If A Birthday, and A Signalman, were compared Andreas Binzers character would be unquestionably more descriptive than that of the signalman. Karen Mansfield described everything from his teeth, attitude and nature in greater detail. Meanwh
English coursework IV Written by: Meha Zulfiqar 10 Another English coursework essay! Well, I guess I can write another few hundred words; I do want to get good grades. This time we have to write about short stories, the teacher gave us the short stories and asked us if we would like to read together in class or at home. We all chose to read in class. We only had enough time to read half at school but I decided to take a copy of the short stories home and finish reading them. On closer inspection it becomes apparent that a lot is to be learned from the dialogue of the main characters, in particular, the signalman in the short story 'The Signalman' and Andreas Binzer in 'A Birthday.' A signalman is a short story written by Charles Dickens. This is a story about a signalman who is driven "mad" by the environment of his work, away from sunlight and people. But he was not alone; a supernatural ghost decides to accompany him too. He has a lot of responsibilities to shoulder. There are only two characters that really are prominent in the short story. In fact in the story, there are only about three to five characters. The important characters are the signalman and the narrator. Charles Dickens uses dialogue to make the characters more appealing and easier to understand. He has written exactly what was need to understand the story, nothing less or nothing more. The characters are
Is The Nightingale and the Rose (Oscar Wilde) just a child's fairy tale or a criticism of love and society?
Is 'The Nightingale And The Rose' just a child's fairy tale or is it a more complex criticism of love and society? The Nightingale and the Rose is a 'fairy tale' story written by Oscar Wilde, originally for his two sons, in the late 1880s. Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin (Ireland) 1854, and was well known for his wit and story telling. He was a famous poet, art lecturer, author and scriptwriter. But at the height of his success he was involved in a court case over a homosexual affair with Lord Alfred Douglas. Found guilty, he was sentenced two years hard labour and when he was eventually released, he was physically and psychologically broken. When Wilde wrote The Nightingale and the Rose, he was working as an editor for a woman's magazine (1887-1889), just before the height of his career. It was written as part of a collection of fairy tales: The Happy Prince and other stories and is a story, which focuses on a lovelorn student, anxious to find a rose to bring his love and a sympathetic nightingale, observing the student's anguish. As there is no rose, the student fears his heart will be broken. The nightingale then seeks a rose for the student, encountering a tree that can provide a rose, but only if the nightingale sacrifices itself, its own blood providing the redness of the rose. The nightingale embarks on one final flight prior to its martyrdom, telling the student to
Shylock, Victim or Villain
Shylock, Victim or Villain Shylock was a Jewish money lender in the 1600s; he lived in Venice, Italy which was a very Christian city. Jews were hated at this time, they were discriminated against and some were banned from certain countries. He charged high interest on the money he lent which the Christians did not like, they allowed the Jews to do this though because they were not allowed to do any other work. As a Jew living in Venice he lived in a ghetto on the other side of the city which was locked at night. Venice was a prosperous city with Christians making a lot of money there by trading goods and Antonio is one of the wealthy merchants in Venice. Antonio does not like Shylock because he is a Christian he does not like the Jews and because he charges interest on the money he lends. Shylock is both a victim and a villain in this play. A victim is someone who has been harmed or injured by someone or something and a villain is someone who harms others or breaks the law. Shylock is a victim because he is abused by the Christians but he is also villainous because of how harsh he is towards Antonio and he deliberately sets out to get revenge and to make a bond that could result in Antonio death. I will now show how Shylock is victimised thorough the play. Antonio insults Shylock to his face by calling him a "devil" an evil "soul" and a "villain". This makes Shylock a
The Fatal Mistake
The Fatal Mistake "This is completely insane, why do you keep rambling like this?", said the irritated Kavita. "This is not rambling, I really mean it, I have been having the same dream over and over again. It can't be a mere coincidence", said her sister Mala. "Oh, so you mean to say that I should not sing on stage today because you are having some stupid dream that I will fall off from the stage?", she asked. "I really don't feel good about this Kavita, you really shouldn't go for it today", she begged. "You don't know Mala, I have been practicing so hard for this day. This is the final day solo song competition and I can't miss it by any chance, I can't let that stupid Priti win it again", she roared. "Then don't go on the stage, stand outside the stage and sing", Mala said absentmindedly. "Yeah, why don't I stand outside the auditorium and sing. Please Mala, give rest to your weird imagination and relax, nothing is going to happen to me", Kavita said and walked out of the house. It was a Saturday and Mala's school was closed, so she stayed at home. Her elder sister, Kavita was in the college and she was having her annual day celebrations in the college. Mala and Kavita were really close and nothing could ever come between them, that is why when Mala started having dream about her sister, she was really scared. Many of her classmates said that Mala was
How do the dramatic techniques used in the play help the audience to understand the importance of Shirley's transformation?
Shirley Valentine How do the dramatic techniques used in the play help the audience to understand the importance of Shirley's transformation? In the play Shirley Valentine, Willy Russell portrays a spectacular transformation in the main character Shirley. Shirley is a stifled middle aged woman, living in a typical urban area of Liverpool in 20th century London. Throughout the novel she is transformed from a suffering middle ages woman living in the stereotypical 'kitchen sink drama', lifestyle, to a spontaneous woman who is acknowledging how to enjoy life to the fullest. Shirley's main change is conveyed in Shirley reclaiming her lost identity as 'Shirley Valentine'. Russell's true message behind this novel however was not to show the change in a woman living in a typical working class environment, but conversely to show the hard lives they lived, trapped in a cycle of deprivation. Numerous dramatic techniques are used in order to depict Shirley's thoughts and emotions, but most importantly to help the audience understand the importance of her change. A few of the dramatic techniques which Russell uses are, flashbacks, voice-overs, speaking directly to the camera and dramatic monologues. In this essay I will be studying the transformation of Shirley Valentine and the dramatic techniques used in order to help the audience understand the importance of Shirley's
What makes 'The Turn of the Screw' such a successful short story?
What makes 'The Turn of the Screw' such a successful short story? "The Turn of the Screw" was written by the renowned American author Henry James during the 1890's. James had recently been through an extremely unsuccessful patch, finding it difficult to sell his lengthy, wordy novels and enduring the shame of having one of his plays booed off stage, therefore, his motivation for writing the novella was mainly mercenary. When James decided to take action, he immediately turned to his notebook for inspiration 'in search of something that might tickle the public's jaded taste'. It was here that he found a source for the tale: Archbishop Benson's anecdote about a pair of sinful servants, a man and a woman, who had corrupted two children in their care, and then returned from the dead to claim their souls. 'The Turn of the Screw' draws many other parallels with the anecdote including the setting (a country house) and how the phantoms appear: beckoning to the children from the battlements and across water. 'The, Turn of the Screw' was published at a time when 'spiritual issues' concerning death and the afterlife were becoming increasingly popular and when Gothic, supernatural stories were in demand. Considering this, it is not surprising that James decided to cover these genres. The novella-length tale was first published as a series of 12 instalments in the magazine Collier's
My Locket
My Locket BY HANNAH WRIGHT Chapter One I looked down the street, packed full business men and woman rushing, picking their path though the mass, on their way to the daily grind. The auto matrons ready for the exertion that lies on the path in front of them. They don't even glance of me, face forward, and ignore all others that are out of their vision. They feel nothing, they move with the swamp oblivions to the world around them focused on their objectives. The apartments, offices, shopping centres, tower above like giants looking down on us. They don't allow me in there I and am just a piece of dirt on their shoes. Dark alley are scattered down the streets, black and gloomy, this is our domain. It's a whole new and different world, an upside down, inside out weird world. I really hate being here but I cannot escape to the auto matrons' world. The huge colourful signs covering the world like a plague, spreading through the 'normal' population. The red, double decker buses adding to the already bad fuming traffic. The Taxi drivers blowing their horns, getting increasingly aggressive, infecting the population. I gaze upon the huge statue of Anteros the Golden Angel, pointing his bow and arrow at me. Anteros was the god of requited love, the avenger of unrequited love. I wish someone in this world would love or care for me. These heartless people around me are stereotyping
The Ghost Downstairs Notes
The Ghost Downstairs Chapter Notes By Leon Garfield Part 1 Chapter 1 Mr. Fast is a lonely, envious clerk who works in Lamb Square (London) for a dull lawyer. He was a very knowledgeable when it came to trade, a devious man who could lure unwary men into contracts or agreements that suited Mr. Fast very well. Mr Fast lived in Highbury New Park where he had rooms on the ground floor; he had a respectable and furnished place of living. Most nights when he got back from work he would sit in one of his tomb like armchairs and have a glass of port. Sometimes he would dream about the wealth he would love to possess, of ruling over all that were superior to him at the current time. In the basement of the flats lived an old man called Dr Herz, on a certain date this Dr Herz had died and he was buried. After the burial an elderly man by the name of Mr Fishbane had moved in. Mr Fast was very curious about this new arrival and one night after work Mr Fast went to investigate, however after being caught he withdrew hastily. According to Mr Fast, Dr Herz residence had a bad smell to it but this was this was nothing compared to Mr Fishbane. Mr Fishbane it seemed was fond of beetroot, so much so that the smell of it nearly drove Mr Fast mad. None the less Mr Fast somehow did not hate the old man, whenever they passed in the street Mr Fast didn't completely ignore him, but always
With Close references to the texts you have been studying, explore how the authors of The Red Room, The Monkeys Paw and The Speckled Band establish and develop gothic setting and atmosphere.
With Close references to the texts you have been studying, explore how the authors of The Red Room, The Monkey's Paw and The Speckled Band establish and develop gothic setting and atmosphere. The Monkey's Paw, The Red Room and the Speckled Band were short stories written in 1892 - 1902 that adopted a style of Gothic Literature. During the late 19th century and early 20th century this style of literature grew to become very popular. This was due to the change in lifestyle during the Victorian period and was supported by many historical aspects. Additionally, the 1870s the School Act was introduced which introduced more literate people into society therefore increasing the demand for books. The Speckled Band was the first, of the three books, to be written in 1892 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Not only does it include gothic elements but another main theme that runs through the short story is mystery. The Red Room was the second to be written in 1896 by H.G.Wells and it included mystery, gothic elements in addition to a ghost story. The setting of The Red Room helps to express different themes because an ancient castle is used. The use of a castle is a common setting used in gothic novels because it dated back from the medieval ages when gothic architecture was popular. The Monkey's Paw by W.W.Jacobs was the last short story written out of the three that were studied. This was
I am going to be explaining how writers in my chosen stories have presented their female characters. I will be investigating whether or not the females fit their typical stereotype in the nineteenth Century
Prose Fiction: Coursework For this coursework I am going to be explaining how writers in my chosen stories have presented their female characters. I will be investigating whether or not the females fit their typical stereotype in the nineteenth Century of being very submissive and gullible. I will also look at what sort of way they fit that stereotype within everyday life or on a long term basis. To have a range in this investigation I will concentrate on the contradicting stereotype of being independent and confident as a women not fitting in with how a typical nineteenth century woman would expect to act. Certain consequences of not acting as the stereotype are proven to not necessarily make that particular woman worse off as we see in the short stories I am looking at. Through stories I have read containing characters based on the nineteenth century women one of the ideas that was most obvious to me was that of the characters being typical nineteenth century woman at the start of the short story and then turning out to be a lot stronger then we first perceived. The first character I am going to mention which fits into this idea is Dorothea from the short story 'The Unexpected' by Kate Chopin. Chopin shows Dorothea to be a loving, doting wife, impatient towards her husband arriving home. She is shown to be a perfect fit for her stereotype. She is dependant on her husband
