Jack the Ripper - Source A. What can you learn from source a about the murders of Martha Tabram and Polly Nicholls?

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Claire Wightman

Mrs Lobley

March 2003-03-10

Jack the Ripper coursework

Question1: Source A. What can you learn from source a about the murders of Martha Tabram and Polly Nicholls?

Source A is part of an article in the East End observer describing the murders of Martha Tabram and Polly Nicholls. It is therefore a primary source of evidence with a fairly reliable purpose of informing the public of the eastend. Clearly it is written by somebody living in the area at the time and therefore helps us see the people’s opinion of the murders at the time. Most importantly we can learn that people linked the two murders together, ‘both crimes are the work of a demented being’ this statement is purely the writers opinion as no farther evidence ever proves this to be the case nonetheless the article informs us there were similarities to the murders.

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We can also learn the context of the murders, ‘the victims have been the poorest of the poor, and no adequate motive in the shape of plunder.’ From this statement we can imply that the murders were done in cold blood and not calculated robberies. It could also be suggested that the Polly Nicholls and Martha Tabram did nothing to provoke such an attack but were murdered spontaneously due to the fact that they had nothing a murderer could possibly want. However the article also says, ‘ the excess of effort has been apparent in each murder,’ this tells ...

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