Cultural Context Help.

Lucas10101

What's required for a question on cultural context, I have theme/isse prepared v.well but am not sure how to prepare Cultural Context....my **** english teacher ( shes been getting ****ter for 5 years now ) didnt prepare it with us.....she's a load of bollocks.

How should I go about it.....I'm doing:

(i) Juno and the Paycock
(ii) My Left Foot
(iii) Reading in the Dark

I have picked 5 key moments but would find it difficult to write about them fully and comprehensively. Any pointers for this???

Limerick Dude

well first of all you have to pick aspects of culture, so for example pick role of money, society in which they live, customs + pastimes, role of women etc

Pick about 3.

Say in your introduction the 3 aspects you will be talking about.

Then start with one aspect, if any of your two texts are similiar in a certain aspect than compare them in one paragraph, then start a second paragraph with the text which is diffrent compared to the first two.

So basically its two paragraphs on each aspect, comparison/contrast in each paragraph, so 6 comparisons/contrasts overall.

Thats the way i do it anyway.

Rozabeez

I'm doing Juno and My Left Foot too, know how to define the cultural context for a start. Our aspects are: Religion, role of men vs. women, financial issues, politics. I eh, think.

Lucas10101

Okay so the topics should be about:

(i) Role of Women
(ii) Financial Issues
(iii) Religion
(iv)Society
(v) Customs and Pastimes.

Okay that's good, but do you say something in a moment like " We see cultural context in My Left Foot when the father disowns the child initially due to the effects of society and their common beliefs at the time"....then elaborate on the moment more? or the actual cultural aspect?

Rozabeez

Nooo...that doesn't really fit. You don't really say, "We see cultural context in...." The cultural context is the world in which they live in. That scene hasn't got much to do with the cultural context, its more of theme/issue. You could say, "The role of religion appears to be strong in My Left Foot, however the Church is painted in a negative light as Christy is told by a priest that he can never get into heaven - due to being unable to confess his sins (as a result of his disability)" whereas in Juno and the paycock, religion is a key factor in Johnny's life, as he creates a shrine to the Virgin Mary, etc etc.

Limerick Dude

Ok you do Juno and the Paycock, so you could start off a paragraph by saying....

"The role of money has a corruptive force in Juno & the Paycock.....money is seen as the only important thing to the family rather than caring for each other or looking out for one another. When they get the will which says they will receive a substantial amount of money, there problems seem to be gone but unfortunatly for them that is not the case as they end up in a worse position than the started with"
Some bullshiit like that anyway.....

then just compare/contrast with another text.

Corruptedmorals

Juno and My Left Foot are very similar. Both are set in working-class Dublin, both are quite poor and struggling, both have strong female characters, though are both set in the patriarchal society. Gender divisions are obvious, as is poverty. Religion is to the fore in both, Johnny etc, then Mrs.Brown's depth of faith to the point of naivete. Etc Etc.

I have the opposite problem, I write too much for CC and get stung for timing.

I could scan one that got 65/70, it has Juno and My Left Foot, but Death and Nightingales instead of Reading in the Dark, if you want? It's much too long, but you'd know what to do..??

Lucas10101

Yes, Corruptedmorals, that would be really beneficial for my exam as I haven't really prepared Cultural Context enough,,.....would be a great help.

Corruptedmorals

Right, I'll attach it to a post, on Friday. Graduating tomorrow....busy!

I've already scanned stuff for Limerick Dude there, so I don't mind. And my writing's easy to read...

dan719

Firstly, take your angle on it. 95% of people will use headings such as family, religion etc. Make your essay a little bit different.
Firstly define cultural context. My own definition is 'cultural context can be broadly defined as the world of the texts and the forces within these worlds that shape the lives of the text's characters. This automatically leads to the question would we the reader like to live in the world of the text'.

So in J.P you can talk about the infuence of the wider community. The espirit de corps of the tenements residents, particularly the women. You could say you find it admirable, that the majority of the play's characters, despite having nothing, are willing to share everything. This compares nicely with MLF. Again set in working class Dublin, the community plays a strong role in Christy's life. From games of street soccer to spin the bottle he is included in everything.

Perhaps you would like to talk about the class divide running through both texts- the danger of fraternisation with other classes. Bentham, so admired for his deft and remarkable use of language is in fact merely a scoundral, abandoning Mary. Such apt linguistic ability escaped him in the drafting of a will. His dreadfully ineffectual atttempt left the Boyles out to dry- and heavily in debt. Despite his claims to lofty ideals- he is interested merely in the basest of pleasures. In short the Boyle's are damaged by their relationship with Bentham. This can be seen as a metaphor for the relationship of the two classes(working and middle) in general.

In MLF again the lower classes are treated with contempt also. At the gallery, where Christy's work is being displayed, Christy is praised as an artistic genius, while his parents are unceremoniously shunted to one side. They feel awkward and out o place, particularly Paddy, yet Ms Cole does 'little, less,nothing' to make them feel at ease. The mistrust between the two classes is emphasised by the (correct) suspicions that Mrs Brown has of Ms Cole-that she will cause Christy pain.

P.S Using the Frost quote will not gain you marks.:D

P.P.S My third text is Silas Marner but I hope this is of assistance.

Enemy Of Fate

dan719 wrote:

Firstly, take your angle on it. 95% of people will use headings such as family, religion etc. Make your essay a little bit different.
Firstly define cultural context. My own definition is 'cultural context can be broadly defined as the world of the texts and the forces within these worlds that shape the lives of the text's characters. This automatically leads to the question would we the reader like to live in the world of the text'.

So in J.P you can talk about the infuence of the wider community. The espirit de corps of the tenements residents, particularly the women. You could say you find it admirable, that the majority of the play's characters, despite having nothing, are willing to share everything. This compares nicely with MLF. Again set in working class Dublin, the community plays a strong role in Christy's life. From games of street soccer to spin the bottle he is included in everything.

Perhaps you would like to talk about the class divide running through both texts- the danger of fraternisation with other classes. Bentham, so admired for his deft and remarkable use of language is in fact merely a scoundral, abandoning Mary. Such apt linguistic ability escaped him in the drafting of a will. His dreadfully ineffectual atttempt left the Boyles out to dry- and heavily in debt. Despite his claims to lofty ideals- he is interested merely in the basest of pleasures. In short the Boyle's are damaged by their relationship with Bentham. This can be seen as a metaphor for the relationship of the two classes(working and middle) in general.

In MLF again the lower classes are treated with contempt also. At the gallery, where Christy's work is being displayed, Christy is praised as an artistic genius, while his parents are unceremoniously shunted to one side. They feel awkward and out o place, particularly Paddy, yet Ms Cole does 'little, less,nothing' to make them feel at ease. The mistrust between the two classes is emphasised by the (correct) suspicions that Mrs Brown has of Ms Cole-that she will cause Christy pain.

P.S Using the Frost quote will not gain you marks.:D

P.P.S My third text is Silas Marner but I hope this is of assistance.

Oh good summary notes.Do Silar Marner too please!I'm doing SM, Juno and the Paycock and the Curious incident of the dog in the night time (most annoying book i've ever read), and would love some decent notes of SM (the ones I have suck).

dan719

Okay on SM I'll just cover the same points again.

Mistrust between classes- Silas is lauded as he 'could save you the cost of the doctor'. There is no real contact between the two classes(upper class and villagers) and the upper class are openly snobbish. Godfrey Cass claims Silas 'could know nothing about parenting' and his wife believes her wealth entitles her to Eppie.

The role of community- Use Dolly Winthrop for this. She is the personification of community spirit in the play. She attends to the sick and the dying throughout the village, and offers Silas nurturing and caring advice. Also mention the help offered to Silas after he is robbed.

For The Currious Incident Of the dog in the nightime- talk about the attitude of the so called normal kids to those in the special school. The abuse they are subject them to. The misunderstanding of the police officer, his lack of compassion towards Christopher- that they caution him. Broaden your heading to 'mistrust between different groups'.

Role of community- replaces the lost bond between Christopher and his mother. Importance of teachers and neighbours and so on.