AFTA Essay Question Analysis

AFTA Essay Question Analysis

The Questions1. 'Hemingway sees men and women as very different from

each other.' Is this so in A Farewell to Arms?

2. 'Although the men suffer, Catherine suffers the most in A Farewell to Arms. Discuss.

3. "If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them”. Does the novel show that courage is useless?

4. The foreboding from the start of the novel tells us that there Can only ever be a tragic end to the book. To what extent do you agree?

5. "There is nothing worse than war." 'This is a story about war and its effects on human beings.' Discuss.

The Questions6. The constant imagery within A Farewell to Arms tells us

more about the themes of the novel than what the characters do or say. Discuss.

7. ‘Above all else this novel affirms male comradeship and love.’ Discuss.

8. 'This text demonstrates that love involves the risk of loss.' Discuss.

9. “I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain”. How does Hemingway’s novel condemn rather than glorify war?

10. Critics often discuss Hemingway’s fiction as a celebration of a specific type of manhood. What kind of man does A Farewell to Arms celebrate, and how does Hemingway achieve this effect?

QUESTION 1:

'Hemingway sees men and women as very different from each other.' Is this so in A Farewell to Arms?

ANSWER:

Yes.

What are the key words?

What is really being asked?

What do you have to consider when answering this?

'Hemingway sees men and women as very different from each other.' Is this so in A Farewell to Arms?

'Hemingway sees men

and women as very

different from each other.'

Is this so in A Farewell to Arms?

choose a side - do you agree or disagree?

not about just identifying

make connections, draw parallels

look for the bigger picture, answer the bigger questions

Themes?

Connections/Relationships?

What’s the bigger picture?

What else are we being asked?

Where else could you take this question?

What are the...

'This text demonstrates that love involves the risk of loss.' Discuss.

The constant imagery within A Farewell to Arms tells us more about the themes of the novel than what the characters do or say. Discuss.

Literary techniques

What are they?

tools authors use to convey meaning or to lend depth and richness to their writing.

Why are they important?

focus on the construction of the text

provide an insight into the author’s intentions

further enhance the meaning, themes, characters and events

“the sacrifices were like the stockyards at Chicago if nothing was done with the meat except to bury it.” (p.165)

“But what if she should die? She won’t die...But what if she should die? She can’t die. Yes, but what if she should die?” (p.283)

foreshadow |fôrˈSHadō|

verb [ with obj. ]

be a warning or indication of (a future event)

imagery |ˈimij(ə)rē|

noun

visually descriptive or figurative language, esp. in a literary work: Tennyson uses imagery to create a lyrical emotion.