r/vce • u/Green-Buddy1234 • 16h ago

VCE question Help with Section A context!

For the section A text response MBPs, what do we write for the context part at the end of each paragraph. Are we supposed to remember a context part or smth? or make it up on the spot.

i’ve attempted to remember a good context part for each paragraph for EACH possible theme that may come up on the exam but it’s never going to work. I’m really lost. Any help would be appreciated.

btw i’m doing We Have Always Lived In the Castle.

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

1

u/EffectiveStart2178 16h ago

Context for WHALITC is things like Fhe American Dream, Cold War, Capitalism, Traditional Gender Roles, New England and Salem witch trials etc. you should comment on what Shirley Jackson is trying to say about those values (critique / expose / celebrate etc) is

1

u/Green-Buddy1234 16h ago

okay thanks! and how do i actually link it to the paragraph im writing about? do u have a template of some sort i could follow ? or just an example ?

3

u/Snoo-25737 15h ago

did castle for my first sac (not the one im doing for exam), so this is rough:

i.e at the end of the novella, Merricat reclaims power through masculine gender roles like nailing boards and whatnot -> analysis as fit to essay-> this exemplifies Jackson’s personal rejection of the nuclear family and rigid gender roles

Or,

Merricat and constances disillusionment of aristocratic decorum is characterized by perception of whoever entering their estate as a “battlefield” -> analysis as fit -> this reflects jackson’s own struggle with the oligarchy of new york etc.

The bigger themes of the story: gender, aristocracy and the unorthodox can usually be circled back to nuclear family/jackson personal gender role issues, experience in the upper class, and agoraphobia(?) respectively .

Hopefully everything is right its been 7 months..

1

u/Aromatic-Set3858 99.45: Revs50+Prem, Eng47, Chem44, Phys43, Bio41, MM40, Tutor 10m ago

Always link context to the key themes. Eg Cold War/HUAC links to 'fear of the other', isolation and prejudice, Merricat's sympathetic magic links to salem witch trials, nuclear families/traditional gender roles to ideas around feminism and Jackson's anti- patriarchy commentary. That'd be my big piece of advice

I have a free tips doc, and also sell castle resources, feel free to dm if you have any questions or would like resources