Setting

Function

• mood
• reflects society
• context (where/when)
• reflection of characterisation
• establishes narrative (influences events and may reflect journey)
• character placement

The Road

The Cellar = underneath plantation house

• bodies stored (post apocalyptic food source)
• reflects society's decay
• horror (tension, fear) - MEMORABLE AS NOTHING ELSE IS

The Bunker = underneath 

• Food source (pre-apocalyptic)
• built to save from apocalypse
• safe, secure, civilised (why don't characters stay there?

Gun without bullets in the bunker has no purpose, like the bunker as it didn't save anybody. 

Essay Introduction

How far do you agree with the view that Fra Lippo Lippi is simply a "saucy and loud-mouthed monk"? 

Fra Lippo Lippi could be views as a saucy and loud mouthed monk, due to his opinionated intoxication throughout the poem. However, Fra Lippo Lipp's metanarrative enables the reader to connect with the deeper message  which directly concerns the moral decay of society. 

Decoding the question

It has been said that a fault of the poem (T) is the over emphasized (V) moral at the end. How satisfying do you find the poem's moral that "He prayeth well, who loveth well, Both man and bird and beast."? (A)

"Betrayal (V) is at the heart of the relationships (A) between men and women in Rosetti's Poetry (T)". How do you respond to this view?

"The men (A) are more convincingly (V) portrayed than the women (A) in The Kite Runner (T)." What do you think of this view?

The question you get, not what you want!

Subject matter/topic = what in the most general terms the question is about
Aspect/focus = angle on the subject matter.
Instruction = agree/disagree

When in the exam

• identify topic (author or text)
• search for aspect 
• identify instructuon
• check for viewpoint and whether you agree/disagree

Example

How far do you agree with the view that the ending of The Road is unbearably pessimistic?

Agree - man dies, trout scene, boy orphaned, end of 'story'/man's narrative

Disagree - start of new story, boy finds family, female presence, fire continued to be carried, boy released from father. 

Structure

1. address viewpoint immediately 
2. select and develop 3 key points in support of your view
3. select and develop 3 key points which contrast your view
4. conclude your argument by addressing the question

Write about some of the ways Fitzgerald tells the story in Chapter 2 (21 marks)

Chapter 2 sits after Nick has just moved to West Egg, and has witnessed Gatsby gazing at the green light across the bay. Fitzgerald introduces the reader to the setting of Chapter 2 immediately, “About half way between West Egg […] is a valley of ashes.” The valley of ashes description evokes images of death and desolation, which completely contrasts with the opening of Chapter 3, which describes the parties at Gatsby’s house. The death and desolation so prevalent in the opening of Chapter 2 is at a complete contrast with the music during "the summer nights" at Gatsby's lively parties. This juxtaposition allows Fitzgerald to highlight the class differences within the novel’s narrative, which is a main theme. Within the valley of ashes, Dr Eckleburg’s “blue and gigantic” eyes on a billboard “brood on over the solemn dumping ground.” The eyes could symbolise God looking over the moral decay of the world; once the characters have left the false façade of the world that is the two Eggs, the decay is revealed. This could link to Fitzgerald's own experience of Post-WW1. Fitzgerald believed the 'Jazz Age' was fake, and simply masked the decay left after the great war. It is not until a page into Chapter 2 that the reader is introduced to the reason Nick is in the valley of ashes, which is to meet Myrtle (Tom’s mistress). By allowing the reader to gain a sense of the decay of their location before revealing the nature of their visit, Fitzgerald can use Tom having a mistress as the final example of decay in the ‘lost generation’: adultery. 

The characterisation of Myrtle is particularly prominent in Chapter 2. Everything Nick has come across in the valley of ashes has been desolate and ashen, until the meeting of Myrtle, who had a "vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smoldering." Myrtle physically screams life and is vivacious due to her desire to be full of life because of her dire surroundings. Fitzgerald omits Myrtle's name until 4/5 pages after the initial introduction. The absence of her first name forces her to be labelled as either "Tom's mistress" or "Mrs Wilson." This infers that the males in her life own her; she is not her own woman. Myrtle also "want to get one of those dogs.", asking Tom to buy one for her once they arrive in the city. This shows her materialistic nature, and once again her reliance on Tom. Furthermore, Tom's purchase of the dog, along with the snide comment to the dog seller "Here's your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it." shows his decadent wealth and aim to show off in front of his current mistress. He still chooses to buy the dog despite believing it to be over priced, as he can afford to over pay. 

At Tom's apartment gathering, Nick admits that "I have been drunk just twice in my life [...] so everything that happened has a dim, hazy cast over it." This infers that for the rest of Chapter 2,  Nick's narration is unreliable and inaccurate. This makes the reader question any event after this point due to his intoxication. 

Towards the end of the chapter, Fitzgerald employs Nick's narration in a confusing manner, "People disappeared, reappeared, made plans to go somewhere". This confusion and quick pace through the lack of complete sentences increases the tension of the narrative. After the increase in tension, Nick retells the encounter between Tom and "Mrs Wilson". The regression from Myrtle to Mrs Wilson once again infers that Myrtle is under the control of Tom under this particular scene and reminds the reader that she is just Tom's mistress, not his wife. This regression and control manifests itself ultimately when "Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand." Tom physically hurting Myrtle and not having to reap the consequences shows the difference in equality between men and women and also the contempt that the upper class have for the working class; Tom hits Myrtle as soon as she steps out of line.

The Ending

In The Road, several points could be considered as the ending of the book.

Reaching the beach?

• End of the literal journey. Getting to the beach was the goal for the man and the boy, and by reaching the beach, they have reached the end of their physical, literal journey.
• Could be considered anti-climactic, reality versus expectations. The man and the boy were hopeful for what they'd find at the beach. The man had said to the boy that the sea might be blue, and apologised when there wasn't. 
• Links to the mother's death, full of hopelessness. Mother gave up.
• Limited linguistic palette.
• "Smog across the horizon." This quote shows that the whole world has come across the same fate as the country the man and the boy have. Also, the fish are found dead on the beach, showing that whatever has happened has killed everything, including the sea life.
• Nothing changes when they reach the beach despite the travelling. "Barren, silent, godless" at the beginning of the book mirrors the description of the beach at the end of the novel, "Cold. Desolate. Birdless."

When the man dies? (Page 301)

• End of original narrative viewpoint from the man.
• The "fading light" symbolises the end of hope. 
• "Old dreams encroached upon the waking world", the man dreaming the same dream as at the very start of the novel makes The Road seem cyclical, that hope will always end.
• The boy has to accept that the journey has ended. "In that cold corridor, they had reached a point of no return."
• The "ever darkening" tunnel shows that their journey has been pointless and futile.
• When the man dies, the scene becomes incredibly cheesy and emotional. The boy says to the man "You said you'd never leave me." This outburst of emotion is unusual. Wearing a mask, mask taken off and emotions revealed.
• The man fails to do what his wife knew he couldn't, can't kill the boy. "Take me with you."
• Start of new narrative viewpoint (the boy) which could be a reason why ending is more hopeful and optimistic with no questions asked.

The final paragraph? (My choice for the ending)

• Physical ending of the book
• Retrospective of pre-apocalyptic world
• Fish go home to breed but can't go home, nothing can return to how it was.
• "They smelled of moss in your hand" appreciation of senses that have now been lost.
• "Maps of the world" definite, fixed. Nothing will return to how it was pre-apocalyptically.

Key Episodes (Part 2)

Finding the cellar of naked and mutilated people (page 112-121)

This episode starts with the man and the boy finsing an old plantation house. Plantation houses were big, decadent manors built by the plantation owners, with slaves working the plantations. I've taken thid particular imagery as a comment on consumerism by McCarthy. The manor's were oppulent, grand and expensive, and funded by a dreadful slave trade that spread through the 'civlised world'. I think that McCarthy is trying to say that consumerism was at fault in the pre-apocalyptic world. This links back to the man and his cart; a shopping cart. Even in the post-apocalyptic world, the man is still attached to consumerism. Consumerism is also made evident in the references in this particular episode. McCarthy almost directly lifts a scene from the original Dawn of the Dead when the man and the boy find the emaciated people in the cellar, which mirrors the scene where the police officer's discover the zombies in the cellar. Dawn of the Dead featured scenes in shopping centres, highlighting consumerism. McCarthy references low-culture horror films (despite the fact that the Dawn of the Dead could be taken as a mockery of society) to highlight a fairly deep idea of consumerism being corrupt.

On page 113, the description of the manor shows luxury decaying within the house. The words chosen in the description have 'o' sounds (excuse the lack of terminology sir!), meaning that the descripiton has to be read slower, creating moments with low tension. Within the description, the scene in the cellar is foreshadowed. Piles of "Clothes and shoes. Belts. Coats. Blankets and old sleeping bags." were found in one room, which the man would have "ample of time later to think about." This leaves the reader wondering why/what is happening within the manor. However, the man ignores this blatent scene of habitation due to his crippling hunger. The boy picks up on such things ("Papa, the boy whispered."). This shows that the boy may be naive, but in some ways is better than his father as his father is rushing in without thinking. The man simply ignores his concern and tells him to "Shh." The man also ignores the "trampled grass", the "smell of mold and excrement", more signs of people. "All these things he saw and did not see." McCarthy has given the man a potentially threatening ignorance.

When the man first enters the cellar on page 116, the sentence length and frequency of punctuation varies incredibly. It starts off with fairly lengthy sentences, and then cuts to short sentences to increase the tension. It is very similar to the expectation of horror films (another reference to Dawn of the Dead) where the audience is left anticipating something to happen. The man finds "naked people, male and femal, all trying to hide." We can infer the people they find have been held captive by an unseen captor. One of the men they see has "legs gone to the hip and stumps of them blackened and burnt." The man's legs have been removed and the wounds cauterized. This infers canabalism, presumably by the captors. McCarthy shows us that humans can and will turn to any forms of survival, including cannabalism.

After this key scene, the man and the boy rush out of the cellar. Over the next two pages (116-117) the man repeatedly says "Jesus", "Christ" or "God". This could symbolise that people only turn to religion under times of need. It could also infer a slip in the man's front; for just a split second he acts as if he is pre-apocalptic. Previously, the land was described as being 'godless'. Now, he is accidentally referencing Christianity.

When the man and the boy have left the house, the man comes extremely close to killing the boy. "This is the moment." However, the man and they boy hide in the leaves and ash and the man doesn't shoot the boy. This mirrors the man's death towards the end of the novel when the man is dying in the leaves and cannot kill the boy, the one thing he had promised to do throughout the novel and to his wife.

The baby on the spit (page 210- 215)

Tension is created at the opening of this scene by the stillness half way through page 210.