Do you think this is harsh

[ironblob]

Hi all, I'm 16 and doing my GCSE's and I wanted to share some of the texts and questions we've had to do for our english coursework to see whether anyone else thinks they are really harsh. So far I've had to do;

View from the Bridge - To What Extent is it Eddie’s View of What it Means to be a Man That Drives the Tragedy of ‘A View From A Bridge’ ?

The Merchant of Venice - Is “The Merchant of Venice” a Prejudiced Play?
or a Play About Prejudice?

And I'm currently doing;
The Turn of the Screw - Do You Think That Henry James Wrote “The Turn of the Screw” as a Ghost Story?

What does everyone think about that? It seems a bit harsh to me.

[Nightshade]

what do you mean my harsh??

[Xamonas Chegwe]

Extremely harsh - they expect you to read great pieces of literature and not only that but understand them and answer questions on them as well! Whatever next? You'll be expected to get the right answer in your maths exam I suppose! Shocking!! ;)

[The Unnamable]

HARSH??!!

That’s nothing; when I was in school the teacher used to make us recite all of Hamlet’s soliloquies - but backwards, in Russian, while standing on one leg surrounded by deadly cobras. And we were asked to dig up and dissect dead bodies for a project on Frankenstein. I wouldn’t have minded but we’d only just buried my auntie Flo. And I only got a ‘B’.

[kilted exile]

HARSH??!!

That’s nothing; when I was in school the teacher used to make us recite all of Hamlet’s soliloquies - but backwards, in Russian, while standing on one leg surrounded by deadly cobras. And we were asked to dig up and dissect dead bodies for a project on Frankenstein. I wouldn’t have minded but we’d only just buried my auntie Flo. And I only got a ‘B’.

:lol: :lol:
Not to mention the 15hours/day you were expected to be down the coal mine.

[jackyyyy]

So that's why the teacher had a woopy cushion stook to the chair. Was that Bristol again?

[PeterL]

Hi all, I'm 16 and doing my GCSE's and I wanted to share some of the texts and questions we've had to do for our english coursework to see whether anyone else thinks they are really harsh. So far I've had to do;

So what might be harsh about What? Did you think think that people wrote books by simply putting words on paper until there was enough to fill the space between the covers?



View from the Bridge - To What Extent is it Eddie’s View of What it Means to be a Man That Drives the Tragedy of ‘A View From A Bridge’ ?
The Merchant of Venice - Is “The Merchant of Venice” a Prejudiced Play?
or a Play About Prejudice?
The Turn of the Screw - Do You Think That Henry James Wrote “The Turn of the Screw” as a Ghost Story?

What does everyone think about that? It seems a bit harsh to me.

So how do you interpret those books? What do you take from them? If you read them, they must have given you some impression about something.

[jackyyyy]

I think he means the topics are harsh...

View from a bridge - before you fall in.
The Merchant of Venice - play about prejudice?
Turn of the Screw - now come on... there is nothing more harsh than that...

[ironblob]

I meant harsh as in the level of understanding needed to read and write about the books. Personally i didn't mind reading and writing about them, but there are plenty of other people in my year who struggle with both the texts and the questions. We are meant to be the breain dead generation and all :D

[Xamonas Chegwe]

I meant harsh as in the level of understanding needed to read and write about the books. Personally i didn't mind reading and writing about them, but there are plenty of other people in my year who struggle with both the texts and the questions.

So you'll get an 'A' and they won't - what's the problem? Try working for a living - that's harsh!

[jackyyyy]

Well, there you go.. lots of others have the same issues. Sounds like your teachers need to do a better job of explaining it all. So, maybe a first step is to get some decent help, which is why you asked the question here. Good stuff!

[ironblob]

Well now that we've cleared that up, anyone feel like answering the questions on those texts in a sentance or two?

[Xamonas Chegwe]

How's about you do it? Seeing as it's your assignment and you've just told us that you don't have a problem with it.

What are your thoughts?

[PeterL]

I meant harsh as in the level of understanding needed to read and write about the books. Personally i didn't mind reading and writing about them, but there are plenty of other people in my year who struggle with both the texts and the questions. We are meant to be the breain dead generation and all :D

Meaning doesn't jump off the page and hit anyone over the head. Everyone has to think about what a piece of literature means. There are stories that I read once and thought to be simple stories, then I read again and noticed that there were other levels of meaning in them. You might think that "The Merchant of Venice" is about prejudice now, and ten years from now it might mean something different to you. I find that literature that has its meaning on the surface is rather boring; "The Lord of the Flies" for example. I could go on about finding meaning in literature, but it is something grows as one gets more background.

I hadn't heard that 16 year olds want to be brain-dead these days.

[ironblob]

I have no problem with the questions, i was saying other people in my year do and i think its harsh they won't do as well. But if there is a way to upload texts and not have them stolen by the people in my year who use this site for getting quotes, i'd happily put my coursework up here.

Basically these were my answers;

To What Extent is it Eddie’s View of What it Means to be a Man That Drives the Tragedy of ‘A View From A Bridge?’ - Eddie's view of what it means to be a man were always going to drive the play to its conclusion as he can't "settle for half" as he is advised to, and he is to stubborn to change his views. etc

Is “The Merchant of Venice” a Prejudiced Play?or a Play About Prejudice? - I think that "The Merchant of Venice" is a prejudiced play, rather then a play about prejudice. I think this because of the stereotypes Shakespeare uses within the play, and the language used by his characters which he seems to concur with. etc

Do You Think That Henry James Wrote “The Turn of the Screw” as a Ghost Story? - Still writing about the arguments for and against this statement, but i'll porbably end it with something like this; I think that “The Turn of the Screw” was not written as a ghost story, but as one that shows how the governess's suppressed sexual emotions, and obsessions over pleasing the master drive her descent into madness etc.

[The Unnamable]

To What Extent is it Eddie’s View of What it Means to be a Man That Drives the Tragedy of ‘A View From A Bridge?’ - Eddie's view of what it means to be a man were always going to drive the play to its conclusion as he can't "settle for half" as he is advised to, and he is to stubborn to change his views. etc
This seems along the right lines but if this is your main point, you aren’t getting to the nub of the question. It wants you to look closely at Eddie’s male values and consider the extent to which they are the driving force of what happens. I don’t know if the teacher wants you to consider other contributing factors such as the social and political context but they are worth considering. Also, aren’t some of Eddie’s male values positive?


Is “The Merchant of Venice” a Prejudiced Play?or a Play About Prejudice? - I think that "The Merchant of Venice" is a prejudiced play, rather then a play about prejudice. I think this because of the stereotypes Shakespeare uses within the play, and the language used by his characters which he seems to concur with. etc
Again, this seems perfectly okay. I wouldn’t agree with you but that shouldn’t make any difference. I would suggest, however, that if you intend arguing that Shakespeare merely reinforces racial stereotypes, then you should consider why Shylock is given lines that evoke sympathy in most audiences.


Do You Think That Henry James Wrote “The Turn of the Screw” as a Ghost Story? - Still writing about the arguments for and against this statement, but i'll porbably end it with something like this; I think that “The Turn of the Screw” was not written as a ghost story, but as one that shows how the governess's suppressed sexual emotions, and obsessions over pleasing the master drive her descent into madness etc.
This sounds perfectly fine as well. You could probably try considering the similarities between the psychological and the supernatural (I think – it’s years since I read it).

[EAP]

I meant harsh as in the level of understanding needed to read and write about the books.

The only requirements are a functioning brain, basic comprehension skills and a measure of writing ability.


i was saying other people in my year do and i think its harsh they won't do as well.

Uhhhh, that's not harsh, that's life. I'll simply re-iterate, why do you care?

If you really feel for their plight, why don't you share some of your ideas with them?


But if there is a way to upload texts and not have them stolen by the people in my year who use this site for getting quotes, i'd happily put my coursework up here.

Where's the philanthropy, man?

[Nightshade]

Well all an say is I did my Igcse View froim a bridge essay under exam condition in a class where I was the only one with english even partly as my mother tounge. Frankly when I came to the Uk I was horrified at course work not only do yopu get time to go away and think about the question you get to use the book, the internet and the teachers help you. So no I dont think its harsh its worse at A level.

That being said I will say its been awhile since I read a view from the bridge nearly 3years now but I think you could say there like Unnamble said that the question is more about what he thinks being a man means as in his relationship in comparison to hios family or more correctly theirs to him. I seem to rember somthing when Marco (was it even marco the older brother?) was explaining about life in sciliy .
Its the general view that men were their to protect to in a way ownn thier women folk. And of course his obsession with whats her face (cant think of her real name Maddona) and how that is a result of this view point.

[Bastet]

When you write any comment on any book, whether it is a long paper or just a couple of lines, it might help you to think that in literary criticism there are no right or wrong answers, but justified or unjustified answers. Always try to support your thesis with examples from the actual work you're commenting on. I hope this helps! :)

[Pensive]

Lad, Now make your 16 years old dead-mind (as you say it is) alive otherwise life will be even more harsher.

[ideologicalread]

i agree with evryone here. but.......... it may be because i always found my teachers to be nice, but we always could type a report.

completely off subject yes, but i am like that. that is why i hate most fantasies. i am a very practical person.

but anyway, what type of teacher doesnt let you type a report?

thats all i am saying. no opinion,(even tho if they fail it is really bad, at least to me) im just sayin that a teacher should let you type a report.

thats it. :bday_2:

and as for the birthday thing...............i felt like it. :nod:

[PeterL]

I have no problem with the questions, i was saying other people in my year do and i think its harsh they won't do as well.

There are people who are less able or willing to think about literature. There isn't much that anyone else can do for them. Everyone learns what he or she can; we aren't born with equal mental abilities.

[myself]

if your only complaining about your english GCSE i will tell you wuts happening with me!!!!!
im doing my GCSE as well, this year we moved biulding and all my good teachers ( i had them 4 about 4 yrs) got sacked and i got arab teachers instead. my chemistry teacher was changed 5 times and my english teacher became head teacher and we have to go to school on saturdays and sundays to catch up. when i started my eaight weeks for my art exam, my teacher decided to leave and they get us a teacher who doesn't know ANYTHING about wut we are doing. today out maths teacher had a fight with us and qiut her job and im REALLY struggling to keep my self together and to at least manage to pass my GCSE.

for my english i had to repeat 2 course work because the teacher are new and they dont know wut we r studing. how bad can this year get?
anyway good luk with everything with you!!!!!!!!

[ishicourt]

woo i don't think the prompts are harsh i think they are refreshingly easy. but then again i am 19 and not 16. :)

haven't read a view from a bridge for some time. but i've taken a few shakespeare courses and i understand that the shake was highly unusual in his portrayal of shylock. although he utilizes many racial stereotypes of the time, he gives shylock a shocking interiority and, like The Unnamable mentioned, some prime lines. i also understand that anti-semitic plays were quite popular in england at the time, and shake's attempt at one is somewhat bizarre in that it so obviously grants shylock a rare position, in which he a jewish man with a highly developed interiority. it becomes quite obvious in the play that the audience is meant to sympathize with him to variuos extents (even an audience during shake's time) and in this way shake's play is somewhat difficult to grasp in terms of its level of prejudice. what i'm saying, is that it is too simple to merely point out instances in which shake uses anti-semitic stereotypes, as there is something deeper working under the play. (not that there isn't obvious prejudice still present). i don't think that turn of the screw is written as a ghost story, i think it is a study of the psychology of a character repressed in many ways. so more psychological study than a ghost story. hopefully i'm helpful.