Original Writing - Prose: Behind Bars - It's a tough job with unsociable hours, rare contact with the outside world and a less than impressive pay package. So why would anyone want to be a prison officer?
Behind Bars It's a tough job with unsociable hours, rare contact with the outside world and a less than impressive pay package. So why would anyone want to be a prison officer? I am asked to place my coat and bag in a small cloakroom area, and am ushered to a small room where my pockets are searched and body is frisked. I find this 'procedure' quite uncomfortable, but think myself lucky that these rigorous checks aren't performed everyday. I am given a white sticker with 'visitor' on it and am promptly told to 'wear it at all times' so I can be easily identified. I am let through a series of grey cold steel doors, opened by a large bunch of jangling keys and am greeted by the prison officer I have come to interview with a firm, almost predictable handshake. Carol Tomlin has been a prison officer at Bournemouth Magistrates Court for thirteen years. She works in twelve hour shifts, five, possibly six times a week in the 'cells' in the basement of the court. Her only interaction is with the prisoners themselves and her fellow officers. " Sometimes I don't see daylight all week, by the time I leave work its dark outside and when I get up its also dark-it can be quite a strain". To look at Carol you wouldn't think that her job was a 'strain'. She is far removed from the stereotypical prison officer that is synonymous with polished black boots and a stern air of authority.
Explore the use of symbolism, pathetic fallacy and metaphors in Great Expectations.
Transfer-Encoding: chunked Explore the use of symbolism, pathetic fallacy and metaphors in Great Expectations. Throughout Great Expectations, Dickens liberally employs symbolism, pathetic fallacy and metaphor and particularly in his use of weather does he emphasise and magnify Pip's emotional states, unconscious opinions, and gut feelings. At the same time, the weather also foreshadows momentous changes in Pip's life. In Chapter 1, Dickens uses the pathetic fallacy to show characterization, mirroring the psyches of both Pip and Magwitch by creating a sinister atmosphere. Pip's name suggests that like a seed, he is small, young and vulnerable, and will grow into maturity / ‘manhood’. Amid Pip's experience with Magwitch, an uneasy climate allows Dickens to depict Pip as being defenceless and frail. Dickens opens Chapter 1 by using the setting of a churchyard to create an eerie mood. He describes the churchyard as 'bleak' and 'overgrown', focusing on the inauspiciousness and the isolation of the churchyard during Pip's experience with Magwitch. Dickens repeats the expressions 'nettles' and 'tombstones' proposing that a churchyard is a place of torment and demise; highlighting the sinister mood of Pip's encounter with Magwitch by ingraining tension within the reader. Dickens implies that the afternoon was heading towards evening, suggesting that it was cold and fairly
'Great Expectations' Coursework
'Great Expectations' Coursework How does Dickens engage the reader in 'Great Expectations'? 'Great Expectations' was written by Charles Dickens in the Victorian times where gothic elements were greatly enjoyed by the readers at that time. In the Victorian age, crimes would be taken extremely seriously and any thief caught would be taken to the Hulks (prison ships). The title 'Great Expectations' gives us the idea that the novel is about the high hopes about Pip's life or future. 'Great Expectations' was serialised, where two chapters were published every week. To ensure that the readers stayed interested, Dickens used a variety of techniques and ended most chapters with cliff-hangers. One technique that Dickens uses to engage the reader in this book is the gothic setting. An example of a gothic element is found in chapter one. "Ours was the marsh country (...) I found out for certain, that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard". 'overgrown' suggests that the churchyard has been abandoned and not cared for. 'nettles' is another gothic element because nettles are unwanted weeds that don't look nice. This further emphasises the abandonment of the churchyard. Another technique Dickens uses in 'Great Expectations' to engage the reader in this book is the strong characterisation of each character. E.g. in the start of chapter two, "My sister, Mrs Joe Gargery
'A Christmas Carol'
'A Christmas Carol' Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is considered to be one of the greatest English novelists of the Victorian period. Dickens's works are characterized by attacks on social evils, injustice, and hypocrisy. Charles Dickens was born in Landport, Hampshire on February 7, 1812. His father was a clerk in the navy pay office, who was well paid but often ended up in financial troubles. In 1814 Dickens moved to London, and then to Chatham, where he received some education. He worked in a blacking factory, Hungerford Market, London, while his family was in Marshalea debtor's prison in 1824). In 1824-27 Dickens studied at Wellington House Academy, London, and at Mr. Dawson's school in 1827. From 1827 to 1828 he was a law office clerk, and then worked as a shorthand reporter at Doctor's Commons. He wrote for True Son (1830-32), Mirror of Parliament (1832-34) and the Morning Chronicle (1834-36). He was in the 1830s a contributor to the Monthly Magazine, and The Evening Chronicle and edited Bentley's Miscellany. In the 1840s Dickens founded Master Humphrey's Clock and edited the London Daily News. Dickens's career as a writer of fiction started in 1833 when his short stories and essays appeared in periodicals. His Sketches By Boz and The Pickwick Papers were published in 1836.In the same year he married the daughter of his friend George Hogarth, Catherine Hogarth. The
How does Charles Dickens use the ghost story genre to provoke fear in both the Victorian and modern reader of The Signalman?
Narin 9-5 Mr. David Marrinson October 4th 2011 Essay Question How does Charles Dickens use the ghost story genre to provoke fear in both the Victorian and modern reader of ‘The Signalman’? The Signalman, a famous story written by Charles Dickens during the 1900s, and was most likely of his personal experiences. Dickens was known for the success of the story because during the Victorian era, people weren’t so fond of modernization and were very religious. Since religion was big, people in the Victorian era were probably more scared than the people of the modern era. The talented writer played with the reader’s mind and introduced a new style of writing. His style of writing could cause fear to both Victorian and modern readers because Dickens gives the story a twist and plays with the reader’s minds and emotions. Nevertheless, Dickens had used many techniques to provoke fear in the reader’s mind, such as the good usage of the ‘ghost’ genre, setting, and exposition. Not only did Dickens add specific details to make the story twist and turn, but he also added a main focus. During the Victorian era, locomotives were a new transition and invention. Locomotives were newly introduced, and of course, Dickens had his main focus on locomotives. This was a plus factor to scare the Victorians and play with their minds. Dickens had also played with people’s minds
How far do you agree that Great Expectations is a condemnation of Dickens contemporary society?
How far do you agree that Great Expectations is a condemnation of Dickens’ contemporary society? I believe that to quite a large extent, this statement appears to be true, because in the novel, Dickens’ condemns the justice system and the class system, to show the injustice that is present in Victorian society. Firstly, Dickens shows his condemnation of the justice system by presenting the excessive influence of lawyers within the system; Jaggers made ‘magistrates shiver under a single bite of his finger’ which on the face of it is very concerning, because these people who must make a decision on whether a person is guilty or not, and so if a person has such great influence that they can make people ‘shiver’ with fear if they disagree with them, then something can be said to be wrong with the system, as everybody should be equal and not be threatened. In addition, the fact Magwitch had to ‘sell all the clothes on his back’ to be able to afford a lawyer shows that it was hard for poor people to afford a lawyer and so they were most likely to lose in court, and it therefore shows us how unfair this is because people have to go to extreme lengths to be represented properly. Furthermore, the fact that a defence on the part of Compeyson was ‘he you has afore you, side by side, two persons as your eyes can separate wide… always wi’his guilt brought home’
My work experience.
My work experience My placement was with a company called Oliver Lintotts Tree Surgery. I have known Oliver for about 2 years as he is my boss's son. When I heard that my placement would be with him I was thrilled as I had worked with him before and tree surgery is a very exciting profession. I knew I could expect hard work and a good laugh. The last time I worked for him, Andy, one of Olivers employees, and I had to dig a trench to drain a field. Towards the end of the day it started to rain and I ended up almost waist-deep in a trench which was quickly filling with water and we laughed so hard we barely noticed. I already own lots of work clothes as I have had experience in tree surgery, carpentry, roofing, plumbing and mixing concrete among other areas but Oliver usually lends me some work boots with steel toe-caps as they are what I am supposed to wear. The night before my first day of work experience I made my lunch, consisting of 4 sandwiches, 3 packets of crisps and 3 chocolate bars, and left it in the fridge. Then I made sure I had clean jeans, t-shirt and jumper for the next day. I got an early night that night as I had to be up at 6:30 to be at work at 7:00. Having woken up at 6:30 I left the house at 6:45 to walk to Heath End launderette where Oliver would pick me up and drive me to where we were working that day. He picked me up at the launderette because his