-step guide: Exploring an A+ Language Analysis Essay Comparing Two Articles . Although the guide is aimed at mainstream English students, you can still apply some of the tips and strategies as an EAL student. It will really help to take your Language Analysis to the next level!
English is tough. Whether it be memorising quotes or writing under timed conditions, everybody has something that they need to work on â some missing link that may make the difference between grades.
The fun yet exasperating part of English is that thereâs always some way to improve. Even the best of the best can struggle with differentiating themselves from the pack, irrespective of how many quotes they know or how well they understand the subject matter. Often, students can feel shackled by the formulaic âtopic sentence plus explanation plus evidence plus analysis plus concluding statementâ, leaving great ideas in the mud as they scramble to fit their essay into restrictive boxes.
Sometimes, the conventional structure of an English essay can weigh a student down, which is why bending those rules is a skill that, eventually, can prove the key to truly going above and beyond .
Walk before you run
Before you move past your structure, though, youâve got to know it.
Every essay paragraph needs to hit on a few key points: a main argument, evidence, and analysis of that evidence relating back to the prompt. For exampleâŚ
In Station Eleven, forgetting is more important than remembering. Do you agree?
Planning is crucial irrespective of your writing style. The texts you study are meant to be thought-provoking, so thought needs to go into what youâre going to say even before you start saying it. My more flexible, relaxed essays always resulted in plans that looked identical to more conventional responses, as seen below.
- Forgetting is important as a coping mechanism to the post-modern world -> older people who âlost moreâ e.g. Jeevan, Dieter, Clarkâs demands to â[not] think about itâ
- Nevertheless, remembering is important in forging paths to the future -> the Travelling Symphony
- When they are both embraced, both forgetting and remembering can create the new and honour the old -> the Museum of Civilisation and the electric town
Once you have this understanding of structure, you can begin to move past it.
What exactly does an essay âbeyond structureâ mean? The way English is currently taught results in a lot of essays more or less looking the same, with a topic sentence dutifully followed by explanation of that point, and evidence not being introduced until about halfway through the paragraph.
Essays beyond structure donât ignore those points, but rather, they shuffle them around a little. Evidence can be introduced right after the topic sentence, for example.
The shock of the Georgia Flu is catastrophic, entirely subverting the technological interconnectedness of the 21st century⌠The âdivide between a before and an afterâ that the Georgia Flu marks is so devastating and uncompromising that it is little wonder, then, that forgetting should become such a crucial tool for reconciling oneself with the radical new world order.
Growing out of "crutch" phrases
In structured essays, transitions between points are obvious. When we want to introduce a quote, we say something like âIn Mandelâs Station Eleven⌠â, and when we want to analyse that quote we say âHere, the authorâŚâ.
Of course, thereâs nothing wrong with using phrases like these! They can be very helpful in showing your assessor where you are addressing the task and the text. But addressing âcrutchâ phrases in your writing, which are often overused and underdeveloped, is a fairly straightforward way of forcing yourself to write differently.
Some âcrutchesâ that I always used include:
- This exemplifies⌠â introduction to analysis
- Indeed⌠â transition to another point
- Ultimately/In conclusion⌠â concluding
It is important not to mistake signposting for these crutch phrases, such as âFurthermoreâ or âConverselyâ. Signposting helps assessors determine when you are building on or deviating from previous points, which is highly useful when theyâve read a hundred essays on the same prompt as yours. Crutch phrases, on the other hand, make you feel better about your essay, when in actuality they contribute very little and could be rewritten to be something of greater value.
The following statement follows the typical English pattern of evidence to analysis.
In Emily St John Mandelâs Station Eleven, Dieter âlongs for the sound of an electric guitarâ. This exemplifies the wider loss of technology, and even identity, suffered by humanity after the Georgia Flu, and indeed is further highlighted by the âincomplete listâ of Chapter 6.
Thereâs nothing wrong with the analysis above, and it makes a good point about the text. But removing âThis exemplifiesâ forces a writer to try something daring and newâŚ
Dieter, an otherwise well-adjusted member of the Travelling Symphony, âlongs for the sound of an electric guitarâ â his desire echoes Chapter 6âs list, and the omnipresent lack of electricity to a species once defined by it.
Shorter quotes are your friend
A great way to keep up the momentum of such an essay is to let points bleed into each other. There is no rule in English that says the first two sentences of your paragraph canât include evidence, nor any regulations stipulating that the end of a paragraph has to be a rewritten version of the topic sentence.
Evidence, I have found, is the best way to bridge gaps between discrete points of structure. Not only does using evidence show understanding of the text, but it doesnât have to be an entire sentence all on its own. Sometimes, two or three words are enough to marry two points â and, at the end of the day, shorter quotes are easier to memorise!
Mandelâs narrator mourns fundamental modern aspects of survival, such as âpharmaceuticalsâ and âfire departments⌠policeâ, in the same space that she pays homage to âconcert stagesâ and âsocial mediaâ. The resulting impression is not one of traditional cutthroat dystopia⌠Rather, Mandelâs quiet remembrance of the ⌠modern innovations of technology that brought the 21st century together ⌠highlights the emotional consequences of such ease of communication being lost.
Reading is fundamental
If youâre feeling a little overwhelmed about moving beyond structure, donât worry â thereâs something quick and easy that you can do right now to help push your writing, and it doesnât even involve any writing of your own.
If you get the opportunity to, I would encourage you to read other peopleâs essays. Obviously, higher-grade essays are always valuable, but they can also be intimidating, even demoralising. Iâve found that reading essays at my grade level, or even lower, have been fantastic for learning new phrases and picking up different bits of evidence.
The best thing about English, in my opinion, is the same thing that brings it the most criticism â that there is no right answer. It can never hurt your understanding of a text (or your potential grade) if your discussion is informed about more perspectives.
Practice makes... progress!
At the end of the day, any and all good English essays have their roots in the fundamentals. Even as you play around with structure and move past formula, it is always crucial to remember the basics, and to return to them if you feel like youâre getting lost.
Always remember to link back to the prompt! Itâs something so basic and obvious that students of all grades overlook. The prompt is the backbone of your essay â make sure that you keep it centre stage.
Get feedback as often as you can, whether it be from teachers, tutors or other students that you trust. English is a game of constant tweaking and refinement, and the more feedback you get the better your essays will be for it.
Finally, practice. Writing, like any skill, can only be honed and improved if one puts effort into honing and improving it. Writing beyond structure often comes as a massive learning curve, and it is diligence and a willingness to learn â not natural talent â that will allow you to become better and better at it.
To conclude
English is tough, and because almost everybody does it, it can be hard to stand out from the masses. Being different takes courage, and in VCE it certainly takes a lot of work, but I have found that writing beyond structure has the potential to elevate not only your understanding of a text or your performance in SACs and the exam, but your enjoyment of writing for English as a whole.
Letâs briefly discuss the background of the article before we dive into the analysisâŚ
- So, the background information tells us that âBiodiversity is the term used to describe life on Earth â the variety of living things, the places they inhibit and the interactions between them.â
- The article at hand is a transcript of a speech given by Professor Chris Lee at the International Biodiversity Conference 2010.
- The purpose of this conference is to review the progress made towards achieving the target and to look beyond 2010.
Now, letâs analyse the opening of the speech. Take a second to read through Leeâs speech opener...
Firstly, we can analyse the way in which Lee addresses his audience. Rather than using a phrase like "Hi everyone" or a similar greeting, he actually refers to his audience as his "fellow delegates" which allows him to speak in a particularly candid and honest manner. He wants to be transparent about the reality of the situation with his peers, rather than trying to impress an audience or something similar.
Overall, this anecdote appeals to the emotions of the audience and plays on an apparent devotion/commitment presumably made to the environment by the delegates of a Biodiversity conference. Lee uniquely seeks to persuade his audience by using the information he knows about them â their past commitments.
More specifically, we can dive into the pejorative mood of the adjectives he uses to describe the second scene, which is one of destruction, especially compare to the images he presents first. The "lush jungle" with a variety of "interesting flora and fauna" on the banks of a "clear river" appears particularly idyllic in juxtaposition with the images of the "scorched earth", "gooey mudslide", "sepia tinge" and "barren sticks hopelessly groping for life."
In the last sentence, the repetition of the word "gone" reminds Lee's "fellow delegates" of what will be lost if action on biodiversity is not taken.
Now, we know that in any given Language Analysis article, there are so many things to analyse, which Iâve demonstrated with all of the things we managed to focus on in that single paragraph.
Often, students will be able to identify lots of techniques and as such, lots of elements to analyse, but they struggle to choose between these techniques when it comes to writing their responses.
Iâd highly recommend that you download a free sample of my eBook, How To Write A Killer Language Analysis which talks about techniques you can use to pick what to write about in your essays. We wonât have enough time to talk about those techniques today, so weâve written them down for you in the eBook.
Now that weâve looked at how Lee has started his speech, letâs skip forward to a later section of the article. Take a second to read through the section.
One of the first things that may jump out at you is this repetition of inclusive language; "we are", "we have". However, this is way too obvious! For an upper level response, we want to steer clear of the cliche techniques and analyse ones that have more value and show off our own perspective of the article.
Utilising the statements, "everyone in the lecture theatre knows this" and "clearly, it is our lack of unity", Lee includes the audience and holds all of the delegates accountable through declaring the reasons for failure as simple matters of fact.
Here, Lee trivializes the actions of the organisation in creating "glossy brochures" with "wonderful words" as marketing tools to create the impression that meaningful action is being taken. Lee exposes such actions as deceitful and calls for "real action", seeking to persuade his audience into putting their effort into actual gains in the biodiversity fight.
Want to know more? I'd highly recommend checking out LSG's FREE Ultimate Guide to VCE Language Analysis for more great tips, resources and advice.
And thatâs it! I hope this has been helpful in showing how to analyse a speech as a Language Analysis prompt.
Be sure to check out the free sample of my eBook below for more!
Updated 24/12/2020
- Themes, Motifs and Key Ideas
- Comparative Essay Prompt Example
The Crucible is a four-act play that portrays the atmosphere of the witch trials in Salem. As an allegory of McCarthyism, the play primarily focuses on criticising the ways in which innocent people are prosecuted without any founded evidence, reflecting the unjust nature of the corrupted authoritarian system that governs Salem. It starts off with the girls dancing in the woods and Bettyâs unconsciousness, which causes the people of Salem to look for unnatural causes. People start scapegoating others to escape prosecution and falsely accuse others to gain power and land, facilitating mass hysteria which ultimately leads to the downfall of the Salem theocracy. The protagonist John Proctor is one of those that decides to defy the courts and sacrifices his life towards the end of the play, ending the play on a quiet note in contrast with its frenzied conflict throughout the acts.
The Dressmaker shows the audience the treatment towards Tilly Dunnage upon her return to fictional town Dungatar years after she was wrongly accused of being a murderess. Rosalie Ham critiques the impacts of rumours on Tilly and Molly, also establishing her condemnation of the societal stigma of this isolated town. Tilly starts making haute couture outfits to transform the lives of the women in the town and help them present themselves as more desirable and elevate their ranks. However, the townspeople still see Tilly negatively, except for some individuals who are able to look past the opinions of others and get to know Tilly themselves. Hamâs gothic novel garners the audienceâs sympathy towards the outcasts of the town and antagonises those who find pleasure in creating drama and spreading rumours about others. Â
2. Themes, Motifs and Key Ideas
Through discussing themes, motifs, and key ideas , weâll gain a clearer understanding of some super important ideas to bring out in your essays. Remember, that when it comes to themes, thereâs a whole host of ways you can express your ideas - but this is what Iâd suggest as the most impressive method to blow away the VCAA examiners. Throughout this section, we'll be adhering to the CONVERGENT and DIVERGENT strategy to help us easily find points of similarity and difference. This is particularly important when it comes to essay writing, because you want to know that you're coming up with unique comparative points (compared to the rest of the Victorian cohort!). I don't discuss this strategy in detail here, but if you're interested, check out How To Write A Killer Comparative . I use this strategy throughout this discussion of themes and in the next section, Comparative Essay Prompt Example.
Similarities and Differences (CONVERGENT and DIVERGENT Ideas)
Social class .
Both The Crucible and The Dressmaker talk extensively about class. By class, what I mean is the economic and social divisions which determine where people sit in society. For instance, we could say that the British Royals are âupper classâ, whilst people living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to get by are âlower classâ.
Ultimately, both The Crucible and The Dressmaker are set in classist societies where there is no opportunity for social advancement. Whilst Thomas Putnam steals the land of poor Salemites accused of witchcraft, the McSwineys are left to live in absolute poverty and never leave the âtipâ where they have lived for generations. Dungatar and Salem view this social division as a âgivenâ and reject the idea that there is anything wrong with certain people living a life of suffering so others can have lives of wealth and pleasure. As such, for both Salem and Dungatar, the very idea that anyone could move between the classes and make a better life for themselves is inherently dangerous. What we can see here is that class shapes the way communities deal with crisis. Anything that overturns class is dangerous because it challenges the social order â meaning that individuals such as Reverend Parris in The Crucible , or Councillor Pettyman in The Dressmaker may lose all their power and authority.
For The Crucible , thatâs precisely why the witchcraft crisis is so threatening, as the Salemites are prepared to replace Reverend Parris and deny his authority. Although Abigail and the group of girls thus single-handedly overturn Salemâs class structures and replace it with their own tyranny, Parrisâ original intention was to use their power to reinforce his authority. In The Dressmaker , Tilly is threatening because she doesnât neatly fit in to Dungatarâs class structure. Having travelled the outside world, she represents a worldly mindset and breadth of experiences which the townspeople know they cannot match.
For this theme, thereâs a DIVERGENCE of ideas too, and this is clear because the way that class is expressed and enforced in both texts is vastly different. For The Crucible , itâs all about religion â Reverend Parrisâ assertion that all Christians must be loyal to him ensures the class structure remains intact. More than that, to challenge him would be to challenge God, which also guides Danforth in executing those who donât follow his will. In the case of The Dressmaker , thereâs no central authority who imposes class on Dungatar. Rather, the people do it themselves; putting people back in their place through rumour and suspicion. However, by creating extravagant, expensive dresses for the townspeople, Tilly inadvertently provides people with another way to express class. Â
Isolated Communities
CONVERGENT:
The setting forms an essential thematic element of The Crucible and The Dressmaker . Both communities are thoroughly isolated and, in colloquial terms, live in the âmiddle of no-whereâ.
However, what is starkly different between the texts is how this isolation shapes the respective communitiesâ self-image. For Salem, its citizens adopt a mindset of religious and cultural superiority â believing that their faith, dedication to hard work and unity under God make them the most blessed people in the world. Individuals as diverse as Rebecca Nurse and Thomas Putnam perceive Salem to be a genuinely incredible place. They see Salem as the first battleground between God and the Devil in the Americas, and as such, construct a grand narrative in which they are Godâs soldiers protecting his kingdom. Even the name âSalemâ references âJerusalemâ, revealing that the Salemites see themselves as the second coming of Christ, and the fulfilment of the Bibleâs promises.
Not much of the same can be said for The Dressmaker . Dungatar lacks the same religious context, and the very name of âDungatarâ references âdungâ, or beetle poop. The next part of the name is 'tar', a sticky substance, creating the impression that Dungatar's people are stuck in their disgusting ways. The townspeople of Dungatar are acutely aware of their own inadequacy, and that is why they fight so hard to remain isolated from the outside world. Tilly is therefore a threat because she challenges their isolation and forces the men and women of Dungatar to reconsider why their community has shunned progress for so long. In short, she makes a once-isolated people realise that fear, paranoia, division and superstition are no way to run a town, and brings them to acknowledge the terribly harmful impacts of their own hatred.
On top of that, because Salem is literally the only Christian, European settlement for miles, it is simply impossible for them to even think about alternatives to their way of life. They are completely isolated and thus, all of their problems come from âwithinâ and are a result of their own division. For Dungatar, itâs a mix of societal issues on the inside being made worse by the arrival of people from the outside. The township is isolated, but unlike Salem, it at least has contact with the outside world. All Tilly does, therefore, is show the people of Dungatar an alternative to their way of life. But, for a community used to the way they have lived for decades, it ultimately contributes to its destruction.
By the way, to download a PDF version of this blog for printing or offline use, click here !
3. Comparative Essay Prompt Example
The following essay topic breakdown was written by Lindsey Dang. If you'd like to see a completed A+ essay based off this same essay topic, then check out LSG's A Killer Comparative Guide: The Crucible & The Dressmaker , written by 50 study scorer and LSG tutor, Jordan Bassilious!
[Modified Video Transcription]
Compare the ways in which outcasts are treated in The Crucible and The Dressmaker.
Before writing our topic sentences, we need to look at our key words first. The keywords in this prompt are outcasts and treated .
So, who are considered outcasts in the two texts? Outcasts can be those of traditionally lower classes, they can be characters with physical flaws, those that are different to others or those who do not abide by the standards of their respective societies.
- In The Crucible : Tituba, Abigail, John Proctor or even Martha Giles can be considered as outcasts.
- In The Dressmaker : We can consider Tilly, Molly, The McSwineys, etc.
We also need to look our second key word âtreatedâ. How would we describe the treatment towards these characters? Are they treated nicely or are they mistreated and discriminated against? Do ALL members of that community have that same treatment towards those outcasts or are there exceptions? Remember this point because we might be able to use this to challenge the prompt.
Weâre going to skip Step 2: Brainstorm today, but if youâre familiar with LSG teachings, including the THINK and EXECUTE strategy discussed in my How To Write A Killer Text Response ebook, then youâll be good for this part.
Step 3: Create a Plan
Both texts portray outcasts as victims of relentless accusations or rumours, seeking to engage the pathos of the audience towards those who are marginalised.
- In The Crucible , Tituba the âNegro slaveâ is the first person to be accused by witchcraft in Salem. Her âconsequent low standingâ is also shown through her use of language âYou beg me to conjure! She beg me make charmâ which is fraught with grammatical errors, compared to Judge Danforth who uses legal jargon and the Putnams who are much more well-spoken.
- Similarly, the McSwineys are also those of lower class and are seen as the outcasts of Dungatar. Their names show us their position in the social hierarchy because they are associated with swines which are pigs. This is confirmed by Sergeant Farrat who said âTeddy McSwiney was, by the natural order of the town, an outcast who lived by the tipâ. Even when Teddy McSwiney died, the townspeople still did not reflect on the impacts that their prejudice and bigotry had on him, eventually forcing the McSwineys to leave the town because they could not find a sense of belonging living there.
- Tilly is also poorly treated due to the fact that she is fatherless, being bullied by the kids at school especially Stewart Pettyman and also used by William as a leverage to marry Gertrude, threatening Elsbeth that âitâs either her [Gertrude] or Tilly Dunnageâ
- Also discuss Giles Coreyâs death and the significance of his punishment as the stones that are laid on his chest can be argued to symbolise the weight of authority
Miller and Ham also denounce the ways in which outcasts are maltreated due to their position in the social hierarchy through his antagonisation of other townspeople.
- Thereâs also a quote on this by Molly âBut you donât matter â itâs open slather on outcasts'. Herein, she warns the audience of how quickly outcasts can become victims of rumours and accusations as the term âslatherâ carries negative connotations.
- Similarly, the theocracy that governs Salem dictates the rights of their people and children. He specifically states 'children were anything but thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak', which explains the girlsâ extreme fear of being whipped. Salem is very violent to children, slaves and helpers and it can be seen that this is the result of the social hierarchy and the Puritan ideology.
- For The Dressmaker , also discuss the ways in which they name others in this quote âdaughter of Mad Molly is back â the murderess!â Likewise discuss how Goody Osbourne the âdrunkard half-wittedâ and Sarah Good an old beggar woman are the first ones to be named. You can talk about Martha who is accused of being a witch just because she has been âreading strange booksâ, and Sarah Good due to the mere act of âmumblingâ. The normality of these actions underlines the absurdity of the accusations made against these individuals, furthering Millerâs chastisement of the fictitious nature of the trials and also the ways in which outcasts are the first to be scapegoated.
However, there are still characters that are driven by their sense of morality or remorse instead of mistreating the outcasts of their community.
- Both Sergeant Farrat and Proctor are motivated by their remorse to make amends. Proctorâs evasion of âtearing the paperâ and finding âhis goodnessâ is motivated by his desire to atone for his sin (having committed adultery with Abigail), and Sergeant regretted sending Tilly away. He, in his eulogy, says âif you had included [Tilly], Teddy would have always been with usâ, expressing his regret for the ways outcasts are treated in Dungatar. Similarly, Teddy McSwiney also has a pure relationship with Tilly and treats her differently instead of judging her based on the rumours about her being a âmurderessâ.
- While those who can sympathise with outcasts in The Dressmaker are either outcasts themselves or are remorseful (or both), there are those in The Crucible that are purely and solely motivated by their moral uprightness. Rebecca Nurse is neither an outcast (as she is highly respected for her wisdom) nor remorseful (as she has remained kind and pure from the beginning of the play). She is always the voice of reason in the play and tries to stop authoritative figures from convicting and prosecuting outcasts. A quote you can use would be âI think you best send Reverend Hale back as soon as he come. This will set us all to arguinâ again in the society, and we thought to have peace this year'.
4. Sample Essay Topics
1. 'I sayâI sayâGod is dead.' âJohn Proctor, The Crucible . Explore how communities respond to crisis.
2. People must conform to societal expectations in The Crucible and The Dressmaker . Do you agree?
3. Discuss how The Crucible and The Dressmaker use textual features to convey the authorâs perspective.
4. Gender repression is rife in both The Crucible and The Dressmaker . Discuss.
Now it's your turn! Give these essay topics a go. If you're interested in reading a 50 study scorer's completed essays based off these 4 essay topics, along with annotations so you can understand his thinking process, then I would highly recommend checking out LSG's A Killer Comparative Guide: The Crucible & The Dressmaker.
This blog has written contributions from Lindsey Dang.
Download a PDF version of this blog for printing or offline use
Understanding Context in The Crucible and The Dressmaker
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham
Most people commonly mistake Comparative (also known as Reading and Comparing, and an array of other names) as just two Text Responses rolled into one essay. They think that Comparative is Text Response, except that instead of writing about one text, youâre writing about two.
And boy are they wrong.
Most people are also aware that the main difference is that Comparative looks at similarities and differences between the two texts. However, this is where the challenge begins.
As you study your texts in detail, youâll come to realise that the majority of students keep using the same old examples â example X for similarities, and example Y for differences.
To stand out from hundreds of other students studying the same texts, you need a strategy. You need something that will wow your examiners and will catapult you to the top of the VCE cohort.
*Drum roll*
Introducing you to my golden rule, the CONVERGENT and DIVERGENT STRATEGY!
This strategy is simple. Itâs simple to understand and itâs simple to incorporate into your essays. Its beauty is that despite its simplicity, itâll advance your essay beyond the average English student. All my students who have applied this strategy have seen their English scores improve by at least one grade (from B+ to an A, or from an A to A+).
Let me explain.
PART 1 â CONVERGENTÂ
The word, âconvergentâ means coming closer together . When we start looking for similarities in Comparative, keep this word CONVERGENT in mind. Having CONVERGENT at the forefront of your mind will ensure that you are always aware of the fact that your examples are never the same. Notice how the blue arrows never touch:
Sometimes, students fall into the trap of referring to examples in each text as the âsame,â but this wonât ever happen to you if you keep CONVERGENT in mind. No two texts are ever exactly the same, no two examples are exactly the same , so avoid falling into this trap.Â
Instead, youâll be using phrases like: "similarly to Text 1, Text 2 alsoâŚ" or "likewise, in Text 2âŚ.â"
Awesome! So this is the simple part done. Letâs move onto the most powerful part of this strategy - DIVERGENT.
PART 2 â DIVERGENT
The word âdivergentâ means developing in different directions. We can use the CONVERGENT and DIVERGENT strategy for any example you include in your essay. Since no examples from two texts are exactly the same, this means there is always an opportunity for you to first compare the similarities, then compare the differences.
Rather than just a simple âon the other handâ or âhoweverâ, which you probably have written a dozen times, and felt like youâre repeating yourself, we show you advanced ways to DIVERGE as in this example for Photograph 51 and The Penelopiad:
In The Penelopiad , the resigned way in which Penelope confides in the reader alludes definitively to the âoverlooked womanâ stereotype being, in fact, a very well-used one. Atwood (the author of The Penelopiad ) does, however, accord some power to Penelope by ensuring that she alone tells her own story, a privilege which is not given to Rosalind in Photograph 51 .
See how in this example, we donât even use the overused comparative words such as âhoweverâ or âon the other handâ which can make a comparative feel simple. Instead, we show you unique ways to compare the two texts so that your essay stands out amongst all the others that are just using the same old words and methods to compare.
If youâve ever received feedback that you needed to âelaborate,â âgo into more detail,â or needed âmore analysis â in your essays, this strategy will help eliminate those criticisms. It will also show your teacher that you are comfortable writing an in-depth analysis using fewer examples (because youâll be spending more time on each example - firstly by discussing a similarity, then a difference), rather than swamping your essay with as many examples as possible because you barely have anything to say about each one.
Too many students miss out on the opportunity to elaborate or expand on an example because they only write about either the similarity or the difference. But with the CONVERGENT and DIVERGENT strategy, we can see that no matter what example you choose from each text, there is always an opportunity to discuss both similarities and differences . This is an extremely powerful approach to comparative because it enables you to spend time comparing, rather than getting lots of examples of for one text in the first half of your body paragraph, slapping in an âon the other handâ in the middle, then lots of examples for the second text in the second half of the body. I see students doing this all the time, pretending to compare these examples when theyâre not - you know what I mean right? Weâve all been there once or twice - so youâre not alone in doing this if youâve tried in the past. The thing is, with examiners, in particular, theyâre really good at noticing when a paragraph looks like itâs a comparison, rather than a truly in-depth comparison between the two texts.
Thatâs why in my How To Write A Killer Comparative , I show you how to use CONVERGENT and DIVERGENT in multiple essay examples across many text pairs. Itâs not just about one way of comparing similarities too, itâs all the different ways to can discuss âsimilaritiesâ - what I mean is, it can be easy to slip into a template of âsimilarly to text A, text B does this byâŚâ but in this study guide, written by myself, and study scorers who have achieved 50 in English , we show you how to unique discuss comparisons. We also show you how to advance your comparative discussion through Advanced Essay Paragraph Structures which truly showcase the power of the CONVERGENT and DIVERGENT strategy.
COMPARATIVE GUIDES
How to Write a Killer Comparative Ebook
A Killer Comparative Guide: The Crucible and The Dressmaker
A Killer Comparative Guide: I am Malala and Pride
A Killer Comparative Guide: The 7 Stages of Grieving and The Longest Memory
A Killer Comparative Guide: Ransom and The Queen
USEFUL RESOURCES
The Ultimate Guide To VCE Comparative
â Reading and Comparing essays
â How to get A+ in Reading and Comparing
Compare the Pair: A guide to Structuring a Reading and Comparing essay
Can you believe itâs already 2021? To kick off the year in VCE English, youâll probably be working on your Oral Presentation sometime soon. The past year has flown by, but so much has happened in that year - there are plenty of juicy and controversial topics to get stuck into for your SAC.
Each heading below represents a broad topic and each subheading under it takes you into more specific debates. A more precise topic can make your speech more engaging and current, so feel free to pick a broad issue that resonates with you but donât forget to zoom in on more specific questions too.
If you havenât already, check out our Ultimate Guide to Oral Presentations for some general tips and tricks to get you started!
1. Working From Home
ICYMI, thereâs been this global pandemic going around for about a year now. Itâll probably come up in a few speeches this year, but letâs work through some more specific ways of using it in yours.
First up is working from home. In 2020, a lot of people spent a lot of time working from home - but this hasnât been possible for everyone, meaning that it could be worsening certain forms of inequality. âEssential workersâ like supermarket clerks and delivery drivers have not been able to work from home, which might put them at a disadvantage when it comes to the flexibility or even the conditions of their work. Conversely, a â tax on remote workers â has been proposed which would see people pay a 5% tax if they chose to work from home instead.
Is working from home all that itâs chalked up to be? Is it a positive sign of flexibility, or a widening gap between the manual working class and white-collar professionals? What can we learn about working from home now that we can apply to the future? Is it the environmentally responsible thing to do?
The hidden impact of the coronavirus pandemic is rising urban inequality â 26/11/2020 â Rebound in carbon emissions expected in 2021 after fall caused by Covid â 11/12/2020
Possible Contentions:Â
- All workplaces, especially those with essential manual or physical labour, should provide paid health and safety training to staff who are for example more at risk of disease
- A working from home tax is a bad idea - it encourages people to commute and pollute. We should look to ways of promoting flexibility and sustainability instead
- Casual workers in manual professions should be given paid sick leave and other entitlements to make their jobs as flexible as remote office workers
2. Education
You mightâve spent 2020 learning from home too. Everything happened pretty quickly right at the start of the year, but as the months wore on it became clearer that some students were adjusting better than others. In particular, â digital exclusion â became a big problem for many students around the country. Inequality is once again a big theme: access to the internet and other technology is vastly uneven, and students who were already dealing with things like mental ill-health were set further back by remote learning. Even though the Victorian government applied special considerations to all Year 12 students in 2020, this is far from a long-term fix.
What can be done about the education system to make it fairer, or even just to make it work better for you? Is it an issue with technology, or are there underlying problems around, say, mental health and wellbeing? Maybe itâs time to axe the ATAR system - would a new scoring system solve these problems?
Coronavirus kept Victorian students out of class. This is what we know about long-term effects of school closures â 21/09/2020 â Government must address barriers to education in rural and remote areas, inquiry finds â 12/11/2020 â The ATAR Benefits No-One: Reflections of a âHigh-Achieverâ â 02/11/2020 (yes this is a shameless plug for my own piece)
Possible Contentions :Â
- The government should supply public schools with tech for every student, including iPads and broadband devices
- The government should implement a needs-based approach to technology in schools
- Schools need engagement staff as well as teaching staff: COVID-19 has shown just how easy it is for students to disconnect
- Replace the ATAR with something that measures skills and interests, rather than just results
The Climate Crisis
1. the paris agreement.
The Paris Agreement is an international agreement that was signed a little over five years ago. It binds every country to a commitment of carbon neutrality by 2050 - this means that everyone will be taking as much CO2 out of the atmosphere as we emit. Part of the Agreement is that countries have to commit to new, increasingly ambitious plans every five years, and this deadline has just passed.
How did we do, you might ask. While the mid-century goal still stands, the five-year increment isnât looking fantastic - most countries , including Australia , havenât strengthened their climate targets. The Prime Minister was even snubbed out of a speaking slot at a UN climate summit, some suggest because of his inaction on climate. None of this has really snatched headlines though.
Is this something that youâve been following? If not, is it a problem that this news isnât really getting out there? What can Australia do better with regard to the climate crisis?
The Paris agreement five years on: is it strong enough to avert climate catastrophe? â 08/12/2020 â The Paris Agreement 5 years on: big coal exporters like Australia face a reckoning â 14/12/2020 â Australia records fourth hottest year as it risks being isolated globally on climate change â 05/01/2021
- Australia needs to be proactive on the Paris Agreement, rather than doing the bare minimum
- Australia needs to transition away from coal
- Our countryâs lack of climate action is a great source of shame, particularly for young Australians who want a better future
- The Australian media should take the climate crisis more seriously
2. Environmental Racism
One aspect of the climate crisis weâre starting to talk about more now is environmental racism. The term started in the US , where it was used to describe the disproportionate impacts of environmental problems like pollution on working class people of colour. That doesnât mean it doesnât apply in Australia though - earlier in 2020 , a sacred Aboriginal site was blasted by Rio Tinto in order to expand a mine. Now, taxpayer money is being set aside for fracking in the Northern Territory. This will have an adverse impact on not only the climate, but also the local water quality on which First Nations communities depend.
What can be done about environmental racism? Is it about making changes in government, or about activism from outside the halls of power? If environmental racism is the problem, is there a solution that can tackle both problems at once? Is it even accurate to refer to them as two separate problems?
The young Indigenous woman fighting fracking in remote NT â 11/11/2020 â $50 Million Hand-Out to Northern Territory Frackers â 17/12/2020 â Fighting not just to survive, but to flourish â 21/12/2020 â Making sense of Australiaâs climate exceptionalism â 01/01/2021
- Indigenous land rights is not just a social movement: it could help us avoid environmental disaster as well
- Politicians are too reliant on fossil fuel companies: we need more grassroots activism around climate justice
- Fracking is dangerous, its impacts disproportionately affect BIPOC communities and as such it should be banned
3. A Carbon Price?
This topic was kind of on our 2020 topic list , but the debate around climate action has changed a little bit since. A carbon price would make the atmosphere a commodity basically - corporations would have to pay in order to pollute.
But maybe thatâs still giving them too much power? If you can just pay your way out of environmental responsibility, whoâs to stop you from polluting? Maybe there isnât a capitalistic or free-market solution to carbon emissions - maybe we need to rethink our entire relationship with land and country. What can and should Australia learn from its First People in this regard?
Australiaâs plants and animals have long been used without Indigenous consent. Now Queensland has taken a stand â 16/09/2020 â âAs an Australian it will affect you. Itâs your land as wellâ: Indigenous tourismâs new online travel agency â 03/12/2020 â What is cultural burning? â 31/12/2020 â The barriers to a carbon fee and dividend policy â 07/01/2021
- A carbon price is still necessary, but itâs a stepping stone in a larger conversation
- Putting a price on excessive pollution isnât the same as creating laws to prevent it: as such, it is no longer enough
1. First Nations Justice
You might recall the huge impact that George Floydâs death had on conversations about race around the world. Though this erupted in a wave of furore last June, the conversation has been shifting ever since. In Australia, weâve been grappling in particular with First Nations justice. While the Prime Minister âs made attempts to unify the country through certain words and gestures, First Nations leaders such as Lidia Thorpe , the first Indigenous senator from Victoria, have been calling for something more substantive. In the meantime, police brutality against First Nations people continues.
Where to from here? What does the future of First Nations justice look like in Australia, and what is the role of leaders like Ms Thorpe? Where do non-Aboriginal folks fit into this? What could we do better?
Lidia Thorpe: Victoria's first Aboriginal senator urges end to deaths in custody and mass incarceration â 09/09/2020 â âWe have the fight in usâ: Lidia Thorpeâs incredible journey to historic place in the Victorian Senate â 23/09/2020 â 'Unfinished business': Senator Lidia Thorpe on fighting for Treaty for Indigenous Australians â 10/12/2020 â Can we breathe? â 31/12/2020
- Reconciliation is an outdated term; it implies two parties are coming together as equals, when history would tell us otherwise
- Lidia Thorpeâs election is the first step in a longer journey towards representation, truth-telling and self-determination
- Even after the #BlackLivesMatter movement in 2020, we still a long way to go with anti-racism
- Australia is far from a multicultural utopia: we need to learn to treat politicians like Lidia Thorpe with more respect
2. Refugees
In 2019, the âmedevacâ bill allowed refugees to be brought to mainland Australia for medical care. That bill has since been repealed, but it did allow some refugees to leave their detention centres and receive medical treatment. 60 of them have now been detained in various Melbourne hotels for over a year now. In December, they were moved to a former COVID-19 quarantine hotel, where they will continue to be isolated and detained.
What injustices (plural) are going on here? Did medevac force us to confront our out-of-sight-out-of-mind asylum seeker policy? And if this isnât the impetus we need to shut offshore detention once and for all, what exactly will it take?
The Mantra 60 should be freed from torture. Hereâs why the Coalition wonât do it â 15/12/2020 â Former mayor among protesters arrested as police escort refugees and asylum seekers to new Melbourne hotel â 17/12/2020 â Refugees and asylum seekers moved from Mantra hotel in Melbourne â 17/12/2020 â âWe are human, we are not animalsâ: Mantra refugees transferred to another hotel â 17/12/2020
- Bring back medevac: it was a bare minimum policy to begin with, and itâs unconscionable that it would be repealed, thereby denying sick people healthcare
- Australiaâs refugee policy is as lazy as it is harmful: something needs to change
- The hotel industry is profiting off detention and we should consider boycotting chains like Mantra
3. COVID-Related Racism
This couldâve gone in the first section, but it poses important questions about ongoing and future race relations in Australia. During 2020, Asian Australians and particularly those with Chinese heritage experienced a sharp increase in racially-provoked harassment. Towards the end of the year, Chinese Australians were asked in a Senate committee hearing to condemn the Chinese Communist Party, which many have described as race-baiting. Many Australians with Chinese heritage have no relation to the Chinese government, so itâs jarring that theyâd be called upon to give an opinion like this.
How does race still impact civic life in Australia? If youâre Australian, should you be expected to have opinions about or deny loyalties to foreign governments? Does it matter what race you are, and if so, how is that problematic?
Chinese Australians say questions from Senator Eric Abetz about their loyalties are not asked of other communities â 15/10/2020 â Eric Abetz refuses to apologise for demanding Chinese-Australians denounce Communist party â 16/10/2020 â More than eight in 10 Asian Australians report discrimination during coronavirus pandemic â 02/11/2020 â Too many men in pin-striped suits â 10/12/2020 (this is an interesting one that also touches on gender and class in civic life)
- Politicians are increasingly out of touch with Australiaâs diverse communities because they are just so overwhelmingly undiverse
- Again, Australia is not a multicultural utopia. When times get tough, the racism really jumps out
- Australians are yet to confront the reality that there are Chinese Australians (which sounds like a joke, but based on these articles isnât really a joke) - their behaviour continues to âotherâ people who actually really are Australian, telling them they somehow donât belong
- More people of colour should run for public office; this starts with civic empowerment in schools
1. Representation
As it turns out, journalism isnât a very diverse profession. When issues about disability come up, for example, theyâre often covered by abled journalists in a âpity partyâ or âinspiration pornâ manner. When issues about race come up, itâs also often white people who cover them, usually with racist undertones as well. We started seeing a bit of this in 2020: the stories that kept coming up about people breaking COVID restrictions were often targeting minorities - their names and faces would be splashed across newspaper front pages, while their white counterparts were afforded privacy and forgiven for making a mistake.
How fair is the media landscape towards people from minority backgrounds? What different forms might racism and ableism take in the media, and how can we overcome them? Is it as simple as allowing disabled people to tell their own stories, for example?
Muslims, Chinese Australians and Indigenous people most targeted in racist media coverage â 11/11/2020 â âDouble standardâ: Experts weigh in on publicly shaming only certain COVID rule-breakers â 22/12/2020
- The media landscape isnât fair towards minorities: stereotypes can be subtle but persistent
- Journalism schools should create more scholarships for diverse applicants
- Australian media should adopt a code of ethics around representation of minorities
This may or may not come as a surprise to you, but young people are also one of the groups that are likely to be underrepresented in the media. A report from the Foundation for Young Australians found that there were not only less stories about young people in the media in 2020, but barely half of them actually quoted a young person.
Again, we return to questions around representation - does the media have an ethical obligation to let young people tell their own stories? How much do you, as a young person, trust the media to accurately depict you? What can be done about this?
Young People Have Been Pretty Much Ignored By The Media During COVID â 28/10/2020 â Research Report: mainstream media either ignores young Australians or castigates them â 21/12/2020
- Young people can no longer trust the media, and this is detrimental to civic society
- There needs to be a national youth broadcaster, kind of like the ABC, run by young people for young people
Remember Kevin Rudd? The former Prime Minister has been making waves recently for starting a parliamentary petition for a royal commission into media diversity. The petition was signed by a record 501,876 people, and it looks like the commission - a bit like a government inquiry - will go ahead. The âmedia diversityâ in question isnât about race or disability though - itâs more about media ownership. In Australia, Rupert Murdoch owns almost two-thirds of metropolitan media circulation. Heâs also a climate sceptic , which means a large chunk of his media output is also climate-sceptic.
What is the role of media in democracy, and can it still fulfill that role if one person gets to own so much of it? What are some ways Murdoch has used his influence, and what have been the consequences for the Australian people? What should the royal commission look to now achieve?
Petition calling for media royal commission and setting Australian record tabled in Parliament â 09/11/2020 â Rudd and Turnbull will be called to give evidence at Senate inquiry into media diversity â 11/11/2020 Â
- Because the media holds government to account in the eyes of the people, one person owning this much of the media gives them too much power
- Australiaâs climate inaction is a direct result of Murdochâs media empire, and we need to break it apart to get honest debate and coverage
Pop Culture
In December 2020, the Australian singer Sia was caught in a bit of Twitter beef. She defended casting Maddie Ziegler, an abled actress, in a disabled role for her upcoming film. Disability justice activists argued that autistic people should be able to portray themselves, and that roles for autistic people should be written by them as well. Sia later admitted this was âableismâ, but didnât back down on her decision.
What is the appropriate way for celebrities and creatives to approach representation? Without debating anyoneâs actual identity, how can the film industry do better here?
Sia opens up about lashing out on Twitter to defend her new film â 19/12/2020Â
- Abled people shouldnât write roles for disabled people, nor should they play these roles; if a disabled person canât play the role, then it isnât appropriate in the first place
- Cancel culture isnât a thing, given how comfortable Sia feels admitting to ableism and then committing to her decision anyway
- We shouldnât cancel people, but we still need new ways to really hold them to account: otherwise, they can still get away with discrimination
The Grammy Awards have been oft-criticised for racial biases, including once again in this year âs coming ceremony. Black artists like Beyonce are often relegated to subcategories like R&B and rap - of her 24 Grammy Awards, only one was awarded in a major category (Best Music Video in 2017 for âFormationâ). Meanwhile, she was arguably snubbed for Album of the Year wins in both 2017 (Adele won) and 2015 (Beck won). Now though, the Grammys are hoping to #ChangeMusic and acknowledge the contributions of Black artists to the industry.Â
What should this look like? Are award wins all it will take? Is a change for the future enough to fix wrongs of the past? Maybe awards arenât even that important - is cultural impact what really matters?
#ChangeMusic Roadmap aims to redress racism in music industry â 17/12/2020Â
- The cultural impact of Bla(c)k artists canât be measured through awards
- Awards are a necessary first step to acknowledging Bla(c)k talent in the music industry
- Radios stations should make more of an effort to diversify their sets, particularly when local BIPOC talent in Australia is at an all-time high (think Thelma Plum, Sampa the Great etc.)
Be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to Oral Presentations for more advice on how to write your speech, presentation tips and more. Or, if you really want to dive in further to make sure you absolutely nail your Oral, then you'll definitely want to check out our How To Write A Killer Oral Presentation ebook - it explores essay structure, the written explanation and even has sample A+ essays so that you can learn from past students who have succeeded in VCE!!
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Frankenstein - Free Essay Samples And Topic Ideas
Frankenstein is a novel by Mary Shelley, often heralded as one of the first pieces of science fiction, exploring themes of creation, ambition, and the moral implications of scientific advancement. Essays on âFrankensteinâ could delve into these themes, the character analysis of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature, and the novelâs enduring legacy in literature and popular culture. Moreover, discussions might extend to the novelâs influence on the genre of science fiction and horror. A substantial compilation of free essay instances related to Frankenstein you can find at Papersowl. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.
Novel âFrankensteinâ : Roles of Gender
Throughout reading the novel Frankenstein, I thought it was indeed interesting how Mary Shelley incorporated themes of gender and the aspect of creation. Mary Shelley uses her own life experiences to shape her works and to gain ideas to integrate social issues into her work. Mary Shelley portrays the problems and incorporates them throughout the book and touches on the aspect of social hierarchies of gender, which inherently value men over women. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, issues of gender and [âŚ]
Who is the Real Monster in Frankenstein
Monsters in literature are normally characterized as a creature that possesses some type of inhuman qualities or deformities, is perceived as evil, and has no compassion for mankind. The term monster can also refer to a person who has done a terrible thing in life that poorly affects others around them. In literature, outcasts are people who are not wanted and are rejected by society. In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, many readers label the creature as a monster [âŚ]
The American and the French Revolutions
The right of revolution was an idea proposed by Enlightenment Philosopher John Locke, which inspired and challenged the colonies in America and the people of France to revolt. Displeased with their current positions with their governments, they mustered up the courage and strength to challenge authority. Through their battles and hardships, both revolutions sought a government that mirrored the Enlightenment beliefs of natural rights, power of the people, and equality. With those goals in mind, they demonstrated the idea that [âŚ]
We will write an essay sample crafted to your needs.
Gothic Elements in Frankenstein
Mary Shelley lived and wrote her novel Frankenstein during the peak of the romantic era of literature in the early 1800's. She shows this as her work reflects many of the key elements that are associated with romanticism. In Frankenstein, Shelley also utilizes many of the elements of gothic literature. Shelley uses many of the conventions aligned with romantic and gothic literature in Frankenstein's setting, subject matter, characterization, and plot to portray her overall tone and mood in the novel. [âŚ]
Physical Appearance in Frankenstein
The main theme in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is the importance of appearance which correlates to the idea of acceptance in modern society. Today's society, as well as in the society of Frankenstein, people judge one often solely on their looks. Social prejudice is often based on looks, whether it be the pigments that make up someone's skin color, the facial features that one has and the clothes that a person wears. Society makes rapid judgments based on these and other [âŚ]
Differences between French, Russian and American Revolutions
A revolution is a successful attempt made by a large group of people to change / challenge the political system of their country. People who are willing to engage and take action in a revolution are trying to fix the struggles in justice, reminding people not to forget the future against the past. People who want to change the political system are looking out for the future of their country. Revolution was the only way average people or citizens felt [âŚ]
Frankenstein Revenge
In her novel ?Frankenstein?, Mary Shelley shows that both Frankenstein and his creature are obsessed with revenge through their strong emotional language and obsessive actions, yet neither of them wins and gets revenge in the end. After Victor Frankenstein is threatened by the creature after destroying his nearly complete bride, Frankenstein states that he â?burned with rage to pursue the murderer of my peace and precipitate him into the ocean. I walked up and down my room hastily and perturbed, [âŚ]
Family Relations and Alienation in âFrankensteinâ
In today's fast-paced world, it is important to build connections and relationships with people and society. Being able to bond with surroundings, is key for living a healthy and happy life. Family is what helps humans build their foundations and are able to learn and succeed with the support of them. In Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, the lack of connection the characters have to either their family or society leads them to murder, hopelessness and tragedy. Specifically Victor and his [âŚ]
Shelley about Romanticism Versus the Enlightenment
In the novel, "Frankenstein," Mary Shelley uses various elements of both mysterious and romantic literature to convey her indictment of the Enlightenment thinking over the use of her characters displayed throughout the novel. Being written in the time of the Romantic era, Shelley uses vivid language to portray her objection of the Enlightenment age as it influenced many people to use logical reasoning and science to disregard barbarism and superstition from the World. In Frankenstein, Shelley's response to this ideology [âŚ]
Frankenstein Dangerous Knowledge
Isolation is a dangerous act. Whether it is forced by the ones around us or a choice made by us to be alone isolation separates the victim from society damaging them emotionally. In Mary Shelleyâs Frankenstein, the monster, Frankenstein's monster, comes to know the true act of isolation. The monster was not only cast out by the townspeople but by his creator. Their prejudiced views of the monster as only that, a monster, turned him into what they truly sought [âŚ]
Frankenstein Isolation
One theme presented in Marry Shelley's book Frankenstein is the theme of isolation. Right from the beginning, someone has felt isolated from someone else. The three characters consistently developed the theme of isolation are Victor, the Creature, and Elizabeth. Though the three experience isolation, their isolation experience differs. Unlike the Creature and Elizabeth, Victor chose to isolate himself from people. This is evidenced from right when he was working on his research and when he tries to create a life. [âŚ]
Dark Romanticism
âWords have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their realityâ (Edgar Allan Poe). Dark Romanticism is a literary movement that made waves that still resonate today within modern horror and pop culture, from Frankenstein to Dracula many recognizable names came from this era of writing. From the subjects covered by the many influential authors of the era to how it still has a place within modern writing, Dark Romanticism, a writing movement that began in [âŚ]
Feminism Represented through Frankenstein Characters
Frankenstein is known all over for being about a monster that loses control and kills people, but no one talks about some of the topics that Mary Shelley portrays in the novel. This book seems male dominant. The females play a big role, but not in the way that big roles are usually played. Women seem to hide from playing a part in Frankenstein, but Mary Shelley finds a way to display feminism in the book and that is how [âŚ]
Discrimination and Prejudice in Frankenstein
During our human history, prejudice and discrimination have existed. Prejudice refers to the irrational and inflexible attitudes that members of a particular group hold about members of another group (Sibley and Duckitt 248). Prejudices are either harmful or positive. Both forms of prejudice are usually preconceived by the people who hold them and are extremely difficult to alter (Stephan, Cookie and Stephan 33). The negative form of prejudices leads to discrimination- unjust behaviors that holders of negative prejudice direct against [âŚ]
Philosophy of Dualism and Materialism in âFrankensteinâ
In Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, the philosophies of dualism and materialism can be found through the story's main characters, Victor Frankenstein and the Creature. Throughout the novel, the decisions that both make and their justifications for those decisions are rooted in both dualistic and materialistic ideas. In the scene leading up to the creation to the Creature as well as the scene itself, much of Victor's decision to even try such a feit stems from a materialistic standpoint, using science [âŚ]
The French Revolution Within Frankenstein
Almost twenty years after the end of the French Revolution, Mary Shelley published her gothic horror novel, Frankenstein, in 1818. Shelley grew up with parents who were intellectual radicals (Sterrenburg 143). Yet, she was detached from radicalism and opted for a more conservative perspective (Sterrenburg 143). She did a vast amount of readings on the French Revolution (Sterrenburg 143). By extensively studying the ideas around the revolution, it is not a surprise that they appear embedded through her work, more [âŚ]
American, French and Mexican Revolutions
When it comes to the American Revolution, there was one individual that gave American people an idea of what they should be fighting for. John Lockeâs idea of âlife, liberty, and estateâ heavily inspired Thomas Jeffersonâs âlife, liberty, and the pursuit of happinessâ when fighting against the British. So why did the Americans revolt? What beliefs did they have? One thing the American, French, and Mexican revolutions have in common is that their governments were corrupt. The Colonists called for [âŚ]
The Role of Science in Frankenstein
Mary Shelley tells a story of a scientist who creates a hideous creature in the novel Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein is an amazing, smart scientist who admired human anatomy, and soon decided to create his own creature. Who is more at fault for the monsters behavior, Victor or the monster? If you were in the monsters position would you become a murderer for revenge? The monster is often viewed as the antagonist, however is Victor Frankenstein the reason many people in [âŚ]
Frankenstein and Gothic Literature
The character's identity and outward appearance interferes with the norms of the hierarchical societies in which they live. Thus, preventing them from experiencing life outside of the isolated confinement they are subjected to. While experiencing a constant conflict with acceptance it strikes the curiosity inside them. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the experience of loneliness and obsession of science drives Victor Frankenstein to assume the role of God by reanimating a corpse. The horror presented derives from the source of control [âŚ]
Creation of Life in âFrankensteinâ
The next major aspect of the novel that I would like to focus on is the creation of Frankenstein. This will include dissecting the experience into pieces, such as the use of technology, the role of God and religion and the reason behind creating the monster. In the novel, technology is used in correlation with the creation of Frankenstein. Victor says, I collected bones from charnel houses; and distributed, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame (Shelley [âŚ]
Fosterâs Chapter âEvery Trip is a Questâ in âFrankensteinâ
In Foster's Chapter, Every Trip Is A Quest , he implies that every journey is a quest and every quest has to have a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials along the way, and a real reason to go. When a character goes on a quest, he goes with intentions on fulfilling the originally stated reason, but once he is on the quest, he never ends up going for that originally stated [âŚ]
Economic Crisis Druing the French Revolution
The economic issues made by the French kings additionally added to the Revolution. Amid the eighteenth century, the French government spent more cash than it gathered in expenses. By 1788, the nation was bankrupt. Arthur Young, an Englishmen, and spectator, who ventured out to France from 1787 to 1789 furiously portray the living conditions of the workers in his book Travels in France (Campbell, 18). The measure of expense every individual must pay is out of line. Landholders found in [âŚ]
The History of Frankenstein in Film
From the dawn of the cinematic age, both horror and science fiction films have been shown throughout every cinema available. More common, however, were films based upon previously written works such as books or plays as they were easy to adapt from one medium to another. In 1910, Edison studios released what would inevitably lead to a cultural shift around the plot of one of the most famous, if not the most famous gothic novels: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818). The [âŚ]
Isolation: Frankenstein and the Heart of Darkness
As humans we are naturally inclined to socialize with each other. There are times when we donât want to be surrounded by others and just by ourselves, but prolonging that isolation can be detrimental to oneâs psyche. Isolation can lead to stress levels rising, poor sleep, immune system dysfunction, and even cognitive depreciation (Psychology Today). In Heart of Darkness ?by Joseph Conrad, we see through Marlowâs eyes the descent of the antagonist Kurtz due to prolonged isolation in the wild [âŚ]
Technology and Morality in Shelleyâs âFrankensteinâ
In Frankenstein, Shelley addresses her concerns regarding human advancement by using a framed narrative that includes parallels, foils, and allusions in order to express that many people are unaware of the consequences of their actions because their hubris and ambition blinds them. This tends to disrupt the balance of society. Shelleyâs framed structure leads us gradually to the central ideas of her novel and has us question our own society as a whole. The intention of each narrative in the [âŚ]
Victor Frankenstein in âFrankensteinâ by Mary Shelley
Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist in the 18th century. The story begins with a letter from Captain Walton to his sister. The first letter is dated 17--. In Walton's letters, he tells his sister of his encounter with the scientist Victor Frankenstein. Victor becomes consumed with discovering the secret of creating life. In his pursuit of this knowledge, Victor creates a living creature made of body parts of corpses. Victor is successful in creating life, but [âŚ]
How Technology Changed Society
Technology has dramatically changed society in ways people never imagined. Before the dawn of modern-day technology, life was troublesome and everyday tasks like chores or transport consumed too much of humansâ effort and time. Now, because of technology human can communicate, transport, and work faster than ever. Due to the efficiency of tech, humansâ lives have been eased tremendously and almost all humans live in comfort. In the 21st Century, technology and human life are inseparable; society these days depends [âŚ]
Frankenstein Book Review
In the book âFrankensteinâ by Mary Shelley, it is clear to lay the blame upon Victor Frankenstein. The definition of blame is the assignation of responsibility towards someone/something for a fault or wrong. Victorâs love and passion for science led to a monstrous idea and ended up killing three people. While his pride was a driving force, abandoning the creature was not a smart move. Due to the fact that his idea was matched with the act of doing gives [âŚ]
Frankenstein: the Cruelty he Faced
For centuries, society has placed stereotypes on those individuals who are different. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein is an example of one specific stereotype, which is the discrimination of a person because of a physical deformity. Frankenstein shows how social prejudices against physical deformities can automatically classify a person as bad or monstrous. In gothic novels, visual codes were used to identify good from bad and socially acceptable from socially unacceptable. By using these codes, it was possible to tell if [âŚ]
Frankenstein Critical Analysis
In Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, isolation is a motif, or recurring idea with symbolic importance, revealed throughout the story between two characters, Victor Frankenstein, and his scientifically animated monster, the Creature. They both engage in acts and narratives of projecting the consequential dogma of isolation, that inevitably isolation results negatively and perpetuates misanthropy. Victor on one hand is an obsessive personality, lost in his studies he removes himself from very much human contact and engaging society. It results in his [âŚ]
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How To Write an Essay About Frankenstein
Introduction to mary shelley's frankenstein.
Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" is a seminal work of Gothic literature that explores themes of creation, responsibility, and the nature of humanity. In the introduction of your essay, set the stage by briefly summarizing the novel's plot, which centers around Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sentient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Highlight the novel's key themes, such as the dangers of unchecked scientific ambition, the quest for knowledge, and the moral implications of playing God. This introduction should provide a snapshot of the novelâs key elements and the thematic explorations you will delve into, laying the groundwork for a critical examination of Shelley's work.
Analyzing Themes and Characters
In the body of your essay, focus on a detailed exploration of the novel's central themes. Discuss the theme of creation and the consequences of Victor Frankenstein's pursuit of scientific discovery without ethical boundaries. Analyze the creatureâs development and his quest for identity and companionship, which turns into a desire for revenge against his creator. Explore the novel's exploration of isolation, both self-imposed and societal, as experienced by Victor and his creature. Additionally, examine the characters' relationships and how they contribute to the novel's themes, using specific examples from the text to support your analysis. Each paragraph should focus on a different theme or character, weaving a comprehensive understanding of Shelleyâs narrative.
The Novel's Context and Shelley's Writing
It's important to contextualize "Frankenstein" within its historical and literary background. Discuss the significance of the novel being written during the early 19th century, a time of significant scientific advancement and romantic literary movement. Explore how Shelleyâs personal experiences and the scientific context of her time influenced the themes and style of "Frankenstein." Additionally, consider the novel's structure, narrative technique, and use of symbolism and imagery. This part of the essay should demonstrate an understanding of how "Frankenstein" not only reflects the time in which it was written but also contributes to the genre of science fiction.
Concluding Reflections
Conclude your essay by summarizing the key points of your analysis and reaffirming the novel's significance in literary history. Reflect on the enduring relevance of "Frankenstein" in modern times, particularly in discussions about scientific ethics, the boundaries of human endeavor, and the consequences of technological advancement. Consider the novel's impact on readers and its role in shaping subsequent literary and cultural narratives. A strong conclusion will not only encapsulate your insights but also underscore the novel's continued importance, encouraging readers to reflect on its themes in the context of today's world.
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Analysis of Major Themes in Frankenstein by Marry Shelley
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Shelley’s Frankenstein: What It Means to Be Human Essay
Frankenstein, a ground-breaking novel by Mary Shelley published in 1818, raises important questions about what it means to be human. Mary Shelley was inspired to write the book in response to the questions arising from growing interactions between indigenous groups and European colonialists and explorers. While the native people the Europeans encountered exhibited human characteristics, the Europeans generally viewed them as inferior and less intelligent. Therefore, at that time, there was an unending debate about whether non-European ethnicities belonged to the same species as Europeans. The contestation was largely influenced by the Enlightenment led by the philosopher David Hume, who argued that there were different species of people and non-European species were “naturally inferior to the whites” (Lee 265). As a result, the native people were positioned beneath the line dividing humans from animals. This essentially meant they would only be subjects of slavery and oppression. However, Shelly’s Frankenstein runs counter to this theory and challenges the rigid notion of being a human based on a synthetic creature made of dead bodies. The book reveals what it means to be human through the creature’s actions.
When Frankenstein was released, many people were mesmerized by stories of “wild” native tribes in distant lands. Lee (267) states that during that time, the native people were judged only based on their appearance and way of life. However, going by Shelly’s progressive and broader definition, anyone would qualify to be called a human being in their own right. Shelly’s illustration even included the “savages” that her contemporaries looked down upon. Shelly uses the classic example of a creature that could survive on a vegetarian diet and climb mountains relatively easily. Her depiction of the creature through Victor Frankenstein shows that he is innately tied to the natural world (Shelley 85). However, the horrific responses he receives from others, including his creator, causes him to live in exile away from the European culture and dwell in the woods.
Furthermore, the creature’s looks make it obvious that it is not European. It stands at “nearly eight feet tall,” is far taller than the average European, and has “yellow skin” and “straight black lips” (Shelley 59). Even though a European developed him, his physical distinctiveness “the work of muscles and arteries beneath” set him apart from others (Shelley 59). Because he has been cast out of society due to his appearance, the creature is not a party to the social contract of the Enlightenment, a tacit agreement between all members of a country to protect each other’s basic rights. When the creature meets others, they fail in their duty to protect his human rights as a group, and later in the book, he murders in retaliation. The pervasive Enlightenment conception of the social contract generates an abstract divide between “civilized man” and “natural man” (Lee 275). The contract allows man to transition out of his “state of nature” and into modern society. That is why most Europeans, the moment Frankenstein was published, would not have understood how deeply connected to nature the creature or many indigenous peoples were.
Notwithstanding the deep connection to nature, the creature is human and characterized by an emotional and often compassionate personality. Despite his young age, he is almost as emotional and just as eloquent as his creator. When Felix, a young farmer whose home he stays in for a while, attacks him, he refrains from retaliation and saves a young girl only from being shot by her male companion. He frequently exhibits more moral “human” behavior than those he meets (Shelley 130). In both instances, he exhibits kindness and mercy and is unjustly assaulted by humans who misjudge him. At one time, the creature gets confronted, causing an aggressive, malicious, and vengeful reaction. However, the creature exemplifies intense guilt at the novel’s conclusion, which characterizes humanity. The creature’s depiction as physically non-European, self-educated, and yet unquestionably human can be applied to the indigenous people in nations like South America that European explorers frequently encountered. The indigenous people were characterized by their lifestyle and appearance rather than their inherent intelligence or upbringing. They can only exist in the natural world because they are not mostly allowed to live in European culture.
In conclusion, Shelley used her book, Frankenstein, to show what it means to be human through the creature’s actions. She broadens the definition of humanity by creating a progressive vision that enables those deemed less human to be regarded as completely human. The creature’s actions, when confronted, act as a caution against the risks of treating other people with indignity. Shelley’s story urges the reader to allow everyone to prove themselves before judging them based on their appearance. She advocates for fair treatment by drawing comparisons between the creature and its existence in nature and indigenous peoples worldwide, both forms of the “other.” As shown by the creature’s actions, anyone could end up becoming what is unfairly expected of them if they are not given an equal chance because of the psychological harm caused by the way they have been treated. In the end, the discovery that both the indigenous and the creature are human but are not perceived as such in civilization exposes the flaws in the prejudiced yet obscured view of humanity held by the Enlightenment.
Works Cited
Lee, Seogkwang. â Humanity in Monstrous Form: Reading Mary Shelley Frankenstein .â The Journal of East-West Comparative Literature , vol. 49, 2019, pp. 261â85, Web.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus . Legend Press, 2018.
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IvyPanda. (2023, December 17). Shelley's Frankenstein: What It Means to Be Human. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shelleys-frankenstein-what-it-means-to-be-human/
"Shelley's Frankenstein: What It Means to Be Human." IvyPanda , 17 Dec. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/shelleys-frankenstein-what-it-means-to-be-human/.
IvyPanda . (2023) 'Shelley's Frankenstein: What It Means to Be Human'. 17 December.
IvyPanda . 2023. "Shelley's Frankenstein: What It Means to Be Human." December 17, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shelleys-frankenstein-what-it-means-to-be-human/.
1. IvyPanda . "Shelley's Frankenstein: What It Means to Be Human." December 17, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shelleys-frankenstein-what-it-means-to-be-human/.
Bibliography
IvyPanda . "Shelley's Frankenstein: What It Means to Be Human." December 17, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shelleys-frankenstein-what-it-means-to-be-human/.
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Illustrate Mary Shelley's use of Romantic concepts in Frankenstein. Outline. I. Thesis Statement: Frankenstein is a classic example of literature written in the Romantic tradition. II ...
đ Frankenstein: Essay Samples List. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is famous all over the world.School and college students are often asked to write about the novel. On this page, you can find a collection of free sample essays and research papers that focus on Frankenstein.Literary analysis, compare & contrast essays, papers devoted to Frankenstein's characters & themes, and much more.
The basic statement I would suggest is: Man cannot predict the consequences of science and technology. Mary Shelley's story is a parable about modern man and the destruction he is capable of ...
Sample Essay Outlines Sample Essay Outlines Topic #1 Discuss the true nature and personality of the creature in Shelley's Frankenstein. Outline I. Thesis Statement: Although the creature behaves viciously and murders several people, he is not inherently evil or malicious. II. Creation of the creature A. The creature as a product of Victor ...
A+ Student Essay: The Impact of the Monster's Eloquence. The monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein lurches into life as big as a man but as ignorant as a newborn. He can't read, speak, or understand the rudiments of human interaction. When he stumbles upon the cottagers, however, he picks up language by observing them and studying their ...
Thesis Statement: Romantics and Gothic. Shelley's novel epitomises the ideals of the romantics, Victor at first represents the romantic fascination with imagination. This turns darkly gothic as his desire to understand the sublime leads to his obsession with scientific discovery, ultimately culminating in his downfall. Thesis Statement: Knowledge.
Thesis Statement: With the novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelly utilizes her two main characters to show what it truly means to be human, through each of the bodies and souls of the characters. Topic Sentence: Firstly we see two types of humanities represented in these two characters, humanity's presence and its absence through the cognitive ...
Open Document. Thesis Statement: In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the creature's identity as a monster is due to societal rejection, isolation, and misinterpretation. Body Paragraph One (Paragraph Two of Five) Topic Sentence: The creature continually faces societal rejection, which plays a crucial role in developing his identity as a monster.
Naomi's thesis statement is relevant since it illustrates a step-by-step analysis of the novel. The first section of her research relates Frankenstein to Milton's Paradise Lost and Prometheus legend. On the other hand, the last section describes the book to the religious nature of Mary after her husband dies (Ozherelyev 63).
4. Victor attributes his tragic fate to his relentless search for knowledge. Do you think that this is the true cause of his suffering? In what ways does the novel present knowledge as dangerous and destructive? 5. Examine the role of suspense and foreshadowing throughout the novel.
Updated on 25/12/2020. Being one of the few texts that was added to the text list this year, Euripides' play Women of Troy is definitely a daunting task for English and EAL students to tackle due to the lack of resources and essay prompts available. In fact, the only materials that can be found on the internet are those analysing the older translation of the play (titled The Trojan Women).
5. 230. In conclusion, "Frankenstein" tells of a young boy named Frankenstein who attempted to create life, though he succeeded the experiment turned out to be scary and wrecked havoc. The novel shows as much as science is innovative and interrelated with humanity, ethical issues should also be taken into consideration for most so that ...
Share Cite. I think that an interesting thesis statement that involves science in Frankenstein can involve the dangers of appropriating the world in accordance to one's own subjectivity. It is a ...
Example thesis statement for a literary analysis essay Mary Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature's narrative Frankenstein begins to resembleâeven in his own telling ...
General Statement: The lacking role of parental figures, mostly the father figure, leads children every day to self-loathing, behavior problems, poor academic performance, commitment of crimes, etc. Children, mostly boys, that grow up with that lack of a father role usually go more towards being the everyday criminals if they don't have a ...
Welcome to the Frankenstein Essay Topics page prepared by our editorial team! Here, you'll find a selection of top ideas, questions, and titles for any academic paper. We have topics about Frankenstein's literary analysis, characters, themes, and more. We will write a custom essay specifically. for you for only 11.00 9.35/page.
52 essay samples found. Frankenstein is a novel by Mary Shelley, often heralded as one of the first pieces of science fiction, exploring themes of creation, ambition, and the moral implications of scientific advancement. Essays on "Frankenstein" could delve into these themes, the character analysis of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature ...
The writer should state their argument and support it with examples from the text. The essay should have a clear thesis statement and follow it throughout. For example, the following sentence could be improved in terms of voice and sentence structure: "He scientifically builds a man in his laboratory and succeeds in giving life to it."
Frankenstein imagines himself as nothing less than the devil incarnate. However, the novel also suggests that ambition alone is not enough to cause evil and suffering. Walton is introduced as a character every bit as ambitious as Frankenstein, but Walton chooses to abandon his ambition out of duty to his crew.
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Frankenstein, a ground-breaking novel by Mary Shelley published in 1818, raises important questions about what it means to be human. Mary Shelley was inspired to write the book in response to the questions arising from growing interactions between indigenous groups and European colonialists and explorers. While the native people the Europeans ...
Table of contents. Step 1: Hook your reader. Step 2: Give background information. Step 3: Present your thesis statement. Step 4: Map your essay's structure. Step 5: Check and revise. More examples of essay introductions. Other interesting articles. Frequently asked questions about the essay introduction.
4 alienation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and to present evidence that support the essay's purpose. The essay is divided into four chapters. The first chapter contains an introduction to the history of the gothic novel, and Frankenstein's place within it, and furthermore it also tells in short the life of Mary Shelley, and how the novel came to life.