8 literary commentaries on various WW1 literature
While reading each novel make notes on your ideas and responses and when finished
reading use these notes to inspire you to phrase a thesis statement for you to discuss in
short critical 300-word commentary.
Mind: each commentary must be a discussion of a single thesis statement!
SET 9A: World War One in Fiction A
1. Ernest Hemingway. (1929). A Farewell to Arms.
2. Jennifer Johnston. (1974). How many Miles to Babylon.
3. David Malouf. (1982). Fly Away Peter.
4. Sebastian Barry. (2011). On Canaans Side.
SET 9B: World War One in Fiction B
1. Dalton Trumbo. (1939). Johnny Got his Gun.
2. Susan Hill. (1971). Strange Meeting.
3. Pat Barker. (1991). Regeneration.
4. Sebastian Faulks. (1993). Birdsong.
Assessment:
ability to write eight 300-word commentaries on the novels read; understanding of the novels in question and the ability to discuss these texts in their literary context as well as their historical and socio-cultural context;
the ability and practice to base argumentation on solid textual evidence. the ability to use literary concepts and devices in the discussion of literary texts; the ability to reconcile meaning and critical perspectives in the discussion of a literary text
