Ways of Thinking: After the Bomb!

[elysepopplewell]

HELLO!

This here is a thread to discuss all things After the Bomb!

Here is a link to a top band After the Bomb Essay!

Here is a link to a guide on how to write a ways of thinking essay - with After the Bomb examples!

[arleee]

Hey,
After recently completing Trials, one of my English tutors just told me that I can't actually use one of my related texts because it's from the wrong time period!
With just over 30 days till the HSC starts I really need a new related text. I was hoping someone could suggest a text that looks at minorities and their misrepresentations.
Any help would be amazing!

[ssarahj]

Hey,
After recently completing Trials, one of my English tutors just told me that I can't actually use one of my related texts because it's from the wrong time period!
With just over 30 days till the HSC starts I really need a new related text. I was hoping someone could suggest a text that looks at minorities and their misrepresentations.
Any help would be amazing!

Hey arleee, I can't help with After the Bomb specifically but here's a link to an article that Elyse wrote about choosing a ATB related text: http://atarnotes.com/other-related-texts-after-the-bomb/
If you're looking to see if a text fits your thesis it might be worth just doing a quick Google and reading summaries etc. Good luck 

[elysepopplewell]

Hey,
After recently completing Trials, one of my English tutors just told me that I can't actually use one of my related texts because it's from the wrong time period!
With just over 30 days till the HSC starts I really need a new related text. I was hoping someone could suggest a text that looks at minorities and their misrepresentations.
Any help would be amazing!

Ouch! Tough gig! I'm curious, what was your related text?

Would the plight of women work for your argument? Not necessarily a minority seeing as they make half of the population, but definitely in this time period they were represented poorly. I studied Sylvia Plath's poems as my prescribed text, and the Kitchen Debate between Khruschev and Nixon related to that. But there are tonnes and tonnes of feminine texts. Consider, Enter Helen by Brooke Hauser (it's long, and a biography), Perfect Wives and Ideal Homes, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, or Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown.

Otherwise, perhaps you could look at the (mis)representation of communists in Western media and texts?

Another great text that springs to mind is Milk - a film (which is amazing, you'll love it), and it's about the first openly gay politician in San Francisco. And it definitely involves themes of the civil rights movement at the same time, so it offers a lot in terms of minorities and their representation. Milk is a reasonably well known movie so it shouldn't be too hard to get your hands on. This seems to be the one that would suit your purposes most!

Good luck!

[arleee]

Thanks for all your suggestions! My teacher has recommended that I look at the misrepresentation (or lack of representation) of women in the media and popular fiction throughout the era, so The Kitchen Debate looks really good for that.
My previous related text was The Hollow Men by T.S.Elliot, which looks really nicely at the philosophical paradigm, but unfortunately its written 20 years too early.
Quickly, do you have any tips on how to get better at essay writing for After the Bomb? In my Trials, I got a nice 22/25 for my creative, but only 18/25 for my essay, which I'm hoping to improve.
Thanks!

[elysepopplewell]

Thanks for all your suggestions! My teacher has recommended that I look at the misrepresentation (or lack of representation) of women in the media and popular fiction throughout the era, so The Kitchen Debate looks really good for that.
My previous related text was The Hollow Men by T.S.Elliot, which looks really nicely at the philosophical paradigm, but unfortunately its written 20 years too early.
Quickly, do you have any tips on how to get better at essay writing for After the Bomb? In my Trials, I got a nice 22/25 for my creative, but only 18/25 for my essay, which I'm hoping to improve.
Thanks!

I changed my essay entirely after trials, about two weeks before the HSC exam. I used this guide and revolutionised my essay from not at all integrated to quite well done so, you can see my essay here! For me, it was like I just needed to haul everything I had out, and slot back in only the best of the best. I incorporated a few scholars, and actually got myself a new related text, the Kitchen Debate. I went to my bookshelf just before too, and realised that I also suggest The Bell Jar and Mad Girl's Love Song (both by or about Sylvia Plath). But if you don't have a lot of time, they might be too long. I had to work pretty hard with the Kitchen Debate, but definitely got some good analysis out of it, which you can see in the link above. Getting your hands on an old Life magazine or something like that will almost definitely be a great related text as well - for the representation of women!

[Stayz1337]

Hey! Important question, Im pretty quick at writing but my ATB essay I plan to take into the HSC is roughly 1800 words... The intro is 200 and each paragraph is between 380-400 but I really don't want to cut stuff out because i'm attached to my arguments I make and the depth brought in. Any recommendations? Or, how many quotes/points would you bring in in to a paragraph so as to be in depth but avoid running out of time.

Thx

[nadine.tan]

Im struggling to find a related text for ext 1 and my prescribed texts are the spy who came in from the cold and sylvia plath ariel ! does anyone have any good recommendations of related texts that arent widely used?

thank-you !!

[elysepopplewell]

Im struggling to find a related text for ext 1 and my prescribed texts are the spy who came in from the cold and sylvia plath ariel ! does anyone have any good recommendations of related texts that arent widely used?

thank-you !!

Hey Nadine, I used this ones here at different stages of the year. In the end, I used the Kitchen Debate, which certainly isn't widely used! I studied the same texts as you - but I chose to talk about Waiting for Godot instead of The Spy in my HSC.

[bholenath125]

Hi elyse,
I need a lot of help with my newest assessment task.

But firstly I just want to ask how do i answer this question.
"It is perspectives about the conflict between the powerful and the powerless that makes texts of the period, after the bomb, especially significant."

Now i would obviously open my speech by saying, "perspectives about the conflict between the powerful and the powerless that makes texts of the period, after the bomb, especially significant because..." but i don't know what comes after because.


Texts: Waiting for Godot and Slaughterhouse Five

What i wanna do is show that initially people relegated all their moral responsibilities to institutions whether they be religious or political, and that is what Godot represents. However when no one comes this notion of blind transforms into nihilism but even then the populace is avoiding taking responsibility of their actions. Hence, Beckett reflects this lack of change through Waiting for Godot.

then with Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut is highlighting society's fatalistic surrender. Billy Pilgrim’s strong beliefs in quietism and predestination represent the characteristic values of the After the Bomb society. Vonnegut uses Billy’s characterisation to expose the dangers associated with such beliefs. *ANALYSIS* Through Pilgrim’s nihilistic approach, Vonnegut creates an undeniable resonation of the wilful complacency of the 1960’s populace. Hence, the author highlights a drastic change in the ways of thinking after the bomb. Populace in the Cold War era inherited the philosophy that modern life is beyond the influence of responsible individuals. Through Pilgrim’s unconcerned attitude, the author deliberately incites frustration in the reader, thereby allowing Vonnegut to convey the on-going frustration he feels as a result of the deep rooted quietism in his contextual society.  Ultimately, through the questioning of the inevitability of one’s life and free will Vonnegut expresses that, “death is inevitable, but some deaths are preventable, and the novel consistently demonstrates that human beings have the power to shape the present and the future.”

Essentially this suffering and quietism reflects a remaining vestigial hope for meaning during the Cold War Era, highlighting the populace's desire for hope and meaning.



I want to argue that the suffering of the populace i.e. the personal and philosophical paradigms are a direct result of "POWERLESS". And to do so, i will change the argument so that the quietism and predestination deeply instilled into the populace is a result of the government's unending exploitation and imposing of drastic conditions whether they be personally repressive or economically oppressive.


I have these ideas, but I need a better direction and I could really really use your help.

i meant that


I want to argue that the suffering of the populace i.e. the personal and philosophical paradigms are a direct result of "POWERFUL"'s abuse. And to do so, i will change the argument so that the quietism and predestination deeply instilled into the populace is a result of the government's unending exploitation and imposing of drastic conditions whether they be personally repressive or economically oppressive.


I have these ideas, but I need a better direction and I could really really use your help.

Mod: Merged double post. If you have an afterthought, you can click "modify" and add it into the original post

[shamus.clarke]

Hi ATAR Notes,

my upcoming essay on ATB is this Thursday is going well and I have the body paragraphs and analysis up to scratch. However, I sent a draft to my teacher and he believes my answer to the question is lacking. The question is:
“Composers needed to experiment with textual forms and features in order to communicate their ways of thinking in response to their shifting personal and political worlds?
To what extent does this perspective align with your study of After the Bomb?
In your answer you must refer to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Waiting for Godot and one additional text of your own choice.


Right now, my thesis is: "To the extent that the 1945 atomic bomb’s descent over Hiroshima irrevocably altered global consciousness and prompted composers of the ensuing post-war era to grapple with textual experimentation so as to reflect the resultant underlying concerns in their texts."

Is there a better way to answer the question? I'm also wondering how to answer a "To what extent" question. I would be really grateful for any options or advice! Thanks!
 

[elysepopplewell]

I want to argue that the suffering of the populace i.e. the personal and philosophical paradigms are a direct result of "POWERLESS". And to do so, i will change the argument so that the quietism and predestination deeply instilled into the populace is a result of the government's unending exploitation and imposing of drastic conditions whether they be personally repressive or economically oppressive.

Hey bholenath125...this is a bit of a dilemma for you I see! I wish I could give you the exact direction you need but I'm grappling with all of your thoughts! The part I've quoted is what seems to be the most clear to you. I'm just unsure - you're saying the suffering of the populace is a result of the powerless. They are suffering because of themselves? I see it far more as your second sentence, where the government's exploitation has given the powerless a predestined path. I think this relationship works well and has lots of direction.

Another idea: You could talk about who gets power from who - can someone take someone else's power? How does someone get power in the first place and how do they seize it so that no one else can have it? Does Godot provide hope that someone else might be able to take it?
These are just extra ideas that you certainly don't need but might enjoy exploring if you hit a wall

[elysepopplewell]

Hi ATAR Notes,

my upcoming essay on ATB is this Thursday is going well and I have the body paragraphs and analysis up to scratch. However, I sent a draft to my teacher and he believes my answer to the question is lacking. The question is:
“Composers needed to experiment with textual forms and features in order to communicate their ways of thinking in response to their shifting personal and political worlds?
To what extent does this perspective align with your study of After the Bomb?
In your answer you must refer to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Waiting for Godot and one additional text of your own choice.


Right now, my thesis is: "To the extent that the 1945 atomic bomb’s descent over Hiroshima irrevocably altered global consciousness and prompted composers of the ensuing post-war era to grapple with textual experimentation so as to reflect the resultant underlying concerns in their texts."

Is there a better way to answer the question? I'm also wondering how to answer a "To what extent" question. I would be really grateful for any options or advice! Thanks!

This is a very deep question, there's a lot to it! Personally, I don't think that thesis lacks but you'd need to back it up with a follow up sentence to seal the deal! To the extent that the 1945 atomic bomb’s descent over Hiroshima This part of your thesis is unnecessary in the way that it doesn't add anything unique or analytical, it just sets the scene. I'd not focus so much on declaring the "extent" as I would focus on declaring a statement about the link between uncertain times calling for new ways to express uncertain/certain thoughts. Don't forget that you can have a follow up sentence after to tease out your ideas some more! Your response to the question filters through your entire essay - it doesn't just sit in the first sentence

[elysepopplewell]

Anyone interested in exploring the 1950s suburban housewife image in Western world might benefit from reading this article by the Guardian.

It questions the fascination that young women today may have with the classic Stepford image. Is it admiration? Longing? or fascination with the progress since then?

This might prompt some great ideas for creative writing (especially pieces that aren't short stories, as this is a feature article with opinions to adopt!).

[littleshreep]

hi there i have an ext 1 after the bomb essay due on wednesday (have to write it out) and we've been given the question in advance:
"how do texts from after the bomb expose and generate responses to the personal and political values relevant to the paradigms of the cold war?"

so, this is the first time we've written an ATB essay, and our teacher hasn't really explained much to the class. what are personal and political values? and how do i show ones that are relevant to certain paradigms? my texts are waiting for godot, the handmaid's tale and five ways to kill a man.

thanks in advance!
shree.