A DOLL’S HOUSE ANALYSIS
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| Analysis of A Doll's House |
KCSE ESSAY QUESTIONS
Episodic approach to analysis of A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
In this article we will dwell on the magic of the episodic approach in the analysis of A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. Here, we are required to divide the whole book into smaller episodes to help the learners acquire an unqualified mastery of the text.
KCSE essays require that the student masters the minute details in quest to respond to the demands of the questions.
Also, learn the simplest way of writing set book essays based on A Doll's House.
Also, learn the simplest way of writing set book essays based on A Doll's House.
How to approach KCSE questions when analyzing A Doll’s House
1. Think about the take home message. Think about the embedded morals in the questions. Avoid negativity.
In literature virtues are usually rewarded whereas vices are punished for instance in A Doll’s House, Nora Helmer and Mrs. Christine Linde are portrayed as selfless characters and thus are rewarded for their good nature. On the other hand, Torvald Helmer is seen as a selfish individual who only cares about his reputation and eventually he loses his wife. The message here is selflessness or human sacrifice is a virtue while selfishness is a vice.
In literature virtues are usually rewarded whereas vices are punished for instance in A Doll’s House, Nora Helmer and Mrs. Christine Linde are portrayed as selfless characters and thus are rewarded for their good nature. On the other hand, Torvald Helmer is seen as a selfish individual who only cares about his reputation and eventually he loses his wife. The message here is selflessness or human sacrifice is a virtue while selfishness is a vice.
2. The two sides of a question; The questions usually encompass two sides. When responding to KCSE essay questions in A Doll’s House always try to point out the keywords. Since the question is two sided, the answer should also bring out the two sides fully. For instance;
“A selfish individual who only cares about his reputation causes pain to himself and others. Basing your illustrations on Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House; write an essay to validate this statement.”
While responding to the question above, the learners ought to bring out a selfish individual and how he only cares about his reputation with supporting illustrations from A Doll’s House. After that, they should illustrate how this selfishness causes pain to the said individual and others.
3. Form; A KCSE literature essay comprises 3 distinct parts.
· The introduction
· The body
· The conclusion
The Introduction: The introduction falls on the first paragraph. It should earn you 2 marks. It should address both sides of the question. When writing your introduction you ought to take note of the following;
§ Demonstrate your understanding of the question (What are you going to discuss?)
§ Do NOT define terms
§ Do not rewrite the words in the question; instead paraphrase (use your own words e.g. if the questions says materialism you should say greed. Or when the question says sacrifice you should say selflessness.)
§ Address both sides of the question
§ Use specific approach (Outline at least two points you’re going to discuss)
§ Be brief
The body: The body comprises at least 4 paragraphs. A standard paragraph has a topic sentence, supporting sentences and a clincher. The topic sentence answers the question; the supporting sentences focus on the illustration whereas the clincher sums up the argument.
§ Each point falls on a different paragraph
§ Address both sides of the question on each paragraph
§ Back up your argument with sufficient, specific illustrations from the text. For each event, discuss the background and outcome of the character’s actions. For instance when Nora Helmer makes a sacrifice of borrowing 250 pounds from Nils Krogstad in order to save her ailing husband’s life, the outcome is that her husband recovers from his illness.
§ The first sentence of your paragraph (the topic sentence) should answer the question
§ Sum up your argument with a clincher.
The conclusion: Here, the learner should simply sum up the whole argument. Do NOT introduce new points at this point.
NOTE: Testing of KCSE essay questions is based on analysis, synthesis and evaluation:
Analysis (Reading to get the minute details e.g. the loan that Nora Helmers borrowed was 250 pounds, the Helmers stayed in Italy for a year, Nora’s father died on September 29th)
Synthesis (knitting together the different events or details to help you come up with a judgment)
Evaluation (making judgments based on the synthesis e.g. since Torvald Helmer has on so many occasions in the book appeared hell bent on protecting his reputation at all costs at the expense of others like Nora and Nils Krogstad, we can conclude that he is selfish.)
Analysis (Reading to get the minute details e.g. the loan that Nora Helmers borrowed was 250 pounds, the Helmers stayed in Italy for a year, Nora’s father died on September 29th)
Synthesis (knitting together the different events or details to help you come up with a judgment)
Evaluation (making judgments based on the synthesis e.g. since Torvald Helmer has on so many occasions in the book appeared hell bent on protecting his reputation at all costs at the expense of others like Nora and Nils Krogstad, we can conclude that he is selfish.)
a) What is the event?
b) Who are the characters involved?
c) What actions or activities are they involved in?
d) How do the characters react to those events?
e) What is the moral lesson in that episode?
EPISODES IN A DOLL'S HOUSE ACT ONE (Christmas Eve)
Nora and Helmer (P1-8)
Nora and Linde (P9-23)
Krogstad's arrival (P23)
Nora, Linde, Rank (P24-28)
Nora, Linde, Helmer, Rank (P28-30)
Nora and the children (P30-31)
Nora and Krogstad (P31-41)
Nora, Helmer (P43-48)
Nora’s soliloquy (P48)
ACT TWO (Christmas Day)
Nora and the Nurse (P49-51)
Nora and Linde (P51-56)
Nora and Helemer (P57-62)
Rank and Nora (P63-71)
Nora and Krogstad (P72-76)
Nora and Mrs. Linde (77-79)
Nora, Helmer, Rank (P80-83)
Nora and Linde (P 84)
ACT THREE (Day after Christmas)
Mrs. Linde and Krogstad (P85-91)
Nora and Helmer (P91-96)
Rank, Helmer, Nora (P97-99)
Helmer and Nora (P99-120)
Nora's departure (P120)
1. Phrasing the question
2. The embedded morals (e.g. sacrifice, honesty, selflessness)
3. Accessibility of the question (Can the learners relate to it?)
4. Marking points
5. Possible relevant episodes
6. Details in the episode
7. Two sides of the question (e.g. Torvald is selfish. As a result he causes pain to others.)
SAMPLE QUESTION FROM A DOLL’S HOUSESelf sacrifice must be rewarded. A learner should show the sacrifice and go until we see the reward.
Nora sacrifices for the sake of her husband and is rewarded when her husband gets well.
TIPS TO CONSIDER WHEN ANALYSING A DOLL’S HOUSE
· Look for the moral values
1) A character
2) What they do
3) How they suffer or are rewarded.
· The set text is divided into virtues and vices.
· Get the questions and identify the incidents in the text
· Questions must have a value statement and the outcome. (reward or punishment)
1. Character involved in the event
2. The situation the character is in.
3. Background – The events that lead to the situation
4. Activities/actions that take place (include the character in question and other characters)
5. Reaction- drawn from the action. What you as the reader/other characters in the text feel about the character’s actions.
6. Virtues/Vices
7. Outcome- The character’s action leads to certain outcome. Reward or punishment.
Sample essay question from A Doll's House“Self sacrifice must be rewarded. Citing illustrations from Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House; write an essay to validate this statement.”
Character: Nora Helmer
Situation: Torvald Helmer is awfully sick and needs urgent care
Background: When they get married, Torvald leaves his office work because there is no prospect of promotion. With a view of providing for his family, he works early and late. In the process he overworks himself and falls dreadfully ill. The doctors tell Nora his wife that the only remedy is for him to take a rest in the south (Italy). The trip would cost a tremendous amount of money. Torvald is not willing to borrow and would not accept help from a woman.
Action: Nora is forced to borrow 250 pounds from Nils Krogstad and forge a name because a woman is not allowed to borrow without her husband’s consent. She takes Torvald to Italy. They stay there for a year.
Reaction: Nora is selfless/she makes a huge sacrifice for the sake of her husband.
Values/ Moral: Self sacrifice
Outcome: Torvald comes back from the trip and he is as sound as a bell. (Reward)
This is just an outline of how the paragraph should look like. It should be written in continuous prose as illustrated later in this article.
SAMPLE ESSAYS ON A DOLL’S HOUSE WITH ANSWERS
( Click here for more KCSE essay questions on A Doll's House)
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| Analysis of A Doll's House |
“Women in most societies play sacrificial roles. Basing your analysis on Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House; write an essay in support of this statement.”
Click here to read full essay on A Doll's House .
Now improve your essay answering skills with these essay questions based on The Pearl by John Steinbeck.
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