Jack the ripper coursework - question 1 & 2

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Study Source A

What can you learn from source A about the murders of Martha Tabrum and Polly Nicholls?

From Source A, I can infer that the article is written to sensationalise the recent events and to shock the audience of the time. The source is an article from the East End observer and uses lots of emotive language to emphasise the importance of the recent incidents, for example it states that the events “startled London”. The source claims that the killings “are the work of a demented being”. This suggests that the author of the source found the events so shocking and extraordinary that he/she believed it could only be done by someone insane. Source A also tells us that these victims were the “poorest of the poor” insinuating that they were the vulnerable destitutes of Whitechapel. The source also tells us that the murders were committed with an “excess of effort”. I can infer that this would conjure up a gruesome image in the reader’s mind of the murderer enjoying killing the victims. Another inference I can make from this source is that the killings in Whitechapel not only shocked the local community, but also the whole of London as it states in the text, “startled London”. From this, I can tell that the murders brought sympathy to the indigent prostitutes of Whitechapel who were at risk. Another inference I can make is that the source suggests that the two murders were linked. It implies that they were both around the same time and both attacks were targeted at the “poorest of the poor”. This implies that it was only the destitute people of Whitechapel were attacked; and in this case, the prostitutes. The weakness of the source is that it is clearly over exaggerated in order to shock the readers and to sell papers.

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Study Sources A, B and C

Does the evidence of Source C support the evidence of Sources A and B about the Ripper murders? Explain your answers

Source C is a doctor’s report written by Dr. Frederick Blackwell of how the victim, Elizabeth Stride, was found after her death; written to inform. The source tells us that the victim’s facial expression was “quite placid”, and that there were breath fresheners found wrapped in tissue in her hand. From this I can infer that Elizabeth Stride mustn’t of been afraid of the murderer, because obviously if ...

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