An example of less effective
analysis of the essay question
Sample essay 3:'Tragedies portray societies which
are caught between conflicting value systems.' Discuss with reference to one
or more plays.
This is
the introduction to the essay:
'Conflicting
value systems are always around, especially where death is involved.
So in the tragedies of Everyman, Doctor Faustus and
Hamlet there are many conflicts to face. These include personal
moral conflicts with individual characters of the plays and also opposing
values between the different characters in the play.. Conflicting value
systems may even stretch to how the audience interprets the play and
the beliefs and culture at the time.'
These
are excerpts from the main body of the essay:
'In Everyman,
we can see that the character 'Everyman' faces a moral dilemma as God
summons Everyman by offering Death to take him as his own. This creates
conflicting value systems. [...] Even the characters have conflicting
value systems.'
Q.
How could this be improved?
TUTOR'S
REPLY
Firstly, in answering this essay
question, the student does not really get to grips with what is meant by 'conflicting
value systems', or at least does not show that they understand what is meant
by the phrase, either in the introduction or the main body of the essay. (The
fact that they repeatedly use the phrase 'conflicting value systems' implies
that it is not really understood.) It is important to 'unpack' the question
more at the outset, and to define the main terms (in this case, 'value systems')
so that you can be really focused in what you write about, rather than being
general and vague. A possible re-wording of the question might be: 'How far
are tragedies the result of conflicting value systems being at work in the
society depicted?'. The question could then be broken down as follows:
What 'value systems' can be seen
to be in 'conflict' in particular tragedies?
How are these value systems, or
systems of belief - moral, political, religious - represented in the play(s)?
For example, are they represented
through or embodied in particular characters?
How does the conflict of these
value systems relate to the tragic events which take place? Does it appear
to cause them?
In what other ways might the tragic
events of the play(s) be accounted for? Is there any way in which the conflicts
of belief systems depicted within tragic dramas relate to the societies in
which they were written?
How valid is the point of view
quoted in the essay question?
