Section B Homework Questions

"In narratives, the hero or heroine always experience some conflict, which affects the resolution of the story. Write about the significance of conflict in the stories of three writers you have studied"

In 'The Great Gatsby', Gatsby experiences conflict with himself which affects the resolution of the story. Towards the end of the book, Gatsby's car hits and kills Tom's mistress Myrtle, "Myrtle Wilson, her life violently extinguished, knelt in the road and mingled her thick dark blood with the dust". This leads to Mr Wilson becoming completely lost of all hope, no way of ever escaping the ash, and craving revenge on whoever stole his last burst of hope. The conflict in which Gatsby has with himself is what to tell people when they ask about the incident, for everyone knows it was his car, but what Nick finds out is that it was not Gatsby driving but Daisy, "well I tried to swing the wheel-' He broke off, and suddenly I guessed at the truth". Gatsby takes the blame for Myrtle's death, which ultimately ends the novel with his death, as Wilson took his own life and Gatsby's, to avenge Myrtle. It could be argued that Gatsby isn't the hero of the book, despite it being called 'The Great Gatsby', as the name becomes almost mocking as the novel is read, criticising how Gatsby is actually much less than great for he is fake and a liar, but despite whether he is the hero of the novel or not, his conflict unarguably resulted in heroic action, taking the blame for something so serious, just to free his loved one. It is also clear how his conflict affected the resolution, for if Gatsby hadn't taken the blame, he wouldn't have been shot by Wilson, maybe Daisy would have been, maybe not, but Gatsby would still be alive. But rather, the book ends with his death, and his funeral, which was only attended by few, and Nick concluding that hope is weaker than thought, and that dreams aren't always attainable, "so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.".


In 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', the Mariner experiences many different types of conflict, such as conflict with self; the battle of realising the beautify of nature and being grateful to God, physical conflict; in the form of his everlasting punishment of constantly having to retell his story, and also the punishment during their boat was stuck,"as idle as a painted ship upon painted ocean", "water water everywhere but not a drop to drink", and finally conflict with the supernatural, in the form of the ghost ship containing Death and Life in death and also the spirit that has been following them.
The main conflict that the Mariner has to deal with is conflict with himself and the world around him, and coming to terms with there realisation of how God's creation of nature should be loved and respected. He has this epiphany whilst being stuck on the boat, after all his crew mates fate became controlled by Death, and he became Life in Death's. "I looked to heaven and tried to pray"..."I watched the water snakes...I watched their rich attire, blue, glossy green...O happy living things! no tongue their beauty might declare... I blessed them unaware". The epiphany is considered conflict as the Mariner has to endure physical conflict and conflict with the supernatural to realise the moral message, which the contrasts his earlier actions, "i shot the albatross", and causes guilt to flood through him. The conflict with himself and finding the respect for God's creation affects the ending as the Mariner is still cursed for he previous sin of shooting the albatross, but now understands why it was wrong and lives out his sentence warning and telling people about the beauty of God's creation and the respect it deserves.


There is similar conflict in The Road, as the man has conflict with himself as well as the environment - a barren, dead, post apocalyptic america - and about what to do with his son. He has conflict with himself is that the temptation of death is always lingering, in the form of flashbacks and memories about his wife, and about how easy it would be if they did leave the new world, but then he can't bring himself to shoot his child, as he constantly battles with himself thinking over and over about how he would do it, "Can you do it? When the time comes?... Could you crush that beloved skull with a rock?".  His conflicting thoughts and emotions - which are rarely shown - result in him not being able to kill the boy, which affects the ending majorly, as when the time comes and they are at the coast, the man knows he is dying and doesn't want to leave the boy alone in the world, but feels he has to because he cannot kill him. If the man had killed the boy, then both their lives would have been over there and then, but because he didn't, the boy was able to be taken in by the new family, and told them about 'carrying the fire', and also learn about God.

Easter Work (42mark question)

How do writers use repetition to create meanings in their texts?In your answer, refer to the work of the three writers you have studied.(42 marks)

Repetition is used in The Great Gatsby to create meaning through emotional ties or links with what is being repeated. Firstly, the green light on the end of Daisy Buchanan's dock, "he stretched out his arm towards the dark water in a curious way...a single green light, minute and far away". The green light represents many things in The Great Gatsby, for mostly it represents Gatsby's longing and lingering love for Daisy, and so it also represents dreams, a major theme in Gatsby. Dreams are a main theme as on the surface The Great Gatsby is about a man and his longing love for an interrupted romance, but Gatsby and Daisy's love symbolises dreams in a larger, less romantic way, as it criticises the American Dream. It criticises how the Americans wanted to believe that people could become whoever they wanted or do whatever they wanted despite class,  but it is clear throughout Gatsby and also in Fitzgerald's life that class and wealth did matter. In terms of Gatsby and Daisy's romance, class means they can never be together, for she married Tom, which is similar Fitzgerald's first love wouldn't marry him as her father didn't approve of his lack of wealth. In terms of the rest of the story as a whole, the contradictory American Dream is also shown through the Valley of Ashes and Myrtle and Wilson's position is society and how Tom represents hope for them. There is repetition on the Valley of Ashes that holds this view of lost hope and criticising the American Dream also, as words such as 'grey' and 'ash' are repeated a lot, all words from the semantic field of darkness or death, to symbolise the lack of hope for some people. The repetition of the green light emphasises this lost hope further and further throughout the novel, and the end of the novel summarises this symbolism, "For Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us... so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past". This view of satirising the American Dream creates meaning in The Great Gatsby, as on the surface the constant repetition of the green light and Gatsby's longing for it creates sympathy for Gatsby and Daisy, and also creates meaning of how people such as Wilson would have never achieved their goals, that both he and Myrtle were inevitably going to die as such, as they started in the ash, the burnt remains that can be burnt no more.

A similar meaning in repeated throughout The Road, a feeling of hope verses lost hope, shown through the repetition of "carrying the fire". The boy in The Road symbolises hope, which is why he is the one who is constantly asking if they are still "carrying the fire". Fire can symbolise danger and burns, loss of control, but it could also mean warmth, which is what they boy carries throughout the novel. 'Fire' is also significant as in The Road, the man and the boy are living in a post apocalyptic world, where fire is one of the main sources for them to survive from, alongside food and shelter. Carrying hope is meaningful in the post apocalyptic world as the temptation of death is always there, represented and repeated through the flashbacks and memories of the man's wife, "I've taken a new lover...'death is not a lover'...'oh yes he is". By having the boy represent hope, it creates a battle for the man between which to choose. 
The phrases "good guys" and "bad guys" are also repeated through the novel, giving meaning to the type of life they man and the boy must lead. The man doesn't try to explain to the boy what is going on in detail, which is why they are referred to as the "good guys" and others as the "bad guys", even though that world is all the boy has known, which could show how the man doesn't want to take away any of the boys hope by telling him what is actually going on, or it could show how the man is trying to keep his distance from the boy, as most of their conversations are short, and very rarely with any emotion at all, "she was gone, and the coldness of it was her final gift". The idea that the man and the boy are the "good guys" links in with the meaning of carrying the fire, as it shows how the boy represents hope. Having the rest of the world as the "bad guys" shows meaning as it causes sympathy for the boy, but also shows the lack of faith of the man, as at the end of the novel when the man has passed away the boy becomes part of a new family, "are you carrying the fire?'...'yes. yeah. we are".

There is repetition in Rime of the Ancient Mariner also, such as the repetition of "glittering eye" in the description of the Mariner. The idea of the Mariner having a 'glittering eye' gives meaning to the ballad as Rime was written during the romantic period, meaning there were great influences from the gothic, involving aspects of the supernatural. A 'glittering eye' could be seen as giving the Mariner some sort of supernatural presence, especially when repeated showing its importance, and paired with other descriptions, "skinny hand", causes contrast, further emphasising the eye and drawing more attention for the reader as how it stands out. The meaning of having supernatural elements adds to the meaning of the ballad overall, as it causes the events in the ballad to be even more fearful, even more mysterious, as the supernatural has been combined with the natural, meaning anything could be possible in the world of the Mariner. 
Other repetition of Christian related terms in Rime takes the ballad away from the idea of it being more of a gothic text and suggests it could be more of a Christian allegory, such as repetition of water terms. Water in Christianity is used for christenings and baptisms, and so is seen as something that can 'wash away sins', like salvation. In Rime there is a lot of repetition of water, "water water everywhere". A Christian allegory gives meaning to the ballad through emphasising the message it wishes to convey, "all things both great and small, for the dear God who liveth us, he made and loveth all". Another way that Christian terms are repeated throughout the ballad are in examples such as "instead of the cross, the albatross was hung about my neck". 

Easter Work (Question 1 - 21marker)

How far do you agree that the Patriot and the Pied Piper are heroes? (21 Marks)

The Patriot can be viewed as a hero firstly by the way the crowd respond to him in the beginning of the dramatic monologue, "roses, roses all the way". He is being treated like a hero, like a celebrity, as people are cheering for him and waving flags "such flags they had". 
However as the reader progresses through the poem it becomes unclear as to whether the Patriot is a hero or not. In stanza III (3), the Patriot talks about how "it was I who leaped at the sun", which could be a reference to a greek myth about a man called Icarus. Icarus tried to make wings to help him and his father escape from being captured, and made these wings out of feathers and wax. Icarus was warned not to fly too close to the sun for the sun would melt his wings, but he wanted to fly as high as he could and consequentially the wings melted and he fell. The reference is significant as it shows how the Patriot could perceive himself as a hero, trying to go further than anyone before, possibly to protect his country as readers get a sense that this poem is about war, but has consequentially gone too far, and become an evil man, "Nought man could do, have I left undone". 
"There's nobody on the house tops now", reinforces the idea that the Patriot went beyond the boundaries of acceptable behaviour in the war situation, as no one now is here to greet him home, a contrast to the beginning when people were waving flags and paving the streets with roses for him. The contrast could show how much he has changed, and how he is no longer a hero, or it could be to portray how fickle society can be.
In the final stanza, ending the monologue, the Patriot says "In triumphs, people have dropped down dead", highlighting how he thinks what he has done is right, even though society may disagree. The last line is "Tis God shall repay: I am safer so", again showing how the Patriot believes he has done right, but his country believe he has done wrong, and the reference to Icarus causes readers to also share that view that whatever the Patriot did at war was too much and wrong, leaving the conclusion for most people that the Patriot is not a hero. 

The Pied Piper is a very different story, clearly shown by the subtitle, "a child's story", which already is different to the Patriot which is "an old story", however in both you would expect to have a hero by the end, to have learned a moral. The opening of the Pied Piper highlights the problem that the town of Hamlin was struggling with - a rat problem. It describes the Mayor of Hamlin and the council panicking and trying to find some way of dealing with the rat problem when the Pied Piper appears. His entrance highlights aspects of his character, for he is described as a very unique looking character, "the strangest figure... his queer long coat". His strangeness causes him to not be obviously pinned as the hero of the story, especially when described as "tall and thin...sharp blue eyes each like a pin", for he isn't portrayed as a heroic like character, but rather a sharp, thin creature, almost snake like. 
The Pied Piper tell the council how he can "draw all creatures living beneath the sun, the creep or swim or fly or run", which is the beginning of a warning. He continues "I chiefly use my charm of creatures that do people harm" meaning normally he uses this "secret charm" for good, although he has the ability to do otherwise with it, so far not portraying his as the hero, but more of a possible 'bad guy'. 
However, the Piper does free the town of rats, bringing happiness to the people of Hamlin, "the Hamlin people, ringing the bells till they rocked the steeple". The Piper has fixed the problem, which actually causes his to technically, in fairy tale terms, be the hero of the story, but the story continues, "the Piper perked in the market-place with a 'first, if you please, my thousand guilders'" as earlier in the story, the mayor had cried out "one? fifty thousand!" as he became so joyous that their problem could be solved, however once the problem was solved and the Piper asked for his money the Mayor began to think about what other things he could spend the money on, "council dinners made rare havoc, with Claret, Moselle, Vin-de-Grave, Hock". The Mayor wishes to spend the money he promised the Piper selfishly, and so offers him less. The Piper however does not see this as fair, and so says "folks who put me in a passion, may find me pipe after another fashion". 
The Piper begins to play his magic tune, and steals all the children of Hamlin, into  "a wondrous portal, open wide" and all except one boy who could not keep up enter into the portal, and disappear forever. The boy who was left behind, and all the stain glass windows and the story on a column are left to remind the people of Hamlin what happened when they were not honest and broke their promise. 
The ending of the Pied Piper has mixed conclusions when asking whether the Piper is a hero or not, as many would say that he isn't, as he kidnapped all the children, causing heartbreak in the town of Hamlin when it wasn't his place to do so, while others may conclude that he can be seen as a hero, for reinforcing justice, and teaching the people a lesson.

In conclusion, the Patriot is most often not seen as a hero, for he 'flew too high' and did wrong, but the Piper I think is a hero, for he reinforced justice, and taught the moral of the story - "if we've promised them aught, let us keep our promise!". 

MLD second attempt

I used Caitlin's as a guide as you suggested for structuring this answer, i hope it is an improvement on last time.

My Last Duchess tells the story of a Duke as he describes the story of his last Duchess and her flaws to a man who is to arrange his next marriage. He shows him a painting of her while complaining about her.

Browning uses characterisation to tell the story. The duke is obsessed with power and beauty, shown through his love and collection of art, and the many references to the Duchess's appearance rather than personality, "spot of joy into the Duchess' cheek". His obsession with power comes across through him being offended that she "ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with any other gift", so he resorted to "I gave commands and all smiles stopped" to apparently stop her smiling, although it seems it could have stopped her altogether as she is now dead. The idea that the Duke killed her is reinforced through the case building, shown through the rambling thought-like speech and enjambement, and other hints that he may have killed her, "looking as if she were alive".

Browning also uses voice to tell the story, through the form of dramatic monologue. It is clear that MLD is a dramatic monologue as only the Duke speaks, a character, and there is also an implied listener - the servant who is arranging his next marriage. The fact that the Duke is constantly talking could be a reflection of his status and obsession with power, it also shows how the Duke biomes more powerful and dominant, by not stopping to allow the servant to talk at all. Similar to case building, the use of enjambement also quickens the pace of the voice, implying a growing hatred towards his last Duchess.

Browning also uses setting to display journey and tell the story, as the entire monologue takes place in the one spot in front of her painting in the gallery. This shows how the Duke hasn't yet moved on from the Duchess, how she still has power over him, even from death, as he still wants to control her. By painting her onto the wall, and not onto canvas which is then hung, it shows how she is permanently on his mind, still controlling him, therefore pressuring his drive for power still. It shows that the Duke hasn't made a mental journey at all, but merely attempted an emotional one, as he is in exactly the same place mentally as at the start.

Write about the ways Browning tells the story in Porphyria's lover

Porphyria's Lover tells the story of an upper class woman, who was having an affair with a jealous and obsessive man from a lower class. He becomes too insecure to deal with her not being entirely his, and so kills her so that they can be in love with each other and only each other forever.

Browning uses opening and setting to tell the story. Porphyria's Lover opens with a description of a forest on a stormy night, "The sullen wind was soon awake, it tore the elm-tops down fore spite". Browning uses pathetic fallacy to set a mood of tension, and personifies the wind, resulting in it sounding powerful, and cruel "for spite". This tells the story as it sets the mood and mirrors the character's mental state.

Browning uses form to tell the story. The story is told from the point of view of the lover, "I listened with a heart fit to break, when glided in Porphyria", a character, which allows the reader to know Porphyria's Lover is a dramatic monologue. Browning also uses structure when the character of Porphyria's Lover also case builds, repetition of "and", in an argumentative and angry tone, which highlights that he has done something wrong. This tells the story as it portrays the lover as obsessive, obsessing over what he did, which also adds to characterisation.

Browning also uses characterisation to tell the story, "That moment she was mine, mine" the repetition of 'mine' causes the lover to sound very possessive, and "at last I knew, Porphyria worshipped me" makes him sound delusional. The characterisation of the lover is very different to the characterisation of Porphyria, "dirty secret" implies how she is only using him for physical needs, and not real love, and "too weak, for her heart's endeavour" makes her sound vulnerable. The juxtaposition of the characterisation tells the story as it highlights how they will never really love each other or be together properly.

Finally, Browning uses ending to tell the story, "all night long we have not stirred, and yet God has not said a word!". The fact that he has sat all night with her dead on his shoulder tells the story as it emphasises how delusional and mentally ill he was, and the reference to God is another part of case building. The character is trying to reassure himself that what he has done wasn't wrong.

Write about the ways Browning tells the story in The Laboratory (21Marks)

'The Laboratory' tells the story of a seemingly controlling and possessive woman in an apothecary, who is watching someone create a poison for her to give to two other women, who may or may not be prostitutes, who are with the man she loves. It seems as though however that the man doesn't love her back, or even know her, as she seems to watch from a distance - "as they whispered, I brought my own eyes to bear on her".

Browning uses setting to characterise the woman and tell the story, as the entire poem takes place in a backstreet apothecary, "devil's smithy", which could be used in telling the story as it shows she has always kept her emotions about the man shut up inside, and has never told him how she feels. "Devil's smithy" also adds to setting purposes in telling the story as the sibilance can be used to sound like the smoke which s swirling around the room. Setting could also be used to demonstrate her mental state, as the significance of the location: the apothecary is described as beautiful, but is in itself a backstreet apothecary, shows how mentally she is in a bad place, where she is romanticising death and thinking about it as though it is beautiful, "to carry pure death in an earring, a casket". This portrays the woman as mentally unstable, but also dangerous, for she is romanticising death.

Browning uses first person voice to tell the story, through the character of the woman. The form is a dramatic monologue, it is clear it is a monologue as only the woman talks, but there is an implied auditor - the man making the poison, shown through her speaking to him, and grammar such as the pause, "Quick - is it finished?". Browning uses the form of dramatic monologue, with iambic pentameter and case building to tell the story as it highlights how the woman is doing something wrong - the case building, but also shows how she is possessive, or at least obsessive, as she is the only one who talks, answering her own questions and speaks as though she is thinking aloud, shown through enjambement.

Finally, another way that Browning characterises the woman to tell the story is through her description, "where men wait for me" could suggests that she is quite attractive, however later on when talking about the other women she says "she's not little, no minion like me" implying that she is insecure, or just quite small and plain. The grinding of the ingredients for the poison, "grind away, moisten and mash up thy paste, pound at thy powder" is repeated though out the monologue, creating a feel for constant grinding, which could be a metaphor to show the thoughts about what she is doing going over and over in her head, repetition. All of these characterisation points cause the woman to fit to a cultural stereotype, of the neurotic, insecure and jealous girlfriend, although in this case it is assumed she isn't the girlfriend.

***Apologies that it isn't very long - I hope it is better than my MLD one***

Browning MLD Homework Question

Write about the ways Browning tells the story in ‘My Last Duchess’

English Practice Question 21 Marks

Sir - I apologise greatly, this is a terrible attempt at the question, but when I started it (10/03/14) I used all my notes but just didn't remember/understand how to write this style of question. I have had an attempt but shall try to re do it after feedback (or another question in this style) as even though i don't know how to do it, I know that this is either wrong or very rubbish.

Browning tells the story of ‘My Last Duchess’ (MLD) with his way of opening the poem; “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall”. The use of the word ‘my’ could sound possessive, causing it to sound as though he saw her in a materialistic way, that he owned her. The phrasing of ‘last Duchess’ emphasises this interpretation, as by saying ‘last’ it sounds as though the Duke plans on having another, again making the Duchess/women in this poem sound like objects. Browning also uses voice to tell the story. As shown in the opening, the poem is read/spoken by the Duke, which leas readers to assume he is the main character, as even though for the duration of the poem his speech is purely about the Duchess, it can be seen as a poem about how she has influenced him. This adds to characterisation of the Duke, as he sounds as though he is attempting to grasp at control over the Duchess, but even from death she controls him. We as readers know it is from death due to the second line “looking as if she were alive”, which causes us to assume that she is dead, but that she still has control over him, as she ‘looks’ as though she is alive. This can be seen either as he feels as though she is still watching him, or that even in death she cannot change the way she looks and appears. The form of the poem is used to tell the story too. MLD is a dramatic monologue, we as readers know it is a dramatic monologue because it is key to Browning’s poems that he always writes as characters, in this case the Duke, seen though use of the first person and talking about ‘my’ Duchess. MLD is also written in iambic pentameter, which when read sounds like a heart beat. There is also a lot of enjambement, which causes the poem to read very much as though it is thoughts spoken aloud. This all tells the story as it adds to characterisation of the Duke, which helps readers create their own interpretations of the text. The form aspects add to the characterisation of the Duke as by using enjambement and iambic pentameter, the poem reads as thoughts said aloud, and the enjambement also causes the Duke to sound very passionate about what he is saying, as it is as though he cannot stop the words from escaping him. This adds to the telling of the story as the Duke spends some time in the poem complaining about the Duchess, but claiming how it would be to “stoop” to tell her how she feels, so when later on in the poem he says “I gave commands, then smiles stopped altogether”, its lets readers make their own interpretation about how the Duchess died. The Duke has come across in the poem as possessive, materialistic and jealous, which makes it seem a likely possibility that he killed the Duchess - or had someone kill her.