Use the following candidate’s response to recognise some of the features of good essays, as outlined by the activities so far. Discuss the features before revealing the examiner response.

Question: Compare and contrast the presentation of women in Texts A-C.

In your response you are required to:

  • apply concepts and methods from integrated linguistic and literary study
  • analyse how meanings are shaped
  • explore connections between the texts.

Text A presents women in a negative and sinister way, which could be represented as a comedic view as the source of the extract is a satirical novel. Text B presents women in a much more positive manner, as the foundations of a working household and family. This text is an older piece, perhaps reflecting the more domesticated representation which is portrayed in the poem. Text C also reflects women in a positive light, as it is spoken by the First Lady of America at the time who is also a strong feminist. Instead of focussing on the attributes of women, Hilary Clinton focusses on the oppressive nature of society and the way women are denied the same right and opportunities as men.

text A, the common stereotype of women is highlighted through the use of listing “when he stayed at home, she played and sung for him, made him good drinks…. Steeped his soul in comfort”. The list shows the way in which the wife behaves to manipulate her husband. There is irony created through this list as the woman in question must adhere to her husband’s demands, as if she is entirely dependent on him. The societal norm of this relationship comes through the pre-modified noun phrase “indefatigable complacency”. The husband is not supposed to expect any form of cunning from his wife and as a result she takes advantage of him. The use of interrogative shows the way that in reality the evil behaviour of women should be expected. “Who has not seen a woman…or coax the fury of a savage one?” The noun phrase “stupid husband” shows the manipulative nature of women presented in text A as if they prey on their partner like predatorial creatures. Irony is created through the use of pre-modified concrete noun “good housewife”. image is domestic although the text highlights that women shouldn’t be trusted to take the roles which they are given.

In text B, is created to text A as women are shown to be the object that holds a home together “I am the pillars of the house” the use of a metaphor in this declarative sentence shows the importance of women in life as they are the foundations upon which a house is built. issue of oppression and ignorance is also shown here, which shows similarities to text C as the pillars of the house keep the house standing but are often unseen. The importance of women in the household is further emphasised through the adverbial phrase “fall to ruin me utterly”. This suggests that the house, without a woman to keep it functioning, cannot last and will inevitably crumble. Text B also shows the importance of women in a more general sense through the use of parallelism in the second stanza. “I am the heat…colder than a stone”. The comparative modifier “colder” shows the impact that women have on the world in which we live, without women the world wouldn’t be as pleasant a place to live. The comparison of women is also highlighted in the third stanza through the use of an irregular alternate rhyme scheme and liquid alliteration “I am their light of love alive”. The materialistic representation of women is created through the use of rhyming couplets “alive” and “thrive” in order to show an older view that women are meant to raise children. This older view comes from the origins of this poem as an older text similar to text A in comparison to text C which comes from more a recent period of time. Similarities between text A and B are present in the expectations of women as domestic and materialistic figures.

Text C opens by highlighting the oppression of women in modern society, the use of adjectival phrase is further emphasised through the change in the tone, “grant challenge”. This is the first text of the three which aims to empower women and give a more equal representation of women in comparison to men. The use of parallelism shows women being undervalued by society as much of the work which is done is domestic “not by economists…not by government leaders”. The micropauses in between each collective concrete noun are used to create effect as each of those who are listed are ignorant and oppressive of the women in question. Text C is the first text to challenge the societal expectations of women and their role; “raising children…running countries”. The list of verb phrases shows a progression into more modern times for women as the list starts with more domestic responsibilities and then ends on greater opportunities for women. The two second pause at the end of the listing gives the audience to Hillary Clinton’s speech a chance to conceive the growth of opportunities for women in recent times before then highlighting the need for further change. Clinton’s speech is one driven by political views as it took place at the United Nations world conference. The poor healthcare available to some women is outlined by Clinton as she uses modal auxiliary verb “should have been prevented or treated”. The stress on the modal auxiliary verbs shows that there is no excuse for the humanitarian issues which take place as a result of this oppression. This oppression is further highlighted through the use of plosive alliteration in the final lines of Clinton’s speech extract “being banned…banned from the ballet box”. This highlights the denial of same rights as men and the issue that further change is .