vurderte eksamenssvar i spr3012 engelskspråklig litteratur og

Vurderte eksamenssvar i SPR3012 Engelskspråklig litteratur og kultur, eksamen vår 2015 Eksamenssvara er frå eksamen våren 2015.

På http://www.udir.no/Vurdering/Eksamen-videregaende/ finn du • eksamensrettleiing med kjenneteikn på måloppnåing *• førebuing til eksamen• eksamensoppgåver

* Karakterane er grunngjevne ut frå kjenneteikn på måloppnåing ieksamensrettleiinga.

Elevsvar med vurdering og grunngjeving for karakter (Klikk for å få fram ei einskild vurdering eller eit einskilt elevsvar)

Eksempel på karakter 2 Grunngjeving for karakter s. 2 Eksamenssvaret s. 4




Eksempel på karakter 6 Grunngjeving for karakter s. 38Eksamenssvaret s. 43

http://www.udir.no/Vurdering/Eksamen-videregaende/

Task 1

Short answer

Answer both 1a and 1b.

1a

Read the text from Night Film by Marisha Pessel in the box below.

Explain how the author uses language features and literary devices to describe the narrator’s feelings about his ex-wife. Use examples from the text.

Night Film

She was still beautiful. It was awful. I'd been waiting for Cynthia to venture deeper into her forties so she'd wake up to wrinkles like a maze of molehills screwing up a legendary lawn. But no, her green eyes, those cheekbones, the expressive little mouth that broadcast her every mood with the diligence of a UN translator, were still youthful and bright. Now Bruce woke up every morning to that face. I still couldn't believe that man—fifty-eight, with a paunch, hairy wrists, and a yacht in Lyford Cay named Dominion II—was allowed to live daily with such beauty. He had a knack for spotting deals in the marketplace, I'd give him that. When Cynthia sold him a Damien Hirst* called, rather aptly, Beautiful Bleeding Wound Over the Materialism of Money Painting, Bruce noticed she, too, was a work of art to look at for a lifetime. That she allowed herself to be bought along with the painting—that I didn't see coming.

When I met Cynthia our sophomore year at the University of Michigan, she was flighty and poor, a French studies major who quoted Simone de Beauvoir. She wiped her runny nose on her coat sleeve when it was snowing, stuck her head out of car windows the way dogs do, the wind fireworking her hair. That woman was gone now. Not that it was her fault. Vast fortunes did that to people. It took them to the cleaners, cruelly starched and steam-pressed them so all their raw edges, all the dirt and hunger and guileless laughter, were ironed out. Few survived real money.

Marisha Pessel

*A painting by Damien Hirst, an internationally famous English artist and art collector, reportedly the richestliving artist in the U.K.

Vurderte eksamenssvar i Engelskspråklig litteratur og kultur 2 av 47

SPR3012 Engelskspråklig litteratur og kultur, eksamen vår 2015Eksempel på karakter 2

1b

It has been a century since the outbreak of WWI. The painting in the box below is an artist’s reaction to this time.

Comment briefly on what the artist expresses about this period in history.

We Are Making a New World

Paul Nash, We Are Making a New World (1918)

Task 2

Long answer

Choose one of the alternatives a), b), c) or d) below.

2c

Using the text in the box below as your point of departure, discuss what you have learned about interaction and communication between people in some of the literature and/or films you have studied in your course this year.

Have you seen the world lately, McGrath? The cruelty, the lack of connection? If you're an artist, I'm sure you can't help but wonder what it's all for. We're living longer, we social network alone with our screens, and our depth of feeling gets shallower. Soon it'll be nothing but a tide pool, then a thimble of water, then a micro drop. They say in the next twenty years we're going to merge with computer chips to cure aging and become immortal. Who wants an eternity of being a machine"?

Night Film by Marisha Pessel


Beskrivelser av vist kompetanse

Innhold 1a. Oppgavesvaret viser liten kjennskap til språklige virkemidler. Svaret peker ut noen språklige virkemidler, men disse er mindre relevante for teksten.

1b. Innholdet i oppgavesvaret består av en enkel beskrivelse av det vedlagte bildet og gir en enkel tolkning av dette.

2c. Oppgavesvaret er noe på siden av oppgaveordlyden. Det er en vag tilknytning til den vedlagte teksten, og de litterære tekstene som eleven har valgt å skrive om, belyser i liten grad problemstillingen i oppgaven.

Tekststruktur 1a, 1b og 2c. Tekststrukturen i svarene er enkel og preget av gjentakelser.

Språk Språket i svarene har en del formelle feil og et begrenset ordforråd, men er i stor grad forståelig.

Beskrivelser av karakterer i forskrift til opplæringsloven

• Karakteren 6 uttrykkjer at eleven har framifrå kompetanse i faget. • Karakteren 5 uttrykkjer at eleven har mykje god kompetanse i faget. • Karakteren 4 uttrykkjer at eleven har god kompetanse i faget. • Karakteren 3 uttrykkjer at eleven har nokså god kompetanse i faget. • Karakteren 2 uttrykkjer at eleven har låg kompetanse i faget. • Karakteren 1 uttrykkjer at eleven har svært låg kompetanse i faget.

Oppsummering av samlet kompetanse og karakter

Tekstene i eksamenssvaret viser relativt liten faglig innsikt. Innholdet er noe på siden av oppgaven, og det er en del svakheter i språkføringen og tekststrukturen.

Eksamenssvaret viser lav kompetanse og er samlet vurdert til karakter 2.


Task 1

Short Answer

a) In the text ‘’Night Film’’ The author decides to use Foreshadowing from the start. The author

starts off by giving us hints of what is about to come, we immediately know that the author is

speaking about a woman because of the way the text starts, ‘’She was still beautiful’’ and

using her name in the text. The text also contains repetition of the words ‘’She and her’’.

You can also see that this is an informal text, by the language of the text and structure. The

author writes words in the text like ‘’I’d, didn’t and couldn’t’’ it is more like a letter you

would send to a friend, than a text. The author also tries to persuade the reader by playing

on the readers emotions, going from that the narrator describes his ex-wife in a good way

and at the end describes her in a bad way. Maybe the author tries to tell us that real love

cannot be bought.

I think that the author also used a mood of anger and confusion into the narrator’s feelings

about his ex-wife. The mood of the story plays a big part in this text, because after reading

this you feel sorry for the narrator, because of how he describes her with all that love and

she leaves him for a man that is fifty-eight and has a lot of money. I think that the author

wrote this because it surely has happen before.

Task 1

b) Paul Nash who painted this picture tries to illustrate the world during the WW1. You can see

that he tries to prove a point. The trees are destroyed and it is mud and dirt all over the

place, exactly as the world was during the war. He paints a mountain and a sun that is very

bright, I think he means that even if the world was suffering after the world we still had a

bright future, that’s maybe what the bright sun symbolizes and if we wanted the peace

between us, we had to meet each other at the top of the mountain.

Eksempel på karakter 2


Task 2c

Long answer

The text below

In the text ‘’Night Film’’ by Marisha Pessel, she actually proves a point by how we people

are letting technology taking over the world. We do not interact or communicate as we

did before without this increasing power of technology.

We live in a society where the technology has been developed to a higher level for the

youth. They do not interact as they did, meaning meeting each other outside to play or

just to talk about how their weekend have been. Now days they just pick up their phone

or computer to talk.

She is worried about this developing of technology would destroy the world and the

people living in it. Technology contains development and the direction it could go

towards is only forward.

Task 2c

This year I learned a lot about how important communication and interaction is; specially

when it comes to communicate. In the short story Desiree’s Baby written by Kate Chopin,

it back fires at the man who thinks that the ‘’black blood’’ to his baby comes from the

mother of the child and in the end we he figures out that the ‘’black blood’’ comes his

side. You may think that this has nothing to do with communication, but you are wrong.

Think about if he had spoken to the mother or someone in his family about it, maybe he

would have avoided this situation.


Not speaking to people about the problems you have in life, could maybe damage you

for life, not physically but, mentally. Communicating is important whether is about

something good or bad. Just speak to people and help you and others to avoid

misunderstandings, everybody in this world have been in a situation where it has been a

misunderstanding. I am not saying that you have to speak about your personal life but

just talk with people. As we see in many short stories, we see interaction and

communication. A short story would have never been exciting as it is without interaction

and communication between people in it. It makes it more fun and enjoyable to read;

when you see people interact and make a dramatic scene or a fun scene. We see it in

real life, short stories, movies, also between animals too.

Communication is not always about talking with each other; but body language too; how

you behave and address yourself towards the other person. In The Rocking Horse

Winner, written by D.H.Lawrence. We see that communication is the main thing in the

short story. The boy who loves his mother tries and tries to communicate with her to tell

her that he loves her deeply. He even tries to make some money off betting on horses to

secure her. By speaking and communicating with her he finds, out that she is unhappy

with her life.

Communication and interaction with other people would make you mental stabile

because you are being around human beings; you could actually touch them and see

their body language. Sometimes communicating with computers could be dangerous;

because sometimes a friend would make a joke of; not meaning it bad; but you won’t

understand that. So, what I mean is interact and communicate with people while being

together in same room or outside; drop the computer and the phone and be outside

playing. Do not the technology ruin your teenage life.


I think the whole main thing in this course I had this year is to communicate and

interact with people. Sometimes we have role plays; sometimes we read a story together

or sing a song. Communicating and interacting has been the key to a successful year I

think and made the course much better. All the short stories and novels have some kind

of communicating or interacting in it; it must have it or it would not have as fun or

interesting as it is. We have discussed themes going around the world; the whole year

we have been communicating and interacting with each other and it has taught me that

it makes a difference. You can say what mean whether the other person likes or not, he

respects your opinion.

Sources: Access To English Literature Vg3, authors: John Anthony, Richard Burgess,

Robert Mikkelsen and Theresa Bowles Sørhus. Websit: (access.cappelen.no)


Task 1

Short answer


1a



Night Film



Marisha Pessel




1b





2b

One of the most important functions of the first pages of a book is to “hook” readers so they will want to read on.

Read the three openings in Appendix 2.

Discusss some of the literary techniques the writers use to draw the reader into the story, for example, setting, structure, point of view, characterization, figurative language. Use examples from the openings.


SPR 3012 V15 Appendix 2 Page 1 of 2

Text 1

On this day, which is the Ninth day of November in the year 1683, a most singular thing has occurred.

I was taking my habitual midday dinner (of boiled chicken with carrots and small ale) when my Manservant, Will, came into my Dining Room at Bidnold Manor, bearing in his gnarled old hands a package, wrapped in torn paper and bound with faded ribbon. He placed this object at my right hand, thus causing a cloud of dust to puff onto my plate of food.

‘Take care, Will,’ said I, feeling all my breath drawn in and then expelled in such an almighty sneeze that it flecked the tablecloth with tiny morsels of carrot. ‘What is this Relic?’

‘I do not know, Sir Robert,’ said Will, attempting a dispersal of the dust, by waving his misshapen fingers back and forth.

‘You do not know? But how has it arrived in the house?’ ‘Chambermaid, Sir.’ ’You got it from one of the maids?’ ’Found under your mattress.’ I wiped my mouth and blew my nose (with a striped, very faded dinner napkin once

given to me by the King) and laid my hands upon the parcel, which, in truth, appeared like a thing purloined from some Pharaoh's Tomb, far down in the dry earth. I would have questioned Will further about its unlikely provenance and the reason of its sudden discovery on this particular day, but Will had already turned and was embarked on his slow and limping return journey from the dining table to the door, and to have called him back might well have occasioned some physical Catastrophe, which I had no heart to risk.

Rose Tremain: Merivel A Man of His Time

SPR 3012 V15 Appendix 2

Page 2 of 2

Text 2

My Cordova tale began for the second time on a rainy October night, when I was just another man running in circles, going nowhere as fast as I could. I was jogging around Central Park's Reservoir after two A.M.—a risky habit I'd adopted during the past year when I was too strung out to sleep, hounded by an inertia I couldn't explain, except for the vague understanding that the best part of my life was behind me, and the sense of possibility I'd once had so innately as a young man was now gone.

It was cold and I was soaked. The gravel track was rutted with puddles, the black waters of the Reservoir cloaked in mist. It clogged the reeds along the bank and erased the outskirts of the park as if it were nothing but paper, the edges torn away. All I could see of the grand buildings along Fifth Avenue were a few gold lights burning through the gloom, reflecting on the water's edge like dull coins tossed in. Every time I sprinted past


one of the iron lampposts, my shadow surged past me, quickly grew faint, and then peeled off—as if it didn't have the nerve to stay.

I was bypassing the South Gatehouse, starting my sixth lap, when I glanced over my shoulder and saw someone was behind me.

A woman was standing in front of a lamppost, her face in shadow, her red coat catching the light behind her, making a vivid red slice in the night.

A young woman out here alone? Was she crazy?

Marisha Pessel: Night Film

Text 3

“All he could see, in every direction, was water. It was June 23, 1943.Somewhere on the endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean, Army Air Forces bombardier and Olympic runner Louie Zamperini lay across a small raft, drifting westward. Slumped alongside him was a sergeant, one of his plane’s gunners. On a separate raft, tethered to the first, lay another crewman, a gash zigzagging across his forehead. Their bodies, burned by the sun and stained yellow from the raft dye, had winnowed down to skeletons. Sharks glided in lazy loops around them, dragging their backs along the rafts, waiting.”

The men had been adrift for twenty-seven days. Borne by an equatorial current, they had floated at least one thousand miles, deep into Japanese-controlled waters. The rats were beginning to deteriorate into jelly, and gave off a sour, burning odor. The men’s bodies were pocked with salt sores, and their lips were so swollen that they pressed into their nostrils and chins. They spent their days with their eyes fixed on the sky, singing “White Christmas,” muttering about food. No one was even looking for them anymore. They were alone on sixty-four million square miles of ocean.

A month earlier, twenty six-year old Zamperini had been one of the greatest runners in the world, expected by many to be the first to break the four-minute mile, one of the most celebrated barriers in sport. Now his Olympian’s body had wasted to less than one hundred pounds and his famous legs could no longer lift him. Almost everyone outside of his family had given him up for dead.

Laura Hillenbrand: Unbroken



Innhold 1a. Oppgavesvaret viser kompetanse i å peke ut noen språklige og litterære virkemidler. Svaret inneholder noen eksempler og forklaringer.

1b. Innholdet i oppgavesvaret viser noe kompetanse i å analysere kunst gjennom beskrivelser. Analyse av detaljene mangler.

2b. Oppgavesvaret viser noe innsikt og refleksjon. Svaret består av en enkel og generalisert analyse av de vedlagte litterære tekstene.

Tekststruktur 1a, 1b og 2b. Tekststrukturen i svarene er god, og alle tekstene har rimelig god indre sammenheng, men det forekommer en del gjentakelser i svaret 2b. Svaret på oppgave 2b har god innledning og avslutning.

Språk Språket kommuniserer godt og er til en viss grad idiomatisk, men det forekommer en del formelle feil. Ordforrådet er lite variert.




Tekstene i eksamenssvaret viser noe forståelse, innsikt og refleksjon. Svarene er relativt enkle, noe som samlet sett gjør at de er nærmere «nokså god» kompetanse enn «god».

Eksamenssvaret viser nokså god kompetanse og er samlet vurdert til karakter 3.


Engelskprå klig litteråtur og kultur

Task 1

Short answer

1a

Night Film is a text written by Marisha Pessel. In the text the author uses language features

and literary devices to describe the narrator’s feelings towards his ex-wife. The text “Night

Film” starts off with the narrator describing his ex-wife Cynthia. He still adores Cynthia’s

beauty, and the fact that Cynthia has aged well makes him mad.

The text start off with comparison, where the author explains throughout the narrator what

she thinks an old face looks like. An old face is compared with a lawn, a lawn that used to be

flawless but one day it would be like a maze of molehills. The author writes “I’d been waiting

for Cynthia to venture deeper into her forties so she’d wake up to wrinkles like a maze of

molehills screwing up a legendary lawn.” Throughout the whole text, the reader knows what

the narrator feels about his ex-wife Cynthia. Cynthia is described beautifully, and like a work

of art, “... She, too, was a work of art”.

Even though Cynthia is described beautifully, the text has a turning point. The narrator

begins to describe Cynthia as a sophomore at college. Cynthia hasn’t always been the

beautiful, attractive, well-mannered girl. She used to wipe her runny nose on her coat

sleeve, and she was flighty and poor. This was the woman the narrator had fell in love with,

but it was all far gone. The narrator compares the end of the relationship with Cynthia with

leaving something to the cleaners. Everything that had made Cynthia to be who she was,

was all taken away, all the dirt and the raw edges was no longer there.

1b

The painting “We Are Making a New World” by Paul Nash was painted in 1918. The painting

is a typical painting belonging to the Modernism. During the Modernism, people focused on

making something new. Modernism was a reaction to what had gone before. Beauty was no

longer the goal, and neither were the happy endings. The destruction of World War One

contributed to a growing sense of desolation.



World War One ended in 1918, at the same time as the painting was painted. Paul Nash had

painted this new world; everything in the painting is dark, the trees are no longer green, and

the landscape is deserted.

The artist tells a story through the painting. The First World War had ruined everything that

once was beautiful, and instead of building the world up, we are breaking it down with wars.

SOURCES:

Anthony, J., Burgess, R., Mikkelsen, R. and Sørhus, B. T. (2008) Access literature Vg3. Oslo:

Cappelen

Pessel, M. 2013. Night Film. Hutchinson London: s. 190-191

Nash, P. We Are Making a New World (1918)

Task 2

Long answer

2b

The opening of a book is very important. In the first few pages the author has to catch the

reader’s attention, and make the reader want to read more. The first pages of the book

determent in the case that the reader either wants to read more, or put the book down. In

order to make a book interesting and catchy, there are a few factors that have to play its

part.

First of all, structure is an important factor. When writing a text, a good structure is

important. A good structure gives a great first impression, whereas bad structure does the

opposite. However, the first impression of the text might be wrong. The text might look well-

structured, but as the reader start to read, the content of the text might be messy and

chaotic. Therefore, it’s just as important that the content is good. An example of structure

can be seen in “Text 1” and “Text 3”. The first impression of “Text 1” is that the structure

works, but it can look a bit chaotic. On the other hand there is “Text 3”. “Text 3” seems to

have a good structure, and it looks easy to read. If I was to choose to read either “Text 1” or


“Text 3”, I would choose “Text 3” because the first impression of the text is good, and I

would rather read a well-structures text than a chaotic text.

The setting of the story plays an important matter. The setting says something about where

and when the story takes place. All the three openings in Appendix 2 mention when the

story takes place. In “Text 1” a lot of information about when the story takes place is given.

The story takes place on the ninth day of November in 1683. Likewise with “Text 3”, the

reader gets the information that the story takes place on June 23, 1943. When the reader

knows the year the story takes place in, it makes it easier for the reader to understand what

is happening and why things are happening. In “Text 2” however, the reader only knows the

month the story takes place in, which in this case is October. It could be October 1960, or it

could be October 2014. The reader will have to read more to get to the information about

what year the story takes place in.

When the writer writes the story, it is important that he or she writes something about

where the story takes place. A story can take place inside or outside a house, in different

countries or continents. Where the story takes place is usually relatively easy to state. The

author often starts by explaining the setting of the story so it becomes easier for the reader

to put him or her in the given situation and place.

Content is another important factor. It doesn’t matter how well-structured a text is if the

content of the text isn’t just as good. The reader won’t read the whole text just because the

first impression of the structure was good. The only way to keep the reader going is if the

content of the text is good and well written. First of all the content has to be interesting, and

the writer has to write about something that catches various group of people.

Writer tries to make the character as much interesting as they possibly can. An interesting

character will catch the reader’s attention, and the reader is going to want to know how the

story ends for a certain character. The writer can create everything from a troubled

character that seems to be out of place and doesn’t know what to do, or where to go, to a

wealthy and educated person who wants more out of their lives. For instance, in “Text 3”

we meet the Army Air Forces bombardier and Olympic runner Louise Zamperini. In

comparison, in “Text 2” the reader meet an ordinary man who’s running around in Central

Park.


The point of view says something about who tells the story, or from what perspective the

story is told. The point of view determents how close the reader can get to the character.

For an example; if the story is told directly from the character’s perspective, first person

perspective, the reader will automatically get close to the character. This way the writer

creates an emotional connection between the character and the reader. Another great

example is “Text 3”. “Text 3” is told from the third person point of view. The story is told

from another person’s point of view. The reader doesn’t get to know the characters

innermost thoughts or feelings. When an author makes this type of characters he or she

knows that the reader won’t get as close to the character, but the character remains

interesting and fresh.

To summarize, it takes a lot of different factors to keep a story interesting. Even so, it takes a

lot of effort from the author to make the first pages interesting and catchy. One wrong step

could be the deal breaker. The setting, structure, content, the point of view etc. has to work

together. The author has to write a unique story that makes the reader want to read more.

But it is important that the reader don’t feel “trapped” in the story, but that it’s easy flowing

and natural. So, it takes a lot from the author to catch the reader, and even so, it takes more

to catch a reader without the reader realizing how “hooked” they get.

Sources:

Anthony, J., Burgess, R., Mikkelsen, R. and Sørhus, B. T. (2008) Access literature Vg3. Oslo:

Cappelen

Appendix 2: «Text 1»: Tremain, R. 2013. A Man of His Time. Vintage Books, London: s.3

Appendix 2: «Text 2»: Pessel, M. 2013. Night Film. Hutchinson London: s. 1

Appendix 2: «Text 3»: Hillenbrand, L. 2010. Unbroken. Random House. P. xvii


Task 1

Short answer


1a



Night Film



Marisha Pessel




1b





2b






Text 1









Text 2









Text 3







Innhold 1a. Oppgavesvaret viser en del rimelig god kompetanse i å analysere språklige og litterære virkemidler gjennom noen eksempler og forklaringer. Noe fagterminologi er også brukt.

1b. Innholdet i oppgavesvaret gir en god beskrivelse og enkel analyse av det vedlagte bildet.

2b. Oppgavesvaret viser en del innsikt og refleksjon. Svaret gir en rimelig god analyse av de vedlagte litterære tekstene og inkluderer selvstendige observasjoner og kommentarer, til tross for noe oppramsing og gjentakelser.

Tekststruktur 1a, 1b og 2b. Tekststrukturen i svarene er god, og alle tekstene har god indre sammenheng. Svaret på oppgave 2b har en god innledning og avslutning.

Språk Språket kommuniserer godt og er til en viss grad idiomatisk, men det forekommer noen formelle feil. Svarene viser at eleven behersker relevant terminologi for litterær analyse til en viss grad.




Tekstene i eksamenssvaret viser rimelig god refleksjon, selvstendighet og faglig innsikt. Svarene er i samsvar med oppgaveordlyden.

Eksamenssvaret viser god kompetanse og er samlet vurdert til karakter 4.


EXAM ENGLISH LITERATURE

Task 1 – Short answer

1a

There are several language features and literary devices that the author uses to describe the

narrator’s feelings about his ex-wife. The easiest one to notice is the use of adjectives.

Throughout the text the narrator describes his ex-wife as youthful and bright, as well as

complimenting her throughout the text by describing her as “a work of art to look at”. This

gives a positive impression of her; however, his feelings are slightly negative, because of the

way that he also tells that she allowed herself to be bought along with the painting. In

addition to the use of adjectives, the author also uses contrasts to enhance the narrator’s

feelings for her. The first contrast lies in the comparison between her age and her looks. She

looks young and youthful for her age, thus creating a contrast. She is also compared to

Bruce, which looks old and hairy. Both of these contrasts enhances the positive feelings that

he shows.

Paragraph 2 is a fine example of a literary device. This is a flashback from when they were

students together, and again, describing the features that was unique for her. By doing this,

he shows a side of her that normally not everyone would talk about. Additionally he talks

about the past in a positive way, but concludes with money being superior to love at times.

1b

The artist expresses different kind of emotions in this portrait. The most dominant part of

the painting is the destroyed land. The trees looks burned up and there seem to be no life

there whatsoever. At the time this was painted, the war was over. This is reflected well with

the ground being destroyed, all the trees being dead and the dark colours. People felt

desolation and fear during the war.



Since this is a post-war painting, it also shows the hope of a better life after the war. This is

shown with sun rising over the mountain peak, which symbolises a new life and brighter

tomorrow. This is true as the U.S. had prosperity after the war after winning.

Task 2 – Long answer

2b

Curiousity, the key?

The first pages of a book is supposed to make the readers interested so they will carry on

reading the book. In the three texts in Appendix 2 there are used several literary techniques

to draw the reader into the story. What is it that makes you captured by a book, and makes

you want you to keep reading?

In Text 1, the author has focused on provoking the reader’s curiosity by using the unknown

to maintain the interest in the story. Here we get to know about Sir Robert being handed a

package from his Manservant, Will. We do not know whom this Sir Robert or Will is, and

neither do we know what this package is all about, which definitely provokes curiosity.

Additionally, the author starts the novel with action, which makes it more exciting from the

beginning. This skips characterisation and familiarisation with the characters, which can be

added later in the book to clarify obscureness. Secondly, the author describes the situations

well, making the reader able to relate to the scenarios in the text. This can be seen when he

is wiping his mouth: “I wiped my mouth and blew my nose (with a striped, very faded dinner

napkin once given to me by the King) (…)” Starting the novel with a date calls attention to the

setting of the novel, making it more relatable. In the last sentence, “(…) but Will had already

turned and was embarked on his slow and limping return journey from the dining table to the

door, and to have called him back might well have occasioned some physical Catastrophe,

which I had no heart to risk.”, humour is being used. By doing this, the author achieves


entertainment, something that increases the chances of the reader being drawn into the

story.

Text 2 is not too different from Text 1, and many of the same literary techniques are being

used. Trying to create resemblance and making the readers relate to what is happening, is a

technique that is widely used. This is shown in the descriptions of the character’s feelings as

well as the scenery around him. We also get to know when this scene is happening, again

making it easier to relate to. The three last sentences is where the author creates tension.

“(…) I glanced over my shoulder and saw someone behind me. A woman was standing in

front of a lamppost, her face in shadow, her red oat catching the light behind her, making a

vivid red slice in the night. A young woman out here alone? Was she crazy?” The main

character sees a woman, unknown due to the shadow in her face. This catches the reader by

making them interested in what is going to happen, and whom this woman is. Here, as in

Text 1, we are not being familiarised with the characters except getting to know some of the

man’s mindset.

Text 3 is slightly different from the other ones. Here we have a third person point of view,

where we get the story in in medias res. This text appeals to our emotions in a completely

different way than the others, since it is being started in the middle of the story. This also

appeals to our curiosity because we do not know what is happening; neither do we know

why this situation has happened. As we keep reading, we get to know more and more about

the situation. By giving more and more information, the curiosity is still kept, without losing

the obscureness that is being tried to achieve. The last sentence, “Almost everyone outside

of his family had given him up for dead.” makes the reader feel sorry for him and makes

them want to carry on reading to find out what is happening further.

All three texts have many of the same features that “hooks” the readers so they want to

carry on reading. The most important one is to create resemblance for the readers. By giving

good descriptions, having an informative language and using elements that the reader can

relate to, is very important to achieve this. The start of a book should not be boring either,

so starting with a scene where something is happening is not too bad. It does not necessarily


have to start in the middle of the story, but with some action at least. Lastly, it is important

to appeal to the reader’s emotions at some point. By using humour, tension or fear, for

instance, will appeal to the reader’s emotions. Although this is important, it is safe to say

that curiosity is the key to make readers more interested and want to read more.

Sources

‘Task 1a’: Pessel, M. 2013. Night Film. Hutchinson London: s. 190-191.

‘Task 2a’: Nash, P. We Are Making a New World (1918):

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~kjg/378/mod_image_b.htm

29.01.2015

‘Task 2b’/’Appendix2’: ‘Text 1’: Tremain, R. 2013. A Man of His Time. Vintage Books, London:

s. 3

‘Task 2b’/’Appendix2’: ‘Text 2’: Pessel, M. 2013. Night Film. Hutchinson London: s. 1

‘Task 2b’/’Appendix2’: ‘Text 3’: Hillenbrand, L. 2010. Unbroken. Random House. p. xvii.

Mikkelsen, R. & Sørhus, T. 2008. Access to English: Literature. CAPPELEN DAMM AS, Oslo: s.

266-267.


http://www.public.iastate.edu/~kjg/378/mod_image_b.htm

Task 1

Short answer


1a



Night Film



Marisha Pessel




1b





2b






Text 1









Page 2 of 2

Text 2









Text 3







Innhold 1a. Oppgavesvaret viser god kompetanse i å analysere språklige og litterære virkemidler ved å gi gode eksempler og forklaringer, men bruken av fagterminologi er begrenset.

1b. Innholdet i oppgavesvaret viser god kompetanse i å analysere kunst. Svaret viser rimelig god innsikt og selvstendig refleksjon.

2b. Oppgavesvaret fremstår som modent og reflektert. Svaret gir en god analyse av de vedlagte litterære tekstene og inkluderer selvstendige observasjoner og kommentarer. Enkelte steder forekommer noe handlingsreferat som ikke er relevant.

Tekststruktur 1a, 1b og 2b. Tekststrukturen i svarene er god, og alle tekstene har god indre sammenheng. Svaret på oppgave 2b har en god innledning og avslutning.

Språk Språket svarene er godt, idiomatisk og variert til tross for enkelte unøyaktigheter. Svarene viser at eleven behersker relevant terminologi for litterær analyse godt.




Tekstene i eksamenssvaret viser refleksjon, selvstendighet og god faglig innsikt. Svarene fremstår som modne, reflekterte og relevante. De viser et variert ordforråd.

Eksamenssvaret viser meget god kompetanse og er samlet vurdert til karakter 5.


Task 1

1a

The text from “Night Film” by Marisha Pessel, expresses one man’s feelings towards his ex-

wife Cynthia. Cynthia was rather down to earth when they first met, however money changed

her. Even though their relationship is now over, and Cynthia lives with a rich man named

Bruce, the narrator still thinks the world of her.

The extract opens up with two contrasting sentences: “She was still beautiful. It was awful”.

Even though we do not yet know who the narrator is talking about, we get the idea that the

woman is no longer in his life. The narrator talks about how he hoped she would one day

wake up old, comparing wrinkles to “a maze of molehills screwing up a legendary lawn”. We

understand that the man is still in love with his ex-wife when he starts describing her features

as “youthful and bright”. When Bruce is introduced in the text, the author changes the tone of

her writing. The language used is now negatively charged with words such as paunch and

hairy. Even though his wife was swept away by another man, he narrator does not seem to

hold any grudge towards his ex-wife because she “was a work of art to look at for a life time”

and Bruce “had a knack for spotting deals in the marketplace”.

In the second paragraph, the narrator thinks back to when he first met Cynthia in University.

The sharp contrast to the woman she was back then: “she was flighty and poor”, and who she

is now, tells us that the narrator did not fall in love with her for her money or her looks. He

talks about her personality and how she “stuck her head out of the car windows the way dogs

do”. The author chooses to make money into the factor which killed the woman he once

knew: “Few survived real money”.



1b

The painting “We Are Making a New World” was painted by Paul Nash in 1918, by the end

of World War 1. The First World War sparked the already beginning Modernist revolution.

The artists felt that they could no longer paint beautiful, happy paintings, because the war had

changed the world. The artists now took it up on themselves to show the “true” world, and

they did this by focusing on horror and destruction.

The modernist view on the world shines through in Paul Nash’s painting. He has created a

landscape which is torn up and destructed. Dirt surrounds the dead trees instead of grass, and

the sky is grey instead of blue. The painting also expresses a sense of loneliness by not

including any living things such as humans, animals or plants. The dirty ground is uneven and

rough, symbolising the wearing effects the terrible was had on the both the land and the

people. There a sun shining from behind the red dusty mountains in the background. Usually

you associate the sun with life and growth, however, in this case the sun is there to shine a

light upon how society had been destructed and left desolate. Through his painting, Paul Nash

has managed to capture the deeply pessimistic, but yet true view of the world after WW1.


Task 2

2b

The first page

The first page of a book is crucial to whether someone will continue reading a book or not. If

an author fails to lure the reader into the story during the first paragraphs it becomes difficult

to make them continue on with the story. Therefore, in this essay I will explain how the first

page of “Merivel A Man of His time”, “Night film” and “Unbroken” manages to capture the

reader’s attention in just a few paragraphs.

The first text “Merivel A Man of his Time” is written by Rose Tremain. The story is set in

November 1683, and it revolves around a man living in Bidnold Manor. One day the man is

presented with an old, dusty package found under his mattress by one of the chambermaids.

The story starts off with the curious line “On this day […] a most singular thing has

occurred.” The author is vague, which is a simple way to attract someone’s attention.

However, to keep the reader’s curiosity up, the author jumps back in time to give the “most

singular thing” some backstory. The story is written in a first person perspective, therefore we

learn everything trough the main character. The clever effect this point of view gives us is that

we never know more than the main character, and everything we learn we learn alongside this

person.

Once the narrator is presented with the package by his Manservant Will, the reader only wants

to know what the package contains, and how it even ended up in someone’s bedchamber.

Consequently, the author drags the story out by focusing on the dust left in the air by the

package. This is done to keep the reader interested, because as soon as we know what the

package contains parts of the suspense will be gone. To build up under the suspense, the

narrator begins inspecting the package form the outside saying that it “appeared like a thing

purloined from some Pharaoh’s Tomb”. Here one starts to think that the story might develop

into a grand adventure. To not let our thoughts wander off too far, the author brings us back

into the mansion by focusing on Will the Manservant. The narrator has a slight suspicion that

Will has something to do with the sudden discovery, thus making the readers suspect the same

thing.


The language in the story is fairly simple, not using any complicated sentences or phrasings.

Still, there are parts where the stories old fashioned setting seeps through the words: an

example of this is “a most singular thing” or “boiled chicken with carrots and small ale”. The

story also contains a lot of adjectives to give the reader a better picture in his or her head of

the events taking place, and things such as his servant’s hands or the dinner napkin are

described in detail. Furthermore, the author has kept the dialogue between the narrator and

Will short and to the point. This does not only move the story along faster, but it also gives us

an insight into their relationship. Everything is said in a professional tone, therefore one can

say that their relationship is strictly master and servant.

The second text, “Night Film” by Marisha Pessel, continues with the same suspense as the

first text. This story is also set in fall and told through the point of view of the main character.

“Night Film” is about a man who is jogging though New York after midnight. He has a

feeling that his best days are behind him, and he continues to run through the cold October

night. He is running around Central Park for the sixth time when he sees something curious. A

young lady dressed in a red coat in standing alone under a lamppost.

Picking up the trend from the previous text, this story is also introduced by a vague but

interesting sentence: “My Cordova tale began for the second time on a rainy October night,

when I was just another man running in circles”. First of all you have to ask yourself what

happened during his first “Cordova tale”, and then you ask yourself what kind of man he is

now if he was “just another man” before. The character has a strange vibe surrounding him,

making him appear as an unreliable narrator. To underline the eerie vibe from the main

character, the story is also set during a rainy, cold night.

The language used gives off the feeling that something is about to happen at any moment: His

jogging is a risky habit, the puddles are black and the Reservoir is cloaked in mist. The

language keeps us at the edge of our seat. The author also makes a number of similes to help

the reader visualise the exact situations, for example: “gold lights burning through the gloom,

reflecting on the water’s edge like dull coins tossed in”. Similes are used as another way to

help the reader see the world in the same way as the narrator. For some people the gold light

might appear beautiful, but for our narrator they are nothing more than dull coins. This way

the language brings us closer to the narrator, and we can read about his troubles between the

lines.


“Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand is the third and final extract. Unlike the two other texts,

this story does not maintain the same form of suspense and mystery. This story is set during

WW2, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Louie Zamperini is an Army Air Forces bombardier

and Olympic runner. However, he is currently lying on a small raft floating in the ocean

together with two crewmen. They have been adrift for twenty-seven days.

The author does not tell us exactly what happened before Louie ended up in the water, but

through the WW2 setting and his Air Forces job we can easily guess that this accident

involved a plane crash. Due to this information, we are not met with the same type of

suspense we got from the two previous texts. Still, there is a slower form of excitement

presented to us. As soon as the reader understands the situation, he or she will wonder if these

men will ever be found. The men have been on the sea for almost a month which gives off the

feeling that they do not have a lot of time left: “Their bodies, burned by the sun and stained

yellow from the raft dye, had winnowed down to skeletons”.

The third paragraph is written in retrospect. Here we get to know more about the main

character Louie form before the accident. Once we read more about his Olympic past and how

he was “expected to break the four-minute mile” we grow a stronger sense of sympathy

towards him, and we want to know that he will be alright. Once the author has connected the

reader to the main character she plays on their feelings saying “Almost everyone outside of

his family had given him up for dead.” Through both these words and the vast ocean setting

we can feel the loneliness.

Altogether, these three texts are great examples on how to capture the reader’s attention, and

how to make them want to continue on with the book. Even though the texts are different

stories, they all share the common bond of suspense. If you can get the reader exited for what

the books resolution will be they will not be able to put the book down. The stories have also

managed to use the right language and settings to underline the theme of the books, there are

few things which work better than having a thriller play out during an October night, or

express lost dreams and loneliness on an open ocean.


BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Anthony, J., Burgess R., Mikkelsen, R., & Sørhus, T. B. (2008). Access to English: Literature

Vg3. Oslo: CAPPELEN DAMM AS.

Jansson, B. K., Kristoffersen K. E., Krogh, J. & Michelsen P. R. (2008). Tema vg3: Norsk

språk og litteratur. Det norske samlaget.


Task 1

Short answer


1a



Night Film



Marisha Pessel




1b





2b






Text 1









Page 2 of 2

Text 2









Text 3







Innhold 1a. Oppgavesvaret viser god kompetanse i å analysere språklige og litterære virkemidler ved å gi gode eksempler og forklaringer.

1b. Innholdet i oppgavesvaret viser meget god kompetanse i å analysere kunst. Svaret viser meget god innsikt og selvstendig refleksjon.

2b. Oppgavesvaret fremstår som modent og reflektert. Svaret gir en meget god analyse av de vedlagte litterære tekstene og inkluderer selvstendige observasjoner og kommentarer.

Tekststruktur 1a, 1b og 2b. Tekststrukturen i svarene er gjennomgående god, og alle tekstene har god indre sammenheng. Svaret på oppgave 2b har en god innledning og avslutning.

Språk Språket i svarene er godt, idiomatisk og variert til tross for enkelte unøyaktigheter. Svarene viser at eleven behersker relevant terminologi for litterær analyse.


• Karakteren 6 uttrykkjer at eleven har framifrå kompetanse i faget.• Karakteren 5 uttrykkjer at eleven har mykje god kompetanse i faget.• Karakteren 4 uttrykkjer at eleven har god kompetanse i faget.• Karakteren 3 uttrykkjer at eleven har nokså god kompetanse i faget.• Karakteren 2 uttrykkjer at eleven har låg kompetanse i faget.• Karakteren 1 uttrykkjer at eleven har svært låg kompetanse i faget.


Tekstene i eksamenssvaret viser høy grad av refleksjon, selvstendighet og meget god faglig innsikt. Innholdet i svarene kompenserer for de språklige unøyaktighetene.

Eksamenssvaret viser fremragende kompetanse og er samlet vurdert til karakter 6.


Task 1a In the extract from Marisha Pessel’s “Night Film”, the narrator expresses his feelings about

his ex-wife. In order to do this, he uses a variety of language features and literary devices.

Firstly, he uses simile and metaphors to describe the ex-wife’s appearance, as well what he

wishes she would look like. He describes how he wants her to “wake up to wrinkles like a

maze of molehills screwing up a legendary lawn”- (Night Film, Marisha Pessel), and how she

“was a work of art.” (Night Film, Marisha Pessel). Both the simile maze of molehills, and the

metaphor work of art, are statements which makes it easy for the reader to interpret the

feelings of the narrator about his ex-wife. The negative feelings attached to the simile “Maze

of molehills” does create a stronger sense of disgust than most adjectives would create alone,

in the same way that the metaphor “Work of art”, really makes the reader see how much the

narrator adores his ex-wife.

Secondly, there are several contrasts in the text. The contrast between the work of art the

narrator sees his ex-wife as, and the old and wrinkly woman he wishes she would become,

gives the reader understanding of how the narrator truly wants to stop loving her. The contrast

of the description of the ex-wife’s new husband, who is portrayed in a rather negative way,

and the description of the ex-wife which the narrator adores, establishes an impression that the

narrator is not pleased with the ex-wife’s new relationship.

Towards the end of the extract, the texts does in many ways seem like a stream of mind. The

sentences become shorter and the language less formal, as the narrator pours his thoughts on

how things were when he and his wife met, out on paper. This nostalgic ending leaves the

reader with a sense of longing, and a clear impression that the narrator truly misses his ex-

wife.



Task 1b The painting “We Are Making a New World”, beautifully describes the artist, Paul Nash’s

reaction to World War I.

If the top of the picture had been chopped off, this paining would portray nothing but misery.

This part of the painting, covering about two thirds of it, consists of an abandoned field,

covered in burned trees, as well as what appears to be trenches and pieces of steel wire.

Considering the time the painting was made, it is fair to assume the field portrayed is the

remains of a WWI battlefield. Through the dark and hostile colours, as well as the depressing

look of the shattered field, the artist strongly expresses negative feelings towards this war. In

addition to that, he portrays the horrifying darkness of this piece of history.

In spite of the tragic motive covering big parts of the painting, the remaining third portrays

something very different; mountains with a sun rising between them, sunlight shining

through, spreading a bit of light out on the otherwise dark field. With the sun as a symbol of

hope, the artist expresses the hope that bloomed after WWI. Hope that things would get better

and the misery would end. With glimmers of light reaching down to even the dark parts of the

burnt trees, he portrays how even those who had lost everything were left with a tiny bit of

hope. Hope that as the title “We Are Making a New World”, states; a new and better would be

built.


Task 2b

Techniques of drawing the reader into the story

Most people have at least a few times in their life opened a book only to put it away after

reading the first page. No matter how entertaining a book is, a boring opening will be off

putting to those who are not extremely patient. If one has several books to choose from, why

bother wasting time on something that does not immediately catch ones attention? This is why

drawing the reader into the story from the very beginning of it, is essential if one as a writer

wants people to bother reading more than just the first few pages. In this text, I will take a

closer look on the opening of three books, and the literary techniques the writers have used to

catch the reader’s attention.

The book “Merivel A Man of His Time”, written by Rose Tremain, takes place in 1683, and

starts with a man receiving a mysterious parcel from his servant as he is enjoying his dinner.

The book is written from a first person point of view, which lets the reader know the thoughts

of the main character, as he is also the narrator. By knowing the thoughts of the main

character, it is easier to get involved in the story.

Another thing that contributes to this being an opening that easily catches the reader’s

attention, is how the setting is well described. This makes it is easier to get an overview of the

situation. When being provided information like the main character owning a napkin handed

to him by the king, as well as having both a servant and a chambermaid, the reader is

informed of the wealth of the main character, even though it is not mentioned directly. Other

details of the setting, for example the food on the main characters plate, also contributes to the

reader forming a mental picture of the situation. Having already formed this mental picture

makes the reader more likely to keep reading, than if one has not been provided enough

information to do so, and is only given a vague idea of what is going. Another important

factor in getting the readers attention, is the mysterious parcel involved in the story. The

curiosity of wanting to find out where it is from and what is in it, will contribute to the reader

wanting to keep reading.


Opposed to many other books, the structure being boringly monotonous is not the case with

“Merivel A Man of His Time”. As the opening consists of a mixture of dialogue, the thoughts

of the main character, and general facts about the setting, one does not lose interest of the

story due to there being too little variation in structure. In other words, there is variety in the

text, which makes it more fun to read.

Moving on to Night Film by Marisha Pessel, the means used to catch the reader’s attention are

different from the ones used in Rose Tremain’s book. In Night Film, it is the mood and

tension built up in the opening that makes the reader eager to keep reading. Here, the narrator

is a man jogging in Central Park at two A.M, who stumps upon a young woman standing

alone in front of a lamppost.

A fair amount of time is spent setting the mood, which is so important for the opening of this

book. By describing the cold rainy night, puddles along the path and the shadow of the

narrator which when he runs past certain objects, moves in a rather unsettling way, a creepy

mood is set. One does not yet know what will happened, but this strange mood combined by

the tension that slowly builds up as the reader is being fed details that makes the situation

even creepier, leaves no doubt that something unusual and frightening is going to happen. For

example, already in the second sentence, the narrator describes running late at night is “(…) a

risky habit I’d adopted (…)” – (Night Film – Marisha Pessel).

And last but not least, the narrator unexpectedly sees the young woman, standing alone in the

park late at night, which sparks the curiosity of the reader. Suddenly one just has to know

what happens next; hence, one wants to keep reading.

In the last book, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, the opening presents a situation where three

men from the army, among them one who is also an Olympic runner, are laying on a small

raft drifting around the Pacific Ocean. The year is 1943, and they have ben adrift for twenty-

seven days. In this opening, the reader is presented a series of revolting details of the

situation. Grotesque and graphic descriptions like “Their bodies burned by the sun and

stained yellow from the draft rye, had winnowed down to skeletons” – (Unbroken, Laura

Hillenbrand), and “The rats were beginning to deteriorate into jelly (…)” – (Unbroken,

Laura Hillenbrand), might so disgusting it stops some from reading. However, for many it

will also wake a bit of morbid curiosity. Though these statements might be rather repulsive,


they will also be what catches the attention of many. As it stands out and makes the opening

everything but plain, it might be what makes them want to keep reading.

Naturally, when being presented the hopeless situation of these men, the reader will feel sorry

for them. This feeling of sympathy will make the reader wish for the men to be saved, which

again will spike the feeling of curiosity. Will the men be saved or will they not? To find out,

one has to keep reading.

As seen in the openings of these three texts, several techniques can be used to make the reader

stick with the book after reading the opening. To sum up, some are using a point of view fit

for the situation, detailed descriptions, variation in style, as well as setting a mood and

building up tension. However, a key factor in all three openings I have looked at is making the

reader curios. Nothing will motivate a person to keep reading, like the excitement caused by

strong curiosity.

Sources 1a:

Pessel, M. 2013. Night Film. Hutchinson London: s. 190-192

Sources 1b:

Nash, P. We Are Making a New World (1918):

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~kjg/378/mod_image_n.htm (29.01.2015)

Sourced 2b:

Appendix 2: Pessel, M. 2013. Night Film. Hutchinson London: s.1

Appendix 2: Tremain, R. 2013. A Man of His Time. Vintage Books, London: s.3

Appendix 2: Hillenbrand, L. 2010. Unbroken. Random House. P. xvii


http://www.public.iastate.edu/~kjg/378/mod_image_n.htm

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