Wider Reading Unit
by Alison Rothwell
Compare the two short stories, ‘The Signal Man’ by Dickens and ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ by Roald Dahl.
We are going to write a paragraph about each of the following elements of the stories. Begin by making notes. It does not matter which final order you choose.
You must, however, check that you have;
- Compared the characters.
- Described the setting of each story.
- Refered to the openings and endings.
- Made some observation about language and style.
- Offered some of your own opinions.
- Used some quotations from the stories.
- Explained how each author creates suspense.
Use the following questions and suggestions to help you compose each of your paragraphs:
grind to drain her of colour and emotions, yet Bitzer, a frequent victim of Gradgrind’s lessons, has been drained of these qualities and colourless, dull facts have taken their place.
Childhood denied
The environment in which people of the ‘Hard Times’ era grew up in was a very harsh and unfeeling and cold one. This was also true for Billy, his environment was similar to that of the Gradgrind children. They are stifled in their environment, prisoners of a world of utilitarianism. Gradgrind’s school is very plain and bare, Dickens describing it as a ‘monotonous vault’, and being ‘intensely whitewashed’. For pupils having to learn in this kind of environment would be extremely boring, and no encouragement is given to exercise imagination, so it wouldn’t be exercised. And what ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Childhood denied
The environment in which people of the ‘Hard Times’ era grew up in was a very harsh and unfeeling and cold one. This was also true for Billy, his environment was similar to that of the Gradgrind children. They are stifled in their environment, prisoners of a world of utilitarianism. Gradgrind’s school is very plain and bare, Dickens describing it as a ‘monotonous vault’, and being ‘intensely whitewashed’. For pupils having to learn in this kind of environment would be extremely boring, and no encouragement is given to exercise imagination, so it wouldn’t be exercised. And what Gradgrind is teaching will sink in more. The fact that they are referred to as numbers and not individuals - ‘Girl number twenty, a definition of a horse,’ makes the class seem like one big learning sponge, and in this environment they would not learn that anything else other that facts is important, which is exactly the message which Gradgrind is putting across.
The school and classrooms of Billy Casper do not faire much better than those in ‘Hard Times’. They too are plain, dull, and the school is generally enclosed. This negative aura would discourage the children from learning properly.
Generally, a grim feeling of the environment is given to both places the novels are set in. Dickens names his fictional area ‘Coketown’, which says a lot about the image he is trying to portray. ‘Coke’ will make us think that it is a very typical industrial town, and the fact the product which they export is in the name of the city symbolises that it revolves around work, and making money, therefore having many self-seeking and money-hungry inhabitants. Coke is black, messy and generally an unfavourable substance. The fact that coke is incorporated into the name of the town represents what the town is like - dark and dirty. Dickens sees Coketown as oppressive and destructive; it is a prison from which no-one can escape:
David Copperfield - Education
Essay written by:
In David Copperfield, Dickens champions the importance of a liberal and moral education
In David Copperfield, Dickens champions the importance of a liberal and moral education by drawing from personal experiences and creating starkly contrasting caricatures to exemplify his beliefs and views. Prior to 1870, there were no rules or laws governing school syllabus or teacher conduct. Hence, many schools taught by forcing the students to recite mindlessly from books, discouraging students’ “bright childish imaginations”, consequently turning them into “little parrots and small calculating machines”. Dickens most wholeheartedly deplores this method of teaching, instead encouraging an education that focuses on developing pupils’ values and morals and teaching them the necessary skills their adult life.
David is first educated informally at home. He learns the “alphabet at [his mother’s] knee” and reads to Peggotty from the Crocodile book, developing his imagination – “we went into the water… and put sharp pieces of timber down their throats”. Dickens clearly approves of this sort of education and David says in retrospect that memories of this time “recall no feeling of disgust or reluctance… [he]… walked along a path of flowers”. Dickens contrasts the “daily drudgery and misery” of his education after Clara’s remarriage; David is betrayed by his own nervousness in front of the dominating Murdstones, upsetting his mother and lowering his self-esteem – “the more stupid I get”. This negative reaction again shows Dickens’ encouragement of a very different form of education. David is not “stupid” and it is only the strict and stifling circumstances that make him feel this way. Dickens encourages the reader to feel that if the Murdstones were more liberal and generous in their education of David, the results would be significantly different.
Dickens’ views on education are conveyed best through the contrast he draws between Betsey Trotwood’s firmness and Mr Murdstone’s. Murdstone’s firmness overwhelms David, whereas Betsey’s firmness lays a sound moral foundation for his freedom – “never… be mean in anything; never be false; never be cruel. Avoid these three vices… and I can always be hopeful of you”. David’s epic journey from London to Dover and his emancipation from the imprisonment of the Murdstone and Grinby factory shows the consequences of these educational methods in a more literal way; David is literally escaping the moral, physical and financial imprisonment of the factory for the freedom to explore and develop his interests.
Dickens further emphasises David’s imprisonment and freedom by the decision-making power he is given by Betsey and Murdstone. Murdstone gives David no choices; he is sent to boarding school, to the factory and the Micawbers’ without consent. Murdstone gives David no credit and no choice in what happens to him. Miss Betsey on the other hand never forces anything upon David, beyond her sound moral rules. She helps him to choose his school, where he will live and where he will work. Betsey gives David the freedom to explore and develop his interests. This final product of each school shows the benefits of a liberal education. If David had not left the factory, he would have remained nothing more than a bottle cleaner for the rest of his life. With Betsey however, David has the choice and freedom to become whatever he wants.
Dickens uses Uriah Heep to stress the importance of education for life. From the education he receives at the Charity School, he is taught no other way to advance in life besides being devious and deceitful. Dora too, demonstrates the problems of a life without sufficient preparation. From birth, she was expected to be nothing more than a “pretty little wife” and when she grew up, she is incapable of managing the house and Dickens makes it clear that she is nothing more than a pretty object.
The two schools David attends are also diametrically opposed. Creakle is a ruthless bully, harassing those younger and weaker than himself. He runs Salem House for this very reason, and not because he has any improve the students’ future chances. Dr Strong’s school, however, is “as different from Mr. Creakle's as good is from evil”. Dr Strong is a generous character, “the idol of the whole school”, which he runs to help the boys, not himself. He gives the boys the choice to do what they like and respects them as people, unlike Creakle who barely recognises their existence.
Dr Strong believes in “the honour and good faith of the boys, and [has] an avowed intention to rely on their possession of those qualities unless they proved themselves unworthy of it”. Creakle, however treats all the boys with immediate suspicion. When he first meets David, he takes him “by the ear” and threatens him. Dickens again emphasises the importance of good morals as a starting point for an education, using the same Murdstone—Trotwood comparison between Creakle and Strong. Dr Strong’s liberal method “worked wonders… and [David] learnt with a good will, desiring to do it credit” whereas, at Salem House, the students “were too much troubled and knocked about to learn”.
Dickens also contrasts the environments of both schools. At Salem House, David never feels completely at ease. He vigilantly watches Creakle’s eye during class, always fearful. Even at night, the boys are fearful of Mr Creakle who is often “prowling about the passage”, ready to beat the boys for “disorderly conduct”. The fact that David was “an exception to the general body [at Salem House], insomuch that [he] steadily pick[ed] up some crumbs of knowledge” is Dickens’ strongest argument against this type of school. At Dr Strong’s, however, David is completely comfortable; he describes the pleasant surroundings and the Doctor’s habits.
Dickens held firm beliefs about important elements of a good education. He attended a strict school run by “the most ignorant… worst tempered [man]” and from his experiences concluded that “there is not likely to be much learnt… in a school carried on by sheer cruelty”. Dickens recognises the importance of a liberal and moral education where the student is free to do what he wants and is encouraged to build a firm moral base for the rest of his life.
Comparing Jane Eyre (An old style story) to Kes (A new style story)
Comparing Two Extracts From Novels From Point Of View Of Language And Punctuation
‘Jane Eyre’ is a book set further back in time and the language used in it is more ‘old style’, eg. ‘And if I were in your place I should dislike her.’ In modern language we would say that morel like: ‘If I was in your place I wouldn’t like her.’ This language is used in the book ‘kes’ which is set in a more present day.
The puntuation is totally different in both of the books as well, for example in ‘Jane Eyre’ there are longer sentences, there are also more colons, semi-colons, and comers used were we might use full stops. Eg. ‘My attention was now called by Miss Smith desiring me to hold a skein of thread: while she was winding it, she talked to me from time to time, asking me weather I had ever been to school before, weather I could mark, stitch, knit, etc; till she dismissed me, I could not pursue my observations on Miss Scratcherd’s movements.’ That was one of the sentences from ‘Jane Eyre’.
This is one of the longest sentences from ‘kes’: ‘He slashed the stick in front of their chests, making the air swish in its wake, then he turned around and leaned straight-armed on the mantelshelf, shaking his head. The boys winked at each other. That was one of the longest senances in ‘kes’ and its half the size of a normal one in ‘Jane Eyre’, it also used a lot less comers, and it didn’t have any colons or semi-colons in it either. The words were shorter and the sentences sounded more modern too.
As you have read, there are many similarities and differences between the short story and the novel. These stories show how the killing of humans can become very casual and easy. Even though the two stories are very different, they have some basis in reality. They have many of the same themes, such as the desire of humans to kill. In the novel, Jack was the main predator and in the short story, Zaroff was the main predator. The main idea these stories try to show is the importance of human rights which has been turned into a world law by the UN.
