The Comparative Study

Prodigious · 17-02-2013 8:59pm #1

There are three sections to the comparative study:

Cultural Context
- This is the setting and society of the text.
- You are expected to discuss aspects of Cultural Context such as:
- Family Structures
- Political Structures
- Gender Roles
- Community:
- What is valued; money or status?
- Who has power, why?
- How does society view those who resist social expectations?
- How do members of the community relate?
- Social Structures:
- Is work viewed as necessary drudgery or a worthwhile pursuit?
- Are material possessions important?
- Attitudes towards the wealthy; Admiration? Envy? Respect?
- Attitudes towards the poor; Scorn? Compassion? Pity?
- Race & Religion
- Love & Marriage
- Is love valued as love or as a necessary prelude to marriage?
- Is marriage seen as a social advancement?

Theme/Issue

I have no real notes on this, but it is definitely me preferred option. Choose a theme that is relevant across all three texts. In my case, my themes are Change, Oppression, Hope, and Wealth.

In your answer you will discuss one of the following:
- Aspects of the theme, (+a tail end question, e.g. how they affected you)
- E.g. How oppression thrives, how it is defeated, and the effects
oppression can have on a character
OR
- Trace the development of the theme through the texts

Literary Genre

- Not to put you off, but this is basically the sh1te one.
- Essentially Literary Genre is about how the story is told.
- Discuss things such as:
-Symbols
- Music
- Camera angles
- Narrative voice (Who is telling the story?)
- Written chronologically?
- Twists in the plot
- Characterisation

The next post will have the structure and layout of your answer, and how to achieve maximum grades.

Prodigious · 17-02-2013 8:59pm

How To Answer:

- Every answer you do will essentially be the same, except manipulated the tiniest bit for relevance to your answer. For this reason,
practice is essential, and mind maps are fantastic (please find attached). Timing is an issue you may have so practice making answers as
clear and concise as possible. Quality, not quantity.

- For clarity and relevance I will be basing this layout on the 2011 question.
- "A reader's view of a theme or issue can be either changed or reinforced through interaction with texts."
Compare the extent to which your understanding of the theme or issue was changed or reinforced through your interaction with the
texts on your course.

Introduction
Name the texts you've studied, give them abbreviations. Explain the definition of theme/issue. Explain how you will structure your answer

The theme of a text is essentially the fundamental message and backbone of the text. The texts I have studied are Purple Hibiscus by Chimamande Ngozi Adichie, "PH", Children of Men by Alfonso Cuaron, "CoM", and Sive, by John Keane, "S". There are a range of themes which are strikingly relevant across each of the texts such as ........ However, the theme which stood out to me due to its dynamic principles and varying interaction levels was wealth. My understanding of wealth was changed frequently throughout my interaction with the texts, and I learned several valuable lessons in this regard. In this essay, I intend to discuss how wealth can influence a character, the means in which the wealthy express their wealth, the stark inequality in terms of distribution of wealth, and the evil connotations wealth often holds, and how my interactions with the text influenced my view of these aspects of the theme.

Last sentence was too long winded, but you hopefully get the idea

Main Body
As a rule of thumb, you should aim for three points in the main body. Three long paragraphs. Within each paragraph you should be discussing all texts at the same time. See key words in "Tips" at the bottom of this post. Topic sentences are extremely important.

My view of wealth was greatly influenced when I witnessed the startling differences in affluence between characters. In "P.H", I was stunned similarly to Kambili when she visits her cousins who live in poverty stricken conditions. At home, she had become accustomed to "persian rugs on stretches of gleaming marble", "large compound walls" and "frangipani trees". It is no surprise, therefore, that she is shocked by the poverty her cousins live in. *Insert relevant quotes about her shock and the conditions.* Immediately shattered my previous view of wealth; that of an equal and fair aspect in everyday life. "P.H" was mirrored by "C.o.M" in this regard. Similarly to Kambili and Amaka, Theo and Nigel are both cousins. Despite this fact, they too differ substantially in terms of wealth. Due to his cynical nature, Theo, in contrast to Kambili, is not quite as taken aback. Theo's poverty is highlighted when *key moment*. From my previous interaction with "PH", I expected a similar response to that of Kambili's when he witnessed the *quote about Nigel's wealth*. Theo's calm and slightly mocking approach aroused my interest and changed my view of wealth once again. Not only did it reinforce my outrage at the infuriating inequality of wealth, it also conveyed to me that there are more important things than wealth in one's life. Thankfully "S" does not display such inequality. Perhaps not preferable, there exists a shared poverty among the community, with the exception of Seán Dóta. This is revealed when *key moment*.

As you can see I try to stick to the question as much as possible, and also refer to the three texts, weaving them into one discussion.

Conclusion
Length is not important in a conclusion. It is important that you give a brief summary of what you did, as this is the last part the corrector reads before marking you. Short and sweet is the trick.

In conclusion, I can honestly say that my view and understanding of wealth was significantly influenced by my interaction with each of my texts, especially when viewed side by side. I understand now that despite the influence wealth can have on people, there are still people with the integrity and self respect to overcome this. *Reiterate points*

Tips
- Topic Sentences are essential
- Use key words for comparisons: Similarly, in contrast to, this is mirrored, reflected, reinforced, despite, alternatively.
- The number of comparisons is irrelevant. It is about the quality of your points and your relevance to the question.
- Rule of thumb: Three points
- Be consistent: If you answer on three texts in the first point, do so in all three
- Refer to the question

Any questions are welcome.

Prodigious · 18-02-2013 11:43pm

Cultural Context example as requested. 2009 Paper.

"The main characters in texts are often in conflict with the world or culture they inhabit"
In the light of the above statement, compare how the main characters interact with the cultural contexts of the texts you have studied.

Introduction
The cultural context of a text is the world and society of the texts. The texts I have studied are Purple Hibiscus by Chimamande Ngozi Adichie, "PH", Children of Men by Alfonso Cuaron, "CoM", and Sive, by John Keane, "S". It is fascinating to me that, despite the vast contrast in cultural contexts between 1960's Nigeria, 1950's Ireland and 2037's London, there are still some striking similarities in the characters' interactions with their respective cultural contexts. There are several aspects of cultural context that are relevant across all of the texts, including wealth, gender roles, family structures, political structures, and love. In this essay, I intend to compare how the characters of my studied texts interact with their cultural context, in particular the issues of wealth, gender roles, and family structures.

Main Body
I was intrigued by the family structures in each of the texts, especially when viewed in relation to one another. "PH" presents us with a nuclear family - Eugene, Beatrice, Jaja and Kambili. "S" and "C.o.M" contrast this strongly - Sive having a fractured family unit with her grandmother, uncle and aunt, while Theo, with no immediate family, forms a family unit with Miriam and Kee. One would assume that Kambili is the advantaged one in this respect, but this is not the case. It is revealed that her family, although appearing close from the outside, is in fact distant than the two makeshift families. This distance is conveyed in the key moment when *key moment*. Kambili is a ware of this distance, and acts accordingly. When she visits her cousins, who have a happier and closer family unit, she is very eager to stay. She was very much in conflict with her own cultural context. Adversely, Sive is very close to her grandmother. Their relationship is similar to that between Theo and Kee; Theo and Nana are protectors of the vulnerable - Sive and Kee. Her closeness with her grandmother is formed through their shared hatred of Mena, conveyed in *key moment*. It can be argued that Nana and Theo, due to their conflict with their lack of family, have resolved to protect those they care for, and form family units.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe the interactions of the characters were to a large extent very similar and predictable. The cultural contexts imposed on them was not ideal, and they were often in conflict with the limitations of their cultures. *Short summary of points*

This was a slightly rushed answer, apologies.

More tips
- Structure: Say what you're going to say, say it, say what you've said.
- Use topic sentences.
- N.B. Try and figure out the coding system the corrector will use. In this case it would have been "C" (Compare) and "I" (interact). In each paragraph, the corrector will look for these, and you will be penalised if your answer is not relevant to these codes.

Vito Corleone · 18-02-2013 11:55pm

Methememb wrote: »

126 views, 4 thanks. Welcome to boards.ie :rolleyes:

Most of the views are from people who don't have a boards account, so they cannot thank posts.

Prodigious · 18-02-2013 11:56pm

Vito Corleone wrote: »

Most of the views are from people who don't have a boards account, so they cannot thank posts.

Makes sense !

ScummyMan · 19-02-2013 12:54am

This is good stuff, cheers Methememb.

Rayne Wooney · 19-02-2013 9:53pm

Brilliant post. Do you have an example of cultural context?

Monsieur Folie · 19-02-2013 11:50pm

Good stuff, very helpful!

The extent of my teacher's advice on the comparative is:
"KEY MOMENTS!!!!! Make sure you refer to KEY MOMENTS!!!!!" - and that's about it.

She also says we'll probably score more highly if we answer the question that's split in two (answer on one text, then compare the other two) than to go for the one long essay. What's your opinion on this as I'm not sold on it? It's definitely easier to answer in parts, but if the essay is more highly regarded I could just prepare a decent one or two and manipulate it to the question, surely? I don't want to do one over the other for the sake of taking it easy.

Prodigious · 20-02-2013 7:45pm

Updated the third post to a cultural context example, its not great but hopefully it gives you a rough idea of what you need.

I mostly go for the long answers to be honest. I'm not great and condensing my answers and I'd find it difficult to make my point in smaller paragraphs etc. The way I look at it, it's about percentage error. If you get 5 marks knocked off 70, thats fine. But if you get 25/30 and 35/40 that's only 60/70. Greater percentage error and all that. That's just my honest opinion.

ray2012 · 20-02-2013 10:55pm

Monsieur Folie wrote: »

She also says we'll probably score more highly if we answer the question that's split in two (answer on one text, then compare the other two) than to go for the one long essay.

Really? My teacher is the complete opposite :P She prefers if we do the straight 70 as it's usually easier to do better in that straight question than do well in 2 separate questions. I think the 70marker is easier anyways (usually!)

Monsieur Folie · 22-02-2013 6:42pm

My teacher's a bit mad anyway. She keeps trailing off and telling us stories about Yeats despite the fact he's not on the course! So I trust the opinion of you guys more than her, to be honest. I'll have a look at the essay questions then. Being a maths enthusiast, the point about percentage error makes a lot of sense to me. I'm going to start preparing comparative answers this term so I'll take all of the advice in this thread on board.

Glitt_123 · 12-03-2013 6:49pm

For theme and issue is it ok to have the 3 main paragraphs as 1)opening 2)relationships 3)key moment? The theme I'll be discussing will be conflict.

Leaving Cert Student · 13-03-2013 10:31am

Is a "key moment" essentially just a quote with a little analysis? and should there be 3 key moments per point made. Also roughly how many points/comparisons should one make?

0mega · 13-03-2013 7:19pm

I really dunno the structure for writing a Theme & Issue question.. it's seems like a free for all to get as much as you can down. I dunno what points to include and what points not to and how to distinguish between the paragraphs.

I really hope CC comes up as it's so much easier.

Slow Show · 13-03-2013 8:43pm

0mega wrote: »

I really dunno the structure for writing a Theme & Issue question.. it's seems like a free for all to get as much as you can down. I dunno what points to include and what points not to and how to distinguish between the paragraphs.

I really hope CC comes up as it's so much easier.

I could have written this myself, word for word.:p

David1994 · 13-03-2013 8:49pm

0mega wrote: »

I really dunno the structure for writing a Theme & Issue question.. it's seems like a free for all to get as much as you can down. I dunno what points to include and what points not to and how to distinguish between the paragraphs.

I really hope CC comes up as it's so much easier.

Now I am fully aware that you might be doing a different "theme" than me but this is how we do it.
The them we are doing is isolation and how it impacts on characters. We have four headings in which we discuss it(Relationships,secrecy,outside pressures and sacrifice).
This approach worked well for me in my mocks as I got 60/70 by just using those headings and dealing with the question

That is probably no use at all to you but I thought I would just share!

0mega · 13-03-2013 9:40pm

David1994 wrote: »

Now I am fully aware that you might be doing a different "theme" than me but this is how we do it.
The them we are doing is isolation and how it impacts on characters. We have four headings in which we discuss it(Relationships,secrecy,outside pressures and sacrifice).
This approach worked well for me in my mocks as I got 60/70 by just using those headings and dealing with the question

That is probably no use at all to you but I thought I would just share!

Something like this is exactly what I need! I have something similar for CC but nothing for T/I. I need to ask my teacher..

Prodigious · 29-03-2013 11:23pm

Bump. Any questions welcome.

HugsiePie · 30-03-2013 2:11pm

0mega wrote: »

Something like this is exactly what I need! I have something similar for CC but nothing for T/I. I need to ask my teacher..

I find that CC and theme tend to overlap (but I guess it depends on the theme)

matTNT · 30-03-2013 6:07pm

Would you guys recommending studying all three? I find Lit. genre tricky in comparison to the other two, but that's just me, I find I can find alot of stuff that underpins both Theme/Issue and CC.

Would it be acceptable to just study two, or would you recommend studying three?

How many different elements should I deal with in the CC?

Prodigious · 30-03-2013 6:41pm

You need only study two of them.

In CC answers generally you need 3 elements.

30-03-2013 6:48pm

Just a little tip maybe, I'm not sure if you guys would find this helpful.
In my class we made out tables as notes. So we would list an element of CC lets say "Role of Men" then make three boxes beside it, one for each text. Then fill each box with relevant points/comparisons/key scenes. It has worked wonders for me and it's the question I get highest marks on in the exam.

ray2012 · 30-03-2013 9:09pm

We only studied 2 in my class. Cultural Context + Theme and Issue as they overlap a lot.

Prodigious · 29-05-2013 11:15pm

ray2012 wrote: »

We only studied 2 in my class. Cultural Context + Theme and Issue as they overlap a lot.

Same. One has to come up. Plus those are the two that are tipped.

The Comparative Study

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