In Paper 2 exam in IB English A, you will write an essay comparing and contrasting two literary works. The given essay topics may require analysis of the content of the literary works or it may require analysis of technical aspects of literary works.
The image above shows exam questions from M23 IB English A Exam Paper 2 which includes four essay questions. (FYI, IB Eng A lang & Lit students and Lit students have the same Paper 2 exam questions.) Amongst the four, questions 1 and 3 ask the comparative analysis on the literary techniques of chosen literary works of students.
In this post, I will focus on narrative structures that should be analysed , as it is asked in the. question number 1. The question asks you to analyse the characteristics and effects of the events that have "an unconventional order".
The fact that the events in literary works have unusual order means that the authors' narrative style is somewhat unique. If you have studied various narrative structures in advance and the literary works you have chosen have unconventional narrative structures, you may confidently choose this question for your paper 2 essay.
The types of Unconventional Narrative Structures
Most stories have the same basic structure: Events are told through one point of view, and they happen in chronological order and move toward a climax, followed by the resolution and perhaps falling action. However, an unconventional narrative structure can help authors show more of the complexity of a story or to look at events or characters in another light.
A. Unusual Plot Order
One of the most common ways that authors subvert narrative structure is to tell events out of order. For example, flashbacks can reveal significant information at a key moment in the development of the story or a character's arc. In the book, "Evening" by Susan Minot, flashbacks are used as a dying woman reveals a significant love affair that changed her life. Other stories may choose an entirely different timeline to tell the story. For example, the movie "Memento" tells the story of a man whose memory resets every 10 minutes and who is trying to figure out who killed his wife. Each scene ends where the previous scene began, and the action is slowly moving backwards. The complicated narrative structure disorients the audience in a way that reveals what life is like for the main character, and that creates a bigger impact at the resolution of the action.
B. Changing Points of View
Most stories are told from a single point of view. However, some authors use multiple points of view to reveal more of the complexity of the story, as well as to give more insight into the characters. William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" is an example of this technique; each chapter is told from the point of view of another character. Other changes to point of view that create alternative narrative structure include telling a story from the second person point of view, such as in Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl." The effect is to put the reader right in the action to make her feel emotionally invested in the story
C. Different Story Forms
Some authors choose to tell the story through a totally different form. For example, some novels are told entirely through a series of letters, like "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker, and others are told through forms like dreams, journal entries and case studies, like the novel "The White Hotel" by D.M. Thomas. These forms reveal more information about the story, such as the significance of the relationship between the two sisters in "The Color Purple" and the events the ways that their lives change while they are kept apart. In "The White Hotel," the dreams and case studies and journal entries progressively reveal more about the main character's visions, which gain poignancy when they come to fruition at the climax of the story.
D. Alternative Media
Though words on the page are the primary medium for most stories, some authors incorporate items like pictures, drawings or even three-dimensional objects like letters and postcards to tell a story. In "Breakfast of Champions" by Kurt Vonnegut, hand drawings are scattered throughout the story to reinforce the satire and reveal the absurdity of certain actions or beliefs. In "The Forgetting Room" by Nick Bantock, letters, notes and bits of art are included in pockets and envelopes throughout the book, inviting the reader to feel like a part of the discovery as the narrator learns more about his family's past.
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