'THE strange UNDOINGOF PRUDENCIA HART'

BY DAVID GREIG

ANALYSING THE TEXT –

HOW TO MOVE FROM N5 TO HIGHER!

AT THE MOMENT, MOST OF YOU ARE WRITING LIKE THIS...

Prudencia’s greatest strength is her bookish nature. It is a strength because we know she has a PhD;

‘Her PhD was on the topography of Hell’.

This proves her bookish nature and is impressive so must be a strength.IT'S NOT WRONG, BUT IT IS FAIRLY BASIC AND IN THE REALITY OF HIGHER, SAYS VERY LITTLE! LOOK AT THE

NEXT EXAMPLE AND SEE THE DIFFERENCE…

One of Prudencia’s greatest strengths is her bookish, well-read nature. We know she has an aptitude for studying as she has ‘a PhD on the topography of Hell’. A PhD takes several years of study to acquire so we can assume Prudencia has a passion for education, and the reading and research that comes with this. Her enjoyment of such becomes a significant strength in Act Two when Prudencia is trapped in ‘Hell’, which is depicted as a vast library in this play. Prudencia’s bookish nature allows her to actually enjoy her captivity in Hell, for the most part. For Prudencia, being trapped in a never ending library is a wonderful thing. When Prudencia first sets eyes on it she is amazed by the comprehensive collections; ‘It’s…just…heaven’. This is an interesting juxtaposition between how we perceive Heaven and Hell and it is this that allows Prudencia to become stronger as a character. Her bookish nature allows her to adapt to her new imprisonment well after she is trapped. She even uses her time to prove her colleague Professor Macintosh wrong – an empty gesture but one which she takes great pride in; ‘Take that, Professor Macintosh, shove that in your late-capitalist pipe and smoke it.’ By the end of her imprisonment, she feels empowered enough to stand up to the Devil and take her freedom back into her own hands; ‘Instinct took over and she just – just – fucking ran.’ All of this proves to us that she has made the most of her unfortunate situation, thus making her character trait a significant strength.

TAKE YOUR CHOSEN TRAIT AND START WITH ONE RELEVANT QUOTE

NOW WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING IT TELLS YOU ABOUT THAT PERSON -BACKGROUND PERSONAL LIFE SOCIAL SKILLS

PERSONALITY FAMILY CAREER EDUCATION

MORALS BELIEFS ROMANCE FRIENDSHIPS

THESE SHOULD ALL BE LINKED TO THE TRAIT YOU HAVE CHOSENNATURALLY, MORE QUOTES WILL BECOME RELEVANT SO ADD THEM TO YOUR MAP LIKE THE NEXT EXAMPLE….

CHOSEN CHARACTER:PRUDENCIA CHARACTER TRAIT: BOOKISH

QUOTE 2:

'It's…just...Heaven'

QUOTE 1:

'Her PhD was on thetopography of Hell'

Prudencia must have a passion for education, and reading and research.

A PhD takes several years of study to acquire – she must have an aptitude for studying

Unusual subject matter – avoids populist topics. Could mean she

doesn’t fit into society? Far removed, because of the literature.

This seems ironic – she knows 'Hell' in depthyet doesn't realise where she is when

she is lured there.

Feels comfortablein 'hell‘ – finds strength

Captivity would be torture

for most – but not for

Pru, not here.

Juxtaposition between heaven and hell -what we perceive and

Pru’s own interpretation – again, far removed from society

We know this stemmed from her autistic father

Detached from society – knows more about a fantastical

world (hell) than reality

‘Pru and her Dad’s idea of a fun day…second hand bookshops

making lists’

Foreshadowing what is

to become of her?

QUOTE 3:

'Take that ProfessorMackintosh and shove it up

your late capitalist pipeand smoke it'

QUOTE 5:

'Instinct took over andshe just – just – fucking ran'

QUOTE 4:

‘The topography of hell isalso the topography of

unrequited love’

Uses captivity to heradvantage – continues to study

and takes pride in provingcolleagues wrong

Has more faith in books than people

Anti-social – weakness?

Empowered bybooks and knowledge

Stand up against the devil

Beginning to feel humanfeelings and emotions

Uses knowledge to trick the deviland take advantage of

his vulnerabilities

Knowledge of hell – she can find her way out!!!

She is factual – always backed up by knowledge

NOW YOU HAVE SEVERAL COMMENTS TO MAKE RATHER THAN JUST ONE -

N5 ESSAY

‘SHE HAS A PhD SO SHE IS CLEVER.

TA DA.’

1 MARK

FAIL

HIGHER ESSAY

A SELECTION OF THE COMMENTS ON YOUR

MAP

4 MARKS

PASS

VS

NOW REPEAT THE PROCESSBY USING THE TEMPLATE

TO BUILD A ‘MAP’FOR ALL FIVE OF

YOUR CHOSEN TRAITS

CHOSEN CHARACTER: CHARACTER TRAIT:

QUOTE 2:

QUOTE 1:

QUOTE 3:

QUOTE 5:

QUOTE 4: