LITB1 ASPECTS OF NARRATIVE

 2 hour exam
 Open book
 30% of whole A level
 Study 4 texts in total
 Two novels (one post 1990)

 Two poetry texts (1800 – 1945)

 Two sections – answer one question from each

 Section A – one hour - choose one question on the text you want to focus on.

 Two part question (half hour each part)

 Specific section or poem

 General theme

 Section B – one hour – choose one question from two offered and write about
the other three texts you have studied. General question on aspects of narrative
 ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
 AO1 – articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to
literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts and
coherent, accurate written expression
5%
 AO2 – demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the
ways in which structure, form and language shape meanings in
literary texts
12.5%
 AO3 – explore connections and comparisons between different
literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers
10%
 AO4 – demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence
of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received

2.5%
 ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
 AO1 – articulate creative, informed and relevant
responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology
and concepts and coherent, accurate written expression

5%

•Know your terminology – use it judiciously and accurately.

•Try to say something original and different.
•PLAN carefully, write in a structured, articulate, accurate style.
•Have a good ENDING.
 ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES

 AO2 – demonstrate detailed critical understanding in

analysing the ways in which structure, form and
language shape meanings in literary texts

12.5%

•Make sure you analyse sections and quotations IN DETAIL, using

terminology and all the ideas you have learned or thought of. ALWAYS
refer to the text for support.
•Make sure you deal with STRUCTURE, FORM AND LANGUAGE in
your analysis and EXPLAIN how each of these aspects are used to create
the text and the reader response
•Make some comments on your CRITICAL response to the texts studied
 ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
 AO3 – explore connections and comparisons
between different literary texts, informed by
interpretations of other readers
10%

•Section B – compare the way the texts use or follow the topic given. ( For
example if it is about the use of narrator then talk about how each writer uses the
narrator and HOW IT SHAPES the text.
•Make a variety of suggestions as to how texts could be read and ALWAYS
voice your own favoured view.
 ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
 AO4 – demonstrate understanding of the
significance and influence of the contexts in
which literary texts are written and received

2.5%
•Consider the various different aspects of context and discuss AT LEAST TWO in
your answers:
•Author context
•Text context – genre, part of series etc
•Historical context
•Reader context
•Political context
•Societal context
Narrative – an overview

Narrative dictionary definition:

 (n) a story or account of a sequence of events in the order
in which they happened
 (n) the part of a literary work that is concerned with telling
the story
 (adj) having the aim of telling a story

Narrative thesaurus entries:

 (n) story, tale, account, description
 (n) plot, storyline, sequence of events
 Important vocabulary
Representation – all stories are representations of reality –
none are real. Remember that the author has created
everything you are reading – the more you talk about what
the author has done, the more marks you will gain.
Dictionary:
•Picture – a visual depiction of somebody or something
•Something described or stated
•Performance – a theatrical performance or production

Amir is selfish. No he does not exist.

Hosseini has created a selfish protagonist in

Amir, a flawed character whom we struggle to
like at times but still find sympathetic overall.
Yes! (plus of course, give examples)
 Important vocabulary
 Construct – all stories are constructed the
more you talk about what the author has
done, the more marks you will gain.
Dictionary:
•Build something – to assemble something by putting parts together in an
ordered way
•To draw something accurately

Dickens has constructed a nightmare vision in

the opening chapter of Great Expectations when
he throws the character Pip to the mercies of the
terrifying convict in that most hideous of places
– the graveyard.
 Important vocabulary
First person narrative – the story is told as if the writer were the character
created. All action is seen through the eyes of this narrator; all is heard
through him or her; all is interpreted from his/her perspective. (Great
Expectations; The Kite Runner; some of Browning’s poems)

Third person narrative – the story is told from the perspective

of the omniscient author. The author can explain the
feelings, actions and words of all the characters.

Omniscient author – the author knows everything (because the

story is a representation of reality constructed by him or
her)!
 Important vocabulary
Character – the author creates representations of people –
characters to people the narrative. A good author will make
us believe the character is real.
Persona – the author might write as if he or she were the
character concerned (first person narrative) – Amir, Pip, the
Duke.

Voice – each character will have a unique voice in the text. At times the
same character may have a different voice – for example in novels
where the adult character is telling the story in first person narrative
and reflecting on the past, the author will create a child like voice.
 Important vocabulary
Chronology – life happens in time order from beginning to
end; authors often choose to confuse the chronology of
events by presenting flashbacks and beginning near the end.
The Kite Runner – three distinct times:
 2003 - now, the story is told from the perspective of now, Amir
tells of his life now and his hopes for the future at the end of the
novel
 2001 – the book opens here and returns to this point to move
forward to 2003, when he hears from Rahim Khan and returns to
Afghanistan to rescue Sohrab and seek redemption
 1973 – 1981 – the events preceding Hassan’s rape and departure;
the coming of the communists and the leaving of Afghanistan
 Important vocabulary
Chronology – life happens in time order from beginning to
end; authors often choose to confuse the chronology of
events by presenting flashbacks and beginning near the end.
Great Expectations – is completely chronological
 Christmas 1812 – Pip the boy meets the convict and
subsequently Estella and Miss Havisham
 Pip is told to go to London and fulfil his expectations
 Pip discovers that Magwitch is his benefactor, tries to help
him escape and becomes very ill
 Pip goes abroad to restart his life
 Pip sees Estella again
 Important vocabulary
Simile – compare one thing to another using
like or as – ‘as idle as a painted ship upon a
painted ocean’.
Metaphor – compare one thing to another by stating it is –
‘the church spires flamed’ The Patriot, Browning

Symbol – an object that stands for something else but no direct

comparison is ever made, the reader has to recognise it for
herself – the kites and the pomegranate tree in The Kite
Runner
 Important Vocabulary
 Exposition – the opening of a story, poem or play that sets the scene
 Crisis – there can be one main crisis or several as well as minor crises
 Resolution – the end of the story – the story concludes in some fashion
 Bildungsroman – German word means novel of education – where the
protagonist searches for identity (Kite Runner; Great Expectations) and the
novel follows from childhood to adulthood
 Utopia (utopian) – an ideal place or existence
 Dystopia (dystopian) a negative place or existence
 Intertextuality – including texts within texts or referring to other texts
directly or indirectly (Miss Gee refers to the lyrics of St James’ Infirmary)
 Flashback – going back it time to fill in important information in the story
 Gothic – having a dark, supernatural setting filled with menace and fear
(Satis House; the graveyard)
 ALWAYS PLAN
 Read the question – highlight important words and actions:
 Write about the ways Hosseini tells the story in Chap 7
 What is the significance of the kites in the title and the whole novel?
 Note all the apsects to write about:
 Form:
 Narrator – 1st person
 Structure:
 Chronology
 Chapters and events
 Language:
 Repetitions
 Semantics
 Syntax (lots of short sentences)
 Descriptions
 Themes
 Symbols and imagery
 Context
 Decide on a thesis or argument to hold the essay together (not so relevant in first part
of question) for example:
 Kites are both a symbol of the relationship between the important characters in the novel
and a distraction from the horrors of the context and narrative – keep referring back to this
view as you analyse all the aspects above.
 ALWAYS PLAN
 Read the question – highlight important words and actions:
 How does Dickens open the story in Chap 1?
 Discuss the idea that all the characters have a ‘twin’ in the story.
 Note all the aspects to write about:
 Form:
 Narrator – 1st person
 Structure:
 Chronology
 Parts Chapters and events
 Subplots
 Language:
 Repetitions
 Semantics
 Syntax quite complex lots of long sentences
 Descriptions
 Themes
 Symbols and imagery
 Context
 Decide on a thesis or argument to hold the essay together (not so relevant in first part of
question) for example:
 The important characters all have a twin: Biddy and Estella; Joe and Magwitch; Miss Havisham and
Mrs Joe and this serves to show both Pip’s reactions to different people who fulfil similar functions
in his life and to contrast the diversity of people who have an influence on him.
 ALWAYS PLAN
 Read the question – highlight important words and actions:
 Write about the ways that writers conclude the stories in the three texts studied.
 Write about some of the symbols used in the three texts.
 Write about the tragic elements in the three texts.
 Note all the apsects to write about:
 Form:
 Narrator
 Poem/novel
 Structure:
 Chronology
 Parts Chapters Stanzas Events
 Subplots
 Language:
 Repetitions
 Semantics
 Literary language
 Descriptions
 Themes
 Symbols and imagery
 Context
 Characters and Voices
 Decide on a thesis or argument to hold the essay together for example:
 Most of the texts have a vital symbol running throughout that highlights the central theme or message. In The Kite
Runner, the central symbol is kites, they stand as a symbol of connection and relationships;; in As I Walked Out One
Evening the river is the symbol for the inexorable passage of time but in Great Expectations we find a series of symbols
as the novel progresses, some major, some minor, wealth and the pursuit of wealth is symbolic for misery, fires
symbolise love and affection.
 MARK SCHEME
Band 6
 AO1 use of appropriate critical vocabulary and technically fluent style/ well
structured
and coherent argument/ always relevant with very sharp focus on task/confidently
ranges round texts
 AO2 exploration and analysis of key aspects of form, structure and language with
perceptive evaluation of how they shape meanings
 AO3 detailed and perceptive understanding of issues raised through connections
between texts /perceptive consideration of different interpretations of texts with sharp
evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses/ excellent selection of
supportive references
 AO4 excellent understanding of a range of contextual factors with specific, detailed
links between context/texts/task