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Volume 27, Number 3, February 2017
Lesson plan
Social connections in
The Go-Between
Luke McBratney
This lesson plan will help you make the most of the article on pp. 6–9 of the magazine by exploring the
ways in which The Go-Between presents social class and helps you make connections between this
novel and your comparative set text.
AOs/
specification
requirements
Before using the material in this lesson plan, ensure that you have your exam board’s
Assessment Objectives in mind. For example, in AQA specification A, answers on
The Go-Between are comparative and test all AOs.
Learning
objectives
To understand the ways in which Hartley presents social class (AO2).
To understand how his uses of symbolism and his descriptions shape meaning and
create effects, particularly how they contribute to his presentation of social class
(AO2).
To make connections between the presentation of social class in The Go-Between
and your comparative set text (AO4).
Starter
activities
Students watch the following clip: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p032jfpp
•
What do you learn about the character of Viscount Trimingham from the
actor (Stephen Campbell Moore) in the clip?
•
What aspects of Trimingham’s character do you think Stephen Campbell
Moore leaves out?
Students view the following images and complete the questions.
‘Comment on the presentation of Trimingham in the images. Include comments on
the aspects of his character emphasised.’
http://deeperintomovies.net/journal/image11/gobetween3.jpg
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p0319w8d.jpg
‘Comment on the presentation of Ted Burgess in the following images. Which
elements of his character are being emphasised?’
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/09/18/12/2C75C37400000578-3239797The_Go_Between_pictured_here_in_a_scene_featuring_the_two_leads_-a17_1442577479589.jpg
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03429/Go_Between_2_3429853b.jpg
‘Comment on how the images of Trimingham and Burgess might be compared and
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contrasted.’
Lesson
activities
Defining symbolism
Research the term ‘symbol’ using glossaries of literary terms and/or the internet.
If using the internet, http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_A.html is a good starting
point.
Extension: Discuss some of the reasons why authors use symbolism. What is the
difference between a symbol and a metaphor?
Students might discuss some of the following aspects:
•
A symbol is something that represents more than itself. For example,
students might think of a cross and its religious symbolism.
•
A symbol is more open than a metaphor.
•
A symbol’s significance may be ambiguous, mysterious or multivalent — a
symbol may have many meanings.
•
Elements in a literary text may function on several levels. For example,
Trimingham or Burgess both function as characters in the novel’s plot, which
may be enjoyed on a literal level, but, on another level, both might be read as
symbols of their social class.
Symbols of class
Read the article on pp. 6–9 of the magazine and make notes on the following
elements:
The aristocracy
What are the ‘enduring symbols of the English aristocracy’?
What will each class gain by the marriage of Viscount Trimingham and Marian
Maudsley?
In what ways might Trimingham’s scar be symbolic?
The working class
In what ways might Ted be seen to represent the lower classes?
Include comments on:
•
physical descriptions
•
his letters
•
his leadership of the village cricket team
The cricket match
Explain which classes are represented by the following cricketers: Viscount
Trimingham, Mr Maudsley and Ted Burgess.
Explain how these three characters and the ways they play the game represent the
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power of each class and the relationships between social classes.
Other ways of reading Ted Burgess
Re-read the final two sections of the article (beginning with the subheading ‘The
individual against the side’).
Explain how we might argue that L. P. Hartley encourages the reader to sympathise
with Ted Burgess in the cricket match and want him to ‘pull it off’.
How can we offer a counter argument to this viewpoint by considering Burgess as
more of a symbol of the individual than of the working class?
Comparative set texts
Use the following activities to help students make connections between the
presentation of social class in The Go-Between and their comparative set texts.
AS
Compare the presentation of marriage as a means to improve the social position of
one or both of the partners in The Go-Between and your comparative set novel.
For example, if you are studying The Great Gatsby, consider the passages that
present Daisy as precious or a prize. You might include comment on the following
quotation from Chapter VII:
‘“She’s got an indiscreet voice,” I remarked. It’s full of – I hesitated.
“Her voice is full of money,” he said suddenly. That was it. I’d never understood
before. It was full of money – that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it,
the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it . . . High in a white palace the king’s daughter,
the golden girl…’
•
Compare the presentation of the match between Daisy and Tom and that
between Marian and Trimingham.
•
Compare the presentation of the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby and
that between Marian and Ted.
If you are studying Wuthering Heights, consider the passages that present Edgar as
a prized match. You might like to use Chapter IX as a starting point.
•
Compare the presentation of the match between Cathy and Edgar and that
between Marian and Trimingham.
•
Compare the presentation of the relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff
and that between Marian and Ted.
A-level
How might the poems in the pre-1900 selection be said to explore issues of social
difference?
For example, consider the following poems:
•
Wyatt’s ‘Who so list to hunt’
•
Hardy’s ‘The Ruined Maid’
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•
Burns’s ‘Song (Ae Fond Kiss)’
•
Keats’ ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci. A Ballad’
How can you make connections between Hartley’s exploration of class and the ways
in which the poets explore class?
In your response, you might consider the different genres of the texts.
For example:
•
the ways in which a novel can develop a complex narrative, while a poem is
often focused around a single moment
•
the ways in which a novel can create well-developed characters that change
and grow, while a lyric poem’s characters are often filtered through the
thoughts of the speaker, and usually has much less scope for detailed
characterisation
The poems may not be seen to explore social class overtly. You may need to draw
on context to make the case that the poems engage with social class — even if that
is on a subtextual level. For example, you might want to use your biographical
understanding of Wyatt to argue that the hind in ‘Whoso list to hunt’ is meant to be
Anne Boleyn and that Caesar represents the man at the top of the social hierarchy,
Henry VIII. It might also be worth comparing Hartley’s overt concern with social class
and the ways in which social class is presented in some of the poems as just one of
several possible concerns.
Plenary
Explain the terms symbol, symbolic and symbolism? How is symbolism important in
The Go-Between?
What are the main methods by which Hartley explores social class in The GoBetween? Include discussion of symbolism or other less overt methods.
Explain some of the main differences between exploring class through the genre of a
novel and through the genre of poetry.
Assessment
opportunities
AS essay tasks
‘Compare the ways in which social class is presented in The Go-Between and your
comparative set novel.’
‘“Differences in social class form the greatest barrier that lovers face.” By comparing
The Go-Between and your other comparative set text, explore the extent to which
you agree.’
A-level essay tasks
‘Compare how the authors of The Go-Between and the pre-1900 poems present
social class.’
In your response, you might consider some of the following ideas:
•
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‘Whoso list to hunt’ might depict the love of a nobleman for an unattainable
woman who has already been taken by the king.
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•
‘Ae Fond Kiss’ might dramatise the feelings of a man for a social superior.
•
‘The Ruined Maid’ satirises Victorian attitudes to social class.
‘Compare how the authors of The Go-Between and the poems in the pre-1900
section of the anthology present social differences.’
Differentiation
The main tasks above could be assigned to groups. Groups could be differentiated
by ability. More or less support could be given, for example, page references to
relevant parts of the play, or further prompts. The essay tasks are differentiated: the
second one for each exam is more challenging and is closer to the wording of a real
examination question.
This resource is part of ENGLISH REVIEW, a magazine written for A-level students by
subject experts. To subscribe to the full magazine go to
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/englishreview
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