Comparison (2009)
2.
(a) What link is shown between religion and protest in these documents?
Refer to both documents in your answer.
(b) Do both documents suggest that the discipline of the protesters had been in doubt?
Refer to both documents in your answer.
(20)
Example Answer:
(a)
The link between religion and protest is apparent in both these documents, though to a much larger and more overt degree in Document B. In Document A, there is little or no overt reference to the link between religion and protest except for the closing line: “A miracle had taken place.” As this is an extract from Martin Luther King’s autobiography, it shows clearly how King himself interpreted the massive appeal of the Montgomery Bus Boycott on a religious basis, referring to it as a ‘miracle’.
In Document B, the writer reveals the centre of the protest: “Holt Street Baptist Church”. He refers to the queue forming outside as being “soldierly” and that they were “silent people, bundled in overcoats, performing what appeared to be a ritual.” The use of the anaology ‘ritual’ here underscores the religious influence of the protestors. Again, the author underlines the religious bearing of the protest crowd: “these people were stony silent.” The author goes on to describe the behaviour of the meeting saying: “The passion that fired the meeting was seen as the thousands of voices joined in singing. Then there followed a prayer by a minister.” The author even makes a direct comparison between the protest meeting at the church and an older form of religious gathering: “The meeting was much like an old-fashioned revival [religious meeting].”