English Extension 1 Question Thread

[cindyyin]

Hey, currently thinking about possible related texts for my school prescribed texts of Frankenstein and Metropolis - both of which have themes/messages regarding industrialisation, science and social or class inequality. Could anyone suggest possible texts that would link well with my two prescribed texts?

Thanks

[angewina_naguen]

Hey, currently thinking about possible related texts for my school prescribed texts of Frankenstein and Metropolis - both of which have themes/messages regarding industrialisation, science and social or class inequality. Could anyone suggest possible texts that would link well with my two prescribed texts?

Thanks

Hey, cindyyin!

Welcome to the forums! I provided some recommended related texts in a thread here which you can check out  I'd particulary recommend Waste, Anthropocene and Blast Manifesto for those texts and themes. They are also different forms from Frankenstein and Metropolis which would be great for showcasing your engagement with different media in your analysis. Let me know if that helps and if you have any further questions about related texts 

Angelina 

[owidjaja]

Hey, currently thinking about possible related texts for my school prescribed texts of Frankenstein and Metropolis - both of which have themes/messages regarding industrialisation, science and social or class inequality. Could anyone suggest possible texts that would link well with my two prescribed texts?

Thanks

Hey there,

Adding on to Angelina's awesome suggestions, "The Time Machine" by HG Wells would also fit nicely with Metropolis and Frankenstein

Hope this helps!

[tafarax]

Hey, tafarax!

I think satire can be pulled off really well if you do the research and think carefully about how you wish to represent your ideas. It really depends on two key things; firstly, you need to still make sure it's driven by the "literary world" you have created. Your satire will need to be heavily setting-focused and have a strong grasp on a sense of place to fulfill the demands of the module. You may use your elective for inspiration and a basis to work with when constructing your fictional place and then allow the humour and irony to all come out of that.

The second thing you'll need to consider is the kind of question you're working with in your assessment and, long term, what you might get in the HSC. Your assessment should give you enough guidelines and direction to work with, along with room for creative freedom to allow your satirical narrative to emerge. In the exams you do, you'll need to tailor your story and prepared material around the unseen stimulus they provide you too so make sure you know your plot well and are flexible enough to adapt it. What were you planning on writing about/exploring? Might give me some more ideas to help you out

Angelina 

Hey Angelina, THANKS FOR THE ADVICE.

My assignment requires me to write a creative under a pseudonym, then analyse it into my essay as a related text for Frankenstein. The creative must have a 'world impacted by socio-political upheaval', and have the 'characters within fighting for justice, solace and peace.' My creative is mainly a satirical commentary of society during economic downturns where the main character is significantly affected and ends up involved in criminal activity which later leads to her demise... a bit overreaching but it's an exaggerated narrative. If you can offer any assistance, it would be splendid.

I tried my hand at normal narrations, but I absolutely SUCK octopuses at evocative language and realistic conversation. It always sounds strange and VERY sarcastic, hence I'm going full satirical for all my creatives, including my trials and my HSC. I have no idea how to research this though and would love all the help I can get.

[angewina_naguen]

Hey Angelina, THANKS FOR THE ADVICE.

My assignment requires me to write a creative under a pseudonym, then analyse it into my essay as a related text for Frankenstein. The creative must have a 'world impacted by socio-political upheaval', and have the 'characters within fighting for justice, solace and peace.' My creative is mainly a satirical commentary of society during economic downturns where the main character is significantly affected and ends up involved in criminal activity which later leads to her demise... a bit overreaching but it's an exaggerated narrative. If you can offer any assistance, it would be splendid.

I tried my hand at normal narrations, but I absolutely SUCK octopuses at evocative language and realistic conversation. It always sounds strange and VERY sarcastic, hence I'm going full satirical for all my creatives, including my trials and my HSC. I have no idea how to research this though and would love all the help I can get.

Hey, again!

Interesting narrative idea coming together there! You could deliberately manipulate language and your story to have that final descent into criminal activity be a plot twist. For example, maybe it could off with them heading down the road or something, and slowly you unfold and reveal the economic crises within the society before your character reaches their destination in which the crime is committed. That could make it really exciting!

As for researching and improving your writing, you could narrow your search down with key areas like "satire genre conventions" or "representations of downfall in literature" to see what's out there. This article and this guide can be good starting points. If you are looking for academic readings, Google Scholar and Academia are my go-to platforms. For creative writing, I would particularly like to recommend reading Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart if you want to look at a great way crime has been represented and explored (especially psychologically). I covered some tips briefly in my Ext 1 Lecture from January too if you wanted to see how I approached the creative process. Hope that helps and good luck with the assessment!

Angelina 

[amajuju]

Hey
I was wondering if anyone had any related texts for North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. It's my prescribed text for Worlds of Upheaval, and I would really appreciate ideas like films or poetry for related materials (basically not another novel)
Thanks

[angewina_naguen]

Hey
I was wondering if anyone had any related texts for North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. It's my prescribed text for Worlds of Upheaval, and I would really appreciate ideas like films or poetry for related materials (basically not another novel)
Thanks

Hey, amajuju!

Welcome to the forums  Hey, amajuju!

Here are the WOU related texts I generally provide as recommendations for anyone who is studying the elective. Of these, I'd recommend Wyndham Lewis' Blast Manifesto the most since it's a modernist magazine (which contrasts nicely with Gaskell's novel) and it explores similar ideas surrounding industrialisation and class struggle. Another text I'd recommend that isn't listed is Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour with its feminist quirkiness and similar contextual guidelines to Gaskell but it is quite an overdone text so I'd recommend steering away from it.

As for some supporting literature, I found this really great review of your novel if you were interested in further reading! I also quite like this review and this [url=https://www.booktopia.com.au/blog/2010/02/17/north-and-south-by-elizabeth-gaskell/] Hope this helps and let me know if you have any further questions!

Angelina 

[spnmox]

Hi!

I'm choosing a RT for Elective 2 Worlds of Upheaval, my prescribed novel is North and South. I'm currently deciding between The Mask of Anarchy (Shelley) or The Cry of the Children (Browning). Which RT will make for the most interesting discussion or have the most to talk about in relation to the rubric? Thoughts?

[angewina_naguen]

Hi!

I'm choosing a RT for Elective 2 Worlds of Upheaval, my prescribed novel is North and South. I'm currently deciding between The Mask of Anarchy (Shelley) or The Cry of the Children (Browning). Which RT will make for the most interesting discussion or have the most to talk about in relation to the rubric? Thoughts?

Hey, spnmox!

Either text would pair well with North and South and have incredible similarities stylistically and thematically so I'm actually finding it hard to give one more of an edge over the other  I think it's worth analysing both since they fit perfectly with the Worlds of Upheaval elective premise and can be great resources for supplementary study. I would personally like to give the Shelley a bit more of an edge just because of its more explicit references to industrialisation and the social issues that prevailed in England at the time, presenting a strong parallel with Gaskell's literary world. It's ultimately up to you to make the call though Hope this helps!

Angelina 

[spnmox]

Hey, spnmox!

Either text would pair well with North and South and have incredible similarities stylistically and thematically so I'm actually finding it hard to give on more of an edge over the other  I think it's worth analysing both since they fit perfectly with the Worlds of Upheaval elective premise and can be great resources for supplementary study. I would personally like to give the Shelley a bit more of an edge just because of its more explicit references to industrialisation and the social issues that prevailed in England at the time, presenting a strong parallel with Gaskell's literary world. It's ultimately up to you to make the call though Hope this helps!

Angelina 

Thanks so much Angelina!!

[Joelle F-J]

Hey all!
I need to select a related text for either Guillermo del Toro's film Pan's Labyrinth or Samuel T. Coleridge's poems Rime of the Ancient Mariner, The Eolian Harp, Christabel, and Kubla Khan - for the Ext1 elective Reimagined Worlds.

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions?? (Preferably for the film, if possible!)

[carl16]

hi! 
my prescribed texts are frankenstein, metropolis, waiting for godot (we need to pick 2) and we also have to have 2 related texts.
it looks like frankenstein is romanticism, while the other 2 are from modernism/postmodernism eras. was wondering...for worlds of upheaval essay how do I link them together? is it enough to say they are all responses to upheavals (e.g. frankenstein responds to the upheaval caused by enlightenment era, abuse of science) ? if so, how do i go about picking related texts? so far, what i have in mind is Coleridge's this lime tree bower my prison, which forms a arc with frankenstein in that they complement each other; coleridge shows how imagination liberates individuals from their old pessimistic attitudes, whereas frankenstein discourages individuals from using imagination in a way that disrupts natural life cycle as victor frankenstein does. but how do I link these Romantic texts to modernism/postmodernism? would i be able to do an integrated essay or compare/contrast?
Thanks!

[angewina_naguen]

Hey all!
I need to select a related text for either Guillermo del Toro's film Pan's Labyrinth or Samuel T. Coleridge's poems Rime of the Ancient Mariner, The Eolian Harp, Christabel, and Kubla Khan - for the Ext1 elective Reimagined Worlds.

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions?? (Preferably for the film, if possible!)

Hey, Joelle F-J!

When I delivered the Extension 1 lecture earlier this year, I used Shirley Jackson's short story The Lottery as a related text example for Pan's Labyrinth. This text is quite popular though so I would be cautious about choosing it.

Some great novels which would couple well with the film include Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, Tea Obreht's novel Inland, Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate and Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. Elements of magic realism which Pan's Labyrinth employs can be found in all these examples and you can draw some connections with any of them with Coleridge too. While they're quite long and heavy texts, they'll have lots for you to work with and explore. Hopefully one of them piques your interest and gives you something awesome to read this holiday 

hi! 
my prescribed texts are frankenstein, metropolis, waiting for godot (we need to pick 2) and we also have to have 2 related texts.
it looks like frankenstein is romanticism, while the other 2 are from modernism/postmodernism eras. was wondering...for worlds of upheaval essay how do I link them together? is it enough to say they are all responses to upheavals (e.g. frankenstein responds to the upheaval caused by enlightenment era, abuse of science) ? if so, how do i go about picking related texts? so far, what i have in mind is Coleridge's this lime tree bower my prison, which forms a arc with frankenstein in that they complement each other; coleridge shows how imagination liberates individuals from their old pessimistic attitudes, whereas frankenstein discourages individuals from using imagination in a way that disrupts natural life cycle as victor frankenstein does. but how do I link these Romantic texts to modernism/postmodernism? would i be able to do an integrated essay or compare/contrast?
Thanks!

Hey, carl16!

You don't have to choose texts from similar contexts; in fact, I'd encourage choosing them from contrasting ones! You link them together by their thematic commonalities (shared ideas across both texts like imagination as you have highlighted in the example below with Frankenstein and Coleridge). You can broaden your discussion by exploring context but you can group the texts together based on common themes and representations of upheaval.

As for other related text options, since you've got a novel and poem in mind already, it really depends on what your other prescribed text is. Since you have two modernist/postmodernist texts, I would recommend something non-fiction to throw some genre variety in the mix. I have a list of recommendations here if you're interested in exploring some options!

Feel free to ask any follow up questions in this thread if you have any. Hope this helps and good luck to you both with your Ext 1 studies

Angelina 

[carl16]

Thanks Angelina!!      

my plan looks  like this so far:
Thesis
Worlds of upheaval are often driven by an excessive focus on scientific, economic and sociopolitical progress without regard for its moral consequences. Composers encourage individuals and societies to develop a sense of moral responsibility to restore social unity.
Paragraph 1
Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein (1818) exposes the immorality of using science to create life by showing how the resultant creature has no means of attaining happiness. Written following the Age of Enlightenment, where some people saw scientific progress as an end goal whereas Romantics heavily opposed it for fear of its dangers, Shelley suggests that science can be pursued but only in a responsible manner.
Paragraph 2
Andrew Stanton’s animated film Wall-E (2008) explores the immorality of abusing the environment for sociopolitical power by showing how the resultant world is devoid of joy and natural beauty. In response to climate change denialists, Stanton promotes how moral responsibility through caring for the environment can restore beauty to the postmodern world.
Paragraph 3
Fritz Lang’s German expressionist film Metropolis (1927) criticises how a traditional focus on industrial efficiency creates class inequality and leads to the immoral exploitation of the working class. In response to the rise of industrialization in Weimar Germany, which saw the reparations of the Treaty of Versailles (1919-20) forsake the values of compassion and empathy, Lang advocates how these religious morals can restore unity to the working and higher classes.
Paragraph 4
William Blake’s poem The Chimney Sweeper (1789) condemns how a traditional focus on industrial efficiency leads to a loss of morality, as institutions manipulate children to perform labour and neglect their suffering minds and bodies. Disturbed by the prevalence of low pay chimney sweeping jobs at the start of the French Revolution,

I wanted some help on how to create a thread through my essay. so far i came up with something along the lines of morality, but im unsure how to talk about this in terms of a world of upheaval.

My teacher gave me a sample essay talking about "composers represent how change may serve as liberation from the loss of past societal values in order to expose how individuals' beliefs are challenged by shifting sociopolitical and economic paradigms" as the thesis. what is the "past/original" value and what's the new? for example, in frankenstein, would the enlightenment era focus on scientific development be considered the "past/original" and romanticism as a reaction to this is the upheaval,, or is Enlightenment the upheaval that destroys the peace of the old world of nature? or am i on the wrong track completely in talking about upheaval?

how does my plan so far  ? I havent invested heavily in related texts so far, so i would really appreciate any suggestions for better related texts! also better thread/core arguments that run through the essay (trying to get the overall general direction of my essay right)

thanks so much!! 
Carl16

[angewina_naguen]

Thanks Angelina!!      

I wanted some help on how to create a thread through my essay. so far i came up with something along the lines of morality, but im unsure how to talk about this in terms of a world of upheaval.

My teacher gave me a sample essay talking about "composers represent how change may serve as liberation from the loss of past societal values in order to expose how individuals' beliefs are challenged by shifting sociopolitical and economic paradigms" as the thesis. what is the "past/original" value and what's the new? for example, in frankenstein, would the enlightenment era focus on scientific development be considered the "past/original" and romanticism as a reaction to this is the upheaval,, or is Enlightenment the upheaval that destroys the peace of the old world of nature? or am i on the wrong track completely in talking about upheaval?

how does my plan so far  ? I havent invested heavily in related texts so far, so i would really appreciate any suggestions for better related texts! also better thread/core arguments that run through the essay (trying to get the overall general direction of my essay right)

thanks so much!! 
Carl16

Hey, carl16!

You're on the right track with creating the thread. You could explore morality as a complex force, given the worlds of upheaval that the individuals and collectives in your text are situated in. To make it more "Literary Worlds", I would look at how setting and the conditions of a world determine the way characters interact and their understanding of morality. You're already heading in the right direction; my advice would be to really draw from how those worlds are represented to explore it.

As for your thesis, I think it's looking fine as well! I think the word "excessive" is perhaps the only thing throwing it off balance but the rest of it aligns perfectly fine with the module. The thesis from the essay your teacher gave you, from my understanding at least, is looking at the idea of the worlds that face upheaval are reacting to the past and responding to conditions that are in flux and unstable (so as you've said, the movement from the balance, symmetry and order of Enlightenment to the individualism and expression of Romanticism). How you've interpreted upheaval is also valid though; that's the beauty about doing Extension 1 

My only other suggestion would be to change Wall-E. I absolutely adore the film but I can definitely see it your teacher, and HSC markers more broadly, not seeing it as "Extension 1" related text material. I would perhaps recommend George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant (1936) which can throw a nice WWII text into the mix. It's also an essay which gives a bit more contrast in your choice of media to explore in the essay (both Wall-E and Metropolis are films). Let me know if that helps and good luck with the assessment!

Angelina