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Rose stands out, not just because she is physically separate from the
villagers, but also because she wears cheerful and attractive colours, pink, red
and light blue. She is shown as having more in common with the children of
the camp who, ironically, wear cheerful yellow stars. Despite the sad ending,
where she dies alone in the forest, the final pages show us the beauty of her
actions – she has become one with the beauty of nature. The message here is
that it is better to be alone and separate and retain integrity than to be safe
but belong to a group that commits evil.
Summing up
and
comparing
both texts
In Swallow the Air, May journeys extensively and goes through good and
bad experiences with others to finally arrive at a sense of her own identity
and where she belongs. In Rose Blanche, Rose chooses to have little to do
with others because she does not accept what they are doing. Her conscience
tells her that she must do what she can to help the starving children, so she
enriches them and herself by rejecting the values of the dominant group.
Thus, both texts have something to tell us about how our interactions with
people and places can enrich or limit us.
Follow up
Look up the Notes from the Marking Centre and the Marking Guidelines for the 2010
Examination (on the Board of Studies website). Use these guidelines to identify what was
valued and to assess the sample 2010 responses.
Sample response 3: Shakespearean drama
Prescribed text:
Related text:
Starts with a
general
statement on
belonging that
is developed to
tie in with the
question
Both texts are
linked to the
thesis
Characters in
both texts are
discussed by
responding to
the first part of
the question
about interaction
with others and
the last part of
the question, can
enrich
As You Like It, William Shakespeare, c.1599
‘Ulysses’, by Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1833 (poetry)
The people we know, the relationships we form, the worlds we live in and
every encounter in our lives are experiences that reflect who we are and yet
also shape a new sense of ourselves. We can be enriched by these contacts or
we may find that we are limited. It all depends on the individual and how
each individual chooses to participate in the worlds and with the people they
encounter. This understanding of where each individual belongs in the
scheme of life emerges in many texts through different times. Shakespeare’s
play As You Like It and Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem ‘Ulysses’ both offer
us examples of characters who face different experiences that take them
away from the safety and security of the homes where they belong, enriching
them in many ways but also making them aware of the limiting nature of the
place they call home.
Both texts deal with characters of high social standing who lead their
communities and who have been exiled. In As You Like It, Duke Senior, his
men and then his daughter Rosalind have been banished to the forest by his
brother, Duke Frederick. While in the forest Duke Senior encounters many
different people and learns to live with nature. The court he leaves behind
represents rigidity, authority and lacks personal connection. In contrast the
forest is a place of freedom and nature where relationships between people
are more egalitarian. The strength of each character is indicated by the way
he or she adapts to the forest. Duke Senior overcomes the confines of the
court and becomes a better person, able to return to his court as a better
leader. His brother Duke Frederick, who sought to overthrow his brother,
also discovers goodness but he remains in the forest, knowing he is too weak
The Area of Study
to resist the influence of the court. In ‘Ulysses’ the legendary hero, Ulysses,
faces different choices. He is home again after his long travels after the
Trojan Wars and he is having trouble adapting to the life he leads. His
experiences away from home have enriched him and broadened his mind
while also making him aware of the narrow existence of the island life he
leads.
Deals with the
second part of
the question
about the
individual’s
interaction with
the world around
them
Quotations are
used to support
statements
The words like
and unlike
establish a
connection
between the
two texts
Topic sentence
about identity is
directed to both
texts
Through a
series of
examples the
paragraph leads
to a conclusion
that returns us
to the question
about enriching
and limiting
experiences
In both texts there are expectations about where and with whom each
character belongs. Jaques reminds the first lord in As You Like It that “we /
are mere usurpers, tyrants and what’s worse, / To fright the animals and kill
them up / In their assigned and native dwelling place”. The animals are the
“native burghers of this desert city”. But the men of the court hunt them
and take over their natural environment. The sense of what is natural
extends to the discussion between Corin and Touchstone on occupations
and manners of different people. Touchstone realises that a shepherd’s life is
a “private” and “solitary” life but also “vile”, fitting his “humour well”. The
manners of the court, Corin observes, “are ridiculous in the country as the
behaviour of the country is most mockable at the court”. Implicit in this
conversation is a criticism of the men of the court who come to the forest
and disturb the status quo. Even the Duke Senior, who has the respect of his
“co-mates and brothers in exile”, is an intruder in this forest where he sends
his men to hunt regularly.
Like the Duke, Ulysses in Tennyson’s poem is leading a country but, unlike
the Duke, he has returned from his unexpected exile. He carries out his role
as king meting out and doling “Unequal laws unto a savage race / That
hoard and sleep, and feed, and know not me”. He is also a husband “to an
aging wife” and a father to his son, Telemachus. His dissatisfaction with the
roles he occupies is clear from the beginning when he criticises himself as an
“idle king”. He identifies much more strongly with his “mariners” than with
his “rugged people”.
Identity goes beyond identifying with people and place and translates itself
through the emotions. Particular emotions belong to particular groups of
people. Rosalind acts out a male role but knows that if she “cry like a
woman” she will “disgrace my man’s apparel”; instead she should be
comforting the “weaker vessel”, Aliena. Emotions are linked to different
occupations with the scholar being “melancholy”, “emulation” being the
characteristic of the musician, the courtier “proud” and the soldier
“ambitious”, according to the amateur philosopher Jaques. The majesty we
expect of Ulysses who, as a king, should be protective and feel a bond to his
family and people, is lacking as he desires the freedom of the sea, even in his
old age “this grey spirit yearning in desire / To follow knowledge”. He
makes a choice to break the expected mould and change his life, being
“strong in will / To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield”. By facing
different places and different experiences, Ulysses has realised the limitations
and responsibilities of belonging to one place. He loves his island home and
feels the kinship of family but he yearns for the “newer world”. He learns
that he, like all men, is “a part of all that I have met”. “Experience” for
Ulysses “is an arch wherethro’ / Gleams that untravell’d world, whose
margin fades / For ever and for ever when I move”. Living on the island
means creating a boundary between himself and possibilities. By taking
himself outside the world he knows he faces the challenge of the unknown
but in so doing becomes enriched.
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Final statement
that brings
together all the
strands of the
essay and
responds
directly to the
question
What we see by examining these two texts closely is that belonging is not an
easy choice. By moving from a place of comfort to one of discomfort, we
can enrich our lives, but we see the limitations of what we have. This can
lead to becoming a better person or it can become a distraction that stops us
from appreciating what we have. For Duke Senior his move was a positive
one which allowed him to grow into a wise leader with closer relationships
with his people when he returned to his court. For Ulysses, however, the lure
of the unknown became too great a temptation and he chose to reject the
people and place he belonged to, seeking adventure with his men.
Writing hint: Making notes
In the examination you will not have time to be too thorough, but it is important to spend
some time spent planning to organise your thoughts and ensure you respond to the question
– here is one way of planning using the words in the question.
Conclusions can be drawn when looking closely at the two texts. These statements can be
used as topic sentences. Start with a general topic sentence that covers both texts, and you
will be able to expand on the topic using the examples in the other two columns as
supporting evidence. This can lead to a synthesised argument.
The individual
As You Like It
‘Ulysses’
Duke Senior (DS)
Duke Frederick (DF)
Rosalind – “thou art thy
father’s daughter, there’s
enough”
Ulysses, an adventurer
and traveller who is
now at the end of his
days reflecting on his
life
Points of relevant
comparison
Individuals who are out of
place for different reasons
DS and Rosalind exiled by
his brother the usurper;
Ulysses wants to be exiled
from his “home”
Conclusion: ALL the individuals in both texts find themselves in different places where they need to
reconsider who they are and what they belong to.
Interaction
Brothers and the courtiers:
Lives with his “aged
DS has a good relationship
with others
“my co-mates and
wife” and son,
with his men in contrast to
brothers in exile” (DS)
Telemachus
DF who is not highly
regarded
Rosalind and Orlando
He doles out
“Unequal laws to a
The different lovers also
savage race” and
illustrate relationships
wants his son to
“make mild / A
Rosalind’s gender change
rugged people, and
shows how even gender is
thro’ soft degrees /
controlled by expectations
Subdue them to the
– as a woman she acts
useful and the good”.
gently and supportively
He’s fought with his
“peers”
Ulysses is stifled by his
relationships on land,
desiring the company of
his peers who have shared
battles with him
Conclusion: The roles we occupy in life – occupation, gender, family status and social standing –
control the relationships we have with people.
The Area of Study
Interaction
with the world
around them
Forest versus court
Jaques says:
swearing that we
Are mere usurpers, tyrants
and what's worse,
To fright the animals and
to kill them up
In their assign’d and native
dwelling-place.
Touchstone:
Ay, now am I in Arden;
the more fool I; when I
was at home, I was in a
better place”
In his past he has
known many different
“cities of men and
manners, climates,
councils,
governments” and
has been “Honoured
of them all”
He wants to “seek a
newer world”
DS is trying to fit into the
natural world of the forest
but the shepherds fit in
better
DF belongs in the court
where his cruelty fits in
and in the forest he has
trouble until he comes to a
revelation later showing
the influence of nature on
man
Ulysses has travelled the
world and sees himself as
a wanderer rather than a
leader on land
Conclusion: Everyone and everything belongs in their own place but when we are removed from the
place where we “belong” we realise other elements of our character. We gain knowledge about
ourselves and about the world by being placed in unusual places.
Can enrich
Nature and the forest leads
“drunk delight”
DS finds the support of
to the opening of people’s
his men in the forest. He
hearts
“all experience is an
realises the importance of
arch wherethro’ /
nature and the role that
Gleams that
every being has
untravell’d world,
whose margin fades /
DF has to change as he is
Forever and forever
rigid in the court but in
when I move” (sense
the forest he realises the
of dissatisfaction –
error of his ways and
need for more)
relinquishes the crown
“To follow
knowledge”
Ulysses finds that the
wider world is what he
needs to be a fulfilled
person
Conclusion: Different places influence individuals in different ways and offer enrichment as they
reconsider their lives.
Can limit
Court limits the Christian
Dissatisfaction with
values and relationships
the life on land:
There is an attitude that
everything has its place
Corin: “Not a whit,
“I cannot rest from
Touchstone: those that are
travel”
good manners at the court
are as ridiculous in the
“How dull it is to
country as the behaviour
pause”
of the country is most
mockable at the
“Tis not too late to
court. ...”
seek a newer world”
Jaques: “I have neither the
scholar’s melancholy,
which is emulation, nor
the …”
Conclusion: Both texts show that people can feel stifled and controlled by their place of belonging.
Rather than feeling safe, for some people home can be stifling.
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Experience of
belonging
Particular people belong in
particular settings and act
accordingly – when they
change settings they have
to renegotiate their ideas
about belonging
Jaques: “All the world's a
stage,
And all the men and
women merely players”
“I am a part of all that
I have met”
“I am become a
name”
“To strive, to seek, to
find and not to yield”
DS still belongs in the
court but takes knowledge
about nature and
relationships with him
Ulysses has experienced
conflicting ways of
belonging and has reached
a resolution
Conclusion: All the individuals find knowledge by going to different places. They then need to make
a choice about where they belong and who they will be.
Follow up
Look up the Notes from the Marking Centre and the Marking Guidelines for the 2010
Examination (on the Board of Studies website). Use these guidelines to identify what was
valued and to assess the sample 2010 responses.