Mister Pip Revision

1. Mister Pip Revision

2. Hitting the Marks • AO1: support ideas and insights with direct quotation and other textual references; express responses in a clear, well-structured and detailed way • AO2: show awareness of how the text is written; show how the writer presents ideas and achieves a range of effects. • AO4: relate the text to its social, cultural and historical context; explain how it has been influential and significant (think literal and metaphorical significance).

3. “This time the whole village listened in wonder, sitting by a small fire on an island all but forgotten, where the most unspeakable things happened without once raising the ire of the outside world.” (p142)

4. Bougainville • Part of the Solomon Islands • Has a tropical climate • Rich in copper which was mined and is a valuable resource – hence the wars • A war torn country • Suffered two major civil wars in 1975 and 1990 • Setting for Mister Pip

5. Redskins • Papua New Guinea (PNG) military force • Funded by Australia • They were armed with military weapons; wore uniforms • Had helicopters • Believed that Bougainville belonged to Papua New Guinea and should not be independent • Functioned by intimidation, much more powerful and well-resourced than native fighters

6. Rambos/Rebels • Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA or Rebels) • They had no guns and used basic weaponry; no official uniform • They believed that Bougainville should be independent from Papua New Guinea • Committed many atrocities on their own people • It became difficult to tell the difference between the Redskins and the Rebels.

7. What is context?! • The circumstances surrounding something, in terms of which it can be fully understood. • Historical time • Social situation • Political status • Cultural factors • How can understanding context help us to make sense of a text?

8. Importance of context • If you know NOTHING of the real-life context behind Mister Pip, how can you understand: • Why Mr Watts is the only white man • Why Matilda’s father left • Why they have freezers but no electricity • Why the school house was abandoned • Why their young men are disappearing into the jungle • Why the redskins attack the village • Who the redskins are • What is happening in the outside world? • Why Matilda surprised that December is cold and draughty? • If you don’t understand these things, you don’t understand the context. • Essential details of the story make no sense without context, so WITH it, they make MORE sense.

9. Setting and Context • Does the setting have a symbolic function? • Do the characters fit into the setting or are they in conflict with it? • How does the war impact on the characters’ lives? • Look at the contrast given between the island and Victorian England. What is the purpose of this?

10. Setting and Context • Bougainville Island -> Papua New Guinea -> part of the Solomon Islands -> in South Pacific • 1970s mining of copper began -> Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) • Conflict: islanders don’t see benefits of exploitation of resources, desire independence -> 1990s led by Francis Ona -> former BCL surveyor • Papua New Guinea -> receive military aid from Australia and private military companies -> these are the “redskins” • Blockade put in place to restrict island resources and weaken native resistance -> the “rebels” • Contrast: redskins have helicopters, uniforms, cigarettes -> symbols of organised civilisation while rebels have recycled weapons and are like wild animals ‘drunk on jungle juice’ • 1997 -> peace talks led by New Zealand result in independence • Lloyd Jones investigated these events while working as a journalist and used fact and rumour to inform his book

11. AO4 – Context • 1.4 Supported response to contexts • 6.4 Insightful exploratory response to contexts • 1.5 Details used to support response to contexts • 6.5 Insightful exploration of a range of telling detail to support response to contexts • What do we notice about Band 1? • How do you get to Band 6?

12. AO4 - Context • Not a history lesson: • ‘The mines on the island closed in the 1990s and all of the white people left except for Mr Watts.’ • Instead, embedded as part of explanation: • ‘Mr Watts is depicted as “a source of mystery” because “he was the last white man” left on the island after the mines closed, suggesting that while he is different to the natives, he is also unlike the other white people: his investment in the island is personal (Grace), not financial, though the “mystery” may imply that Matilda does not see Grace as being sufficient reason for him to stay. He seems to occupy a liminal space between the white world and that of the Bougainvilleans, belonging in neither.’

13. Sample Exam Questions • Working in groups of 4-5 people, you will be given a set of Section B questions. • Break the questions themselves down to find out what they are asking, then roughly plan responses to them. • Part (a): highlight/select key textual detail • Part (b): rough essay plan • Remember to consider how you will integrate contextual information into your responses!!

14. Swap Exam Questions • Now you will have 2 minutes to look at each of the other groups’ questions and plans. • You may add to/amend plans as you go, but be sure to put your group’s number beside any changes.

15. Start Exam Responses • Working in pairs, you will write: • The introduction to your question • Don’t forget your thesis statement • Each point in one clear statement. • Identify the evidence you will use to support your point. Remember to think about how you will integrate contextual details!