General Vision and Viewpoint, Answer

Johnerr

OK texts,
Dancing a Lughnasa
Witness
Silas Marner.

Tell me what you guys think and please add to it if you think i left out important points etc.


Each text presents us with a different view of humanity and the society in which the story is set

DAL is a particulary bleak picture of rural community in 1936. From the outset the oppression of poverty be it material or intellectual is evident as the five sisters grapple with their own personal challenges.

Brian Friel gives us the vision + viewpoint of a decent family crushed under the weight of poverty, isolation, abandonment and Catholicism.

Each sister tries to break free fom the stresses of their harsh enviroment, but all utimately fail to achieve happiness or contentment.

At the close of the play we are left with an overwhelming sense of loss and failure, these women endured, but their life circumstances and the unforgiving world they inhabited offered no respite. If one is to find any hope in this damning text, it is prehaps throught the character of the adult Micheal who seems to be a well-adjusted young mans of intergrity. We see the world through his clear-sighted eyes, and it is reassuring that he does'nt judge or blame his mother or aunts for the choices the made. His honesty and kindness offer us the hope that the Mundy family's suffering was not in vain. They succeeded in raising a young man of intregrity, with the best values of loyalty and charity in evidence in his adult treatment of the family.

Witness, offers us a window into the world of the Amish, this community is also religious and unforgiving, however unlike DAL. when Rachel and Samuel are threatened by the outside world , the entire community supports them by absorbing John Book into their world.

Unlike DAL which focus's on the Mundy household Witness explores two radically different worlds, one the world of an 1984 modern city, which is presented to us as corrupt, dangerous and fractured as a society, in contrast to the peaceful, rural supportive community of the Amish.

Witness like DAL does not present us with a fairytale ending. Here too we see the bittersweet parting of John Book and Racheal Lapp. We realise that their two worlds will never meet.





Dont really know where to take if from here so could anyone shead some light were to go from here. I have wirtten a bit more but itsnot very good so i don't want to include it so anyone want to add to the above??

Con9903

Are you expected to tie all 3 in together? We did 3 texts, but in the mocks I only referred to 2 of them in my answer, and got ok marks.

Africa

Yes i think always its three.

Johnerr

yea gona link in all three refering to two with similarites and 1 with differences
anyone got a personal essay on boland or wordsworth?

hum

well yeah unless the question states it, like sometimes the question will be broken up into two sections.. A worth 40 marks, B worth 30..
my teacher told us that from the point of view of correcting the exams that students who generally go for the questions broken in two parts(if there is one) do better.. because some people may go of the point in one section and then use the second section to bring their marks back up..

are you people learning quotes for comparative??

nobodythere

One question, do I have to write "Playboy of the Western World" out every time I wanna say it?

At the close of the play we are left with an overwhelming sense of loss and failure

I don't know whether this applies to examiners or not but personally, having not done that text, I wouldn't really know why there was a sense of loss etc. and what happened.

Shyster

grasshopa wrote:

One question, do I have to write "Playboy of the Western World" out every time I wanna say it?

Im doing it too, so in the first paragraph when you introduce the texts for your comparative say something like; "...The Playboy of the Western World (PWW) by JM Synge..."
We started shortening it to Playboy but our teacher wasnt too happy!!

Africa

wellif your doing a film, a novel and a play like i am you can shorten it to just that. Also, they dont have to be all different or all similar-just write on what they are.

Also do we have to learn quotes for these? Unfortunetly i dont have this done...

Johnerr

no quotes not important in the comparative. You can use them to back up a point or whatever but your better off using key monents to back up points and compaire and contrast etc, and you could make up quotes aswell, there not going to know

BraveheartGal

Johnerr wrote:

no quotes not important in the comparative. You can use them to back up a point or whatever but your better off using key monents to back up points and compaire and contrast etc, and you could make up quotes aswell, there not going to know

johnerr
youre a saint!!

the smiley one

grasshopa wrote:

One question, do I have to write "Playboy of the Western World" out every time I wanna say it?



I don't know whether this applies to examiners or not but personally, having not done that text, I wouldn't really know why there was a sense of loss etc. and what happened.

afaik, I don't think you have to explain everything in detail, because the examiners shouldhave a fair idea of the texts, however it would be a good idea to refer, very quickly to the tragedy at the end "ie. Father Jacks imminent death, Rose and Agnes' tragic end in a Southwark hospice etc." Something like that just to show that you no what you are talking about and haven't just read it out of notes somewhere.

In you answer, from what I've heard everyone else saying, you need to make more comparisons/contrasts. Use lotrs of linking words like; similarly, conversely, however, this is (not) the case in, a similar viewpoint is taken in, etc. use them ALL THE TIME for maximum marks The examiner puts a little "c" everytime a comparison is made and counts them up at the end....so you need lots and lots!!!!

The Failed God

Grasshopa i get what your asking n the answer is no..Just in your introduction toyour answer when your telling what texts you have studyed stick in an acryonm in paragraph like mine is..

"In my study of the texts on this years comparative course this year - "Things Fall Apart", (TFA) by Chinua Acheba, "Dancing at Lughnasa" (DAL) by Brien Friel and finally the film "Dances With Wolves" (DWW) directed and produced by Kevin Costner, I have attempted to evaluate the world created by each author/director and to come to some general conclusions or the vision and viewpoint offered by each."

Then each time your refering to a text just use the acryonm eg "The positive nature of the opening scenes in first two texts is in great contrast to that of DWW. In fact, unlike TFA and Dal which go directly from being positive texts to negative ones, DWW goes from having a pessimistic opening to and optimistic mid-section until finally finishing on a tragic note"

ALSO...If the question " What to you understand by the term general vision and viewpoint?Explain using your comparative texts? (which is the likely question im told) a tip i was told was to begin you answer with this(its is a direct quote from the english syllabus explaining what gv&vp is) "The general vision and viewpoint refers to the overall impact that the text makes on the reader and how the text communicates it characteristic sense of 'the way things are'"
You're immediatly tackling the terms of the question and its the perfect answer because its from the department of ed...

Just my 2cents...

Johnerr

BraveheartGal wrote:

johnerr
youre a saint!!

Someone on these boards gave me a sample ending to the comparative and they used a quote, you don;t have to but it looks good, the qoute was. He was talking about Eppie and Silas and how they were happy and to back it up he used the words the eppie said, ''I don;t think anyone in the world could be as happy as we are'' this just looks good on the exam paper, but u don't have to go off learning loads of quotes like for halmet or the poetry. Its up to you and i don't think you will loose marks if you dont use quotes in your comparative.

the smiley one

Johnerr wrote:

Someone on these boards gave me a sample ending to the comparative and they used a quote, you don;t have to but it looks good, the qoute was. He was talking about Eppie and Silas and how they were happy and to back it up he used the words the eppie said, ''I don;t think anyone in the world could be as happy as we are'' this just looks good on the exam paper, but u don't have to go off learning loads of quotes like for halmet or the poetry. Its up to you and i don't think you will loose marks if you dont use quotes in your comparative.

*ahem* "he" was and is a she!!

yeah, quotes look good here and there to back up a point, but you defo don't have to know and exhaustive amount... just a couple to spinkle here and there - they don't mind if you don't know your comparative texts in and out, just so long as you can compare and contrast. Quotes are esp good if you are looking for a top grade.

Johnerr

Sorry smiley one,

the smiley one

'sok...hope your comparative stuff is coming along!

randomfella

what are u comparing/contrasting your texts under?


optimistic/pessimistic
aspects of life concentrated on i.e. plot and its' impact
physical/economic enviornment
setting - time and place
how the viewpoint impacts upon characters
role of men
role of women
power and greed - insights about society / moral values
development of plot, your response

do u have to be personal?

trishemurphy

yeah its completely personal in your opinion I I I I I and DON'T really stress the don't tell the story of the text have 3 to 4 key moments in each text and don't close a paragraph until you've made a comparison even if you just say they are completely different
do ye think lit genre is a definate

randomfella

Could effects of war be used in gvv? i don't know bout literary genre being a dead cert but its more likely than theme and issue.

Cianan2

Im hoping for lterary genre....but im sorted with whatever comes up i think.

trishemurphy

randomfella wrote:

Could effects of war be used in gvv? i don't know bout literary genre being a dead cert but its more likely than theme and issue.

well i'm not too sure never discussed it in class as my text don't involve war but heres the marking scheme question ' the general v + v of texts often determine the readers nature of the readers or viewers response

**expect candidates to show either implicitly or explicity a consistent understanding of the concept of g v + v in their chosen texts
** candidates will be expected to understand and reveal explicitly how t g v +v in their texts determine the nature of the readers response
** textual reference is essential
** expect treatment, though not necessarily equal

areas from which comparisons might be drawn
-how the chose v+v impact upon the reader
-how each text reveals a physical and economic environment that causes the reader to reflect
-the readers response to how the g v +v impacts upon significant characters in each of the chosen texts
-the g v of the text and the view they take on life :is it optimistic/pessimistic, compassionate/dispassionate ? how does the reader respond to this v + v ?
-the issue of power and greed and the vision offered : what insight does this give the reader about society's values?
-the vision dipicted of the role of men/women :is it an ordinary or shocking one for the viewer
-response of the reader to the development of the plot etc
p = 21
c = 21
l = 21
m = 7

sarahg_angel69

try to use sentences like this:
usin X and Y instead of naming the texts
X is in sharp contrast to Y in the way......
again we can see that X is simialar to Y..and can see the comparison...
X and Y deal with the same issue but Y delivers it more on the .......side while X gives a more...view
there is a clear comparision between X,Y and Z
there is a strong contrast....

use them...we got handout from teacher that she got at an inservice day..loada stuff like that on it!! use bout 3 diff ones in each paragraph!!!! intertwine the three texts..dont just do paragraphs on each text!! mix them all up!!!