Elements of political and social protest writing: specimen question commentary

How a question taken from the specimen assessment material addresses the assessment objectives, with some suggestions of how the task might be approached.

The suggested ideas that are included are not exhaustive, but the explanation will provide a workable way into the question and the intention is to offer some support for teachers preparing students for the examination.

Paper 2B, Section B

This type of question from Section B of Paper 2 Elements of political and social protest writing invites students to write about the extent to which they agree with a given view. Students are reminded to include in their answer relevant detailed exploration of the writer's authorial methods. The student will of course have to be mindful of whether the text is poetry, drama or prose to show how these major genres operate in terms of the sub genre (crime or political and social protest writing) which they are discussing. In their chosen question, students can show how their text can be interpreted in different ways and they can also offer a strong personal view which is rooted in the text. It should be noted that because this is an open book exam students are required to use specific parts of the text for detailed discussion.

Sample Question

'In Harvest, the world is unmade in seven days and it is those with political power who are solely to blame.'

To what extent do you agree with this view? Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Crace's authorial methods.  

How the question meets the Assessment Objectives

In this question, as throughout the paper, the assessment objectives are all assessed. The application of the AOs in relation to the task is similar to the way it works in Section B questions on Paper 1. The key words and phrases in the question are: to what extent, relevant detailed exploration and authorial methods, and these are clearly connected to the assessment objectives. Students also need to engage with 'those with political power' and think about whether those with power are 'solely to blame'.

AO1 will be tested through the way the students construct their arguments and express their ideas. Here they will be using literary and critical language appropriate to political and social protest writing.  AO2 is set up in the requirement for students to include a detailed exploration of Crace's authorial methods and in doing this they will show how these methods shape meanings. Here students will specifically have to address narrative methods and the post modern form. AO3 will be addressed through the students showing their understanding of the political and social protest writing contexts of Harvest as they focus on political power; and in addition, their debates will incorporate comment on the social and historical contexts of the novel. In writing about 'blame' students will necessarily be engaging with moral and judicial contexts (AO3). AO4 will be addressed as students will be connecting with the wider political and social protest writing genre as they debate the issue of political power. AO5 will be addressed when students assess the viewpoint that it is those with political power who are solely to blame for the world's being unmade in seven days in Harvest. Students will need to think about just who Crace presents as being responsible for the unmaking of the world. Here they will be able to use their texts in an explicit way to select apposite material in support of their argument; they can also use this material to write about authorial method. Comment on structure, voices, settings and language can be woven into the argument. Students need to think about how the methods selected help them to decide to what extent they agree with the given view.

Possible content

There are plenty of ways in which students can approach this task as they discuss to what extent they agree with the given view.  Some will focus on the early modern historical setting that Crace chooses and discuss the power of Master Jordan and by association the power of his class in the destruction of the semi pastoral existence of the villagers. Focus will be on the demise of the feudal society and the impact enclosures have on the lives of ordinary workers; much could be said about the introduction of sheep farming and the way it changed the communal reliance on arable farming.

It is likely that Jordan's lack of affinity with the people and the land will be discussed and how his main concerns and interests are money, profits and economic advantage. Jordan can be contrasted with the old order and the benevolent ruling of Master Kent. It may be that some students will see Jordan as an anti-God figure, reversing the creation process, destroying human lives. Focus might also be on his machinations and his tyrannical power. He does not tell the villagers what he is doing, but makes use of their innocence and ignorance (playing on their superstitions) as he empties the village. His power is shown through his bullying and his oppression of the people.

Jordan can also be seen as a destroyer of beauty, out of tune with the earth's natural rhythms and unable to appreciate what the land gives. If this argument is pursued, students might well discuss the part played by the narrator here and the essentially elegiac and nostalgic tone. There will be plenty of opportunities to discuss language choices and how they shape meanings.

Some students might argue that Master Kent is more to blame than Jordan because he is essentially backward looking. He does not prepare his people for change and encourages complacency. Although he has power, he does not use it in an effective way and in many ways is inept. For example he punishes the wrong people for the fire which destroys his barn and dovecote and the punishment he metes out is not well considered. In his hands justice is rather random and when he does act it has terrible consequences.  Kent could be held responsible for the stagnation of the village. It is a village where life is not being revitalized; it is backward looking. For years, it seems, the villagers have accepted that the land beyond the village – Turd and Turf – is simply a cess pool. There seems to be no desire to improve the conditions of their lives. Although Thirsk clearly likes Master Kent, his attitude towards him is ambiguous; there is criticism in the subtext because the stagnating world is the world Kent oversees.

Students might also focus on the culpability of this inward looking community themselves. They do not welcome outsiders and their attitude towards the three strangers is negative and short sighted. These people could clearly have brought some spirit and revitalization, as Thirsk suggests in his fascination with Mistress Beldame. The villagers, though, are full of fears and superstitions, locked into rituals and pagan ceremonies. They also show little resistance to Jordan. Thirsk does not suggest they are thinking political beings and although he has some astuteness, he struggles to act and to make decisions. Their attitude towards women is also unprogressive and some of their problems emanate from this. Perhaps, it could be argued, this society is crying out for progressive leadership.

It could be that some students will challenge the idea of the world being 'unmade' by enclosures. Some might argue that it is a misconception to think that the world Crace presents is perfect and idyllic. Students might concede that for the particular fifty eight inhabitants, life is destroyed but it could be argued that the novel suggests that there has to be sacrifice and suffering if humanity is to develop and move forward. Given that this is a post 2000 novel, appropriate comment might be made about later historical periods, for example the agrarian, industrial and technological revolutions.  It might be argued that changes might be lamentable for some readers as they are for the villagers, but for others they are necessary and human beings have to embrace change. If such an argument is pursued, students might challenge the idea that the world readers enter at the start of the novel is a well made Eden. Far from being idyllic, life is hard. The world entered at the start of the novel is somewhat beguiling. It seems to be a world of plenty; harvest is being celebrated with much rejoicing. However, Thirsk reminds readers that after the harvest, ploughing customarily recommences and life is hard. There are constant reminders that life is a challenge.

Students will also have to understand how to effectively use their open book texts. To do this they will need to have been specifically taught how to respond to open book examinations. They need to know that it means more than looking up quotations. Selecting key passages for detailed focus is essential and clearly students need to be able to navigate their way around their texts in an efficient way so that they are not wasting valuable examination time looking for those passages. It is expected that students will choose relevant sections of their texts on which to base their discussion and use specific details as they construct their answers.

This resource is part of the Elements of political and social protest writing resource package.