Welcome to Atonement

What we'll try to do (the order might vary, at first based on the first part, then the whole novel):

1) Background search on different contexts (share sources and info):

* Ian McEwan as the author

* Britain in 1935

* the class system in Britain between World Wars

2) Finding non-literary texts that would allow us to revise different text types and enlighten us about something related to this novel at the same time (ongoing work)

3) Putting together a detailed timeline

4) Compiling character profiles

6) Describing how the Tallis household functions (social class and power issues)

+ Briony reads The Waves by Virginia Woolf --> read (fragments) here if interested (6 different viewpoints interspersed with detailed descriptions of the sea, which function as means of moving from one consciousness into another):

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0201091h.html

After reading the whole novel:

Ongoing work on the timeline, character profiles (with quotes, and events that bring about changes in the characters), finding non-literary texts, and discussing important issues.

+ Discussion questions

(See this, too, for one opinion: https://jacquemoreau.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/the-tallis-household/)

+ Brian Finney essay: http://web.csulb.edu/~bhfinney/mcewan.html

+ Convince me to like or hate Briony

+ Object descriptions

+ Fiction and metafiction

+ Metonymy and class

+ Watching the film

+ Some creative writing (if you'd like to have some)

Some useful resources for the background search:

Ian McEwan homepage: http://www.ianmcewan.com/

Britain 1930s timeline (if you google this phrase, you'll get a lot more, maybe some even better):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/worldwars_timeline_noflash.shtml

1935 in the UK: 

Everyday life in Britain in the 1930s: http://www.localhistories.org/1930slife.html

Thirties Britain (The National Archives):

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/thirties-britain/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2641959/British-Council-film-archive-reveals-life-1930s-40s-Britain.html

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/7483/economics/the-uk-economy-in-the-1930s/

http://www.capx.co/what-did-britain-really-look-like-in-the-1930s/

Some on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqpNcHTG4uM (poverty, 12:25)

A short video on the stately house in which part 1 of Atonement was filmed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LFB6EdlR08 (Stokesay Court, 6:16)

Google for pictures: British manor houses 1930s

You can listen to a bit of Minding the Manor: the Memoir of a 1930 English Kitchen Maid by Mollie Moran here: http://www.amazon.com/Minding-Manor-Memoir-English-Kitchen/dp/0762796839

The fate of Britain's historic homes. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2101933/Englands-lost-Downtons-Or-endless-homes-ended-bypasses-office-blocks-golf-courses.html

Task: When reading, if you notice anything mentioned that might have existed in real life (people, places, politics, etc.), google them and find out more, e.g. Bernini's Triton in the Piazza Barberini in Rome (p18 in the 2002 Vintage publication I own, first page of Chapter 2)

Read for background and a video-related task:

https://g20languageandliterature.wordpress.com/2019/08/05/atonement-background-context/

https://youtu.be/CvuVfgZ9wcI (26:41)

Paper 2 again

NB! See also my 21 Feb 2022 blog post.
Generally, Paper 2 exam essay questions seem to be concentrating on the following:
* Form and Structure
* Personal judgement, often can ask about a “lens” - cultural - feminist - etc.
* Themes or characterization - maybe conflict
* Broad Concept - beliefs - home - etc.

NB! See my 16 May 2022 blog post on assessment of essays.

What makes a text timeless and literary???
timeless = not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion.
literary = having a marked style intended to create a particular emotional effect
Some sample Paper 2 questions:
1) Literature is often said to be timeless. To what extent is this true of two works you have studied?
2) How can we explain the continued interest in a particular work in different contexts and at different times?

The following could all be significant. Put them in the order of importance for you:
* an original, interesting plot
* well-rounded characters that are not perfect but easy to relate to
* a good conflict to build the story around, a good climax and resolution
* a well-done ending
* interesting use of language
* good use of literary devices and techniques
* being set in an interesting world
* themes of major importance and universal interest discussed
* aesthetic value

Possible reasons brought out by some earlier students (not a definitive list):
* reader being able to relate to the themes (real-life history, human struggle, epic fight good vs evil, existential questions)
* the characters have distinctive voices (characteristic of the time and place)
* life-like characters develop throughout the story (round and dynamic vs flat and static, see: https://prezi.com/c7kkzijg2-fa/characters-round-and-flat-static-vs-dynamic/)
* different elements work together (plot, character development, writing technique, etc)
* the text
               includes several different viewpoints
               is easily readable but not simplistic
               allows multiple interpretations
               gives a good overview of the world the story is set in
               caters for the reader's intellectual, emotional, ethical, and
                                                                       spiritual development
               makes the reader question sth, ask questions
                                                                  and search for answers
               makes the reader think about themselves, their times,
                                                                          their society, etc (familiarity)

Literary criticism

15 types: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/literary-theory-explained

Feminist criticism:  https://www.thoughtco.com/feminist-literary-criticism-3528960#:~:text

Marxist criticism: https://writingcommons.org/section/research/research-methods/textual-methods/literary-criticism/marxist-criticism/#:~:text

Queer theory: https://literariness.org/2019/03/04/queer-theory/

Gay/lesbian studieshttps://literariness.org/2018/11/15/gay-lesbian-studies/

NB! See Literary criticism generic questions (on Tera)

Abstract issues as possible themes

Two possible Paper 2 questions:
If beauty is a relative term, how do two of the works you have studied explore this idea?
How does a particular term or concept, such as childhood, change in the way it is represented in the texts you have studied?

The following list of abstract issues that might appear in literature was coined by some previous IB students. 

Discuss which of them are present in  Carol Ann Duffy's (CAD) poetry, which in Kate Chopin's (KC) short stories, which in the play "A Doll's House" (ADH), which in "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" (1D)? How?

Which would you pair for a specific theme in Paper 2? 

NB! If you choose poetry, you have to discuss THREE poems. (IB seems to think 2 is too little.)

Later on we'll be also discussing their occurrence in the other literary texts you can use in Paper 2 (in which you can use literary texts that we have dealt with in class, but not the ones you used for your IO or HLE).

• (un)employment ADH
• (un)happiness ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• adolescence CAD, ADH
• adultery CAD, KC
• atonement ADH, KC, 1D
• belief ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• bereavement 
• betrayal ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• challenge ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• childhood ADH?
• civilisation  ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• comedy 1D?
• correspondence 1D. ADH
• crime KC, ADH
• devotion ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• discrimination ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• education CAD, ADH, KC
• experience ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• family ADH, KC, 1D
• feminism ADH, CAD, KC
• freedom  ADH, KC, 1D
• friendship ADH, 1D
• guilt ADH, KC, 1D
• hatred ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• help ADH, KC, 1D
• hope  ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• humour ADH, CAD, KC, 1D?
• imagination CAD
• influence ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• intelligence ADH, 1D
• loss ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• love  ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• loyalty ADH, KC, 1D
• magic CAD
• manhood 1D, CAD
• marriage ADH, KC, CAD
• mystery ADH, CAD, KC, 1D?
• obsession ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• pain ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• passion KC, 1D, ADH
• peace CAD
• politeness KC
• politics CAD, 1D
• power ADH, KC, 1D
• property KC
• punishment 1D 
• race KC
• regret KC
• relationships ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• religion 1D
• rumours / gossip KC
• satisfaction ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• self-expression CAD, ADH
• silence 
• slavery KC, 1D
• social class KC, 1D
• social standards ADH, KC
• stubbornness ADH, CAD, KC, 1D
• the supernatural
• torture 1D
• tradition(s) 
• war CAD, 1D
• wealth ADH, KC
• witchcraft
• womanhood ADH, CAD, KC

Is there anything you would like to add?

Literary texts we'll be working with

Carol Ann Duffy's poetry (Europe, the UK, 20th-21st century; SL/HL)

Kate Chopin's short stories (America, the US, 19th century, SL/HL)

Hendrik Ibsen's play ""A Doll's House" (Europe, Norway, translation, 19th century, SL/HL)

NB! The three above are the ones you can use for the IO.

In your IO, you are not supposed to mention your name or the name of your school. So, start with something like the following:

I'm a Language A English Language and Literature student, and for my Individual Oral today I have chosen the Global Issue of ...

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie\s novel "Purple Hibiscus" (Africa + America, Nigeria / the US; 21st century, SL/HL)

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's novel "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" (Europe, Russia, translation, 20th century, HL/SL?)

Ian McEwan's novel "Atonement" (Europe, the UK, 20th-21st century, HL)

Assessment of essays

Assessment of essays:

The maximum mark you can get for a subject in IB is 7.

One way of looking at whether you are there already is to assess your work and deduce points for the following:

* not writing on the topic

* illegible handwriting

* focusing on oneself / not impersonal enough

* using past tenses instead of present ones

* logic hard to follow

* missing or extremely weak introduction or conclusion

* no thesis statement

* short forms

* too few literary terms used, or terms used wrongly

* excessive grammar / vocabulary / spelling problems

* important issues not mentioned

* nothing on authorial intent

* faulty structure (we should be able to see since the beginning where the essay is headed, and it shouldn't be jumping all over the place)

Paper 2

The Paper 2 exam consists of 4 essay questions, only one of which must be answered during the timed period. You have to use two of the literary works not used in other assessments in the course for this exam.  Although the questions will change from exam to exam, they will be broad in nature allowing a wide and diverse set of literary works to be used.  

NB!

* Both HL and SL answer 1 of 4 essay questions. SL and HL students receive exactly the same 4 questions.

* Both HL and SL must answer one question in relation to two literary works studied in the course.

* Both HL and SL students cannot write about any literary work studied that was used in any previous assessment component.

* Both HL and SL have 1 hour and 45 minutes answer this essay question. 

* Both HL and SL are graded using the same criteria.

* At SL, Paper 2 grade counts for 35% of the final grade.

* At HL, Paper 2 grade counts for 25% of the final grade.

Sample questions (thanks goes to Mr Philpot)

1. Referring to two of the works you have studied, discuss both how and why the text invites the reader to identify with situations, characters and/or ideas.

2. Often the appeal for the reader of a literary work is the atmosphere a writer creates (for example, peaceful, menacing or ironic). Discuss some of the ways atmospheres are conveyed and to what effect in two of the works you have studied.

3. Writers often choose words, phrases and names of characters and places not only for their literal meaning, but for further meanings that they may suggest to the reader. With reference to two of the works you have studied, discuss how such words and their associations contribute to your understanding and appreciation of the works.

4. How is “home” depicted in two of the works you have studied and what is its significance?

5. How do two of the works you have studied portray the struggle to be understood?

6. Some literary texts, although set in a particular place or time, convey ideas that are universal. In what ways is this true in two of the works you have studied?

7. Discuss how two works you have studied present concepts of good and bad, not as absolute notions, but as a matter of individual perception.

8. Referring to two works you have studied, discuss how the author has created a convincing “world”.  

Assessment criteria:

Tip: Practice both self and peer assessment.

Assessment of exam-like papers

The maximum mark you can get for a subject in IB is 7.

To achieve that, SHOW OFF your knowledge!

One way of looking at whether you are there already is to assess your work and deduce points for the following:

* illegible handwriting

* no quotes (neither direct nor indirect)

* not answering the guiding question (and not providing your own, either)

* factual mistakes

* being informal and personal

* inconsistency of style

* illogical tense use

* logic hard to follow

* excessive grammar / vocabulary / spelling problems

* a strain on the reader

* no paragraphing

Exam papers

Paper 1 is an examination using unseen non-literary texts assessed externally. You are supposed to write a guided textual analysis about one (SL) or both (HL) of the texts provided.

Each text comes with with a guiding question, which will be about a technical or formal aspect of the text.  You do not have to answer the guiding question, and you can propose your own line of argument about the text, it must be focused on a particular aspect that provides focus to the analysis. 
Passages for analysis may be complete pieces of writing or extracts from larger works, or from a visual text or an extract from a longer piece (e.g. advertisements, opinion columns, brochures, extracts, etc. Check the Subject Guide for more examples.
Paper 1 counts for 35% of the final grade, out of 20 marks for SL and 40 marks for HL.

Paper 2 consists of four essay questions (the same for SL/HL, and graded externally using the same criteria), only one of which must be answered during 1 hour and 45 min. You need to use two of the literary works not used in other assessments in the course for it.  Although the questions are bound to change from exam to exam, they will be broad in nature allowing a wide and diverse set of literary works to be used. 
Some sample questions, quoted from InThinking:
1. Referring to two of the works you have studied, discuss both how and why the text invites the reader to identify with situations, characters and/or ideas.
2. Often the appeal for the reader of a literary work is the atmosphere a writer creates (for example, peaceful, menacing or ironic). Discuss some of the ways atmospheres are conveyed and to what effect in two of the works you have studied.
3. Writers often choose words, phrases and names of characters and places not only for their literal meaning, but for further meanings that they may suggest to the reader. With reference to two of the works you have studied, discuss how such words and their associations contribute to your understanding and appreciation of the works.
4. How is “home” depicted in two of the works you have studied and what is its significance?
5. How do two of the works you have studied portray the struggle to be understood?
6. Some literary texts, although set in a particular place or time, convey ideas that are universal. In what ways is this true in two of the works you have studied?
7. Discuss how two works you have studied present concepts of good and bad, not as absolute notions, but as a matter of individual perception.
8. Referring to two works you have studied, discuss how the author has created a convincing “world”.