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VCE ENGLISH:

BURIAL RITESBarry CarozziSeries Consultant: Anne Mitchell Contributor: Denise Kirton

2nd Edition

9781458653437 VCE Burial Rites 2e final_REV.indd 1 10/12/2015 3:35 pm

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CONTENTSPREFACE ivACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viCHARACTER SUMMARIES 1ISSUES, THEMES AND LIKELY QUESTION TOPICS 7Possible topics 8GET REVISING 10Revising for your exams 10

The nature of English 10About the exam papers 11Planning a response 14How you will be assessed 23Impressing the examiner 24Practise, practise, practise 25Top tips for success in Section A 26A note of advice 28Now you’re prepared … 29

MARK IT! 30

MODEL ESSAY 1 31Deconstruct the question 31‘The women in Burial Rites are stronger than the men.’ Do you agree?Mark it! 32Marker’s comments 39

MODEL ESSAY 2 41Deconstruct the question 41‘You don’t belong here in this valley, Agnes. You’re different. You’re not scared of everything.’ Discuss.Mark it! 42Marker’s comments 47

MODEL ESSAY 3 49Deconstruct the question 49‘The question of what is the truth and what is not is at the heart of Burial Rites.’ Discuss.Mark it! 50Marker’s comments 56

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED? 58

USEFUL VOCABULARY 59

GLOSSARY 61


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VCE English: Burial Rites

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PREFACEBurial Rites was first published in 2013, and in that year alone was reprinted at least seven times. In 2011, the novel won the inaugural Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award, and in 2014 it was added to the list of books set for study in the VCE English course. It is Hannah Kent’s first novel.

I’ve been teaching VCE English for some time now, so I’m aware of how critical students can be of the texts they are required to study. I wondered how 17- and 18-year-olds would respond to such a novel. Burial Rites is quite long—over 300 pages. Many students prefer books that are much shorter—100 pages or fewer. Many prefer films. I’m sympathetic to these sentiments; the volume of work VCE students must complete is enormous. Anything that reduces the workload is very welcome to our students. I wondered, too, about the subject matter: would VCE students be interested in a story set in Iceland in the 1820s, a novel that deals with the last execution conducted in that far-off country? My fears and uncertainties proved unfounded; the response of my students has been very positive.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

This book is written for students of VCE English and EAL. The first half is intended to help you better understand the demands and expectations of the Reading and creating texts section of the VCE English and EAL examination papers. The central focus is this: how can you best prepare for this section of the English paper? The answer is pretty straightforward:

i. Make sure you understand what the examiners are looking for. What are the skills you are expected to display? What are the criteria by which your essay will be judged?

ii. Make sure you understand how to make sense of the essay topic. How do you deconstruct the prompt and the task so that you can achieve the best possible result?

iii. Make sure you understand how to plan and write your essay.

The second half of this book consists of three model essays. You are encouraged to ‘become the marker’. You are provided with the key criteria, and your task is to mark each essay in terms of these criteria. The annotations on the essays draw your attention to particular aspects of the model essays. Through this activity you will come to a better understanding of what your teachers and exam markers are looking for when they assess your essays.

The key advice this book has to offer is that the way to improve your ability to write clearly, fluently, insightfully, coherently and in an organised manner is to practise regularly.

In the VCE English examination you will have roughly one hour in which to produce your essay. In that time you should be able to produce between 800 and 1200 words. The model essays provided in this book are a little longer than that, around 1700–2000 words. This has been done deliberately. The goal is


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Character summaries

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CHARACTER SUMMARIES

AGNES MAGNÚSDÓTTIR

Agnes has been condemned to death for the murder of Pétur Jónsson and Natan Ketilsson. Born into poverty, Agnes was given up by her mother, and from the age of eight was a pauper, reliant on the goodwill of the community. She grew up to be a hard worker and a resilient, determined, pragmatic young woman who dreamed of improving her lot in life. When she formed a relationship with the famous Natan Ketilson, she believed briefly that her life would improve. During her stay at Kornsá with the Jónsson family and with Tóti as her spiritual guide, Agnes gradually reveals the suffering she experienced throughout her life.

KEY QUOTES

Early in the novel, Agnes says of herself:‘ They don’t know me. I remain quiet. I am determined to close myself to the world, to tighten my heart and hold on to what has not yet been stolen from me. I cannot let myself slip away. I will hold what I am inside, and keep my hands tight around all the things I have seen and heard, and felt.’ p. 29

Late in the novel, Agnes thinks how different her life might have been:‘Agnes Jónsdóttir. She sounds like the woman I should have been. A housekeeper in a croft that overlooks the valley, with a husband by her side, and a kip of children to help sing home the sheep at twilight. To teach and frighten with stories of ghosts. To love. She could even be the sister of Sigurlaug and Steinvör Jónsdóttir. Margrét’s daughter. Born blessed under a marriage. Born into a family that would not be ripped apart by poverty.’ p. 232

Blöndal’s judgement of Agnes is harsh. He tells Tóti:‘You will not find proof of innocence in Agnes’s stories of her life, Reverend. She is a woman loose with her emotions and looser with her morals. Like many older servant women she is practised in deception, and I do not doubt that she has manufactured a life story in such a way so as to prick your sympathy. I would not believe a word she says. She lied to my face in this very room.’ p. 170

Agnes’s thoughts of death:‘Those who are not being dragged to their deaths cannot understand how the heart grows hard and sharp, until it is a nest of rocks with only an empty egg in it. I am barren; nothing will grow from me


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POSSIBLE TOPICSWhile you are revising for your exam, consider the points listed below. How would you handle them if they were presented to you as an exam question? What evidence from the text would you use to support your argument?

If you have considered in advance a wide range of perspectives and ideas relating to the text, you are more likely to be able to think on your feet on the day. Read through the points below and make notes on:

• what your position is in relation to the point. Do you agree? Disagree? Can you see both sides?

• evidence from the novel that supports your position.

AGNES

• ‘I was worst to the one I loved best.’ Laxdæla Saga. This is a statement resonant with the regrets we all feel when taking for granted those whom we love; for not being careful enough or kind enough to those we care deeply for. But how does it relate to Agnes, to whom no one has been terribly kind?

• Agnes’s experience of life leads her to conclude that ‘Most good people are soon enough underground’. Do you agree?

• Agnes tells Tóti: ‘Everything I said was taken from me and altered until the story wasn’t my own’. Was Agnes the victim of a miscarriage of justice?

• Gossip, rumour and prejudice determine Agnes’s end. She is executed on the strength of a reputation which is largely conjecture and linked to her poverty. How far do you agree with this statement?

NATAN

• ‘Natan did not believe in sin. He said that it is the flaw in the character that makes a person.’ Do you agree with this statement? Why? What evidence from the novel supports your opinion?

BLÖNDAL

• Do you think Blöndal is the real villain in this story? Why? What evidence from the novel supports your opinion?


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GET REVISING

REVISING FOR YOUR EXAMSThe VCE English course introduces you to a wealth of stimulating, exciting literature, and will open your eyes to new ways of viewing the world around you. Hopefully, you will enjoy reading the books and discussing the characters and the ideas they explore. Come the end of the year, though, there are the exams to contend with. Preparing for any exam can be stressful, whether you like the subject or find it difficult. Most students undertake five VCE subjects in Year 12, and preparing for five exams is a big task. There are many demands on your time.

You therefore need to be sure that you’re using your time wisely and being as effective as you can in your revision. Good organisation is the key. Being organised enables you to prepare well for the exams.

There are several things you can do to make sure you feel confident when it’s time for the exam, and to help you to achieve your full potential. One of the first things you should do is to familiarise yourself with the structure of the VCE English examination papers. Knowing what to expect in the exam is the first step towards knowing how to prepare.

THE NATURE OF ENGLISH

Before we look more closely at what the exams require, it’s important to consider the difference between English and other subjects. Some people find English a difficult subject to study because it does not centre on a set of facts or content to be learned, and the exam does not rely on how well you recall information. While the tasks set for VCE English will draw on your knowledge of texts, you cannot predict what the topics will be, and you will need to be able to think on your feet. The exam will expect you to demonstrate your capacity to write clearly, fluently, insightfully, coherently and in an organised manner in response to a topic that you have not seen before.

NO RIGHT ANSWER?

There is no single right answer for the kinds of questions asked in Section A of a VCE English examination. VCE English is about thinking, and about the interpretation of texts. It is about reading and responding to texts, thinking about ideas and developing an interpretation—or exploring possible interpretations—of texts. Most importantly, it is about examining those interpretations, and finding evidence from the text that supports your point of view.


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Get revising

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This lack of a ‘right answer’ is a challenge, but it also gives you a chance to explore ideas and develop your own views. Each reader may respond to a given text differently—the key is being able to justify an interpretation.

For example, one of the central questions at the end of Burial Rites is: ‘Is Agnes guilty of murder?’ We can imagine a number of justifiable interpretations:

i. Yes—Agnes did murder Natan. It was her hand that pushed the knife into his body. Fridrik didn’t force her to do it. She admitted to this.

ii. Yes—Agnes did murder Natan. She was angry with him and wanted revenge. Her claim—that she acted out of pity—was clearly an attempt to evade the consequences of her actions.

iii. Yes—Agnes murdered Natan, and she was complicit in the whole enterprise. She was 33; Fridrik and Sigga were 17 and 15. Blöndal was right. He saw through her attempts to place all the blame on Fridrik, and to paint herself in the best possible light, with her explanation that she acted out of pity.

iv. While there is no question that Agnes did push the knife into Natan’s body, her motive was not revenge—it was pity. She knew that Natan was close to death, that he was in terrible pain, and that he wanted to be freed from that agony.

Drawing on the text, a reader can mount a case to support any of these interpretations.

None of the following interpretations of the text, however, can be supported with reference to the novel:

i. Natan stabbed himself.

ii. Sigga couldn’t stand Natan’s moaning, so she stabbed him.

iii. Natan didn’t die. He pretended to be dead and then crept away.

ABOUT THE EXAM PAPERS

The VCE English examination and the EAL examination differ in a number of ways. The differences are summarised in the table below. EAL students should pay close attention to the requirements of the EAL examination as outlined in the table and seek help from teachers to clarify any issues.

EXAMTASK

VCE ENGLISHEXAMINATION

EALEXAMINATION

Reading and creating texts

Section ALIST 1 TEXTS Students are required to write an analytical response to one of the texts from List 1.

Two topics will be provided for each text on List 1. Students must choose one topic to respond to.

Section ATHREE SET TEXTSStudents are required to write an analytical response to one of the three set texts.

Two topics will be provided for each of the three texts. Students must choose one topic to respond to.

continued


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EXAMTASK

VCE ENGLISHEXAMINATION

EALEXAMINATION

Reading and Comparing

Section BLIST 2 TEXTS Students are required to write an analytical response to a pair of texts from List 2.

The task will consist of a prompt or pair of quotes.

Analysing Argument

Unseen text(s)

Section CStudents are required to write an analysis of argument and the use of persuasive language in unseen text(s).

Section BStudents are required to demonstrate an understanding and complete an analysis of argument and the use of persuasive language in unseen text(s) through:• answering questions and writing a note-

form summary of the main arguments• writing a short essay analysing how

three of the main arguments have been conveyed.

Listening to Texts

Section CStudents are required to demonstrate comprehension of spoken text(s) by answering questions on a text that they will listen to.

THE VCE ENGLISH EXAMINATION

In your VCE English examination, you will be required to complete ONE examination paper. Everyone sits the same exam. You will be given 3 hours of writing time, plus 15 minutes reading time prior to the commencement of the examination. This means that you should devote roughly one hour to each section of the paper.

The examination paper is organised into three sections reflecting the Areas of Study you have covered in your work at school:

Title in the Course outline Task in the examination

A Reading and creating texts [list 1 ] Analytical response to textB Reading and comparing texts [list 2] Comparison of textsC Analysing and presenting argument Analysing and presenting argument


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Get revising

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A ANALYTICAL RESPONSE TO TEXT: LIST 1

In the exam paper there will be 40 questions: two questions for each of the 20 texts listed for study. Two questions will relate to each of the texts you have studied. Once you have chosen which text you will respond to, you must choose ONE of the two questions to answer. Make sure that you make it clear which of the two questions you are responding to. You will be asked to respond analytically to the text.

B COMPARISON OF TEXTS: LIST 2

List 2 will consist of a series of paired texts. Your school will choose which pair of texts you will study in Semester Two. Each pair of texts will deal with challenging ‘ideas, issues or themes from different perspectives’. The examination question will require you to compare the two texts.

C ANALYSING AND PRESENTING ARGUMENT

For this section of the exam you will be required to analyse how composers of a range of text types (writers, cartoonists, speakers, photographers and so on) use argumentative and rhetorical strategies of various kinds to persuade readers to their points of view. You must ‘analyse and compare the use of argument and persuasive language in texts that present a point of view on an issue currently debated in the media’. The actual form of the task varies from year to year. In recent years, the task has involved the following formats:

• an editorial, two or more short letters to the editor, photographs and a cartoon

• a blog piece, five comments and a photograph

• two opinion pieces and a cartoon.

The specific material that is to be analysed is different each year. However, there are two things to note.

i. Each year, each of the pieces of material relates to the same issue.

ii. The task remains the same: how does each writer seek to use arguments, visuals and written language to persuade the reader?

The model essays later in this book relate to Section A Analytical response to text. In them, you may come

across terms that are new to you. You can look these up in the glossary for an

explanation.

The new VCE English course, to be introduced

in 2017, refers to reading and creating texts. You will be

required to complete two pieces of school-assessed coursework

(SACs) during the first semester in this segment of the course. One will be an analytical piece and the other will be a creative piece. Note that the response you

write in the examination must be analytical, and

not creative.


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Each section is worth one-third of the marks. Plan to spend an equal amount of time answering each section. It might help you to think of the exam time as being composed of timeslots as follows:

Timeslot Minutes1 Reading 15 Get to the exam room early. Open your exam paper as soon as you are

able. Spend the 15-minute reading time carefully absorbing your tasks.

2 Planning 10–15 Once you have been given permission to start writing, jot down plans for answers—especially for Sections A and B. In those first few minutes you will have lots of ideas flying around in your mind. It’s important to jot them down, so you don’t lose them. Students often come out of the exam room complaining: ‘Oh, I had this great idea, but I forgot to include it.’ Jot down a word or two as a reminder to yourself.

3 Writing Section A

50–55 Write in as detailed a manner as you can within the time limit.WHEN YOU FINISH:stretch, loosen your muscles, drink some water.

4 Writing Section B


5 Writing Section C


6 Revising 5–15 Go over your answers—especially the opening paragraphs of each answer. Correct any errors of spelling, punctuation or expression.

PLANNING A RESPONSE

Here is an idea for using the reading and planning time strategically. Give it a try with a practice question and refine the model to suit you, if necessary.

A Analytical response to text

Quickly find the questions on Burial Rites, and decide which of the two options you will answer.

• Identify the KEY WORDS.

• DECONSTRUCT the TASK (see section below).

• Start thinking about how you will answer this question or respond to this task.

B Comparison of texts

Look at the PROMPT for this section of the paper, and read over any support material—quotes, photographs or other visuals.

• Identify the KEY WORDS.

• DECONSTRUCT the TASK.

• Start thinking about how you will answer this question or respond to this task.


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Get revising

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UNPACK THE QUESTION

Let’s look at an example question and break down the task of preparing an answer.

‘ Burial Rites has everything: it is a murder mystery, a love story, a passionate feminist analysis of the subjugation of women.’ Discuss.

Step 1: Work out exactly what the examiners are asking you to do.

In this case, we are being asked to ‘discuss’ a statement. There is no specific question to be answered; there is simply a list of suggestions about the genre that Burial Rites is part of—your task is to provide evidence to support your view of the question.

The initial statement—‘Burial Rites has everything’—may be read as an overall evaluation of the novel. It is a novel that ‘has everything’. This is an overall judgement of the novel, and you might like to think about whether you share this view. It is certainly a strong claim.

The body of the essay will then involve a consideration of the other assertions made in the prompt:

• The claim that Burial Rites ‘is a murder mystery’ is not contentious; Natan and Pétur were murdered. In a sense, so too were Agnes and Fridrik. What is at issue is the extent of Agnes’s culpability: when she stabbed Natan, was it murder, manslaughter or euthanasia?

• Burial Rites is clearly ‘a love story’. Central to the novel are the love affairs between Natan and Agnes, and between Fridrik and Sigga. There is also the relationship between Tóti and Agnes. And in her Author’s note, Hannah Kent refers to the novel as an expression of her love affair with Iceland.

All of these aspects of the novel could be examined, and evaluated, in turn.

Step 2: Start thinking about what ideas/characters/scenes/quotes you might refer to in your answer.

For example:

• a murder mystery: Is Agnes guilty of murder? Can we ever be completely certain whether she committed murder, manslaughter or euthanasia?

• a love story: Burial Rites examines many examples of love such as:

- Margrét’s love for her family

- the affair between Natan and Agnes

- the affair between Sigga and Fridrik

- Tóti’s relationship with Agnes

- Hannah Kent refers to the novel as her ‘love letter to Iceland’

• a passionate feminist analysis of the subjugation of women: Agnes’s life story as emblematic of the stereotypical views of women—evident, for example, in Björn’s anger when Inga teaches Agnes the sagas; the perception that the authorities want to punish Agnes because she is intelligent.


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Model essay 1

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MODEL ESSAY 1

DECONSTRUCT THE QUESTION

‘The women in Burial Rites are stronger than

the men.’ Do you agree?

This is a strong statement and you are required to assert a clear point of view on it, develop an argument and use close textual referencing to support it.

You are being asked to evaluate how accurate or true the statement is in relation to the text you have studied. You are also being asked to make a judgement based on criteria that you must establish yourself. This criteria should be comprised of two or three central points that you will elaborate upon in the body paragraphs of your response.

Along with stating whether you agree or disagree, be prepared to elaborate on what way or ways women are (or are not) stronger. Present clear analysis and examples from the characters in the novel.


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1. A well-written introduction directly addresses the question. Highlight or underline the words or phrases the student has used to show the examiner that they have read the question and intend to answer it. In your own words outline what you think the student’s thesis is and which aspects of the text they propose to draw on to develop their argument.

GETTING STARTED

Make sure you’ve read the ‘Planning a response’ section on p. 13. Now that you’re ready to start, you may find it helpful to ask yourself these questions:

• What is meant by the term ‘strong’? In how many ways is it possible to be strong?

• In what way are strength and gender related?

• What are the strengths of the men in Burial Rites?

• What are the strengths of the women in Burial Rites?

Let’s see how the model essay tackles the question. As you read, make notes or highlight/underline elements of the essay that demonstrate strong writing technique or salient points. The questions alongside the essay should get you thinking about how the essay addresses the topic and follows the rubric.

MARK IT!

‘The women in Burial Rites are stronger than the men.’ Do you agree?

The notion of strength in Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites is depicted in many ways. In some cases, strength is directly related to a character’s gender. However, Kent demonstrates the multiple meanings of the word through the actions and reactions of her characters. In 19th century Icelandic society, tradition, hierarchy and patriarchy provided men automatically with a level of power that ensured the strength of characters like Blöndal, yet Tóti, Agnes, Margrét, Natan and Jón show personal strength in the form of resilience and compassion. Strength can take many forms, and Burial Rites is a study of how it manifests in both men and women.

The term ‘power structure’ refers to the organisation of government and other important institutions in a society. Political, administrative and legal


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