MAUS and introduction to IB

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Planning

Maus - textual analysis

Reflection school year

Tuesday 

IB - looking ahead 

6 groups (of +/- 4 students)

What literally happens in the passage?

Where is the passage from?

Most important panel
enter: p. (...) panel (...)

Analysis

Take another look at the passage with the people in your group. 

What stands out - what MUST be argued and included in a good analysis? 

Analysis

Which techniques MUST be commented on in order to show understanding of this passage, which we see in the novel as a whole as well? 

Terminology

- Author's toolbox

- Showing vs telling

- Captions

- Voice over

- Speech bubbles - jagged lines 

- Emanata - motion lines, question marks, sweat drops, teardrops 

- Drawing style > simple to complex

- Time / narrative

- Motifs / symbolism (circular, train, windows) 

- Panel - borderless

- Gutter

- Splash is a kind of panel that spans the width of the page -> used to grab the the reader’s attention and/or establish setting/mood -> add dramatic weight. 

- Bleed (if it runs of the page entirely) > same effect of as a splash. 

Both also encourage the readers to pause/reflect.

- Negative space

- Graphic weight

- Camera angle

- Foreground, middleground, background

Which techniques must
be commented on?

What makes this an important passage if you take the entire first book into consideration?

What literally happens in this passage

 After many years of hardship, danger and persecution, Vladek and Anja try to make use of one final opportunity to find a safe place before they officially get caught in 'the mouse trap' i.e. get executed or deported. They pay smugglers to get them across the border to Hungary but get betrayed, which leads them to be caught and deported to Auschwitz. 

The most important panel of the passage

The most important panel of the passage is the final panel. Vladek and Anja have tried very hard to survive and stay together safely, but become part of the apparatus of terror of Nazi Germany and sent to Auschwitz. Auschwitz is the one place they have tried to make sure they would never end up and an important place because they ultimately survive the concentration camp whereas no Jew was ever supposed to and hardly anyone did. At this point in the story, they do not know that yet and the voiceover illustrates this. 

Spiegelman employs different techniques to highlight the importance of their deportation to Auschwitz

• He draws the familiar fence. He even has the voiceover partially cover the words ' Arbeit macht' as this image is so famous that the reader will immediately recognise it and know the significance of this moment for Vladek and Anja specifically and Jews in general generally. This also shows that Vladek and Anja themselves knew very well that this would most likely be the last time they would see each other and that they wouldn't come out alive. 
• The panel is a bleed that takes up almost the entire page - this does not only show the significance of the moment itself for the aforementioned reasons, but also invites the reader to pause and reflect and to take it in
• The bleed also establishes a menacing mood in combination with the graphic weight used AND in combination with Vladek's words 
• The drawing style becomes slightly more complex and detailed  
• The aggression, violence > cats and facial expressions + the dogs 

What else? 

• Graphic weight > betrayal and significance of this moment
• The types of panels > borderless / splash / (bleed) / jagged lines > dramatic weight / emotion > past / present  -> effect of the past on the present (you could bring in trauma there)
• Motifs > train + masks

What is it all about - the common denominator > Jewish persecution, betrayal  - emotional impact and significance of this moment 

	My approach would have been
P1	Graphic weight > Jewish persecution > betrayal + emotional impact & dramatic weight
P2	Types of panels > Jewish persecution ?> betrayal + emotional impact & dramatic weight in the past and present for Vladek + for the reader
P3	Motifs & final panel > Jewish persecution and climax

Your own paper 

Good to keep in mind: 

• Do you comment on everything that has just been discussed?
• You could score 10 points for A - 5 for B - 5 for C
• You see your IB grade on the paper: IB 4 is a 5.5/6.0 - IB 7 = a 10. You are expected to be at an IB 4 right now. You are expected to grow at least 2 points in the next two years. 

Reflection

Write a short 150-word reflection in which you look back at this school year and discuss what you have learned, what you liked, what you were not as interested in, where you stand when it comes to your English skills and what your advice is for your future self.  

Next year 

Important to realise

TV4 prepares you for the IB

TV5 & TV6 are part of a two-year programme so you should not see them as separate years - everything we do in TV5 is relevant and needs to be saved for TV6

Information

English Language & Literature Higher Level

(Near-) native speakers

Grade system: 1-7. IB 4 = PASS. 

Conversion table is used to convert your grade to a Dutch grade that is put in Magister

4 types of assessment

Paper 1 Final version is graded by IB

Paper 2 Final version is graded by IB

Individual Oral (IO) Final version is graded by your English teacher and IB

Higher Level Essay (HLE) Final version is graded by IB

All the practice paper 1s, paper 2s, mock orals and first drafts of essays are graded by your English teachers for a Dutch grade.

IB 

4 types of assessment

Paper 1   - 35 %     

Paper 2  - 25 %    

Individual Oral (IO)  - 20 % 

Higher Level Essay (HLE)  - 20 %

In total, we will discuss 6 literary works

In TV5, we will do 4 of those 

Tuesday