Paper+2+Review

General
This Oxford Study Courses booklet is the best resource I have found for Paper 2 preparation, it's very focused on the exam, extremely student friendly, with lots of practical tips and model essays.

You should also make sure you're familiar with the rubric for paper 2:

Plot


Topic: Plot

Plays: A Doll’s House and A Streetcar Named Desire (Andrea's group)


 * Similarities || Differences || Evidence || Implications ||
 * || ASND has no subplot, whereas Doll’s House has a significant subplot || ADH: Mrs. Linde and Krogstad.

ASND: The minor characters serve only to aid the development of the main plot. || Ibsen makes a social commentary on how men aren’t always reliable even though they say they love you. With Helmer he said that he loved Nora, but when she needed his help he nowhere to be found. Krogstad and Mrs. Linde began separated, but he came to his help when she needed it. Through the contrast you can see how the relationships.

Williams is able to show character development without the subplot. He uses different motifs, imagery, symbolism and minor characters (without a sub-plot)

Can compare and discuss which one is better. ||
 * Both plays feature a relationship that is tested. || In A Doll’s House, the relationship fails, in ASND the relationship survives and goes back to normal ||  ||   ||
 * || ADH the entire play is the climax, Nora taking out the loan led to all the events that occurred. In ASND each scene has a climax. ||  ||   ||
 * Suspense is created through dramatic irony in both plays. || In ADH dramatic irony is created from the withholding of information. In ASND dramatic irony is created by Blanche not being able to face the truth.

In ADH information is revealed from the beginning. In ASND we don’t find out Blanche’s full secret until later in the play.

Which one is more effective? || Helmer doesn’t know anything about the secret loan in ADH. Blanche doesn’t know that the rest of the main characters know about her secret past ASND. || In ASND Blanche’s key flaw is revealed, this eventually leads to her deterioration. In ADH, a key flaw is revealed in the relationship of Nora and Helmer, that she doesn’t feel confident in their trust, this leads to the deterioration of their relationship. ||
 * Each opening scene establishes mood, tone of the play and the relationships between characters. Each also foreshadows a conflict that will soon develop. ||  || Blanche doesn’t belong in the setting.

Nora deceives Helmer during Christmas. ||  ||


 * Streetcar Named Desire and Death of a Salesman - Plot**

- very clear denouements - establish a very strong beginning || - Death has 2 acts, Streetcar has 11 scenes - Death (switches between past and present), Streetcar (each scene is self-contained) || - both have very strong opening directions (you know the setting and the characters from the start) || Evaluation: - non-traditional plot works for streetcar in terms of suspense because it is built up really high until the climax - death plot allows for a lot of reflection, and insert little clips of Willy’s life which are important to the message of the play Meaning of the play: - withholding information reflects that people in society are often not as they seem, so the suspense in the plot supports the theme - Death/Streetcar: sad criticism of american dream || - see above for streetcar and death - dramatic irony successfully creates emotion, however order is disrupted at the end of the play, unlike Streetcar and Death. ||
 * //**Similarities**// || //**Differences**// || //**Evidence**// || //**Implications**// ||
 * - both plays do not stick to the traditional plot model
 * - both plays develop through revelation (information is withheld from the audience until later, creates the suspense) || - unlike to Doll’s House, Streetcar and Death don’t have dramatic irony (the audience knows as little as the actors). Doll’s House has dramatic irony || - Willy’s affair with the woman and Blanche’s past are only revealed a way into the play. || Evaluation:
 * - protagonists are not quite dynamic, but they both end up dissolving (we don’t see them change, but understand who they are and why they do what they do) ||  || - Blanche is put away in a mental asylum, Willy commits suicide ||   ||

A Doll's House and King Lear Ashley Loh, Janina Engels, Akshay Verma

Charlotte's group

Ms Kemsley's Summary of Possible PLOT Essay Topics

 * A comparison of the tragic endings would work well: Willy commits suicide but saves his family, Nora leaves her family but saves herself, Blanche is destroyed but Stella is saved, Lear and Cordelia die but Edgar and Albany are decent men. All the endings evoke mixed emotions - we feel sympathy but also frustration, thus enabling the authors to leave us thinking. Thus the endings are only satisfying to the audience to some extent. None of the endings are simple, although almost all give a satisfying denouement - A Doll's House being the exception since we wonder what will happen to Nora.
 * A comparison of the openings would likewise work well: Williams, Miller and Ibsen all use detailed stage directions for both the setting and characters' actions, revealing a great deal about the setting and themes of the plays.
 * Suspense is created by secrets - in Doll's House Nora's debt to Krogstad is secret from Torvald, in Salesman Willy's affair is known to Biff but not to the audience, in Streetcar Blanche's past is secret from everybody in the audience. Thus the use of secrets is in common but they are revealed at different times and in different ways to the audience, affecting their sympathy for the characters and the level of tension. This would be an ideal essay topic since there are significant similarities but also many interesting differences.
 * Dramatic irony is used in all plays in different ways to create suspense.
 * King Lear and Doll's House make effective use of sub-plots; Salesman and Streetcar focus instead on one main plot and are much more concerned with the psychology and motivation of the protagonist.
 * King Lear and Doll's House follow a fairly traditional plot structure - Salesman and Streetcar do not.
 * Doll's House shows traditional unities of a well made play - for example it's set in one place, it takes place over one day. Either Salesman or Streetcar would make an interesting comparison - Streetcar observes unities of place but spans a much longer time frame, in Salesman Miller uses expressionism to break apart unities and tell a story through flashbacks and fantasies, a unique and interesting structure which serves for good analysis.

Characters








A summary of some great character connections........

 * Nora and Biff both keep secrets (from Torvald, from Linda)
 * Both King Lear and Salesman develop complex ideas around the theme of father/child relationships
 * Several characters face choices which create complications and conflicts in the plays (Willy's choice to value being liked above all else, King Lear's choice to divide his kingdom, Blanche's choice to drink/lead Mitch on/ lie about her past etc etc)
 * Willy and Nora are both held back by society; Nora wants to be educated and independent, Willy feels unable to become a workman when that is what would most fulfil him.
 * Biff and Nora would compare well for characters who come to a good level of self-awareness; both Willy and Blanche prefer their fantasy worlds
 * Salesman and Doll's House both raise questions about how much of your own dreams you should sacrifice for the good of your family or society through their protagonists
 * Linda and Nora are both peacekeepers but only up to a point; Linda eventually stands up to Biff and Happy while Nora leaves
 * All the female characters have fewer choices and less power than their male counterparts: Nora is unable to access equal education or employment; Blanche has been educated and has a job but is judged by society's double standards regarding sexual behaviour; Linda seems content with her limited role as supporter and peacekeeper but has almost no opinions or dreams of her own.
 * Torvald & Willy (and Lear!) both value status, material goods, and being valued by those around them; Nora and Biff are more concerned with self-awareness and fulfilment; Blanche seems happiest in her fantasy world.
 * Torvald and Willy are both constrained in their choices by concern for society's values or expectations - Torvald loses his wife because he values appearances more than love, and Willy does not become a low-paid carpenter or builder because he thinks society values a white-collar job more highly.
 * Tools used by authors to develop our understanding of characters include juxtaposition (all plays), flashbacks (Salesman), symbols (all plays), monologues (Lear and Streetcar), music, dialogue, imagery, and stage directions.
 * Many of the characters face betrayal by others - Nora by Torvald (he does not support her when he finds out the truth), Lear by his children, Gloucester by Edmund, Linda by Willy, Blanche by Stanley and Stella...

Staging
Remember! For the purposes of your Paper 2 Essay, elements such as lighting, sound, and stage design count as literary techniques worthy of good points in criteria C.

Themes
Please find below the links made in our final paper 2 bootcamp class!