Understanding Prose
50% of Total Award
SECTION A: LITERARY
HERITAGE (40 MARKS)

ANIMAL FARM: 4 Part
Question Linked to short
extract
• There will be 4 parts to each
question
• The extract will come from a
significant section of text
and be of approx 300 words
• Students will be expected to
relate extract to the whole
text
• HIGHER TIER questions will
focus on character, theme,
language and significance of
the extract
SECTION B: DIFFERENT
CULTURES AND TRADITIONS
(40 MARKS)

OF MICE AND MEN: Essay
Question
• Students will choose one of
two essays
• Students will select relevant
material focussing on key
words from the question,
clearly expressing relevant
points and providing
evidence from the text
• Students will be expected to
demonstrate a knowledge of
the whole text
• The essay WILL be assessed
for the quality of written
communication
George Orwell
4 PART QUESTION

Question Frame Work
• A) Character
• B) Language
• C) Theme in the extract
• D) theme in another part of
the novel
• You Should Spend 1 HOUR
on this section
 Question
Frame Work
• A) Character (8)
• B) Language
(10)
• C) Theme in the
extract (10)
• D) Theme in
another part of
the novel (12)
This question is worth 8 Marks (You should spend 10 mins on this
question)
In class this is where pupils are picking up most marks. PEEE for
approx 3 points
This question is worth 10 marks (You should spend 12 mins on this
question)
Reminders are to focus specifically on the techniques the writer
uses, naming them specifically and exploring their impact. (Direct
speech / Hyperbole / Personal Pronouns / Irony / Simile
/Metaphor / Repetition / Onomatopoeia / Rhetorical Question etc)
This question is worth 10 marks (You should spend 12 mins on
this question)
Top Tips – be really specific about how ORWELL presents the
theme (the methods he uses for impact and why.)
Interweave the key term into your response to show a clear
and full analytical appreciation
REMEMBER – Band 5criteria states: ‘explanation of importance
of theme in extract shows perceptive understanding’
This question is worth 12 marks (You should spend 15 mins on this question)
As above! Remember to choose an appropriate part of the novel ONE is written in bold on the exam
paper. You will only be rewarded for you in depth exploration of ONE other area.
YOU MUST analyse STRUCTURE, FORM and LANGUAGE as part of this question.
TIME…
 Weekly
our timed
assignments are
showing that this is a
key area that we need
to focus on!
 Remember 1 HOUR
ONLY ft this section
then we need to
move on!




Write in your
own words the
nature of the
allegory of
Animal farm
What is Orwell’s
message?
Which characters are
representative from
history?
Which events are
used to parallel
history?
HUMANS
PIGS
 Old Major  Mr Jones
 Napoleon  Mr
Frederick
 Snowball
 Mr
 Squealer
Pilkington
 Minimus
 Mr
 Pink eye
Whymper
 Piglets
EQUINES
•Boxer
•Clover
•Mollie
•Benjamin
OTHER
ANIMALS
•Murial
•Moses
•Jessie and Bluebell
•The puppies
•Sheep
•Hens
•Crows
•Rats
•Cat
Power
 Leadership
 Corruption
 Friendship
 Trust
 Unity
 Lies
 Rules and Order
 Intelligence
 Dreams
 Violence
 Pride

Techniques
and
examples






10 minutes read and annotate
the extract. Use highlighters if
you wish to colour code each
question
10 minutes answer question 1 –
Character
12 minutes answer question 2 –
Language
12 minutes answer question 3 –
Theme in Extract
15 minutes answer question 4 –
theme outside of the extract
(one other part of the novel)
Last Minute: Proofread and
Check
It is as important to know this as it is the
content!
John Steinbeck
ESSAY QUESTION




Students will choose one of
two essays
Students will select relevant
material focussed on the key
words in the question, clearly
expressing relevant points
and providing evidence from
the text
Students will be expected to
demonstrate knowledge of the
whole text
Essay will be assessed for
QWC
 Questions
for
different cultures
texts are in essay
format
 You
have 45
minutes to
respond to this
question
13) Explain the importance
of the friendship
between George and
Lennie.
Remember to consider the
impact of the Depression
in 1930s America in your
answer. (40)
OR
For example…
Questions begin with words like ‘explain’ and
‘explore’ inviting a complex, critical and analytical
response
TIP: plan carefully to illustrate consideration
Questions will focus on a Key theme, character, setting or
issue etc within the text
TOP TIP: remember to interweave the ‘key term’ from the
question into your response. This shows the examiner that you
are responding to the question set and not generically
Pupil will be given a CHOICE of two questions
Spend 5 mins carefully choosing and planning your response picking the ‘best’ Q
Remember – you must only respond to ONE of the two questions set
14) Explore how dreams
and dreaming affect
individual characters in
the novel.
Remember to consider how
the American Dream is
represented in your
answer. (40)
Each question will have a contextual link
Remember your demonstration of A04 in this section is
worth a huge 15% of the total award. Ensure that each
PEEE is related to the cultural, social and historical
context within the text
TOP TIP: remember, however, this this is an English
essay rather than history. Essentially, it is how / why the
novel presents these factors that is crucial
Essay is marked out of 14
16 marks are available for A01, 24 for A04.
Crucial to Success…
Plan first…
This gives your essay a clear structure
and shows the examiner both that you
are organised and that you know the text
PEEE…
Use PEEE to optimise success and maximise
A01 mark – showing a wide critical
understanding of the text. Link points through
careful A04 references
Quotations as supporting evidence…
Alternate small embedded and longer
quotations to show both wider analysis and
close textual reference
Leave time to proofread…
Checking that you care clear to the
examiner is paramount. You might know
what you mean but an examiner has to
also
 Dreams
 Loneliness
 Isolation
 Friendship
 Death
 Nature
 violence
CHARACTERS












George Milton
Lennie Small
Candy
Slim
Crooks
The Boss
Curley
Curley’s Wife
Candy’s Dog
Aunt Clara
Whit
Carlson
SETTING




The Green Pool
The bunk house
The Harness Room
The barn
 Literary
Context
 Stock Market Crash 1929
 1930’s depression
 Role of Women (flapper movement)
 Race
 Television and Media
 Race
 Disability
 Ranch life / migrant working
 Conditions of work
George talks to Slim page 43
Slim moved back slightly so the light was not on his face. ‘Funny
how you an’ him string along together.’ It was Slim’s calm invitation to
confidence.
‘What ‘s funny about it?’ George demanded defensively.
‘Oh, I dunno. Hardly none of the guys ever travel together. I
hardly never seen two guys travel together. You know how the hands
are, they just come in a nd get their bunk and work a month, and then
quit and go out alone. Never seem to give a damn about nobody. It jus’
seems kinda funny a cuckoo like him and a smart guy like you
travellin’ together.’
‘He ain’t no cuckoo,’ said George. ‘He’s dumb as hell, but he ain’t
crazy. An’ I ain’t so bright neither, or I wouldn’t be buckin’ barley for
my fifty and found. If I was bright, if I was even a little bit smart, I’d
have my own little place, an’ I’d be bringin’ in my own crops, ‘stead of
doin’ all the work and not getting what comes up outta the ground.’
George fell silent. He wanted to talk. Slim neither encouraged nor
discouraged him. He just sat back quiet and receptive.’
Explain the
importance of
Curley’s wife in the
novel
In your answer, you must consider:

• the relationship between Curley’s wife and
Curley
• how the men describe and treat Curley’s wife
• the hopes and dreams of Curley’s wife
AO1
Select and
Evaluate
Relevant
Textual
detail
BAND 5:
•Convincing
responses to
text
supported
by sustained
relevant
textual
reference
•Selection
and
evaluation
of textual
detail show
perceptive
understandi
ng of theme
/ ideas
Curley’s wife is an important character in the novel
and is a key catalyst for change, effectively
ending the dream and the novel upon her death.
Curley’s wife’s relationship with Curley is bad –
Curley controls her. For example Curley’s wife is
shown to say: “I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice
fella.” This shows that Curley is oppressive and
controlling of her suggesting a possibly violent
nature to their relationship. This relates to ideas
of women in the 1930’s, who were still not equal
in rights to men and were treated in the way
depicted here. The reader may consider more
modern attitudes of women and their contrast to
this. Steinbeck did this because of the influence
of male-dominated ranch life around him.
The other men treat Curley’s wife badly. For
example, George refers to her in Chapter Two as
“a rat trap” and “jail bait”. This shows George’s
distrust for Curley’s wife as he believes that she
may be taking advantage of Lennie’s lack of
intelligence to get him into trouble – we later
find out that it is more to do with loneliness when
she speaks to Lennie in Chapter 5.
16
AO4
Relate texts to
their social,
cultural and
historical
contexts
BAND 5:
•Convincing
reference to
context
supported by
relevant textual
reference.
•Explanation of
importance of
theme / ideas
shows
perceptive
understanding
George may see Curley’s wife as a more reformist woman
trying to take advantage of men, similar to the flapper
movement of the time when women were beginning to
disregard male authority. The reader may think that
George is being harsh on her, but they may feel that he
is right in that she is Lennie’s downfall – which she is in
the end. Steinbeck did this to possibly foreshadow this
future event of Lennie Killing. Through somehow
negatively getting involved with her.
Other characters also treat Curley’s wife with suspicion.
For example in Chapter 4, Candy says: ‘Curley’s wife
can move quiet. I guess she had a lot of practice
though.’ this shows that Candy believes she has become
adept at deceiving and getting men into trouble and
that she can move around silently. This is somewhat of
an exaggerated assumption as she is never mentioned
to have decieved any men at all and Candy is likely to
think that he is threatened by the appearance of a
woman on the ranch. This relates to the male dominance
on ranches at the time, especially considering the views
of woman as weak.
22
Women never worked on ranches and were almost always in a similar
position to Curley’s wife – a belonging of those higher up and someone to
be left alone. The reader is likely to think that Candy’s ideas are
exaggerated but will view them with respect to the context.
Curley’s wife’s dreams reflect the American Dream. For example in Chapter 5
she says: ‘Coulda been in the movies” this shows that she genuinely
believed that she had a lot of talent, but she says later that she was never
contacted again by the person who offered her a role in the film – this
suggests that she was being deceived and lied to. This relates to the
American dream as she believed that she could achieve anything, which is
what the American Dream is, if you work hard enough.
Curley’s wife’s dreams also relate to the depression. For example, because
her dreams never come to work, this shows that they are probably too farfetched for the financial state of the economy at the time – there is not
enough money for a lot of people like her to live in luxury following the
Wall Street Crash. The reader may feel sympathy for her, being prevented
from reaching her goals. They may have been in the same situation too.
Steinbeck did this to point out flaws in the American dream. In conclusion,
Curley’s wife is depicted as a negative character to the men, but
generates sympathy from her failings.