800 words
Through detailed analysis of a passage of your choice from either Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone or Northern Lights, discuss whether these stories offer ‘a break from life,’ ‘help with the living itself’ or whether they ‘do both at the same time’ (The Open University, 2020).This question requires you to carry out a detailed analysis of a passage of your choice from either Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone or Northern Lights, explaining how it relates to the question and to relevant ideas introduced in Block 1, drawing on specific details from the passage to illustrate your discussion.First, think about the ideas presented in the question: What is meant by ‘a break from life’ or ‘help with the living itself’? Is there a straightforward opposition between these two ideas, or is it more complicated than that? The essay ‘Instruction and Delight’ by Hunt in Approaches and Territories is essential reading for this option. As you re-read it, think about the questions the chapter asks about the purposes of children’s literature.As well as Hunt’s essay, you may find it helpful to revisit the online resources in AV1: Children’s Writers on Writing for Children and Melvin Burgess and Diana Wynne Jones where children’s authors talk about their work. The quotation used in this option is taken from the interview with Anne Fine.You will need to find a passage that allows you to address the question and discuss the approach your chosen text takes to engaging its child audience. The passage should be no more than two or three pages long.Your tutor will need to be able to find your chosen passage quickly, so please include the following at the start of your assignment:the opening and closing sentences of your selected passage
the chapter number and title
the relevant page numbers
the reference to the edition of the book that you used
If possible, please also include a photograph or scanned copy of the relevant passage at the beginning of your assignment. A clear image taken with a smartphone or other device will be fine for this purpose. Advice can be found in the OU Computing Guide .To structure your essay, start with a short introduction in which you outline your understanding of the question in relation to key ideas from the module materials. Introduce your chosen passage and explain why it is significant in terms of the question. Then produce a detailed analysis of the passage, related to the ideas you outlined in the introduction. Refer to precise details from the passage and include quotations to support your argument. Keep these quotations short, and make sure you explain the point you intend to make with each quotation, rather than leaving it to stand alone. Conclude with a short summary of your position on the question.
I think Harry Potter is a good option as is well known, Will add the book here.