World Literature Essay

Comparing texts

Read the extracts from the essays:

The role of maternal figures in the development of the central characters and the moral critiques in Perfume and The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

The paper will examine the difference between the deception employed by Nora in A Dolls House and Laura in The Father. It will focus on the motivations that instigate each characters deception, the way the deception is carried out, and its final results. The aim is to prove that Nora’s deception is justifiable, while that of Laura is unjustifiable.

Try to label each paragraph:

topic sentence (are both texts mentioned?);

direct link to aspect;

direct comparison of texts;

quotation from text;

analysis of quotation.

Now think about Perfume and Chronicle of a Death Foretold. You are going to compare the representation of the act of murder in these two novels. Below are some quotations you might choose to use (though you can choose others). You will not always want to use full sentence quotations in an essay – short phrases can be more effective. HIGHLIGHT THE QUOTATIONS (OR PARTS OF QUOTATIONS) THAT YOU WILL USE. In the space provided, make brief notes on what you will say ABOUT the quotation.

Perfume

The first murder:

…He, in turn, did not look at her … keeping his eyes closed tight as he strangled her, for he had only one concern – not to lose the least trace of her scent. P45

______

The murder of Laure:

… she was lying on her stomach with her head pressed into the pillow and framed by the crook of her arm – presenting the back of her head in an almost ideal position for the blow by the club. P224

______

Chronicle

There had never been a death more foretold. P50

______

The knife went through the palm of his right hand p119

______

… and leaned his back against his mother door, without the slightest resistance, as if he only wanted to help them finish killing him by equal shares. P120

______

Trying to finish it once and for all, Pedro Vicario sought his heart, but he looked for it almost in the armpit, where pigs have it. P120

______

Now use the writing scaffold to write a paragraph comparing the act of murder in the novels. Remember to:

Make sure that you show the link to aspect;

Use quotations;

Use connectives for comparing;

Some connectives that you might choose to use:

Whereas alternatively on the other hand similarlyin the same way

In contrast to furthermorelikewiseinstead ofWhile the first novel

Equallybotheven thoughhoweveron the contrary

REMEMBER: This is ONE way to compare the novels in your essay – it is not the ONLY way.

Topic Sentence
Summarise the main idea of your paragraph – the act of murder - and link to essay topic (for the purposes of this activity – The representation of violence in the two novels)
Clarifying Sentence
Elaborate on the main idea – provide more detailed discussion
Example 1
Provide a quotation or example from the Perfume to support your idea. Analyse.
Example 2
Provide a 2ndquotation or example from the Perfume to reinforce your pointAnalyse
USE A COMPARING CONNECTIVE HERE
Example 3
Provide a quotation or example from Chronicle to support your idea. Explain the relevance of this example
Example 3
Provide a 2nd quotation or example from Chronicle to reinforce the point. Analyse.
Linking sentence
Write a sentence that links to next paragraph. / ______7