Jack the Ripper History Coursework

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Jack the Ripper History Coursework

By Chris Rowland

) Study Source A

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

Looking at the source A, I can see that the murders of Polly Nicholls and Martha Tabram were linked. The source tells us that the two women were 'of the poorest of the poor'. Both women were prostitutes. The source suggests that the murders were committed by a 'demented being'; this was because of the 'extraordinary violence'. This would led me to think that these murders were committed by the same person which they were thought to be at that time, but know other sources and specialists believe that that these two murders may have been committed by two different people. You cannot rely on this source too much because it is a newspaper article that means the information has probably been sensationalised, because it is only interested in the news value. This newspaper leaves out many bits of information on the murders, like where they took place (George Yard and Bucks Row) and when they happened.

2) Study Sources A, B and C.

Does the evidence of source c support the evidence of source A and B about the Ripper Murders?

Source C is a report by Doctor on the body of Elizabeth Stride. Source B is a coroners report on the death of Polly Nicholls. Source A is an article from the newspaper describing the murders of Martha Tabram and Polly Nicholls.

Source C supports the evidence in source B, they both describe the how the ripper had 'anatomical skill and knowledge' and how much preparation had been put into the murders. Source C talks about the incision which cut the windpipe 'completely in two' which shows that this was a planned and not frenzied like the one described in source A, because if this would have been the case the windpipe would not have been cut completely in two because it would have been done much quicker. Source B says there are 'no Meaningless cuts' and 'no mere slaughter of animals could have carried out these operations' which suggests that the murderer was a doctor. Source B and C are official reports written by professionals whose job it was to investigate murders. This means that the two sources would be very similar.

Source A is in a different tone to the other sources eg. Describing the murderer as 'demented', this was said because the source was only interested in the news value and it wanted to sell. Source B and C are both written in professional manner describing every detail accurately. While source A is written to shock and leaves out many details. So source A also has a different content.

Thus source C supports source B and they both disagree with source A.

3) Study Sources D and E

How useful are sources D and E in helping you to understand why the Ripper was able to avoid capture?
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Source D is a description of the Ripper by Elizabeth Long, it states that the Ripper had a 'dark complexion'; it says that he was wearing a 'deerstalker hat', 'a dark coat' and was a 'foreigner'. Source E is newspaper article after the murders of Polly Nicholls and Annie Chapman. It says that the police were told they needed more police officers on the streets even before the first murder but still didn't do anything after the first murders.

The problem with source D and most of the description of the Ripper is very vague, she often ...

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