The Explorer's Daughter (Edexcel IGCSE English Language A)
Revision Note
Written by: Deb Orrock
Reviewed by: Kate Lee
The Explorer’s Daughter Analysis
Students studying the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Language A qualification must study all ten of the non-fiction texts in Part 1 of the Edexcel IGCSE English Language Anthology in preparation for Paper 1. You will be given one of the ten texts in your exam, along with another unseen text, which are thematically linked. Section A, Question 4 will specifically be about the anthology text, and Question 5 will ask you to compare the anthology text with the unseen text.
The following guide to The Explorer’s Daughter by Kari Herbert contains:
The Explorer’s Daughter overview
The Explorer’s Daughter summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in The Explorer’s Daughter
How does Herbert present her ideas and perspectives?
The Explorer’s Daughter overview
The Explorer’s Daughter by Kari Herbert is an account of Herbert’s return to a region of the Arctic, near Thule in North Greenland, where she lived with her family as a small child among the Inughuit people. In this passage, she describes her experience of watching a narwhal hunt. Herbert is a British travel writer, photographer, polar explorer and television presenter.
The Explorer’s Daughter summary
The description begins in medias res (in the middle of the action), with two pods of narwhal returning to a fjord and the hunters dotted around in kayaks in the evening light. The writer then provides information regarding the narwhal and their importance to the people of the High Arctic, before returning to the observation of the hunt itself. Herbert reveals her mixed feelings in this piece of writing, recognising how crucial it was to the people to catch a narwhal in terms of their survival, but also wanting the narwhal to escape and survive. It is this dilemma that the passage ends with; Herbert raises both moral and environmental questions about the process of hunting for survival.
Themes, ideas and perspectives in The Explorer’s Daughter
Paper 1, Question 4 will ask you to explore how the writer has used language and structure to present a theme or idea within their text. Paper 1, Question 5 will ask you to compare how the writer presents their ideas and perspectives with the unseen text.
What are the key themes in The Explorer’s Daughter?
Theme | Analysis |
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Humanity versus nature |
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Cultural differences |
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How does Herbert present her ideas and perspectives?
Herbert uses a variety of language and structural techniques to present her ideas and perspectives.
Technique | Analysis |
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In medias res |
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Imagery |
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Metaphor |
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Declarative sentence |
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Long paragraphs |
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Facts, information and specialised language |
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Different perspectives |
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Emotive language |
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For more guidance on how to get top marks in your exam, check out our comprehensive revision notes on Paper 1, Question 4:
Question 4 Skills: Language and Structure Analysis
And see our guides for the other IGCSE English Language Anthology texts here:
Explorers or boys messing about? Either way, taxpayer gets rescue bill |
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