Unpacking the Questions

May 2001
a) Compare uses and/or abuses of power as a theme in novels or short stories you have read. Say what this theme and its presentation contribute to each work you discuss.

paraphrase: This question seems to be asking the reader to look back into the novels for times they have seen a character or group within the novel take over others or another group through power. The question wants the reader to recognize the different ways power are used within different novels to bring across a certain theme or aspect of life.

element of fiction: Theme

Two books I would use: The Bluest Eye, and As I Lay Dying

May 2002
a) In novels and short stories, characters tend to have both "an inner life" and a "public life." Both of these may be part of the fiction, if not equally so in every work. Choose examples from your reading to discuss how and how effectively these two aspects of human existence are presented.

paraphrase: This question is asking the reader to look into the characters of the novels closely and examine their lives. It wants the reader to see exactly how the outside, public and physical lives of the characters are presented as contrasted with their minds, thinking and views/opinions.

element of fiction: Characterization

Two books I would use: Metamorphosis and The Bluest Eye