Category: IB ELP

Functions of the historical notes:

• Provide a space where a lot of information about Gilead cannot be given in the course of the narrative. Offred is only a handmaid, therefore there are some things in Gilead which she doesn’t know about because she isn’t in a position to know.
• Makes it clear that Gilead eventually ended, as the scene in the historical notes shows that Gilead has already melted into the past.
• This historical conference showed us that all the casual sexism, misogyny, attitudes towards women, and the sexualization of women, which all gave rise to Gildead are still present in this future society.

What may be problematic from this section:

• “Partial transcript,” could be coming from a defined perspective that must be brought to attention.
• From the University of Denay, Nunavit = Deny none of it
• Problems of authentication, why would there be any dought over its authenticity?
• Two men seem to be in charge of Offred’s narrative.
• Sexism still common in this post-Gileadean society
• “Tail” refers to a woman’s bottom

Additional information:

• This conference is taking place in Canada, and Canada is very involved in this section of the text because it failed tyring to prevent Gilead.

 

It is clearly shown that the distribution of power in Gilead is incredibly unbalanced, especially between males and females. Females are given specific roles, without having the freedom of any choice, and each woman must follow the strict guidelines that are created for them every day. The power in Gilead is distributed by the people who run the state, who are kept unknown, as they control the rules of the state, and even control language. An example we can see is the ban of books, magazines, and the use of picture signs in shops to regulate language in Gilead. We can also see the irony in the names of the men’s roles as they are named after saviors, for example, Guardian and Angel. However, it is ironic in the sense that males are actually the oppressors and are controlling what happens in Gilead. Men have more power over women in this society, as women’s rights and freedoms are much more controlled and restricted. We can also see how Handmaids try to look at the guards and get them to look back at them, as they feel if they get the guards to look at them, it is a transfer of power in some sense. Surveillance is also a key theme in this novel, as Offred describes that rules must always be followed because you don’t know who can or cannot be trusted. There are ‘Eyes’ everywhere which refers to the secret service in Gilead, where they try to find people who break the law and will punish them. This is why people such as Offred will follow the rules and not interact with people she isn’t supposed to and will only gaze where she is allowed to.

The reflection of the totalitarian control of the regime in Gilead can be seen through the control of women’s bodies, as the strict rules constrict these women’s freedom. Enforced laws by the totalitarian government in Gilead, give specific roles to women, Offred the main character of the novel is a handmaid, whose job is only to give birth. In chapter 13, we can see Offred describing her own body as a “territory”, to express how she views her own body. She feels as if her own body doesn’t belong to her anymore, as it is only a “territory”, which is used and controlled by other people.

The idea of toxic masculinity is represented in Saint Hoax’s work by combining the written and visual text in the artwork. His collection of work “Making America Misogynistic Again” is a series of artwork that has a quotation said by Trump and is put into a vintage advert from the post world war II era, in the late 40s to 60s. In this series of artwork, we can see the correlation between the visual text of the adverts, and the written text of Trump’s quotations which promotes the idea of toxic masculinity against women.

This example from Saint Hoax’s series of artworks show the comment made by Trump about women, which is very misogynistic, basically stating that to him they are useless if they don’t “got a young and beautiful piece of ass.” It is correlated to the visual text as there is a man being carried on a chair by 4 women around him. It can be understood as what Trump’s views as we can see in the ad the women are doing all the hard work for the man in the middle, relating to what Trump says about them only being useful to him only if they fit his standards physically. This further promotes the idea of toxic masculinity shown in the ad, with the correlation of what Trump says in 1991 with an ad made in 1951.

Examine the detail on pp 94-97: what are the details of Gatsby’s past and his “singularly appropriate education.”

Jay Gatsby’s original name was James Gatz, and he was originally from North Dakota. He met a man named Dan Cody and became his apprentice. He learned a lot from Dan Cody and really admired his wealth. When Dan Cody died, Gatsby motivated himself to become a successful man like Dan Cody.

What does the end of Chapter 6 reveal about the way in which Gatsby thinks of the past, the future and Daisy?

That Gatsby isn’t willing to give up on his dream to be with Daisy, as he thinks everything can become like how it was in the past. Even Nick tried to change his mind by telling him things can’t go back to how they were in the past, while Gatsby keeps implying that it is possible.

What detail in this chapter signals the end of Gatsby’s spell as Trimalchio?

This can be seen through Gatsby not hosting parties anymore as he realizes that Daisy doesn’t enjoy them. Tom also reveals about Gatsby’s bootlegging business which causes Daisy to lose interest towards Gatsby. From this chapter, the novel starts to take a dark turn.

What links are made between detail here and previous detail in the narrative?

We can see how the novel has taken a dark turn from the differences of detail from the current narrative to the previous one. The yellow car can be seen to symbolize death in this part of the novel, and Wilson’s neighbour Michaelis, told the policeman he was talking to that the color of the car was green.

What are the details of Gatsby’s ‘constructed past’?

That Gatsby was a part of a wealthy family, who came from the Midwest in San Francisco specifically. According to Gatsby, they died therefore Gatsby inherited their wealth. After that Gatsby starts to mentions all achievements and accolades he has accomplished in his life, such as his participation in the first world war and becoming promoted to a major, being educated at Oxford, and having traveled to the capitals of Europe.

What role does Wolfsheim play in this chapter?

In this chapter, Wolfsheim is seen to be really shady and suspicious by the way he is acting. For example, when they were seated down at the table Wolfsheim was looking around the room all the time trying to inspect people as if he had been looking for someone.

What is the significance of cars that pass Nick and Gatsby as they cross the bridge?

There is a juxtaposition, as there is a hearse passing by with a dead body in it to represent death, but there are still other cars that pass by to show that wealth is still present and actually overrules anything else, even death.

Review Jordan’s account of Daisy’s past. What contradictions and questions emerge from this.

According to Jordan Baker, before Daisy got married to Tom, she fell in love with Jay Gatsby, when he was part of the military. In 1917 when Gatsby had to leave for war, she ended up marrying Tom and has since then been loyal to him. She ended up not being interested in men from the military anymore

The key takeaways from the unseen paper 1 English exam are that I am taking it as a learning experience, as grade wise I am not the happiest as I got a 13 which is one mark off my goal to get a level 6. Taking this exam and looking at the feedback has allowed me to see what I would need to do to achieve a level 6 the next time. I need to be able to stay focused on the question and create links back to it multiple times. I also need to start using more complex words and terminology to be able to bump my criterion D to at least 4/5. What I can feed forward to the next piece of analytical writing is time management, as I was able to finish on time and get to the conclusion which is crucial as not writing a conclusion can cost a mark to be lost in criterion C.

Thetis can be seen as a poem about transformation and power through every stanza in the poem, we can see someone adapting and changing into something else throughout every stanza. We can see that they are vulnerable and weak, as there is a pursuer throughout the poem that can be seen at the end of every stanza. It can also be interpreted as her trying to run away from motherhood throughout the whole poem, but always being caught and not being able to escape it. And at the end of the poem, it says “so I changed, I learned,” and we can see this as her finally changing and transforming as a person, and accepting the idea of motherhood and her having to raise a child.

P&G made a series of advertisements that tackle the issue of racial bias in America today. P&G is originally known for its products, the ads that they have made really digs deep into the issue of racism as a whole in America, by looking into how black people are still treated today, with references to the past being made, while allusions can also be seen from the past. They made two ads that specifically looked into the lives of black people in today’s world and in the past. The first ad was “The Talk”, and the second ad was “The Look”. The first ad was a compilation of short videos, also known as vignettes, that go in chronological order, but then circles back until the first vignette were shown again. The first vignette was set as early as when the Jim Crow laws were first introduced, and all these scenes show a moment between a kid and their mother, talking about something that had happened to the kid, or the mother just being worried about their kid. For example, this screenshot from the video is the scene that is set in today’s world, and her mother is talking with her daughter to be careful when driving and being pulled over by a cop. We can see the worry and fear in the mother’s face, that something might happen to her daughter, and this shows that there are still such incidents happening that will still make mothers worried. The close shot of the mother’s face helps us see the facial expressions and what she is feeling.

My first essay was a decent attempt which also definitely has room for imporvement. There were some good points of analysis and interpretation in my essay, but in the next one I would need to have a more obvious focus on the question of the essay and stick to it by developing a clear line of argument from the beginning of the essay. But overall, it was a really good first attempt at the essay, and with the feedback I received, I can work on the next essay to make it even better.