A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh

1. A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh Final Exam Revision Session

2. Exam Timings! The entire exam is TWO hours long. Spend ONE hour on Section A and Spend ONE hour on Section B

3. Which Text? There will be more than one text to choose from in the exam paper: We studied A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh. For Section B, answer the question on A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh. You will only answer one question from section B

4. At the beginning of the question, you will be given an extract from the novel.

5. The question will be on a certain theme or character. Use these bullet points to help you structure you answer.

6. Use the question to form the first sentence of your response. Using the same language, this question become this starting sentence. “Waugh presents traditional English life in A Handful of Dust and this is portrayed in the given extract.”

7. Analyse the language / narrative techniques that Waugh has used in the given extract. Make sure your ideas are relevant to the question. Aim for about 3 to 4 points / paragraphs for this bullet point.

8. Example Paragraph for bullet point 1! Brenda shows the opposite view to Tony. If Tony represents a person who is desperately hanging onto Britain’s glorious past, Brenda represents the reality of society in post-war Britain. Waugh presents Brenda to be young, excited about life and bored of Tony. She still tries to appease Tony however, she states: ‘Well it sometimes seems to me rather pointless keeping up a house this size if we don’t now and then ask someone to stay in it.’ Brenda uses hedging, mitigated language and modal verbs to put across her negative views of Tony’s opinion in a way that won’t offend her husband. The negative adjectives clearly show how tiresome she has become of Tony’s values. Waugh presents to the reader his view that the younger generations have forgotten and grown tired of the great traditional values of Englishness.

9. Aim to write 3-4 paragraphs on this. Political Personal CONTEXT Social Religious Reactions Can you touch on each of these five areas of context in your answer? Make sure your ideas about the context of the novel are relevant to the question!

10. Example Paragraph for bullet point 2! Tony greatly values ‘Englishness’. He is very upstanding for the values of being British, how brilliant Britain is and how English life is exemplary to other countries as the correct way to live. After the first world war the fact that Britain was victorious meant that the values of being British were of a very high order. People wanted to desperately cling onto what was great about Britain even though they were going through some extremely hard times: many people died during the war; food rationing made feeding families very difficult; the whole structure of society was changing with women taking on a more dominant role. The up keep of British architecture is a big part of holding onto the past.

11. Remember There may be more than one passage to make links with. Make sure you links are relevant to the question! Aim to write 3 – 4 paragraphs on this bullet point.

12. Example Paragraph for bullet point 3! The ideas presented here by Waugh about the importance of maintaining good British values through great British architecture are also presented in passage A. Lord Conway of Allington takes the same view point as Tony in that it is of ‘greatest importance’ to Britain that British monuments are kept in good condition. He recognises that many houses are now in a ‘perilous condition’; this can be related to the physical state of Hetton and, additionally, Waugh links this with the perilous condition of the moral values of society at this time.

13. Assessment Criteria Checklist! Hit all of the following points to a high level and you will have cracked the mark scheme! • Comment on relevant concepts of literary study. • Use appropriate terminology. • Show understanding of how form structure and language has been used to create meaning. • Explore the relationships between texts. • Comment on the context. • Write your response accurately.

14. Key Quotations to remember • ‘I don’t keep up this house to be a hostel for a lot of bores to come and gossip in.’ (Tony Last) p. 21 • ‘It’s a definite part of English life which would be a serious loss if...’ (Tony about Hetton) p.21 • ‘Poor people use certain expressions which gentlemen do not.’ (Tony Last) p.25 • ‘I just opened my bloody legs and cut an arser.’ (John Andrew) p.26 • ‘Beaver was so seldom wholly welcome anywhere’ p.28 • ‘I’ve been carrying on madly with young men and I’ve spent heaps of money and I’ve enjoyed it very much indeed.’ (Brenda Last) p. 56 • ‘It was a thieves’ slang, by which the syllables of each word were transposed.’ (Tony on women’s talk) p.82 • ‘I hope he doesn’t break his neck.’ (Tony Last about John Andrew) p.101 • ‘It wasn’t anyone’s fault,’ they said.’ p.107 • ‘It’s a heartbreaking game,’ she said.’ (Mrs Rattery) p.112 • ‘John ... John Andrew ... I ... Oh thank God ...’ Then she burst into tears.’ (Brenda Last) p.119 • ‘It’s all about money.’ (Reggie St Cloud) p.150 • ‘How I wish I was a man,’ said Therese de Vitre.’ p.167 • ‘I’m very fond of Tony, you know, in spite of the monstrous way he behaved.’ (Brenda) p.175 • ‘Tony noticed something slightly menacing in his host’s manner.’ (about Mr Todd) p.215 • ‘From now on there was hope.’ (ironic – there is no hope for Tony) p.219 Try to include quotations that you have memorised when refer to other parts of the novel.

15. Main Themes!

16. Key Extracts For Brenda • Brenda and Tony at Hetton apparently happy • Brenda and Beaver at Hetton for the first time • Brenda getting the flat and her manipulation of Tony • Brenda flirting with Beaver in London • Brenda’s sister questioning her • Brenda setting Tony up with Princess Abdul Akbar • Death of John Andrew and Brenda’s reaction to it • Rejection of Tony when he comes to London to surprise her (pages 67 – 78) • Brenda leaving Tony and blaming him • Being left in the lurch by Tony and being left by Beaver • Wanting money from Tony

17. Key Extracts for Tony • Tony and Brenda’s original relationship • Tony showing up in London drunk • Tony showing more female qualities and worrying about Brenda • Tony’s connections with the church • Tony after the death of John Andrew • Tony realising about the affair • Tony trying to get a divorce then changing his mind • Tony with Mr Todd - Hope and the loss of hope

18. Key Extracts For Beaver • Beaver’s place in society (no money / inviting himself to places) • Beaver’s first connections with Brenda • Wanting money from Brenda and Tony’s divorce • Beaver leaves Brenda to go away with his mother when Brenda has no money from Tony

19. Key Extracts for John Andrew • John Andrew’s sexual advances towards Princess Abdul Akbar (Pages 86 – 91) • John Andrew’s foul language picked up from the stable boy (page 23-27) • John Andrew’s death (page 106 – 108)

20. Tips for Success • Plan your response by annotating the extracts on the exam paper. • Use the bullet points on the exam paper to help structure your response. • Bullet 1: Aim to touch on at least 3 language features from the AHOD extract. • Bullet 2: Refer to 2/3 other key events in the novel and aim to touch on as many areas of context as you can. • Bullet 3: Make at least 3 links between the texts. • Check your work!!

21. What could you discuss for these questions? • How does Waugh present society as being fragile? • How does Waugh portray hatred throughout the novel? • How does Waugh present the idea of being egocentric throughout the novel?