Cultural Context

subway_ie

I don't have a feckin clue what "cultural context" is/how it should be addressed in the comparative section of english, paper 2. I don't think our teacher does either, everytime he explains it it's something different, nothing concrete. Anybody got any notes they could post, or maybe even just a rough guide as to how the question should be answered?

claire h

Cultural context: basically waffling on about the world of the text, the time, the place, that sort of thing. Society's influence on the characters. Commonly-held viewpoints, laws, customs, music and dance, marriages and divorces, attitudes, values, the power structure, class division, all that.

Approach it with an opening paragraph explaining your interpretation of cultural context and how it's important to understand the world of a particular text, then talk about various aspects of these worlds for another few paragraphs, making as many comparisons and contrasts as you can, and then finish off by sort of repeating the main point of your opening paragraph but using different language and having a good closing line.

What texts are you doing?

Bono_85

i dont think that'll come up this year neway since it came up the last 2 years in a row, its most likely Themes and Issues and Literary Genre

subway_ie

Thanks for that. Even if it's unlikely to be coming up, I still want to be able to do the question, just in case. I think theme/Issue and literary genre will be alot easier anyway. I'm doing Silas Marner as my single text, and my comparatives are Of Mice and Men (probably the anchor text), Things Fall Apart (a nice one, but the names are hard to remember/spell when you're in a hurry) and Macbeth.

elle

really counting on themes and issues, cultural context is just very tedious, at least with T&I you can choose one focus point and elaborate on it then connect it withinthe textx, cultural context is just loads themes in one its a horrible question there should always be a choice!I hate comparitive, is just so pointless!

subway_ie

Originally posted by elle
there should always be a choice!I hate comparitive, is just so pointless!

Isn't there allways a choice though?

I've only got one theme/issue done for my comparative - dreams/aspirations, and the same for literary genre - tragedy. Spent ages learning off the aristotle crap. Better be worth it.

elle

ive done "control" and "family loyalty" thats about all that would work with my texts amongst women dancing at lughnasa and strictly ballroom so really help if they cam e up

subway_ie

Originally posted by elle
ive done "control" and "family loyalty" thats about all that would work with my texts amongst women dancing at lughnasa and strictly ballroom so really help if they cam e up

So what happens if cultural context or literary genre comes up? Isn't Srictly Ballroom some kind of weird dirty-dancing type thing? How would you answer a "literary genre" on that when it's a film?

elle

exactly they are the worst texts ever-you cannot answer on them

informedboy

literary genre is a guarantee this year as it has not appeared since 2001 and is not there next year,themes and issues is most likely as it was not there last year and cultural context has been there for the past 2 years

subway_ie

I'm doing Of Mice and Men, Things Fall Apart and Macbeth for my comparative. The perfect texts for literary genre (tragedy) and theme/issue (dreams), but I'd be totally screwed if I had to answer on Cultural Context. Having said that, I've never actually written out a proper answer for any of them, apart from in the mocks, which I only got 73% in. Need to get at least a B2 in english - probably one of my weaker subjects.

elle

macbeth is my single text. yeah i like english, got A in mock, then again Theme and issue was question, ah well will have to wait and see, good luck anyway, hope ye get what you want

DS

I've only got theme/issue covered. I discovered a few days ago I had zero notes for Cultural Context (Literary Genre was never on the cards with our teacher), because through some comedy of errors I never managed to get a sample answer our teacher supposedly handed out. Anyway, needless to say, my heart won't be beating much when I'm turning the first few pages of paper 2.

elle

i know the feeling-ive so much on theme issue and can barely even interpret cultural context have never even looked at literary genre, so im really depending on theme issue, see what happens

Healio

Originally posted by subway_ie
So what happens if cultural context or literary genre comes up? Isn't Srictly Ballroom some kind of weird dirty-dancing type thing? How would you answer a "literary genre" on that when it's a film?

you write about the type of "text" it is, how the camera is the narrator, humour used in it, how dialogue is used to express points, the opening of the story, the ending-how we know the end at the start you know compare and conrasts aswell, i have 8 pages on literary genre for just strictly ballroom.