Pondichéry 2013 ES – S LV1

Pondichéry 2013 ES – S LV1
DOCUMENT A
1. How are the four characters related ?
Norm and Mira are man and wife whereas Samantha and Simp apparently used to be married since
Simp has left home. Mira and Samantha are friends.
2. From the beginning to l.12
Does Norm agree with Mira's suggestion to help Samantha ? Explain in your own words.
Norm actually strongly disagrees with Mira's suggestion. He refuses to lend her $300 because, first,
he believes Simp will never reimburse him, and second, he seems to hate Simp. He can't see why he
should help Simp since he works really hard to earn his money whereas Simp doesn't.
3. From l.9 to l.26
Contrast Mira's and Norm's views on money. Find at least two of the arguments used by each
of them.
Mira is a housewife and as such, she believes she contributes to the money her husband earns
because she makes his life easier at home. He doesn't have to care about the housework, for
instance. She also believes she is just as important as he is, concerning the family earnings. As a
result she reckons she is entitled to decide how to spend their money.
On the contrary, Norm considers the money is all his because he earns it and that his wife has
nothing to do with it. He doesn't need her at all. However he doesn't mind supporting his family
with his own money and buying her or their children everything they need or want.
4. Describe Mira's feelings at the end of the text.
At the end of the passage Mira flies into a temper / a rage. The fact that Norm refuses to give her
the money to help her friend and that he puts an end to their discussion by going to the bathroom
makes her really angry. She feels so furious actually that she is shaking all over and would like to
hit her husband with a kitchen chair.
DOCUMENT B
5. What did the narrator's mother want her to do?
The narrator's mother wants her to study maths at Cambridge University.
6. a. “I was in danger of wasting my life.” (l.13) Explain the mother's attitude about the
narrator's future. Give at least two reasons to justify your answer.
As a feminist, the narrator’s mother would like her daughter to succeed in life and to have a job. It
is important for her that her daughter should study to have a career because then, she would not end
up being a housewife like her, she would be independent. Being both a clever and beautiful young
woman, she should expect more than just a good marriage, she should aim higher.
b. Did the narrator agree with her mother? (find a sentence in the first § to justify your
answer)
“I didn't follow the logic of this but I said nothing.” (l.10) The narrator agreed with her mother
although she did not know if she could agree or not with her mother because she did not quite
understand what her mother meant at the time. She was really surprised by her mother's position.
She had not realized that, against all odds, her mother was a feminist.
7. “Then she enlisted my father.” (l.16) What does this sentence reveal about the father's
attitude concerning his wife's plans?
enlist [ɪnˈlɪst] vb
1. (Military) to enter or persuade to enter into an engagement to serve in the armed forces
2. (tr) to engage or secure (a person, his services, or his support) for a venture, cause, etc.
3. (intr; foll by in) to enter into or join an enterprise, cause, etc.
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
This sentence tends to show that the father follows his wife whatever her plans are. He may trust
her with her plans and will agree to support her in any case.
8. In your own words, explain why, according to the narrator's father, she was certain to get a
place at Cambridge University. Find at least three reasons. (40 words)
Since Cambridge University was now trying to grant male and female students equal access to their
courses, the narrator was very likely to be accepted. First she was a girl and the university would
now need some to prove they now accepted boys and girls. Second she came from a Grammar
School, which guaranteed that she was the kind of bright student that the university usually looked
for. Finally she wanted to study maths, which was a subject often chosen by boys, she would
therefore be most welcome in order to make the statistics more even.
DOCUMENTS A & B (about 100 words)
9. Compare and contrast the following female characters in terms of influence over their
present (or future) situations.
a) Mira in doc A and the narrator's mother in doc B.
In both documents we can notice that the two women are housewives and, as such, depend on their
husbands' income. Neither of them question their position. However they have a different influence
on their respective husbands. Indeed, while Mira can not convince her husband to lend her money
for her friend – and is even humiliated by him – the narrator's mother in the 2nd document manages
to have her husband's support in order to convince their daughter that she should go to Cambridge
University.
b) Mira in doc A and the narrator in doc B.
In doc A we have the feeling that Mira does not have much of a future. She will be submitted to her
husband for the rest of her life. She is a typical woman of the 50's. On the contrary, if the narrator in
doc B manages to get to Cambridge University she will probably have a career in science or
engineering or economics, which means that she will earn her own living. Thus she will not depend
on her husband and will make her own decisions. She will clearly have more influence than Mira.
The Women's Room is a novel by American feminist author Marilyn French, published in 1977.
French first appeared as a major participant in the feminist movement with the publication of The Women's
Room; it was French's debut novel. The Women's Room, while French states it is not an autobiographical work,
contains much influence from French's own life and there are several autobiographical elements within the novel. For
example, French, like the main character, Mira, was married, divorced, and then attended Harvard where she obtained
a Ph.D. in English Literature. Despite the connection of The Women's Room to the Feminist Movement, in an
interview with the New York Times in 1977, French stated, "The Women's Room" is not about the women's
movement... but about women's lives today."
The Women's Room has been described as one of the most influential novels of the modern feminist
movement. Its instant popularity brought criticism from some well-known feminists that i t was too pessimistic about
women's lives and too anti-men.
The Women's Room is set in 1950s America and follows the fortunes of Mira Ward, a conventional and
submissive young woman in a traditional marriage and her gradual feminist awakening. The novel met stark media
criticism when published but went on to be an international best seller.
Ian Russell McEwan,(born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, The Times featured him on
their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
McEwan began his career writing sparse, Gothic short stories. The Cement Garden (1978) and The Comfort of
Strangers (1981) were his first two novels, and earned him the nickname "Ian Macabre". These were followed by three
novels of some success in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1997, he published Enduring Love, which was made into a
film. He won the Man Booker Prize with Amsterdam (1998). In 2001, he published Atonement, which was made into
an Oscar-winning film. This was followed by Saturday (2005), On Chesil Beach (2007), Solar (2010), and Sweet
Tooth (2012). In 2011, he was awarded the Jerusalem Prize.
Plot summary of Sweet Tooth
The plot is set in early-1970s England. Serena Frome ("rhymes with plume"), the daughter of an Anglican bishop,
shows a talent for mathematics and is admitted to the University of Cambridge. But she struggles academically, and
graduates with a third. While at Cambridge she becomes romantically involved with Tony Canning, a professor, who
before abruptly ending the affair secures a position for Serena with MI5.