OCR GCE English Literature H472/02: Comparative and contextual study Advanced GCE Mark Scheme for Autumn 2021

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Write a critical appreciation of the passage, relating your discussion to your reading of American Literature1880–1940. For the close reading questions, the dominant assessment objective is: AO2. ... AO2, Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts. Answers will also be assessed for AO1, Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression; and AO3, Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received. Answers to this question are likely to note that the passage is written in the third person throughout. They may comment on the dry and sometimes elevated tone of the narrative (‘Obedient to more anticipatory bars…’), which contrasts with the simple entertainment being offered. They may show how the writer evokes a noisy, lively scene (‘swift rattling measures…rollicking refrain…glasses pounded rhythmically’), and note the humorous touch where the men are looking under the dancer’s skirts at her legs whereas Maggie is looking at the skirts themselves and working out their cost. Contextual discussion may include mention of social class, and the way the poor Bowery public are being sold a fantasy of upper-class theatre-going ‘at reduced rates’. Candidates may find some poignancy in Maggie, with her innocent belief that the ventriloquist’s dummies can really talk, especially in view of the novel’s title which dubs her ‘a Girl of the Streets’. Answers are likely to comment on the blackface act, and may point out that, although such a performance would now be considered racist, it was found acceptable in late nineteenth-century New York. They may discern that the ‘sorrowful lay’ is a sentimental piece, once again appealing to simple tastes. Candidates may notice the concluding irony in which the voices raised in patriotic song are mostly from those ‘of foreign birth’, and offer contextual comment on the importance of immigration to American culture at this time. Links may be made to issues of social class and respectability in novels such as Sister Carrie. This guidance should be used in conjunction with the Level Descriptors: Critical appreciation of an unseen passage (close reading). 30H472/02 Mark Scheme October 2021 Question Guidance Marks 2 (a) F Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby ‘American literature is often preoccupied with the idea of greatness.’ By comparing The Great Gatsby with at least one other text prescribed for this topic, discuss how far you agree with this view. For the essay questions, the dominant assessment objective is AO3. AO3, Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received. Answers will also be assessed for AO4, Explore connections across literary texts; AO1, Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression; and AO5, Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations. Answers to this question are likely to focus on Gatsby himself and to discuss him as a figure of ‘greatness’. They may suggest that the term is at least partly ironic, especially in view of Gatsby’s worldly achievements, which depend on making money from dubious means, most likely the liquor business under the Prohibition. They may find a visionary quality in Gatsby, and see greatness – or at least something to admire – in his persistence and belief in Daisy despite the passing years and her marriage to another man. They may quote Nick Carraway’s views, where he suggests early in the novel that Gatsby ‘represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn’, but later admires his ‘extraordinary gift for hope’. Candidates may refer to the list treasured by Gatsby’s father which details his desire to improve himself (‘No more smoking or chewing’), and may find this distinctively American. Answers may focus on ‘greatness’ in individual characters, such as that shown in Gatsby and in the central figure of My Ántonia, who achieves a kind of mythic quality; they may also look at greatness of scale in novels such as The Grapes of Wrath, which could be argued to show an epic quality, or the great love depicted between Newland Archer and Ellen Olenska in The Age of Innocence. Alternatively, they may reasonably argue that ‘greatness’ is lacking in these novels, since The Grapes of Wrath focuses on ordinary people in adversity, and The Age of Innocence features many characters who are too small-minded to achieve greatness. This indicative content is intended to indicate aspects of questions that may feature in candidates’ answers. It is not prescriptive, nor is it exclusive; examiners must be careful to reward original but wellfocused answers and implicit as well as explicit responses to questions. This guidance should be used in conjunction with the Level Descriptors: Comparative Essay. 30H472/02 Mark Scheme October 2021 Question Guidance Marks 2 (b) John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath ‘The family plays a key role in American writing.’ By comparing The Grapes of Wrath with at least one other text prescribed for this topic, discuss how far you agree with this view. For the essay questions, the dominant assessment objective is AO3. AO3, Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received. Answers will also be assessed for AO4, Explore connections across literary texts; AO1, Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression; and AO5, Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations. Answers to this question are likely to focus on the Joad family, and to show how their closeness helps them in adversity. They are likely to demonstrate the range of response within the family to their challenges: Grampa dies on the first evening, unable to face leaving his land, and Granma a little later, during the family’s crossing of the Mojave Desert; Pa Joad struggles to fulfil a leader’s role, having lost his confidence along with his livelihood; and Noah and Connie, overwhelmed, abandon the group. Answers are likely to offer substantial discussion of Ma, who has to step up and keep the family together, and may show how her strong principles enable her to do this (‘I never heerd tell of no Joads ever refusin’ food an’ shelter or a lift on the road to anybody that asked. They’s been mean Joads, but never that mean’). Candidates may comment that Steinbeck refers to her as ‘the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken’. They may discuss ways in which family feeling extends to the whole travelling community, so that – as one critic states – ‘the novel shows how the concept of family extends beyond one’s own relatives’. Answers are likely to reference the ending of the novel in this connection, where Rose of Sharon offers her breast to a starving stranger. Links [Show More]

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