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GCSE English Literature · key term
Separation from other people or from meaningful relationships; it can be physical, social or emotional.
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Paper 1
Separation from other people, whether physically, socially or emotionally; it may be chosen or imposed.
Revise: Isolation and companionshipIsolation also changes over time. Victor initially chooses separation for his scientific work; later, guilt and bereavement make him feel unable to belong. The creature initially longs to join human society; eventually, he seeks a companion with whom he can leave it.
Paper 2
For an extract-to-whole-novel question, analyse the extract closely and connect its presentation of isolation to relevant moments elsewhere.
Part (b): distinguish physical solitude from emotional isolation. Godfrey can be surrounded by neighbours while remaining isolated by secrecy.
Part (a), AO2: stay within the printed extract. Explain how particular words, narrative choices and structural shifts work together to present isolation; use terminology to develop an interpretation, not simply to name techniques.
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In Silas Marner, isolation is more than living by yourself. It can mean losing the trust that makes relationships possible, being treated as an outsider, or concealing something that prevents others from knowing you honestly. Loneliness is the suffering that can accompany that separation.
Separation from other people, physically or through an inability to share feelings and experiences.
Paper 1
Separation from other people, which may be physical, emotional or social.
Revise: Group identity and peer pressureThe group he once wanted to join has made isolation seem preferable to belonging.
Component 2
Separation from other people or from meaningful relationships; it can be physical, emotional or social.
Revise: Isolation and communitySet in the early nineteenth century, Raveloe is an hour’s journey on horseback from a turnpike road and beyond the sound of the coach-horn. This geographical isolation helps explain why inherited local beliefs remain powerful: people have little contact with experiences that might challenge them. His unfamiliar occupation, short-sighted stare and trances are interpreted as signs of supernatural power.
