CONFLICTING PERSPECTIVES

Conflicting perspectives arise due to subjective human experiences, resulting in alternative

perceptions of situations, events and personalities. In Ted Hughes anthology of Birthday

Letters, poetry is utilised as an emotive medium to express the ephemeral nature of

perspectives by reflecting on his turbulent relationship with Sylvia Plath concurrently

revealing how composers can manipulate the preconceived ideas of responders to protect

public identity. Ted Hughes utilises the poetic form and his reflection on his turbulent

relationship with Sylvia Plath as a means to express the X nature of conflicting perspectives,

ultimately revealing how composers can manipulate the preconceived ideas of responders to

protect their public identity. (Hughes poem Full BrightFulbright Scholars discusses how

memories are subjective, and may change with time, whilst Red is positioned to question

the conflict regarding Plaths personality.) Alternatively, both Sidney Lumets 12 Angry Men

and Sarah Curchwells essay Secret and Lies explore how perspectives are coloured by

interpretation and personal biases. These varying perspectives are necessary for audiences to

better discern the truth from through an understanding of why conflicting perspectives occur.

The interplay between memory and hindsight rarely tessellate with the truth, as

memories are inherently dependant on subjective human experience. This subjectivity is seen

through the sense of uncertainty which permeates Full BrightFulbright Scholars, with the

rhetorical question in where was it, in the strand? and repetition of the speculative tone in

maybe and or revealing the inner conflict between real events and memory. The older

nostalgic Hughes presents an irony in that he clearly appears to remember the negative

aspects of Plath at that time, with the layering effect and negative connotation in her

exaggerated American grin for the cameras, the judges, the strangers reinforcing her as

superficialher superficiality/her public faade. Further, the allusion to an actress famed for

her role as the femme fatale, her in Veronica Lake bang is an innuendo about her multiple

masks disguising her true personality. This reveals the value of hindsight, as the additional

information of Plath allows a better understanding of a past situation. Similarly, in The Shot,

Hughes argues through an extended metaphor that the vague mist of her superficiality

prevented him from detecting her true intent. The He utilises the recurring visual imagery of

the gun is to suggest that the truth had always existed, and yet Hughes commenting that

the truth was always there, yet his emotions influenced his perceptions, as he metaphorically

did not even know [he] had been hit. This These ideas reveals that memories are

Comment [MM1]: ?Areyousureyouwanttosayperspectivesareephemeral?Youdoknowthatmeanstemporary,orshortlivedright?

Comment [MM2]: OrperhapsjustrevealingtheroleofpersonalagendainmanipulatingpublicperceptionComment [MM3]: Toolong,toowordy,toomanyideasintheonesentence.Also,poetryisthetextualform,notthemediumtheyrefertointherubricifyourereferringtomediuminanothersenseoftheword,findanotherwaytoexpressitComment [MM4]: Er,Iwouldntreallyintroducetheseintheintroductionpreferablyleaveuntilthebody

Comment [MM5]: Thisisnice!Comment [MM6]: Avoidtoomuchcertaintyclearlyalsoyoujustsaidsenseofuncertainty,andyetheclearlyremembersComment [MM7]: NeedtoexplainComment [MM8]: Hmm,perhaps,butprobablynotthemosteffectiveexplanationofthisallusion/technique.VeronicaLakewasknownforherroleasthefemmefatalearolewherebasicallythewomanseducesthemantohisdownfall.Yes,itkindofisaninnuendotothefactthatshe,too,hasapersonalagenda,butthepointofthatinnuendoistosuggestthatPlathisultimatelytoblame,i.e.castherinanegativelightasopposedtohimself,reversingpreconceivedideasthatitwasactuallyhisfaultasobviouslythefemmefataleisseenasbeingatfaultforleadingthemalecharactertohisdownfall.Comment [MM9]: Information?Thetermseemstooobjectivehowcanyoubesurethisisinformationandnotapurposefulmisportrayal?Also,wouldyouregardhindsightasavalueorafallibility?ThequestionhereisthequestionofCP,itsnatureandhowtheyarisevalueofhindsightisultimatelyirrelevantunlessyoucanlinkitbacktoCP(whenIsaidfallibility,fallibilityinthesensethatitdistortsthetruememoryhedidnot,atthetime,noticeherexaggeratedgrinorhernumerousflaws.Yet,inhindsight,heis.Isthisreallyavaluewhenwearelookingintermsofthetruth?(yourtopicsentence)

subjectivethe subjectivity of nature, and that hindsight can be a more objective tool which can

be used to reveal the truth.

Conflicting perspectives arise from the conflict of personal agenda, as composers

attempt to manipulate responders attitudes. This is conveyed in Hughes poem, Red,

where Conflicting perspectives often occur when individuals contend with each other in order

to persuade responders on their correct views, as occurs in Red. Hughes he personifies

Plaths rage and passion through the extended metaphor of Red,, with the The alliterative

tone in you revelled in red suggesting suggests that Plaths life was dominated by images

of blood. This violent imagery and recurring motif of the blood, as seen in the carpet of

blood patterned with darkenings and congealments reveals Plaths victimisation of Hughes,

through the violent imagery how Plath victimized Hughes. When considering this in context

of her life being a throbbing cell. Aztec alter-temple, the visual imagery alludes to a blood

sacrifice to the gods, symbolically revealing how Plath idolised her father, to the point of

obsession, and ultimately how in a pit of red, you hid. However, when Hughes

metaphorically states in a singular line only the bookshelves escaped into whiteness,

Hughes insinuates that Plath saw death, as symbolised by the colour white, as a solace from

life everything you painted, you painted white. Thus, Hughes attempts to challenge false

perceptions of Plaths personality as conveyed through her poetry. states that responders

seem to have a false perception of Plaths personality through her poetry. This is similarly

seen in Your Paris where the conflicting perspective within Plaths character is elucidated

through the use of personal pronouns which accentuate the contrast between the extended

metaphor of Your Paris and My Paris. Through this, Hughes suggests that responders

sympathetic interpretations of Plaths Paris, as a misinterpretation of her true private life,

are skewed. By extension responders interpretations of Plaths Paris are seen as incorrect,

as it differs from her true private life. This reveals that composers can use emotive

techniques to mislead audiences. When Hughes informs responders that Plath has more than

one side, he is forcing responders to ask themselves if they know the real Plath.

Contrastingly, interpretations of texts are often found to be conflictingconflict due

to responders presumptions regarding events. In the scholarly essay Secrets and Lies,

Churchwell adopts a feminist viewpoint to critique Hughes perspective regarding Plaths

suicide when she states I dont believe in this kind of determinism. I dont believe she was

doomed to die. I dont believe that for one minute. The repetition of the I dont

Comment [MM10]: Ihighlydisagree,anddonotthinkyoushouldarguethis.Refertotheabovecomment.Comment [MM11]: Arguably,thetruthisthetruthofthesituation,nottherealityofthesituationasitisin50years.Youwilleitherneedtodefineyourversionofthetruth(thetruthasthememoryitself,ofhimlookingatPlath,orthetruthasinthetruenatureofaperson,posthavingexperienceswiththem).Isthetruththatatthetime,Ipunishedthedogforbitingthecatatthetime(fact),oristhetruththatIwaswrong?(opinion/matter).Also,youhavesuggestedinyourintroductionthatpersonalagendaandmanipulationaffectsperspectives.YetyouappeartorandomlyargueherethatdespitetheVeronicaallusionanddespitetheexaggeratedAmericangrin(cleartechniquesusedtocastPlathinanegativelight),thisisinfactrevealingthetruth.Isittheactualtruth,orwhatHughesatleastwantsustobelieveasthetruth?

Comment [MM12]: HowisthisrelevanttoanythingatallinrelationtoCP?Greatanalysisofthelineitself,butIfailtoseeitsrelevance.Comment [MM13]: Needtoexplainaquoteornameatechnique/effect.Otherwiserephrasewithoutusingthequote

Comment [MM14]: Ilikethefirstsentence,butImnotsosureaboutyourexplanationofthecomposerspurpose.Howdoesthefactthatshesawpoetryasasolacefromlifereflectafalsepersonality?Comment [MM15]: States?StatingisIhaveabookadirectstatement.Comment [MM16]: ???Within?DoyoumeanthemultipleconflictingperspectivesofPlathscharacter,orPlathsownconflictingnatures?Comment [MM17]: Youneedtotryandbemoresubtle,incorrectisfartooconfident/harshaterm

Comment [MM18]: Firstly,thisistoosimplistic.Secondly,Iamconfusedbyyourargument.AreyousympathisingwithPlathssituationorHughes?ItappearsherethatyouaresympathisingwithPlath,andyetwhenyoumentionhervictimisationofHughes+saythatHughesstatesrespondershaveafalseperceptionofherpersonality(withoutactuallyexplicitlycriticisingthis),youappeartosympathisewithHughes.Youshouldtakeonesideortheother.

emphasises her strong belief that Hughes caused Plaths suicide, thus opposing Hughes

implicit accusation ss view in Fulbright Scholars and Red regarding his accusatory tone.

Churchwell further disagrees that Hughes was devoid of blame and a positive effect on Plath.

Through the use of intense emotive language and hyperbole she presents her view that

Hughes was a monster who forced his wife into a life of domestic drudgery, with the

bestial imagery of monster further emphasising her distaste of Hughes. Thus, when

Churchwell presents her feminist view that Plath became a martyr, she is disagreeing with

Hughes belief that her trajectory perfect, as in The shot. Thus, Churchwell utilises

persuasive language and the essay structure as a seemingly intellectual and unbiased form to

enhance a tone of authority and position responders to agree with Churchwellher. This is a

nicely written paragraph, but much too short. Further, quite a bit of it is simply

stating/discussing her view. To move with certainty into the B6 range, you need to actually

analyse it in relation to the nature of conflicting perspectives what does whatever the

composer say implicitly show? (Her manipulation, her personal agenda, her personal bias)

you need to do more than state her view, and actually position yourself as an objective third

party, analysing her influences and so on. She is clearly strongly biased against Hughes, and

you need to say this what you basically say is that she is disgusted with Hughes, yes, but

this reveals her personal bias. She does not attempt to view both sides of the situation. In fact,

did she even know either of them personally? (Uncertain) Either way, she is merely another

biased and speculative third party somewhat ironic.

Similarly to Churchwell, Sidney Lumets 12 Angry Men discusses how stigmas and

preconceived ideas can result in a misappropriation of the truth. Juror 4s stigma is seen as he

generalises and externalises his hate of the lower socioeconomic class, stating that children

of slum backgrounds are potential menaces with a close-up of his forceful exterior revealing

the strength of his belief. However, the deadpan silence which follows the shrill non-diegetic

music of Juror 4s statement is the utility of the film medium to break the fourth wall and

forces audiences to consider the error of this, as films allow audiences to understand both

perspectives. Hughes similarly identifies his own bias with the juxtaposition of Plaths

aestheticized city with the admission that my perspectives were veiled ironically presented

to inform audiences of Hughes truths despite utilising a medium where emotive language is

paramount. Thus, when a low angle shot accompanies Juror 11s forceful tone when he uses

juxtaposes both inclusive and exclusive language to say assert that were right and hes

wrong, the audience understands that it is impossible for two parties with opposing

Comment [MM19]: Youjumptoofastintoanalysis,youneedtoeasethemarkerin.Whatisthetextevenabout?(ExplaininrelationtoCP)

Comment [MM20]: Thisphrasingdoesntmakesense.Comment [MM21]: How???Thisistoovagueandgeneral

Comment [MM22]: Needtomentionpoem.Also,thelinktoHughesseemsforced,andsomewhatunnecessary,particularlyasyouarelowonwordsintherelated.

ideologies to come to a mutual understanding. Both Hughes and Lumet comment on the

value of audiences understanding that their own stigma may result in them having differing

perceptions to others, with the value of conflicting perspectives being able to ascertain the

stigmas of oneself and others, and subsequently make an objective or less subjective

opinion. Much too little on this text. Need more effective and sophisticated filmic

devices. You need to talk more about the text as a whole. The marker will read this and

be like Great, so this person has watched two scenes, knows nothing about the texts or

the actual meaning behind them show them more knowledge and critical analysis.

Module C is very much about explanation and critical analysis.

These conflicting perspectives between Hughes and Churchwell arise as a result of

the difference in representations and mediations which consistently interfere with the reality

of direct, private, inner access to reality in Hughes relationship to Plath, with Lumet further

attributing this to personal biases and stigmas This representation of a subjective event to

reveal a more serious issue regarding Plaths suicide and Juror 4s bias are the composers

informing responders to critically evaluate all information, and attempt to identity and

disregard their own stigmas when considering potentially biased information.

Comment [MM23]: Impossibleistoostrongafterall,theyagreeattheend.

Comment [MM24]: Definitelytoolongalinkshouldbeeffective,perhaps2030words.

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Comment [MM25]: Okaybutyouressayshouldbeonthegeneralnatureofconflictingperspectives,justlikeyourbelongingessayshouldbeonthegeneralnatureofbelongingAcceptancenurturesasenseofidentityvs.H&Chighlightdifferentideasofacceptancewithintheirtexts(somethingtextspecific)

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Comment [MM26]: Wouldntyousayallofthemhavepersonalbias?

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Comment [MM27]: Whatisthemoreseriousissue?Shouldyoureallybealmostsuggestingthatanythingismoreseriousthansuicide?

Comment [MM28]: Conclusionisfartoolongandineffective.Also,somewhatoddlyunsophisticatedattimes.Aloadofoddgrammaticalerrors.Yetthewholethingneedstobewrittenagainratherthanrewritingwhatyouhavehere.

GENERALCONCERNSOVERALLFEEDBACKIhavemajorconcernsaboutthisessay.Itdemonstratesalackofunderstandingaboutthetexts,andmoresignificantly,a lackofunderstandingabout themodule itself.Content isvague,andideas are not really sophisticated. Sometimes you give the odd line which appears to be anexcellent idea,but it is soonoverlookedbyconflictingor confusinganalysesand conclusions.Further,theproportionyoudedicatetoeachtext500toHughes,200toChurchwell,200toLumetminus the unnecessary link to Hughes is skewed and needs to be readdressed. Theessayinitscurrentstagewouldbealowmidband5atmost.Theonlythingstillholdingyouupis relatively decent techniques/analysis and the condensed nature of analysis that is,techniques,explanationandanalysisareappropriatelyinproportion,andyouactuallytrytodotechniqueexplanationoftechniqueanalysis.Toclarify,Iamreferringheretotextspecificanalysise.g.emotive languagedistaste,ratherthanexplanation/analysisof ideasinrelationtoconflictingperspectives,whichispoor.CONFLICTINGPERSPECTIVESANDTHERUBRICYouneedtotakeanotherlookattherubric.Ideasofrepresentationarecritical,andyetyouveonlyreallynoticeablynotinagoodwaysimplytackedonthetermtoyourconclusion,anddont really address it in the body or the introduction. Themodule is ultimately about howdifferent factors affect the representation of an event, situation or personality, these factorsbeingideasofyourownchoicesuchaspersonalagenda,prejudiceandsoon.Ultimatelyitistheeffectofthoseideasininfluencingtherepresentationofanevent,situationorpersonality,which changes the meaning. That is, if you are biased, perhaps you will purposefullymisrepresent a situation to cast yourself in a positive light, hence modifying the actualmeaning.Alotoftheissueswithyouressayregardingthetextsthemselves,Ivealreadyaddressedinthecommentsintheeditingsection.YouneedtobetalkingaboutthetextasawholeinaddressingCP,andthecomposerspurpose.Also,notethat12AngryMenisavery,verycommontext.Youwill be placed against many others analysing the text. If you do it poorly, it will stand out.Currently,thereisnotenoughanalysisofthetextasawholeitself,andreallyonlyconsiderationoftwoveryobviousscenesthatdontreallyshedlightonanything.ToachieveamidhighB6essay,youneedtoshedsomeextralightonthemajorconceptbelonging,CP,etc.thatotherpeoplemayoverlookornotconsider.IthinkperhapsthebestwaytoshowyouwhatImeaninregardstoconflictingperspectivesandhowyoushouldbewritingistoshowyouoneofmyownpreparedparagraphs:Composersofatextpresentattitudeswhichareshapedbytheirunderlyingpersonalagendas.TedHughesBirthdayLetters,asacollectionofpoemswhichpiecetogetherhisrelationshipwithSylviaPlath,workstochallengethemediasvilificationofhim.InTheMinotaur,HughesportraysPlathasthe aggressor in their relationship by castinghimself into the role of the victim. This is conveyedthrough the deliberate use of familial connotations whilst he describes Plaths smashing of hismothersheirloomsideboard,toevoketheresponderssympathyforhisplight.Thesenseof loss,which is furthered in the metaphor mapped with the scars of my whole life, illustrates thesignificantly damaging impact Plath hasmade on his past. In the violent imagery andmythical

Comment [MM1]: Adescriptionofthetextasrelatedtoconflictingperspectivesdemonstrateshisdeliberateattempttomanipulateresponders.Comment [MM2]: Representingherpersonalityassomethingwhichitisnot(implied)Comment [MM3]: ManipulationComment [MM4]: Purposeofthemanipulation

allusionofThebloodyendoftheskein,Hughescreatesasenseofhisabandonmentandsufferingattheendoftheirrelationship.Throughoutthepoem,destructiveimagesareassociatedwithPlath,inorderto give the responder his own understanding of the situation and her personality. In particular, in theemphatic use of second person in the final stanza Left yourmotherBrought you your risenfatheryourowncorpseHughescreatesanaccusatorytonetoshifttheblametoPlathfortheundoingandmetaphoricaldeathofbothherselfandtheirrelationship.

SuchmanipulationoftextualformconveysHughescolouredperspectiveasheattemptstoreversepreviouslybiasedattitudestowardsPlath,highlightingtheway inwhichpersonalagendashapesacomposersrepresentation.^Concise,sophisticated.Notanalysingfor thepurposeofanalysing,butdeliberatelyselectinganalysisthatarerelevanttoCP,andwillsupportmyideas.ClearunderstandingthatHskewshisrepresentationofeventsandsituationsforhisownpersonalbenefit,tocasthimselfinabetterlight,toshifttheblametoPlath,tocreatesympathy,etc.Asyoucansee,clearlyIamarguingagainstHughesthathisdeliberatemanipulationofideasiswhatcreatesconflictingperspectives.Idonotnecessarilyfeelthatway,butitisthewayIhavechosentoargue. It isalso theeasierpath toarguewhenwritingonHughes texts.Peoplewillagree/disagreeonwhowasat fault,PlathorHughes,butnevertheless it isquiteobvious thatwhateverHugheshaswrittenisanattempttoreversepublicperceptionsofhim.Asanaddednote,Iamnotconvincedbyyourhindsightargument.Youvesaidthatmemoryisinherentlyasubjectiveexperienceokay,butthenhowcanyouarguethathindsightwillallowmemorytobecomemoreobjective?Also,ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutthemodule,orwhatIvesaiddoesnotreallyclarifyforyoucertainaspectsdofeelfreetoemailmeandaskmespecificallyanythingatall.CONCLUSIONANDWORDALLOCATIONYourconclusionisvagueandineffective.Nevertheless,thatisanissuewiththeunderstandingofthemodule.Inregardstolength,Irecommendcuttingdown.Realistically,itshighlyunlikelythat intheexamyouwillhavetimetowritea proper/lengthyconclusion,andultimately,themarkers dont care as long as it purely exists and isnt just simply All these texts show theinfluenceofrepresentationonmeaningalthoughthatisbetterthannothing.Theyunderstandthat its exam conditions and youre rushed for time, so its not like a handin essay whereeverything has to be perfect a couple of lapses in sophistication are okay, and a shortconclusion is absolutely fine aswell as long as itswell thought out. You dont even have tomentionthetextsmentioningthecomposersisinfactbetter,astheessayshouldbefocusedon the composers purpose as opposed to the specific text. Personally I had a one sentenceconclusion for every section/module in trials and the HSC exam, despite whatever I hadpreparedthebestwaytogoaboutitisjustpreparingagreatoneortwolinerwiththeoptionofcuttingittoaonelinerifnecessary.Youcanputanynicephrasesintheintrotoleadthemoffwithagoodimpression,orthroughoutyourbody,butjustaneffectiveonelinerattheendwilldo.Ideally,yourallocationshouldlooksomethinglike:

Intro:~100120words

Comment [MM5]: Impliedthatthisisdeliberate

Comment [MM6]: Anotherkeyideaoftherubric

Comment [MM7]: General,conciseexpressionofthekeyidea

Text1:~250words Text2:~200words Text1:~250words Text2:~200words Conclusion:~2030,40wordsmax

Or,forthreetexts:

Intro:~100120words Text1:350400words Text2:300wordsminimum Text3:250wordsminimum Conclusion:~2030,40wordsmax

Your current distribution definitely needs to be addressed. The shortage in R1 and R2 isextremelyobviousafterreading500wordsonHughes.In terms of writing a more sophisticated conclusion, you need to consider the distinctdifferences between an introduction and conclusion. The best way is to think about it as ascientificreportorarticle

Intro:whatyouwillexamine Body:theexamination Conclusion:yourfindings.

The bestway perhaps towrite the conclusion is to think about the bigger picture. Contrastbetweentheintroductionandconclusion:

E.g.Introduction:Thesetextsexploreconflictingportrayalsofcharacterandtheroleofpersonalagendainthemanipulationoftexts.

E.g. Conclusion: The combination of these texts give not only show readers thedeliberate acts of manipulation composers utilise in the construction of events andsituations,butalsothelackofanobjectivetruthandultimately,thepervadingnatureofconflictingperspectives

Or more simply Through deliberate acts of manipulation and inherently biasedperspectives, the combinationof these textsultimately shows thepervadingnatureofconflictingperspectiveswithinhumanity

Itneedstobeonthenatureofconflictingperspectives,ratherthansometextspecificidea.

2. Edited2. Overall feedback and general concerns