English Advanced - Module A - Textual Conversations

HSC - Module A - Textual Conversations - Practice Questions

Test yourself with 55 HSC Practice Questions

Getting ready for HSC Advanced English Paper 2?

Tackle your exam with 55 Module A: Textual Conversations practice questions!

Advanced English - Module A - Textual Conversations - Prescribed Texts

The Tempest and Hagseed
King Richard III and Looking For Richard
Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes
John Donne and Wit
Mrs Dalloway and The Hours
The Stranger and The Meursault Investigation
John Keats and Bright Star

General Questions

Question 1:

How does the textual conversation between your prescribed texts deepen your understanding of human nature and society?

Question 2:

How do shifts in tone and voice between the two texts reflect changing values and perspectives?

Question 3:

To what extent do dissonances between the texts challenge the values and perspectives of the original text?

Question 4:

To what extent does the later text offer a more modern or progressive interpretation of the ideas presented in the original?

Question 5:

Evaluate the extent to which the concerns and values of the original text are challenged or reinforced by the later text.

Question 6:

To what extent does the later text’s dissonance with the original offer a new understanding of human experience?

Question 7:

To what extent does the later text rely on resonance with the original to construct its meaning?

Question 8:

To what extent do both texts present similar or conflicting representations of the individual’s struggle against society?

Question 9:

To what extent do resonances between the texts create a sense of continuity, while dissonances reshape meaning to reflect new values and concerns?

Question 10:

To what extent does the relationship between resonance and dissonance across the texts challenge or reinforce the authority of the original text?

Stimulus Based Questions:

Question 11:

"The journey to self-realisation is often fraught with obstacles"

Using the provided stimulus, explore how the themes of identity and self-discovery are represented in both texts. How does each text present the individual's journey towards understanding themselves in relation to their societal environment?

Question 12:

"The presence of power always comes at the expense of personal freedom."

In light of the stimulus, evaluate how the use of language and imagery in both texts reinforces or challenges the central ideas about power and authority. Discuss how language shapes the characters' relationship to authority figures and structures.

Question 13:

"Revolutions are born from the discontent of the masses."

Drawing on the provided stimulus, discuss how both texts reflect changing societal values over time. How do shifts in historical context influence the way themes such as love, morality, or justice are portrayed?

Question 14:

"A woman's place is in the home, while a man governs the world outside."

Using the stimulus as a reference, examine how the portrayal of gender roles in both texts highlights or challenges societal expectations. How does the evolution of gender representation influence the meaning of the texts?

Question 15:

"The landscape mirrored the desolation within the hearts of the people."

Refer to the stimulus and compare the ways in which both texts use setting to reinforce themes of isolation, belonging, or community. How does the environment shape the characters' experiences and their interactions with others?

Question 16:

"Sometimes doing what is right means breaking the rules."

Using the stimulus as context, evaluate how both texts approach the theme of moral dilemmas. Discuss how the characters’ decisions reflect the ethical values of their time, and how these decisions impact the narrative.

Question 17:

"History is written by those who remember, not those who forget."

With the provided stimulus in mind, compare how both texts portray the relationship between the individual and collective memory. How do the texts engage with personal or cultural history, and in what ways do they challenge or affirm these histories?

Question 18:

"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth."

Using the stimulus, examine how both texts explore the tension between individuality and societal conformity. To what extent do the characters resist or submit to social expectations, and how does this shape their development?

Question 19:

"The struggle within is often harder than the battle without."

Referencing the provided stimulus, compare how both texts portray the internal struggles of the protagonists. How do these personal battles reflect larger themes within the narrative?

Question 20:

"The past is never truly gone; it lives within us, shaping our present."

Based on the stimulus, analyse how both texts explore the influence of past experiences on the characters' present actions. How do these memories inform their decisions and identities?

Text Specific Questions:

Question 21: The Tempest and Hagseed

To what extent does Felix’s manipulation of the play The Tempest in Hagseed resonate with Prospero’s control of magic and nature? How does the dissonance between their methods of achieving justice and closure impact the audience's understanding of power?

Question 22: The Tempest and Hagseed

Compare how the theme of betrayal resonates between the characters of Antonio in The Tempest and Tony in Hagseed. How do these betrayals lead to different outcomes for each character, and what dissonances arise from their respective paths of revenge?

Question 23: The Tempest and Hagseed

How does Felix’s relationship with the inmates in Hagseed resonate with the interactions between Prospero and the other characters on the island? Explore how these relationships uncover both resonance and dissonance in the protagonists’ emotional journeys.

Question 24: The Tempest and Hagseed

Evaluate how the resonances and dissonances between Prospero’s eventual release of his anger and Felix’s quest for justice shape their transformations. In what ways do the texts comment on the emotional cost of revenge and the possibility of redemption?

Question 25: The Tempest and Hagseed

To what extent do The Tempest and Hagseed challenge or reinforce traditional gender roles? Compare how the characters of Miranda and Anne-Maria reflect or subvert gender expectations in their respective texts. How do the resonances and dissonances between their roles reveal the evolving portrayal of women within different social contexts?

Question 26: King Richard III and Looking For Richard

To what extent does Looking for Richard challenge or reinforce Shakespeare’s portrayal of power and manipulation in King Richard III? Discuss how Pacino’s documentary approach creates both resonances and dissonances in the audience’s perception of Richard’s character and ambition.

Question 27: King Richard III and Looking For Richard

"Conscience is but a word that cowards use."

How do King Richard III and Looking for Richard explore the role of morality and conscience in leadership? To what extent do the resonances and dissonances between Shakespeare’s portrayal of Richard and Pacino’s interpretation reflect changing attitudes toward political power?

Question 28: King Richard III and Looking For Richard

Evaluate how King Richard III and Looking for Richard present the tension between appearance and reality. How do Shakespeare’s use of dramatic techniques and Pacino’s use of filmic conventions shape the audience’s understanding of deception and self-fashioning?

Question 29: King Richard III and Looking For Richard

How do King Richard III and Looking for Richard explore the role of performance in shaping historical and personal identity? Consider the ways in which Shakespeare constructs Richard as a theatrical villain and how Pacino’s meta-theatrical techniques create dissonance in how Richard is understood.

Question 30: King Richard III and Looking For Richard

"What do we owe to the past?"

Compare how King Richard III and Looking for Richard engage with the relevance of Shakespeare’s text across different contexts. How do the resonances and dissonances between the two works reflect shifting perspectives on history, power, and storytelling?

Question 31: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes

To what extent do Plath and Hughes engage in a textual conversation about power and control in personal relationships? Explore how their poetic techniques create both resonances and dissonances in the portrayal of dominance, vulnerability, and agency.

Question 32: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes

Evaluate how Plath and Hughes use imagery of nature to explore themes of identity and emotional turmoil. In what ways do their poetic representations resonate with or challenge each other’s perspectives on selfhood and the natural world?

Question 33: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes

"Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance."

How do the works of Plath and Hughes reflect and respond to each other through their use of personal and confessional elements? Discuss how their poetic voices create tensions in their perspectives on love, loss, and creativity.

Question 34: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes

Compare how Plath and Hughes use poetic form and structure to shape meaning in their explorations of suffering and transformation. To what extent do their choices in tone, language, and style reflect resonances and dissonances in their representations of emotional and psychological experiences?

Question 35: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes

In what ways do Plath’s and Hughes’ portrayals of death and rebirth act as a textual conversation? Discuss how their works engage with themes of destruction, renewal, and artistic legacy, considering how context influences their differing approaches.

Question 36: John Donne and Wit

To what extent do Donne’s poetry and Edson’s W;t explore the tension between intellectualism and human emotion? Discuss how their treatment of knowledge, wit, and personal vulnerability creates both resonances and dissonances.

Question 37: John Donne and Wit

Evaluate how Donne and Edson use metaphysical conceits and dramatic techniques to explore the nature of mortality. In what ways do their different textual forms shape the audience’s understanding of death and salvation?

Question 38: John Donne and Wit

"Death be not proud."

How does Edson’s W;t engage in a textual conversation with Donne’s Holy Sonnets to present shifting perspectives on death, faith, and redemption? Discuss how the resonances and dissonances between the texts reflect their differing contexts.

Question 39: John Donne and Wit

Compare how Donne and Edson use paradox and irony to challenge conventional understandings of life and the afterlife. How do their representations of faith and existential struggle reflect both continuity and contrast?

Question 40: John Donne and Wit

In what ways do Donne’s poetry and W;t explore the intersection of the physical and the spiritual? Discuss how the treatment of the body, illness, and the soul reveals both resonances and dissonances between the texts.

Question 41: Mrs Dalloway and The Hours

To what extent do Mrs Dalloway and The Hours explore the tension between societal expectations and individual identity? Discuss how Woolf and Cunningham use narrative structure and perspective to reveal both resonances and dissonances in their portrayals of selfhood.

Question 42: Mrs Dalloway and The Hours

Evaluate how Woolf and Cunningham represent time and memory as shaping forces in the lives of their protagonists. How do the resonances and dissonances between their narrative styles and structures enhance the exploration of psychological depth?

Question 43: Mrs Dalloway and The Hours

"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."

How do Mrs Dalloway and The Hours engage in a textual conversation about gender, creativity, and autonomy? Discuss how the resonances and dissonances between the texts reflect evolving feminist perspectives.

Question 44: Mrs Dalloway and The Hours

Compare how Mrs Dalloway and The Hours portray the experience of mental illness and its impact on personal relationships. In what ways do the resonances and dissonances between Septimus Smith and Richard Brown deepen the reader’s understanding of trauma, isolation, and existential crisis?

Question 45: Mrs Dalloway and The Hours

In what ways do Mrs Dalloway and The Hours explore the notion of legacy and the influence of the past? Discuss how the intertextual relationship between the texts shapes meaning through their representations of literature, memory, and mortality.

Question 46: The Stranger and Meursault Investigation

To what extent does The Meursault Investigation challenge and reframe the existential themes of The Stranger? Discuss how Daoud’s novel creates both resonances and dissonances with Camus’ portrayal of absurdism, morality, and indifference.

Question 47: The Stranger and Meursault Investigation

Evaluate how Camus and Daoud use narrative voice and perspective to explore the construction of truth and justice. In what ways do the resonances and dissonances between Meursault’s and Harun’s storytelling reflect their differing cultural and philosophical contexts?

Question 48: The Stranger and Meursault Investigation

"I laid my mother to rest today, or maybe yesterday, I don’t know."

How do The Stranger and The Meursault Investigation engage in a textual conversation about memory, colonialism, and historical erasure? Discuss how the portrayal of Meursault’s crime and Harun’s response create tensions between the two texts.

Question 49: The Stranger and Meursault Investigation

Compare how Camus and Daoud explore the concept of alienation through their protagonists. How do the resonances and dissonances between Meursault and Harun’s experiences reflect shifting perspectives on identity, belonging, and exile?

Question 50: The Stranger and Meursault Investigation

In what ways do The Stranger and The Meursault Investigation critique the moral and political structures of their respective societies? Discuss how the intertextual relationship between the two texts challenges or reinforces philosophical notions of justice, guilt, and meaning.

Question 51: John Keats and Bright Star

To what extent does Bright Star reimagine Keats’ poetry to explore the tension between love and mortality? Discuss how the resonances and dissonances between Campion’s visual storytelling and Keats’ poetic imagery enhance the audience’s understanding of passion and impermanence.

Question 52: John Keats and Bright Star

Evaluate how Keats and Campion explore the concept of artistic devotion and its impact on personal relationships. In what ways do the resonances and dissonances between Keats’ poetic expression and the film’s portrayal of his life shape our understanding of creativity and sacrifice?

Question 53: John Keats and Bright Star

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever." How does Bright Star engage in a textual conversation with Keats’ poetry to examine the transformative power of beauty and nature? Discuss how Campion’s cinematic techniques create both resonances and dissonances with Keats’ Romantic ideals.

Question 54: John Keats and Bright Star

Compare how Keats and Campion depict the experience of suffering and emotional intensity. How do their respective forms—poetry and film—shape meaning differently, and in what ways do they resonate or diverge in their portrayal of longing, illness, and fate?

Question 55: John Keats and Bright Star

In what ways do Keats’ poetry and Bright Star explore the relationship between time and love? Discuss how their representations of fleeting romance and enduring artistic legacy create both continuity and contrast between the texts.