Planning and Introductions

Write 4 essay plans and an introduction for each of the 4 questions below. Spend 15 mins on each
(standard time). If you have extra time in exams, add that on. AO1 AO2 AO3 AO4

Compare the ways in which the writers of your two chosen texts present . You must
relate your discussion to relevant contextual factors

1. ‘warnings about the future ’

2. ‘present women’
3. ‘convey a sense of guilt’
4. ‘convey societies undergoing change’

Extension: use dialogue

Example essay plan for “how the novels use a range of

locations”

Introduction:
We are told, on the title page preceding Part One, that the
novel is set in England in the late 1990s. The alternative world
that Ishiguro creates has had time to make medical and
scientific discoveries after World War II and for those to be
built into a social system by the time Kathy, Ruth and Tommy
are born in the mid to late 1960s. The locations in Never Let Me
Go are sparce, and are largely restricted to the domestic
settings of Recovery Clinics or institutions, to reflect the
control of the clones and the careful orchestration of
indoctrination which prevents the clones from running away or
trying to escape. In contrast the locations in Frankenstein span
many countries and environments, reflecting the boundless
curiosity that characterised the age of Enlightenment and
Romanticism.

Topic sentence 1: Both texts use the domestic location of a

‘household’ to present a microcosm of society.

Topic sentence 2: The writers both use locations to

represent the assertion of power: the sublime
landscape of the Alps
in Frankenstein and the institution of Hailsham in
Never Let Me Go.

Topic sentence 3: Frankenstein employs natural landscapes

while Never Let Me Go uses urban ones as sites for
subversive activities: the Orkney Islands in
Frankenstein and the recovery centres, which
appear to be “out of the way and awkward to get
to” such as Kingsfield in Never Let Me Go (p214).
 Prose Model
Answer
Compare the ways in which the writers of your two chosen texts use a range of narrative points of view.

In your answer you must consider the following:

• The writer’s methods
• Links between the texts
• Relevant contextual factors

Introduction: In both Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Shelley’s Frankenstein contrasting narrative
viewpoints are employed to manipulate the reader’s opinions of specific characters and alter the way the
text is ultimately received. Atwood achieves this through the ambiguity notable in Offred’s narrative voice
and the inclusion of an epilogue style ‘Historical Notes’ from the narrative voice of
Professor Pieixoto. Shelley also uses structure to continually alter the interpretation of the text,
employing a frame narrative to continuously challenge the biases and preconceptions of the readers.

Section 1: Both novels explore authenticity through their various narrative perspectives. One crucial
element of Offred’s narrative is an insistence on ambiguity and the inclusion of multiple retellings of the
same event. As postmodernism was a critical theory that was emerging in the latter 20th century as
Atwood was writing, the critical focus on rejecting metanarratives in favour of multiple truths could have
influenced Offred’s narrative perspective which presents multiple explanations for the fate of Luke, and
the night she spent with Nick. A sense of fallibility is established in her ‘reconstructions’, shown clearly
when Offred tells Moira’s story. Offred admits she “can’t remember” exactly what happened so “filled out”
as much as she can. The notion of filling out the story is unsettling for the reader as it causes us to question
what we have already read, and doubt the truthfulness of her storytelling. This unreliability of Offred’s
narration is further emphasised by her claim that she will “nonetheless be leaving nothing out” and that
the end of her story will “include the truth”. The qualification that the end will “include” truth implies that
non-truth will also, or has already been presented to the reader. Offred’s narrative point of view therefore
becomes meta- textual, fallible and uncertain. Offred’s voice also reflects the poststructuralist concern of
how language fails to represent reality: her over-reliance on metaphor to describe traumatic events, such
as describing the hung men on the wall with a torrent of diminishing metaphors such as “snowmen” and
“ragdolls”, represents how literal language is insufficient to reflect her emotional experience. As
poststructuralism was stemming from postmodernism, it seems this contemporary concern about the
inauthenticity of language and insufficiency of metanarratives is portrayed in Offred’s narrative
perspective.

Section 2: The form of both novels calls authenticity into question. The outer frame narrative
of Frankenstein is written in the epistolary form which connotes verisimilitude in the gothic genre.
However, this form seems contrasted with the fantastical, almost delusional content of Walton’s letters
and the various, increasingly dubious narratives it contains, which perhaps creates a sense of inauthenticity
or suspicion. We also learn that Walton captures the other narrators’ stories from notes he made in the
evening, which reduces their likelihood of being completely correct. In The Handmaid’s Tale’s Historical
Notes, we learn that Offred’s narrative voice was initially captured in voice recordings and then
transcribed,
edited and organised by Professor Pieixoto hundreds of years later. This palimpsest form arguably creates
a greater distance between the reader and the primary story - due to Pieixoto’s external mediation - than
the imprecision and therefore distance from the truth we sense in Frankenstein’s form.

Section 3: Interestingly, all the main narrators seem to have a motive in altering their narratives and
therefore compromising the authenticity: Offred, the Creature, Frankenstein and even Walton are telling
their stories to someone who they want to perceive them in a certain way. Offred even says “you won’t
like what I did next”, suggestion a self-consciousness in her narration, and awareness of her reader’s
judgement. Similarly, although with less self-deprecation and modesty, the Creature is using his narrative
voice to present himself in a certain way. The Creature is consciously preparing Victor to feel sorry for him,
using his rhetorical, Milton-inspired language to persuade Frankenstein to make him a female companion.
This seems to be somewhat effective, as Frankenstein admits “his words had a strange effect on me […] I
had a wish to console him”. Frankenstein, in turn, tries to gain the sympathy and admiration of Walton so
that he will agree to kill the Creature for him. We also learn from the final epistolary section that
Frankenstein altered Walton’s notes, to “correct” and “amend” him. This further compromises the
truthfulness of the text. Walton and Pieixoto’s ‘editing’ processes can be seen as an assertion of authorial
power – this process of superimposition creates a hierarchy of narrative perspectives, where the final
editor assumes power over the other voices.
Frankenstein contradicts the Creature’s self-presentation as a creature that was born innocent and free of
guilt, aligning with influential Enlightenment philosopher John Locke’s concept of tabula rasa, by calling
him “daemon” and “devil”. Similarly, Pieixoto contradicts Offred’s storytelling by telling the reader that she
made up the names of characters and criticises her for not trying harder to expose the Commander’s
actions. The conflict between the narrative perspectives in both novels creates a sense of distrust as the
reader questions their relationship with each narrator.

Section 4: The effect of Frankenstein’s frame narratives can be read as a technique to reveal the core moral
messages. Perhaps Walton’s narrative is the most meaningful as it is structurally closest to the exterior
world, and the reader functions as the recipient of Walton’s letters, in lieu of the silent Mrs Saville.
Conversely, it could be argued that Safie’s narrative, as the most deeply embedded into the heart of the
novel is the most significant as it has a privileged structural position. Safie, however, is denied a narrative
voice of her own. The “Arabian’s” tale seems to hold a key moral message for the creature: the potential to
integrate the aesthetic other into society. Her story is recounted not in her own voice, but in the Creature’s
narrative. This may be a commentary on the significance of how women are denied voices in society, and
relates to the ideas expounded by Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary’s proto-feminist mother. Indeed, Safie’s
mother encouraged Safie to pursue academia and reject domesticity, which aligns with Wollstonecraft’s
argument in A Vindication on the Rights of Women. By placing Safie’s tale at the heart of the novel, Shelley
may be paradoxically placing privileged significance in the character who has no narrative voice: void of
bias and self-dramatisation.

Conclusion: In conclusion, both Shelley and Atwood use a range of narrative perspectives to make the
reader question the authenticity of the text, re-evaluate their relationship with each narrator, and
examine the power dynamics in the narrative formation. Arguably, Offred’s apologetic, fallible and self-
deprecating arration is only made more relatable through juxtaposition with Pieixoto’s controlling,
academic and emotionally distant narrative perspective.
This could relate to the contemporary second wave feminism mantra that ‘the personal is political’ as
Offred’s personal voice ultimately serves as a political tool to expose the superimposition and
manipulation of women’s voices in the public sphere. Similarly coded into the form of the novel, Shelley
may well be making a comment on the lack of women’s voices through Safie’s tale, brought into stark
reality as Shelley herself did not originally publish Frankenstein in her own name, and the public assumed
it was written by her husband, Percy Shelley.

1. Look at the introduction. What is the students’ thesis (main argument)?

2. What AOs are used in the introduction?

3. Highlight the AOs in section 1. Use one colour for the argument being made (AO1). A
second colour for analysis of the author’s techniques (AO2) and a third colour for
context (AO3). What do you notice about how the paragraph looks in terms of colours?

4. Look at section 2 – highlight the comparative topic sentence in a fourth colour

(AO4). Highlight the sentence which develops the comparison with nuance in the same
colour.

5. Highlight the sentences in section 3 which assert argument. This section is very
‘argument-driven’ and has “consistent exploration” of comparisons required for Level
5 AO4.

6. Look at section 4: what aspect of AO2 (author’s techniques) does the context
relate to?

7. Look at the conclusion – what AOs are used here? Re-read the introduction and then
the conclusion. Does the conclusion add more detail and nuance to the argument made
in the introduction?

8. Now, peer-assess the response using the questions and AO grid

below. Write two medals and a mission for this candidate.
 Structuring your argument

An introduction should present a main thesis which is an overarching argument that relates to the question.
So, for a question about how the novels present sex and reproduction, in the example below the student
directly addresses the question and makes a clear argument (highlighted) – this is the thesis. It is also a good
idea for the introduction to introduce some context that sheds light on the novels and what their main
concerns are (in relation to the question).
Both Shelley and Ishiguro are concerned with the ethics of
ESSAY
unnatural reproduction in their science-fiction novels which
INTRODUCT
IO N function as warnings about scientific overreaching within the
context of reproduction. In the speculative society set in the
1980s and 90s in Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro explores the potential
for reproductive cloning to produce organ donors, and sex and
reproduction is presented in contradictory ways: as both
scientifically mechanical and dangerously emotive. Shelley is
equally concerned with the ethical implication of using science to
create life, and her arguably proto- feminist novel criticises the
removal of women from the reproductive process as
Victor Frankenstein creates his monster unilaterally in the early
1800s.
Your comparative topic sentence should identify a similarity or a binary opposition between both novels. It
COMPARAT should be specific and zoom in on a particular argument or element of the main thesis. :
IVE POINT Both Victor in Frankenstein and the clones in Never Let Me Go
1 have unsentimental attitudes toward reproduction. At Hailsham,
(addressi the students were taught that they are sterile, and therefore sex
ng both
is a mechanical, unemotional
novels)
activity as the ‘human’ element has been removed.
Conduct A02 analysis on A RANGE of evidence to explore the effects of the writer’s techniques to prove your
NOVELX 1 point - so make sure you stay relevant! Use technical terminology and consider things like imagery, symbolism,
EVIDENCE
and voice etc. You will be expected to analyse multiple pieces of evidence (quotes) for each text. Look for patterns
ANALYSIS throughout the text, or noticeable shifts. You need to be persuasive!
Make sure you connect your context to your analysis – they should work seamlessly together. Consider
NOVEL contemporary discoveries in science, philosophy, theories, influential historical events, genre
1 (dystopia/gothic/Romanticism etc.), bibliographic knowledge etc. Your online Wednesday work should have
CONTE helped you build up a good bank of specific contextual knowledge to revise and use.
XT
Shift into your second novel. You might want to start a new paragraph here (avoid over-long paragraphs).:
Shelley equally disrupts traditional presentations of sex and
COMPARATI
reproduction. The creation of Victor’s creature in Chapter 5 of the
VE
LINK novel is described in unnatural terms in order demonstrate the
dangers of removing women from the process of
reproduction and disrupting the natural order.
Conduct A02 analysis on A RANGE of evidence to explore the effects of the writer’s techniques to prove your
NOVEL 2
point - so make sure you stay relevant! Use technical terminology and consider things like imagery, symbolism,
EVIDENCE
and voice etc. You will be expected to analyse multiple pieces of evidence (quotes) for each text. Look for patterns
ANALYSIS throughout the text, or noticeable shifts. You need to be persuasive!
Make sure you connect your context to your analysis – they should work seamlessly together. Consider
NOVEL contemporary discoveries in science, philosophy, theories, influential historical events, genre
2 (dystopia/gothic/Romanticism etc.), bibliographic knowledge etc. Your online Wednesday work should have
CONTE helped you build up a good bank of specific contextual knowledge to revise and use.
XT
Circle back around to your topic sentence (comparative point) and add some more nuance.
In this way, the gothic subversion of childbirth in Frankenstein
COMPARATI
and the dystopic, vacuous sex presented in Never Let Me Go both
VE
EVALUATI inspire discomfort in the reader, as they are forced to reckon with
ON the emotional (and systemic) power that the
concept of reproduction holds societally.
Now you can repeat the whole process from ‘Comparative Point’ down to ‘Comparative Evaluation’ in a
second paragraph:
Both novels express a concern that adulterating in the
reproductive process results in neglect and a critical absence of
nurturing which is required for
ethical and emotional maturity.
A conclusion should add more nuance (detail) to your main thesis. It is the ‘sum of the parts’ of your essay. It
may be useful to also use some new/extra context to illuminate your ‘take home’ message. Make sure you stay
relevant to and have clearly addressed the question:
In conclusion, both novelists present manipulated, subverted and
corrupted versions of sex and reproduction in their novels.
Ishiguro does this in a more explicit way, in line with the frank
Conclusion
conversations being held in society around reproductive rights
and the dangers of science made stark in the turbulent 20th
century. Conversely, Mary Shelley’s exploration of this concept is
more implicit. As a woman writing anonymously in the early
1800s, Shelley’s commentary on sex and reproduction is coded in
metaphor and symbolism. A discerning reader today will notice
that the concerns Ishiguro raises in his 21st century novel are
new iterations of anxieties presented in literature for the past two
centuries.
 Structuring your essay

By now, you should be writing paragraphs fluidly and moving between your own ideas, embedding
context seamlessly. However, if your mind has gone blank and you would like some help to get
going, here is a guide for how to structure each section of your essay. Repeat 2 or 3 times with
different comparative topic sentences.

1. Topic sentence: your ‘point’. Something like “Both novels present bodies ” or “Never Let Me Go
presents bodies as , Frankenstein presents bodies as ” AO1

2. Now find evidence for your first novel. Choose a textual reference. AO1 AO2

3. Time to analyse! What is the specific effect of this moment in the first novel? Analyse the effects
of literary techniques. Metaphor? Simile? Phonology? Imagery? Tone? Irony? Voice? AO1 AO2

4. Relate the effect to other moments in the first novel. Does the author use this technique often or
is it juxtaposed with other descriptions? Show you have an awareness of the text as a whole. AO1
AO2

5. Context? How does the context of the first novel illuminate the point you are making here? AO3

6. Ok – your second novel! Find some evidence to support your point. AO1 AO4

7. Time to analyse! What is the specific effect of this moment in the second novel? Analyse the
effects of literary techniques. Metaphor? Simile? Phonology? Imagery? Tone? Irony? Voice? AO1
AO2

8. Relate the effect to other moments in the second novel. Does the author use this technique often
or is it juxtaposed with other descriptions? Show you have an awareness of the text as a whole. AO1
AO2

9. Context: how does context of the second novel illuminate the point you are making here? AO3

10. Evaluate how similar the novels are! You might write something like “While both novels achieve
in Never Let Me Go it is for the purpose of while in Frankenstein it is for ”. AO1 AO4

17
Past Exam
Questions
Compare the ways in which the writers of your two chosen texts .
You must relate your discussion to relevant contextual factors.

use the narrators in their works

1. present the role of gender in the misuse
of science
2. present what it means to be human
3. convey fear of the unknown
4. explore the importance of hope
5. criticise human behaviour
6. create a sense of threat
7. use a range of locations
8. present the natural world
9. warnings about the future
10. present victims
11. present the impact of science on social order
12. convey different voices

14. present adversity

15. explore anxieties about scientific development
16. present courage
17. present personal freedom
18. criticise aspects of society
19. present the role of education
20. present exploitation
21. present masculinity
22. present women
23. convey a sense of guilt
24. convey societies undergoing change
25. use dialogue
26. present communities
27. explore the past
28. a range of points of view
29. social divisions
30. make their texts believable