MA Sample Question
Later British Literature:
E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India divides into three parts with the following titles: “Mosque,”
“Caves,” and “Temple.” “Mosque clearly refers to the religion of Islam and “Temple” to the
Hindu religion. But what do the “Caves” represent and how do they relate to those two
explicitly religious faiths? Does the explored central cave suggest mere nullity or an
incomprehensible transcendent reality? In discussing this central question of A Passage, bear
in mind the complicating factors of Mrs. Moore’s devout Christianity, Cyril Fielding’s tolerant
agnosticism, the cave’s unsettling and ambiguous “ou-boum,” and the novel’s playful tone
about these interrelated factors.
Student Response:
In E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India, the Marabar Caves represent the transcendent reality that
the Hindus believe is the ultimate God. Here one is able to best understand the concept of
oneness/nothingness upon which Hindu belief rests. They are described as ageless. They are
described as dark. They are describes as mysterious. All of these descriptions fit the
description of the all encompassing being at the center of the Hindu belief. Even the placing of
this section in the center of the novel reinforces this basic idea about the core of existence.
For Professor Godbole the caves represent a physical manifestation of this being- both its
nothingness- the darkness-the loss of the sense of individuality – the echo that distorts all it
“hears” and its oneness. (Again the very same traits are to be found in oneness- in darkness
one is found to all- when one loses a sense of individuality one is part of the whole, and when
one found is distorted it is because it is joined with others).
For Mrs. Moore- like aging- the caves are troubling because Christianity, although it has the
doctrine of nothing) everything focuses more on the oneness and not the nothingness. After
the caves, Mrs. Moore has lost her sense of self- and God- the Christian god.
Fielding – like Miss Quested- a tolerant skeptic- is too far removed from any belief system to be
affected by the caves. Miss Quested, however, is more like Mrs. Moore in one regard- her
sense of the oneness/nothingness frightens and confuses her.
For Aziz and Islam the caves represent the wonder of God. But he fails to understand also the
great mystery of the caves.
Both the echo and the shiny surface inside the caves speak to the transcendent quality of God
and the spiritual quest to join our souls with God. The flames are reflected in the surface and
thus seem to reach out toward unification. When that unification comes the flame goes out,
then once again there is oneness/nothingness.
The echo meanwhile, by its nature of distortion, serves to transcend all natural laws. In this
way, it too, speaks to the one eternal Being.
In the end then, the caves, to the Hindu, as seen later in the festival in “Temple,” serve to
physically manifest the basic principle of life: oneness and nothingness.
ForAziz, and to a lesser degree Mrs. Moore, the caves represent just an example of God’s
Handiwork.
Like Aziz, Mrs. Moore with her Christian faith looks for the oneness/physicality of God- unlike
Aziz however, the removal of the sense of self causes Mrs. Moore to suffer confusion.
Both Mrs. Moore’s and Aziz’s reliance on the physical aspect of God are outlined in
“Mosque.”
Composition:
William Wordsworth states in “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”
“And now with gleam of half-extinguished thought,
With many recognitions dim and faint,
The picture of the mind revives again.”
In what can be described as an explanation of one aspect of the pre-writing process,
Wordsworth indicates that the poet experiences an event which becomes a part of the
subconscious, outwardly seeming to forget the experience but subconsciously reflecting on it
until its meaning becomes clarified and it resurfaces. At this point the poet is ready to write
about it.
Part I (75%) Explain why reflection is a necessary phase of the writing process. In your
explanation, refer to Britten and any other educator whom you read for this exam as well as
any other writers, in addition to Wordsworth, who suggest that reflection is a necessary part
of the writing process.
Part II (25%) As a teacher, how do you believe reflection can be built in to teaching the
writing process?
Student Response:
In too many of today’s English classrooms the emphasis on the teaching of writing lies with the
product end of the process. While there are several different versions of this process, most
involve 5-6 steps that are all product (pen to paper) driven.
This process takes place in
classroom after classroom in spite of century’s old evidence that there is much more to writing
than putting pen to paper.
In 1798 William Wordsworth along with Samuel Taylor Colleridge published a paradigmshifting collection of poems entitled Lyrical Ballads and a Few Other Poems. In the second
printing (1801), Wordsworth felt compelled to elucidate his theories of writing and to explain
more fully his poetical style. It is in The Preface where Wordsworth first outlines the role
reflection plays in the writing process. Describing the source of poetry as the poet and as a
spontaneous overflow of emotion recollected in tranquility, Wordsworth focuses for the first
time on the importance of reflection.
Somewhere between Wordsworth and today (probably during Victorian times with their
rejection of everything Romantic), the importance of reflection in the writing process was lost.
Only a few, it seems, today want to even discuss the possibility that writing can be improved
not just through writing and more writing. Britten is one of those few.
What Britten postulates is that the writing/creative process is actually divided into three stages,
one of which is what he calls the production stage- the stage which most instructors focus on
today. He maintains, and there is much evidence to support him, that two stages—conception
and incubation precede production. Much of what Britten posits about these two stages
echoes ideas put forth by Wordsworth 200 years ago: mainly the emphasis on reflection.
Britten holds that in the conception phase the writer first compares his current task to a
previous one or experience. The writer begins on inner dialogue (reflection) in which he
attempts to get it right. This means he attempts to understand the assignment. This stage is
characterized by both inner and external dialogue. The writer examines previous experiences,
makes comparisons, asks questions, and engages in dialogue with others until he/she
understands just what the task at hand is. When this comprehension arrives, conception ends
and the writer moves on to incubation- a stage that often times runs concurrently with
conception.
Here the writer examines, explores, accepts and rejects ideas. Voice options are examined.
The focus here will also be an expression (what am I going to say) and communication (how am
I going to say it). Ideas, if you will, percolate in the writer’s head until the point where a general
plan is understood. At this point, the writer puts pen to paper.
Imitation and modeling are important external aids that can assist in both conception and
incubation. Both can assist the writer in helping to more completely understand the task at
hand (conception) as well as providing examples on expression and communication.
Britten also points out that student wants and needs must be taken into account when using
these two stages. By configuring assignments that allow students to reflect on previous
assignments and experiences, a teacher can better prepare students for success. Therefore,
Britten proposes that writing not be taught in isolation. But instead must be tied to the
student’s own experiences.
As for this production stage, Britten’s focus is a process he calls scanning back. Here a student
goes through a series of starts and stops and continuously rereads to keep his ideas flowing.
Again external dialogue (discussion with the teacher and fellow students) as well as internal
dialogue (recalling previous instructions) takes place. Here again, even in this final stage, we
see the importance of reflection.
It is not only Britten, but other researchers as well who champion the value of reflection.
Jamnus in her essay “Between the Drapes” points out the value of reading the draft not only
while rewriting but between the drafts. She postulates that revision does not necessarily lead
to a better paper, especially when students see revision as more correcting of errors and the
exchanging of words.
Flower and others also examine the value of reflection in an essay on revision. She too says
that mere revision does not guarantee a better paper. That is because students are unable to
“resee” the work and therefore do not examine its content, style, and structure. Examination
of this type, both Jamnus and Flower contend, can only take place through a deeper reflection
of the paper and its intent.
Perhaps more than any other reason that the product based focus on the writing process has
become the accepted methodology is that it is easy to teach- and easier to assess. There is
visual proof that the student has done pre-writing, outlined, drafted, edited, revised as many
times as are required by the teacher. Incorporating reflection into a classroom setting,
especially in an era when lawmakers are so focused on ocular “proof” of improvement, remains
difficult.
What I have done is added more discussion to my assignments. This step was taken as a result
of Britten’s research on the importance of internal and external dialogue. While it is virtually
impossible to truly discern whether or not internal dialogue (reflection) is taking place- one can
determine in a roundabout fashion through class discussions.
The effects of the emphasis on discussion are these: One, I have been able to convince my
department chairperson that with fewer papers to write, we can write better papers because
we will have more time to work on them. As a result, I can extend deadlines and move slowly
the conception/incubation process along.
I begin by explaining the assignment. I model and I talk about past papers. I ask the students to
come to class with a “possible” idea/topic for next time. By making it a “possible” topic, they
are more willing to share. We spend the next class discussing some possible topics- perhaps
modeling one or two in outline form. For the next two class periods, while we are doing other
projects, I will periodically call on a student and we will discuss where he/she is in her/his
paper.
We will do drafts and we will spend two class periods discussing papers that we peer edit
(another class without names). Students are more willing to give opinions and discuss not just
superficial errors, but content. I first tried this last part a month ago and discovered two things:
the discussions were better and more to the point and students really liked doing it. And, at
least for one paper, I had more directed thesis statements, better introductions, and more
papers that stayed on topic.
Early British:
Question:
Write on ONE of the two topics below
The conflict between personal desires and public duties in Hamlet,
OR
The nature of love, jealousy, and revenge as represented in Othello.
Student Response:
The Tragedy of Hamlet: Personal Desires and Public Duty
Readers are given at least three clues early on that something is a mess at the Royal Court of
Denmark. First, Francisco mentions an “inner” illness. Shortly thereafter, Horatio fears an
“eruption” of some sort. And finally, we have the observation that “something is rotten in the
state of Denmark.” What is rotten and will soon erupt comes from the inner circle of the royal
family itself: a mass shrinking of public duties to fulfill personal desires.
The problems that plague the court are not new. They apparently go back for some time
before the action of the play itself. For example, we are introduced to Fortinbras and the
“outside threat” he poses very early in the play. In the most strict reading of the duty of a
leader one would assume a king would not have time to take a daily nap. Yet Old King Hamlet
does just that. Further, it is this very action that allows Claudius to usurp the throne by killing
the old king. Here again, we have personal desire trumping public duty. As a loyal retainer,
Claudius should maintain his status as number two. However, as he confesses, not once but
twice (in the scene where Hamlet finds him praying and in the final scene where he dies), he
kills the king not only for the crown but also to possess Gertrude.
Gertrude, too, falls victim to the pursuit of personal desires over public duties- although her
battle, like Hamlet’s, is much more complex. Should she remain the loyal widow and dowager
queen – a public duty- or should she- playing the Elizabethan prejudices- follow her lust and
marry Claudius? Even here, though, her choices are not especially clear since, as was the case
with Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, there is precedent for brother marrying widow. For
Gertrude, in the end, Shakespeare does write her role so that she does appear to enjoy herself
(sexually?) in her new role and thus, she too, gives in to personal desire over public duty.
No character in the play, however, is as hamstrung as Hamlet in choosing between personal
desire and public duties.
First, how does he, after the revelations of his Ghost Father, treat his mother? As queen and
mother, he is duty bound to respect and honor. As adulteress and perhaps even murder
accomplice (although unknowingly), Hamlet should take the most severe revenge upon her.
What to do with Gertrude is further complicated for Hamlet by his father’s command not to
punish her. Here again, for Hamlet, arises a public duty: obey your father. Hamlet struggles
mightily with his conflict because, on a personal level, he loves his mother. At least this one
time Hamlet’s conflict is resolved for him when Gertrude takes her own life after she realizes
her role in the death of Old King Hamlet.
Next, we turn to Hamlet and Ophelia. As both Laertes and Polonius point out: Hamlet’s duty in
marriage lies in protecting the state. As a commoner, Ophelia could never fulfill the role of
Queen that would create a strong military, political, and economic alliance. As is the case with
so very much of this play, we are left with clues, some very strong, but no definite proof that
Hamlet does really love Ophelia. First, there is the scene where he confronts her in her
chambers and stares deep into her eyes. Here he looks for some sign of betrayal that must be
common to all women because he has just learned his mother “betrayed” his father by
marrying Claudius. If he did not really love Ophelia, would her faithfulness matter? We also
have the “nunnery” scene in which Hamlet, at times, seems to really demonstrate affection and
love for Ophelia. His command to “get them to a nunnery” could be driven by concern for her
safety. Of less forceful evidence we have “the _____ of affection” that Hamlet sent Ophelia. At
any rate, all of these add up to a man pursuing his personal desire and his love for a womanover his duties as future king.
Finally, and most importantly, we have Hamlet’s duties as son and avenger. Hamlet allows his
own personal failings to get in the way of what must be done for the good of Denmark.
First, had he not been so interested in Ophelia for his own desires, he might have been more
attuned to the plot of Claudius- or at least his interest in matters of state might have prevented
Claudius from assuming he would become king instead of Hamlet after the Old King’s death.
After all, the line of succession goes straight downward to the son and not sideways to the
brother.
At the same time, had he not been self indulgent of his own grief- even Claudius urged him to
move on-he might have been able to thwart the power play of Claudius after Old King Hamlet’s
death.
Even putting all of this aside, one cannot help but see that Hamlet allows himself to wallow in
self-doubt and pity (the “to be or not to be” scene is an example) rather than really take action.
Thus by failing to pursue his duty to his father to avenge his death in a timely fashion; by
further failing in his duty to his country to claim the throne, and by failing in his duty to protect
his mother, Hamlet fast forwards the downfall of Denmark.
Stirred to action too late, Hamlet finally, after the loss of all personal wants, performs his public
duties and kills Claudius. The action comes too late to save Denmark, however. With the royal
family lying dead about him, it is Fortenbras, the Norwegian who understood his public duty to
reacquire lost territory, that stands triumphant in the end. Thus, Shakespeare displays the
results of placing personal desires above duties.