"Inconceivable" by Ben Elton - book review.

Contents Introduction.................................................2 About the Author.........................................3 Author's Works...........................................4 "Inconceivable"............................................5 * Synopsis.................................................................6 * Review................................................................6-7 * Extracts............................................................8-10 Introduction I have chosen to read the book "Inconceivable" by Ben Elton. As I do not read books a lot I did not have any real idea what or who I wanted to do this project on when it was first set. I decided that I would prefer to read a humorous book instead of a normal fiction story book which I may easily get bored of after a while. I did not have any authors in mind when I decided I wanted to read a comedic book, so I decided to go to a bookshop and look at a few books to see what I might like to read. I found books by Ben Elton and decided to look at a few of them because I had known that Ben Elton is a good stand-up comedian, so his books would probably be quite an interesting read. I read a bit of several of the books and thought that "Inconceivable" would be a good one to read purely because of the name of the book, the illustration on the front cover and the quotes from people and

  • Word count: 2893
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Analysis of "The Colour Purple" -first three letters

Analysis of "The Colour Purple" - first three letters "The Colour Purple" is an epistolary novel. In the first three letters, the reader is immediately thrust into the world of the protagonist and narrator of "The Colour Purple", Celie. She is a poor, uneducated, fourteen-year-old black girl living in rural Georgia. Celie starts writing letters to God because her stepfather, Alphonso, beats and rapes her. The letters are the means by which the protagonist tells her life story. Letters are a personal form of communication, and they contribute to the readers' feelings of empathy with Celie. For Celie herself, the writing of letters is not only a form of communication, especially as most of her letters are not sent, but, rather, writing is a way for her to express her feelings, quietly and safely. In fact, the importance of words, of written and spoken language, as the medium for empowerment is a central concern in the narrative. The gradual growth and development of Celie's character through her letters, which is realised by the reader as the private intimations of a diarist, is compulsive reading. We will therefore be examining the first three letters of the novel in more detail, looking at narrative voice, characters, and language. In addition, we will also be looking at an overview of the first three letters of "The Colour Purple", as well as putting the novel as a whole in

  • Word count: 2505
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Maya Angelou - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.

Maya Angelou - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings In Maya Angelou autobiography 'I know why the caged bird sings' many themes and issues are looked at. This autobiography shows the difficulty of a black woman growing up surrounded by discrimination and poverty, but also shows her determination, joy and hope. Maya Angelou describes her relationship with many character, this in it self is a theme of her writing, the way she sees people in her own light. Some characters that may be seen to be good people are changed by Maya's opinion. A good example of this is the contrast between Maya's mother and Maya's father's girlfriend. If both these characters were described, the father's girlfriend maybe considers the better person. This is not the case after reading this book, as Maya has a way of making the reader see these characters as she sees them. After the separation of Maya Angelou's parents she and her brother Bailey were sent away to live with her grandmother when Maya was only three. This must have been a terrible experience for a young child to go through, which some may think would have left Maya with resentment towards her mother. In fact this was quite the opposite. When Maya meet her mother again after she left her, Maya discarded the fact that she sent her away. She describes how as soon as she saw her mother, the nights she spent crying for her was forgotten. 'I knew

  • Word count: 1140
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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What are the main themes of Pleasantville and how does the director convey them to the audience using cinematic techniques?

What are the main themes of Pleasantville and how does the director convey them to the audience using cinematic techniques? Pleasantville, directed by Gary Ross, is a year 2000 comedy with powerful underlying themes. Pleasantville is an inspiring and oddly touching story about two 90's kids who are thrust into the black and white world of Pleasantville, a cheery and seemingly perfect sitcom complete with picket fences, soda shops and warm cookies. When a somewhat unusual remote control transports them from the jaded real world to the TV arena, the two teenagers (Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon) are forced to play along as Bud and Mary-Sue, the obedient children of George and Betty Parker. Maguire, an obsessive Pleasantville devotee, understands the need for not toppling the balance of things; Witherspoon, on the other hand, starts shaking the town up, most notably when she takes American football stud, Skip, up to Lover's Lane, to do exactly what the name suggests. Soon enough, Pleasantville's teens are discovering sex along with rock and roll, free thinking and liberating Technicolour. Filled with delightful and shrewd details about sitcom life, for example, no toilets, no double beds and only two streets in the whole town. Pleasantville is a joy to watch, not only for its comedy but also for its groundbreaking visual effects and astonishing production design as

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Walker's presentation of Sofia and Harpo.

English essay Walker's presentation of Sofia and Harpo Alice walker uses a variety of techniques to present the characters of Sofia and Harpo during page 60 of 'The Color Purple'. I will be exploring a number of lexical, grammatical and phonological choices, as well as other techniques, in the order they appear in the letter and will be discussing how these can lead to the development of attitudes and values. The introduction to the Sofia and Harpo relationship shows the reversal of the fixed stereotype perpetuated by other couples in the novel that a man should lead and a woman should follow. Previous letters depict Harpo as the feminine, subservient man, "...crying like his heart gon break." While Sofia is much the dominant figure in the way she is "marching" like "going to war". In not conforming to the basic male-female stereotypes we see Sofia "working on the roof" while Harpo is happy to "hold the baby" and "give it a kiss". However, once Harpo sees that he is losing face he begins to eat gluttonously as he believes that physical strength leads to power. Although this gluttony could in fact be comfort eating and so is associated with his feminine image. Harpo's need for control then extends to the bedroom, where Sofia says "once he git on top of me I think bout how that's where he always want to be." The situation here - as well as the previously accumulating

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Character description of Celie Shug and Albert from"the color purple"

Englsih Homework Omar Write a character description of Celie, Albert, and Shug Avery: CELIE: Celie is the color purple's main character/narrator, and protagonist. Celie grew up in her father's house under the worst treatment possible being raped and beaten on several occasions which got her to start writing her thoughts and feelings in a diary and telling god everything she couldn't tell to people because she was ashamed of who she was, this character, 14-year-old celie is a complete turn-around of the 40-years-later celie who is a self-confident independent woman who learns to love and be loved. Celie grew up under the notion that she is, and will be always will be ugly which slowly ate up her self-esteem and confidence which led to her being silent and submissive. Her only outlet of emotion was through her letters to god and then to her sister Nettie expressing her feelings and letting herself go. Shug's love and affection develop celie's into a grown woman, and would lead her onto finding her history, spirituality, sexuality, and voice. Shug also opens celie's eys into new perspectives in life and empowering her into believing in untraditional views of god and religion. Nettie's long-lost letters, which Celie discovers with Shug's help hidden in Mr. ______'s trunk, strengthens Celie's sense of self by informing her of her history and of the fate of her children. As

  • Word count: 870
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Explore Walkers Portrayal of Female Identity - The Color Purple

Explore Walkers Portrayal of Female Identity "Teach only the boys."1 (Page 146) In many cases this term would be considered sexist: However, when reading The Color Purple it becomes evident that the men as well as the boys are the ones who are in need of education. This education is not confined to the academic sense, but Walker rather emphasises their need to acquire the understanding of equal rights. The women may not receive any academic education but they were still equal to men in their ability to work, as Walker shows through several strong female role models throughout The Color Purple. The things that the women have experienced have taught them things about life that no man would ever understand: The gift of tolerance, understanding and a positive mind. Celie has to undergo a lot of traumatic experiences throughout The Color Purple. Walker uses this to mould her into the "stereotypical" submissive woman. Walker then continues to develop Celie's stereotypical role of mother and wife by forcing her into another destructive relationship, both emotionally and physically. This relationship affected her attitude towards men but also her self-confidence towards women and children who possess the confidence she does not. Although Walker has portrayed Celie as a weak individual, Mr calls her "You black, you pore, you ugly, youa woman." Quotations like this show just what

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Walker's presentation of Celie and Shug's growing relationship.

Walker's presentation of Celie and Shug's growing relationship Pages 68-70 Alice Walker uses a variety of techniques in 'The Color Purple' to present the growing relationship between Celie and Shug. Using pages 68-70 as a starting point I will be exploring attitudes towards sexuality as well as a number of lexical, grammatical and phonological choices. As soon as Celie encounters Shug Avery, we get the sense that she already has a sub-conscious sexual desire for her. "First time I got the full sight of Shug Avery" she says, "I thought I had turned into a man," and from this description we can see that Shug Avery is a big factor in expanding Celie's mind and feelings towards other desires and ideas. This point in then developed by a subsequent sentence, "I wash her body, it feel like I'm praying." Celie, being a strict believer in God, is obviously moved in new and different ways by the presence of Shug. Celie uses prayer to escape from her life and talk about issues that have, or are currently, troubling her. Thus, the presence of Shug allows Celie to mentally free herself; even though Shug is slightly bitter towards Celie. Later on in the novel Celie discusses her frequent rapes by Alphonso; thus reinforcing the point that Celie is able to discuss private and sensitive issues with Shug only. A close and personal link is created by Celie and Shug's first physical encounter.

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How do the stylistic conventions of Pleasantville Help to anchor the ideas suggested by the plot and Reinforce the meaning of the text.

How do the stylistic conventions of Pleasantville Help to anchor the ideas suggested by the plot and Reinforce the meaning of the text Pleasantville is a film that uses stylistic conventions to help anchor the ideas suggested by the plot and reinforce the meaning of the text. There are many ways it does this. The narrative starts of from TV stations giving the idea of sci-fi as the basic genre. Pleasantville is introduced by the clips of the TV marathon; this is an old 50's TV show. There is a boy called David and his twin sister Jennifer. David is seen in the early stages of the narrative lacking confidence, no luck with girls, few friends, loves Pleasantville and is obsessed the perfect lifestyle. Pleasantville is viewed as nice, with no extremes, no changes. The first part of the movie is cutting between the twins to show the difference, this helps us see how they develop throughout the film, as we build to their prospective evenings. With the arrival of the TV repair man the audience get more sense of the genre, he arrives without being called; he has an old fashioned van and speech. Then when the lighting strikes at that time this causes suspicion to the audiences mind. The 2 pairs of siblings argue at the same time in real life and on screen. David and Jennifer then end up in the program. Pleasantville is all black and white to start. Examples of life are: big

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Comment in detail on the presentation of Sofia in this extract. You should consider Walker's choice of lexis, use of imagery and grammar, and the way Sofia speaks. Relate what you find here about Sofia to her presentation in the novel as a whole.

Comment in detail on the presentation of Sofia in this extract. You should consider Walker's choice of lexis, use of imagery and grammar, and the way Sofia speaks. Relate what you find here about Sofia to her presentation in the novel as a whole. Walker uses this extract to the strength of Sofia's character even before she faces the trials to come later in life, thus in the novel as well, as a significant part of the novel forming a part towards Celie's independence and questioning of events later in the novel. Walker does this in a number of ways, using lexical and grammatical features, imagery, dialogue and in the use of the spoken language rather than the written throughout. Sofia is another strong female character. During the novel, she suffers greatly for her independent spirit and impudence. As husband and wife, she and Harpo do battle for years, for she refuses to follow the expectations of the patriarchal lifestyle. She refuses to be tied only to housework and child rearing and works in the fields, like a man; she also expects Harpo to help with the domestic chores. When Harpo tries to criticize or punish her independent ways, she regularly gives him a beating, since she is larger and stronger than he. In the ends, she finally leaves him, tired of his abuse. Sofia is then abused by the white power structure. When the mayor's wife suggests that she come to work for

  • Word count: 1158
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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