Revising English Literature: Understanding Prose

1 SECTION A
There are four parts to this section:
a) Will ask you comment on what you learn a about a
character in an extract (8marks).
b) Will ask you to comment on the use of language in the
extract (10 marks).
c) Will ask you to comment on the importance of a
character, relationship, setting or theme in the extract
(10 marks).
d) Will ask you to explore the importance of a character, relationship, setting or theme in one other part of the text
(12 marks).

1.1

RESPONDING TO CHARACTERS.

Activity 1: It is important to have a general understanding of the characters in order to comment on how they
are presented in the text.
1. Choose a character and complete the profile. You may choose something they say or the language
used by the writer to describe them.
Character name:
Character Trait
1

What happens to this character in

the text? Outline the key events
in which they are involved. This
will help you to think of extracts
in which they are involved.

Why is this character important in

the text? Support your answer
with examples from the text.

Evidence form the text

Activity 2: In the exam you must use examples that support the point you are making. Complete the table for
the following extract, stating some discriminating examples of evidence and what that evidence tells us about
that character.
"Really, Watson, you excel yourself," said Holmes, pushing back his chair and lighting a cigarette. "I
am bound to say that in all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own small
achievements you have habitually underrated your own abilities. It may be that you are not yourself
luminous, but you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable
power of stimulating it. I confess, my dear fellow that I am very much in your debt."
He had never said as much before, and I must admit that his words gave me keen pleasure, for I had
often been piqued by his indifference to my admiration and to the attempts which I had made to give
publicity to his methods. I was proud, too, to think that I had so far mastered his system as to apply it
in a way which earned his approval. He now took the stick from my hands and examined it for a few
minutes with his naked eyes. Then with an expression of interest he laid down his cigarette, and
carrying the cane to the window, he looked over it again with a convex lens.
"Interesting, though elementary," said he as he returned to his favourite corner of the settee. "There are
certainly one or two indications upon the stick. It gives us the basis for several deductions."
"Has anything escaped me?" I asked with some self-importance. "I trust that there is nothing of
consequence which I have overlooked?"
"I am afraid, my dear Watson, that most of your conclusions were erroneous. When I said that you
stimulated me I meant, to be frank, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided towards
the truth.
Evidence

What we learn about the character

Activity 3: Using the information in your table answer the following exam question.
Question: From the extract, what do you discover about the characters of Holmes and Watson? Use evidence
to support your answer.
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1.2 RESPONDING TO THE WRITERS USE OF LANGUAGE

Activity 1: Part B will ask you to comment on the effect of language used within an extract to present a
character, event, idea, theme or setting. Read the following extract and annotate the highlighted examples.

Our breakfast table was cleared early, and Holmes waited in his dressing-gown for
the promised interview. Our clients were punctual to their appointment, for the clock had
just struck ten when Dr. Mortimer was shown up, followed by the young baronet. The
latter was a small, alert, dark-eyed man about thirty years of age, very sturdily built,
with thick black eyebrows and a strong, pugnacious face. He wore a ruddy-tinted tweed
suit and had the weather-beaten appearance of one who has spent most of his time in the
open air, and yet there was something in his steady eye and the quiet assurance of his
bearing which indicated the gentleman.

Activity 2: Look at the sample exam question and complete the sentences.
Question: Comment of the effect of the language used to create an impression of Sir Henry in this extract. Use
examples of the writers language from the extract.
In this extract, sir Henry is described as steadily built this give an impression of.
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The word alert suggests that.
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Additionally the description of his bearing as being quietly assured might indicate that Watson sees the
young baronet as..
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Activity 3:
Read the sample examination question and extract and write two paragraphs about how the writer has used
language in the extract.
Question: Comment on how language is used to create an impression of Baskerville Hall. Use examples of the
writers language from the extract to support your answer.
The wheels died away down the drive while Sir Henry and I turned into the hall, and the door clanged
heavily behind us. It was a fine apartment in which we found ourselves, large, lofty, and heavily raftered
with huge baulks of age-blackened oak. In the great old-fashioned fireplace behind the high iron dogs a
log-fire crackled and snapped. Sir Henry and I held out our hands to it, for we were numb from our long
drive. Then we gazed round us at the high, thin window of old stained glass, the oak panelling, the stags'
heads, the coats of arms upon the walls, all dim and sombre in the subdued light of the central lamp.
"It's just as I imagined it," said Sir Henry. "Is it not the very picture of an old family home? To think that
this should be the same hall in which for five hundred years my people have lived. It strikes me solemn to
think of it."
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use a separate sheet if you need more
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1.3 EXPLORING CHARACTERS, THEMES, RELATIONSHIPS, IDEAS, EVENTS AND SETTINGS.

Activity 1: Part C of your exam question will ask you to explore the significance of a given character, setting,
theme, event or idea in the given extract. Part D will ask the same but for you to use another extract of your
choosing.
1. Read the extract below and then write a paragraph exploring the significance of the writers use of the
sense of sadness implying an idea of impending doom.
I drew aside my curtains before I went to bed and looked out from my window. It opened upon the
grassy space which lay in front of the hall door. Beyond, two copses of trees moaned and swung in a
rising wind. A half-moon broke through the rifts of racing clouds. In its cold light I saw beyond the
trees a broken fringe of rocks, and the long, low curve of the melancholy moor. I closed the curtain,
feeling that my last impression was in keeping with the rest.
And yet it was not quite the last. I found myself weary and yet wakeful, tossing restlessly from
side to side, seeking for the sleep which would not come. Far away a chiming clock struck out the
quarters of the hours, but otherwise a deathly silence lay upon the old house. And then suddenly, in the
very dead of the night, there came a sound to my ears, clear, resonant, and unmistakable. It was the
sob of a woman, the muffled, strangling gasp of one who is torn by an uncontrollable sorrow. I sat up
in bed and listened intently. The noise could not have been far away and was certainly in the house.
For half an hour I waited with every nerve on the alert, but there came no other sound save the chiming
clock and the rustle of the ivy on the wall.
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Activity 2: Think about how the write uses language to present the significance of the setting. Read the
extract then answer the questions.
The fresh beauty of the following morning did something to efface from our minds the grim and
grey impression which had been left upon both of us by our first experience of Baskerville Hall. As Sir
Henry and I sat at breakfast the sunlight flooded in through the high mullioned windows, throwing
watery patches of colour from the coats of arms which covered them. The dark panelling glowed like
bronze in the golden rays, and it was hard to realize that this was indeed the chamber which had struck
such a gloom into our souls upon the evening before.
"I guess it is ourselves and not the house that we have to blame!" said the baronet. "We were tired with
our journey and chilled by our drive, so we took a grey view of the place. Now we are fresh and well, so it
is all cheerful once more."
1. What does fresh beauty suggest about the mood of the extract?
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2. What is the significance of the description of their first impression as grim and grey?
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3. Why is the use of colour in the daylight description of the hall used by the writer and to what effect?
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4. Why does Sir Henry say not the house to blame? What is the significance of his comments?
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Activity 3: In part D you will need to be able to locate a relevant extract in the text.
1. Read the question below and list two extracts which you could use to answer the question.
Question: Explore the significance of the setting in one other part of the novel. Use examples of the writers
language to support your answers.
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2. Choose one of the extracts you have identified and list three examples of language that you can write
about and note down the significance of the setting.

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2. Using the examples you have identified now write a paragraph in answer to the original question.
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2 SECTION B
2.1 RESPONDING TO AN ESSAY QUESTION
In section B of the exam you will need to respond to an essay question on the set text. This will ask you
about a character, relationship, event, theme or idea. You will need to make reference to how the context
of the text is relevant to the character, event, theme, setting or idea which you have asked to write about
(40 marks).
Activity 1:
1. Look at the table below. Match the statements to the character which they describe.

Lennie George
Character

Crooks

Candy

Curleys wife

Statement
..soon realises that he cant be part of the dream
has an unrealistic, glamorous dream.
.realises that without a dream he will be miserable in old age.
use the dream to control
completely believes in the dream

2. Below are some example questions from section B of the exam. Complete them by filling in different
characters, theme, ideas, settings or relationships.
a) In what ways is the theme of _________________explored within the novel?
b) In what ways is the character of ______________________important in the novel?
c) Why is the relationship between ___________________and _________________significant?
d) Explore the significance of the setting of ______________________in the novel.
e) Explore hoe the event of ________________________affects different characters in the novel.
Activity 2:
1. Read the extract and the sample question. Then annotate the question and the extract to show what
you would say about this evidence to answer the question.

Question: Explore the significance of loneliness in the novel. You must consider the context of the novel. Use
evidence to support your answer.

George's voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he

had said them many times before. "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the
loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place.
They come to a ranch an' work up a stake and then they go into town and blow
their stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some
other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to."
Lennie was delighted. "That's it- that's it. Now tell how it is with us."
George went on. "With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to
talk to that gives a damn about us. We don't have to sit in no bar room blowin'
in our jack jus' because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail
they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us."
Lennie broke in. "But not us! An' why? Because... because I got you to look after
me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why." He laughed delightedly.
"Go on now, George!"

"You got it by heart. You can do it yourself."

"No, you. I forget some a' the things. Tell about how it's gonna be."

2. Now find at least two further extracts which would be relevant to the question. Think about lonely
characters and conversations in which they take part.
Extract 1: _________________________________________________________________________________
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Activity 3:
1. Read the question below and think carefully about how you want to answer. Then list four main points
that you would make in your essay in response.
Question: Explain the importance of George and Lennies friendship in the novel.
Point 1: ___________________________________________________________________________________
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Point 2: ___________________________________________________________________________________
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Point 3: ___________________________________________________________________________________
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Point 4: ___________________________________________________________________________________
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2. Now note down which extracts from the text you could use as an evidence to support your points and
explain why these are relevant.
The first extract I will comment on is ____________________________________________________________
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The second extract I will comment on is _________________________________________________________
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The third extract I will comment on is ___________________________________________________________
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3. Look back at the questions you created in activity 1 question 3 and use it to repeat this process. Decide
on the main points you will make in your essay. Then identify the extracts from the text you will use to
support these points.

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2.2 RESPONDING TO THE CONTEXT OF THE TEXT.

In order to maximise your marks for the essay you must show an understanding of the context of the novel in
your response. However, you must avoid writing to much detail or extensively about the social, cultural or
historical aspects, your points must remain grounded in the question.
Activity 1: The following questions will help you think about how the context is relevant to the characters,
themes and events that you will write about in your essay.
Of Mice and Men is set during the 1930s depression in America. During this period one in every four
adults lost their jobs and because prices for farm produce fell, farmers found it hard to operate. The
action in the novel takes place in California where lots of farm labourers like George and Lennie travelled
alone form farm to farm looking for work. Jobs often lasted for only a short time and then the workers
and to move on. Because they travelled alone they had very few friendships.
a) In the depression, farm prices fell. Wages also fell and there was no job security. How does this affect
the characters in Of Mice and Men?
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b) Most farm jobs only lasted for a short time on the ranches. How does this affect the characters in the
novel?
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c) In the 1930s it was difficult for women to be independent. How is this shown in the novel?
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Activity 2: Look at the extract below and then answer the questions to help you think about context.
Both men glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl was standing
there looking in. She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were
red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules,
on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers. "I'm lookin' for
Curley," she said. Her voice had a nasal, brittle quality. George looked away from her and then back.
"He was in here a minute ago, but he went." "Oh!" She put her hands behind her back and leaned
against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward. "You're the new fellas that just come, ain't

ya?" "Yeah." Lennie's eyes moved down over her body, and though she did not seem to be looking at
Lennie she bridled a little. She looked at her fingernails. "Sometimes Curley's in here," she explained.

a) Why might the ranchers feel that Curleys wife is a tart?

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b) What is the role of Curleys wife on the ranch? Were there many women on ranchers in the 1930s?
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c) How do the men respond to Curleys wifes behaviour?
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d) Why does Curleys wife flirt with the men?
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Activity 3:
1. Read the sample exam question below and write a short plan for your answer.
Question: In what ways is the character of Curleys wife significant in the novel? You must consider the context
of the novel. Use evidence in your answer.
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2. Write at least the first two paragraphs in response to the question, remembering to make reference to
the context of the text when appropriate to support your points.
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3. Now check over your response to ensure you have done the following.
Given evidence from the text to support your answer
Made reference to the context of the novel wherever this is appropriate to explore the character,
event, theme, idea or setting you are writing about
Used correct spelling, punctuation and grammar in your writing.

2.3 SPELLING, PUNCTUATION AND GRAMMAR

Expressing your ideas clearly and accurately shows how clearly you understand the texts you have studied. It is
worth 5% of your marks and can make the difference between one grade and the one above.
Activity 1: You must use formal English in your responses.
1. Rewrite the following sentence using standard formal English.
George gets angry with Lennie at loads of different times in the novel.
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Curley is a mean bloke who treats his wife like dirt.
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Curley is always up for a fight cos hes small and wants to prove himself.
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After a bit, Lennie loses his rag and mashes Curleys hand.
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Activity 2: In your responses you need to use appropriate terminology, and spell them correctly.
1. Check the spelling of the following terms and place them in the table next to the correct definition.
Aliteration
Repitition
Terminology

Similie
metaphore
veiwpoint
Personnification
onomatapeioa
Narrater
Charactor
Definition
Two or more words, near or next to each other, beginning with the same letter or sound.
A word whose name sound imitates its meaning.
A comparison of two different things, using like or as.
A direct comparison of two different things without the use of like or as.
A kind of metaphor, describing a non-human object as if it were a person
One of the people represented in a story or play
A word or phrase repeated for effect
The authors opinion or attitude expressed in a piece of writing
The person in whose voice a story is told.

Now pick one essay style question to answer in full and practice using the skills you have been revising.