Key Quotes: What is the point?
With any novel that we study, we should remember that the writer has chosen every word that goes into it! If we read carefully, we may notice some interesting details that are worth understanding better.
There are a lot of words in a book, even a novella such as 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'! However, we can identify some key parts to know in detail and be able to explain with confidence. We might also try to learn some words and phrases to use.
In the GCSE exam, there is a short part of the book printed on the exam paper with the question. You are asked to write about this part and what you know from different parts of the text. This is where learning a few quotes to remember, and where they come from in the story, is really helpful.
In this activity, we will look at the novel chapter by chapter. Knowing the book really well is the best preparation, so breaking it down into chapters is a good way to manage this.
To help you even further, there is a brief summary of the main events in the chapter. For a little extra challenge, there are some helpful quotes for you to keep a note of, but, you need to find who said it, or what it describes, and this will help you to understand them better in the context of the novel!
We will identify one significant quote from each chapter and think about it in more detail. Looking at what makes it significant in the novel and being able to explain how the writer makes it meaningful is how we get better marks in the exam!
You should always refer to your own text when working through these examples. These quotations are for reference only.