· .

7. Choose a novel or short story you enjoyed from a particular prose genre (fantasy,
science fiction, romance, etcetera). .

To what extent did your response to the text depend on the.author's use of the
conventions of the. genre?

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: setting,
plot, theme, characterisation, or any other appropriate feature.

8. Choose a novel or short story in which the lives of characters are disrupted for good
or for bad by some person or force. . .

By close reference to more than one scene in the story, show how your attitude to
this disruptive element developed in the course of the narrative.

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: point of
view, plot, key scenes, characterisation, or any other appropriate feature.

9. It has been argued that most prose reflects mankind's pessimism and obsession with
the dark side of life.

By close reference to one short story or-novel, show whether you agree or disagree
with this criticism. . . . '.

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: setting,
plot, theme, characterisation, or any other appropriate feature.

10. Choose a work of prose in which the persona of the narrator is an important element
in your enjoyment of the text.

By referring to one or more parts of the text, show how this choice of persona
contributed to your enjoyment .

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: point of
view, language, theme, characterisation, or any other appropriate feature.
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/1 1L /1 Some novels or short stories depend for their success-on a well-chosen setting in
time, place or both.
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Consider the use of setting in one novel or short story you know well and explain
its effects on your appreciation of other key elements of the text

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: setting,
plot, theme, characterisation, or any other appropriate feature.

12. Novels are about human beings - attractive and unattractive.

Explain the attractiveness - or otherwise - to vou of a central character whose

qualities are not typically heroic. •

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 CRITICAL ESSAY PAST QUESTIONS

PROSE - FICTION

1. Some-works of fiction set out to explore a particular social or political issue.

Choose one such work and show how the author has used the devices of fiction to
arouse the reader's interest in the issue.

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: theme, plot,
characterisation, setting, or any other appropriate feature.

2. Choose a novel in which the reader sees the events mainly through the experience of
one of the characters. , '

Show to what extent this restricted viewpoint actually helps the reader to understand
more fully thetheme(s) of the noveL

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: viewpoint,
theme, characterisation, language, or any other appropriate feature.

3. Consider a novel in which the main character steadily becomes more isolated.

How does the increasing isolation affect the character's attitudes, actions and self-
knowledge during the course of the novel?

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: viewpoint,
theme, characterisation, language, or any other appropriate feature.

4. Many pre-twentieth century novels are written on a grand scale- there are large casts
of characters, varied settings, long timescales, multiple plots.

Write about a pre-twentieth century novel, making clear which of these features
held your interest and added to your overall appreciation of the novel.

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: theme,
characterisation, plot, setting, or any other appropriate feature. -

5. The pressure created by the hostility of other people or of the environment in a prose
work is often the single most effective element in forcing a major revelation of
character.

To what extent do you agree with this statement with respect to a prose work you
have studied?

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: setting ,
characterisation, plot, theme, or any other appropriate feature.

6, In many novels and short stories the setting (in terms of place, time, social/political
conditions, etcetera) is a significant factor, shaping the main character/s) and
determining his/her/the;': actions.
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r 13. Select a Scottish prose work (fiction or non-fiction) you know well.

To what extent do you consider it as distinctly "Scottish".

In yOW" .answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at.leasttwo of: setting ..
characterisation, language, theme, or any other appropriate feature.

14. In some societies; certain books have been perceived to be so dangerous that they
have been burned.

Choose one controversial work of fiction whose value is such that you would
defend it from being burned. Make clear what you think is controversial about the
work and go on to examine these features of the work which would lead you to
defend it.

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: theme, key
scenes, characterisation, plot, or any other appropriate feature.

15. Choose one short story which you think is successful.

By referring closely to the beginning and the ending of the story, show how each
contributed to its success.

In your answer, you must refer closely to thetext and to at least two of: key scenes,
characterisation, plot, theme, or any other appropriate feature.

16. From a novel you know well, select a scene, episode or chapter that is crucial to
your exploration of the ideas of the novel. .

By close reference to this scene, episode or chapter, show why it is so important to

your understanding the the ideas of the novel. -

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: key scenes,
theme, characterisation, language, or any other appropriate feature.

17. Choose a novel in which the relationship between two characters deteriorates.

Explain the reasons for this, and, while assessing the part each character plays ill
this deterioration, make it clear where your sympathies lie.

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: key scenes,
point of view, characterisation, language, or any other appropriate feature.

18 . "After hundreds of thousands of novels and short stories, there can be no new
stories any more, only different treatments of the same broad themes ..."

With reference to any novel or short story, show how, though the theme might have
been familiar to you, the novel or short story nevertheless led you to new insights.

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: theme, .
. point of view, characterisation, setting, or any other- appropriate feature.

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I 19. The sea; farmed land; a city's streets; an imagined other-world - often the setting of a
prose work takes on an importance beyond that of simply providing the characters
with a background against which to act out their lives.

__In any prose work which YOu' have studied, show the importance.of the .writer's.use •
of setting.

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: setting, _
theme, plot, characterisation., opr any other appropriate feature.

20. "A novel, to be truly successful, needs to combine both the local and the universal: it
must speak truths in Edinburgh andErinsborough, in Mollinsburn and Milan ..."

To what extent does a novel which you have read fulfil this traditional requirement-
a successful novel should have both local and universal significance?

In your answer. you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: setting,
theme, plot, characterisation, or any other appropriate feature.

2.1. Setting comprises two features: time and place.

By referring in detail to any prose work which you have read, show how setting in
time contributes to the text as a whole.

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: setting,
theme, plot, characterisation, or any other appropriate feature.

22. Authors are often characterised as being "Crime writers", or "Romance writers", or
"Historical novelists", or known by some other such stereotyping label.

Show' how such a writer also explores themes and/or characters which are of interest
to a much wider readership.

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: setting,
theme, plot, characterisation, or any other appropriate feature.

23. Isolation, rejection, confrontation, or loneliness are major themes that are explored
in many novels and short stories.

By examining the techniques used by an author, -show how one or these themes is
dealt within a way which you found meaningful in one or more texts.

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: theme, plot,
characterisation, setting, or any other appropriate feature.

24. Perhaps the biggest task of the writer of fiction is to 'make it real'.

With reference to a novel or short story of your choice, show how the writer has
created a believable world.

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25. Chose one minor but important character from a novel or short story.

Give a brief account of his or her part in the plot, and show how important he or she
___ '_.'. .' __.i.Smaff~Gti.p..g the actions and reactions or-one of the main character&...
-' ....

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of:
characterisation, point of view, plot, theme, or any other appropriate feature.

26. Short story writers cannot afford to waste time on unnecessary detail.

Considering one short story, show how the choice of significant detail is used to
increase your understanding of the text

In your answer, you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of:
characterisation, setting, plot, theme, or any other appropriate feature .
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