Leaving Certificate Ordinary Level – Excellence in English Language and Literature
we see her decide it is not enough to be ‘both wife and child’ to Torvald any longer.
changes over the course of the text as they do when we learn more about the secret lives of the characters in the other two texts. We do, of course, feel sympathy for Eilis when she, like Gatsby and Nora, feels under pressure to be the person others want her to be. We see this most clearly when she returns to Ireland after Rose’s death. Although Eilis would be living a lie if she were to stay in Ireland with Jim instead of returning to Tony, her choice is not as bleak as Nora’s or Gatsby’s. Gatsby’s hopes and dreams are crushed when the truth about his identity is revealed, and Nora faces an uncertain future at best, but Eilis recognises who she is and where she belongs in time to save her marriage and ensure a ‘happy ever after’ ending.
(Leaving Certifi cate Ordinary Level 2014)
1. (a) Identify one theme common to the texts you have studied on your comparative course. Write a piece about your understanding of this theme, in one of the texts on your comparative course, beginning with one of the following phrases:
– The ending of the text contributed to my understanding of my chosen theme because ...
– An important character in my text contributed to my understanding of my chosen theme because ...
