The Chrysalids - notes and questions on chapters 1-8

Chapter 1 In the first chapter, young David Strorm is introduced. In the first paragraph he describes a recurring dream that he remembers vividly. This dream is of a magnificent city bordered by ocean, although he has never seen the sea in waking life. Once, he recalls admitting this dream to his eldest sister and inquires about the existence of any such place, to which she replies that, although this city does not exist, it may have existed long ago, before God sent Tribulation. She also warns him to suppress such thoughts, for the other people in society did not have such images in their heads either awake or asleep. Fortunately, David has the sense to take this advice seriously. Being a considerably adventurous and independent child, he ventures forth upon a high bank he often visits, which has sand slopes he much enjoys sliding down. While indulging in this pastime of his, a little girl who we come to know as Sophie inquires if what David is doing is any fun. Upon invitation, she agrees to join him in his game. Following a few entertaining slides down the dune, Sophie suddenly catches her foot in a small crevice. While her snagged foot causes her intense pain she adamantly refuses David's suggestion to remove the shoe to facilitate the extraction of her foot. After much convincing she obliges but makes David promise not to tell anyone of what he sees. To David's surprise,

  • Word count: 7097
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Is Shylock a Victim or a Villain?

Shylock: Victim or Villain? With close reference to at least three scenes examine Shakespeare's presentation of Shylock. Is a villain someone who lends money to help others but then charges interest? Intending to receive a pound of human flesh resulting in certain death if a promise is broken, surely this is somebody who is viewed as a villain. The same man who has experienced prejudice and discrimination all his life only because of his religion, which would be unimaginable in modern day, has this man now turned into a victim? Shakespeare a play writer of the 16th century, so much more creative, sophisticated and knowledgeable then the Elizabethan audience he wrote this play for whom would have perceived Shylock as a Jew a villain, presents Shylock in a more complex way. Jews were thought of by Christians as stubborn non-believers and were accused of poisoning wells and spreading the plague. Shylock was shown to be treated as all these things were true, yet he had a complexity about him as an audience today, against discrimination and accepting other religion and cultures, would feel pity, sympathy and put him towards the victim category. However trying to murder someone for revenge, this is clear villainy to anybody now or thousands of years ago. Throughout the play we ask ourselves, is Shylock a villain or a victim? Shakespeare intends this as he gives Shylock emotive

  • Word count: 4775
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How Does The Writer Create Tension And Suspence In The Monkeys Paw

Are Lord and Lady Capulet Good Parents? We get our first look in at Lord Capulet when he appears in Act 1 scene 2 having a conversation with Count Paris, a higher society male who's asking for Juliet's hand in marriage. In this scene Lord Capulet first appears as a loving father with his daughters best intrest at heart as he turns down the proposal saying Juliet is too young to marry and they should leave it for a couple of years until she's matured. By saying "o'er what I have said before: My child is yet a stranger in the world; she hath not seen the change of fourteen years" Lord Capulet simply explains he feels that being only 13 Juliet doesn't have enough life experience to settle down into marriage and to become a mother and hold a family of her own, As the play was written in Elizabethan times it was a Patriarchal society which means it was only normal for a girl Juliet's age and even younger to be marrying at this point in life. Forcing Juliet into marriage at 13, especially with a count was seen as a good thing in a patriarchal society because it meant advancing the family's status and wealth but Lord Capulet doesn't want to push his daughter into anything so it seems he has his daughters happiness in mind. He nicely lets Paris down by saying "Let two more summers wither in their pride Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride." Telling him that if he lets Juliet

  • Word count: 3698
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The Kite Runner. Vocabulary and Questions

The Kite Runner: Journal Work Section 1: Chapter 1-5 .Vocabulary Pelt: to attract or assail with repeated blows; to throw; to assail vigorously with words, questions, etc. n. Speed, beating, vigorous stroke  The Taliban pelted an innocuous family, abusing them physically with a violent manner Buoy: to keep afloat or support by; to sustain or encourage Their daunting courage was buoyed by the doctor’s assurances. Plod: to walk heavily or more laboriously; trudge I plodded under the weight of an immense burden. Carcass: the dead body of an animal; unfinished framework or skeleton; anything from which life and power are gone The mining town, now a mere carcass, is a reminder of a past era. Mold: v. to shape, form; to have influence in determining or forming During my childhood, my parents molded my personality and habits that last to this day. 2.Quiz Section 1. From Amir’s descriptions and the behavior of the Afghan society during his childhood, what can be inferred about Hazaras and Pashtuns? The soldier refers to Hassan as a Hazara, which is an ethnic group in Afghanistan suffering from heavy racism. From descriptions such as “flat-nosed” and “Chinese Doll”, we can also learn that Hazaras assemble Asians, supported by the fact that they originally came from further east in Asia, and their features are more Asian than Arabic. It is

  • Word count: 3565
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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1914 all out

Analyse the effectiveness of the techniques used by Colin Schindler to portray the impact of the First World War on a small English village in the screenplay "1914 All Out" Joshua Quigley "1914 All Out" was written by the playwright Colin Schindler after he drove through a small Yorkshire village and saw a memorial commemorating those men who had came from the village, and had fought and died in the Great War. This made him wonder what effects a small loss of lives would have on a small village during and after the war. This inspired him to write the screenplay "1914 All Out" based on a small fictional Yorkshire village called East Grisewald. This screenplay is about the effect of losses in East Grisewald on all the villagers there. Colin Schindler ties a cricket match and the war together. The cricket match, which was played in 1914 just before the war, involved the local young men of the village, and some of the older villagers. The performance of the younger men in the cricket match is later reflected in how well they perform during the war. The main characters in the play belong to the Houghton family. Tom and Margaret are the parents of Ken and Joe. Ken is the older of the two brothers, and his significant other is Jean. The other main characters are: Arthur Hayworth, the landowner in the village; Jack and Hilder Fairbrother, Who are married to each other; Geoffrey

  • Word count: 3440
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Mrs. Dalloway: Body and Room as Box of Flowers and Health

Mrs. Dalloway: Body and Room as Box of Flowers and Health Somewhere within the narrative of Mrs. Dalloway, there seems to lie what could be understood as a restatement - or, perhaps, a working out of - the essentially simple, key theme or motif found in Woolf's famous feminist essay A Room of One's Own. Mrs. Dalloway does in fact possess "a room of her own - " and enjoys an income (or the use of an income) that is at least "five hundred a year - " (Room: 164). But most importantly, Clarissa Dalloway also deals with ways of working out female economic necessity, personal space, and the manifestation of an "artistic" self-conception. That this perceived "room" of her famous essay can also serve as a psychological model becomes clearer in Mrs. Dalloway, and the novel reveals another face to this classical essay's main motif. A personal room is, more profoundly, a certain conception of the "soul" or psyche's journey through life, as Sally states in the novel's climax: "Are we not all prisoners? She had read a wonderful play about a man who scratched on the wall of his cell, and she had felt that was true of life - one scratched on the wall" (293). Mrs. Dalloway is a more nuanced mediation of the imagination that powerfully brings into relief qualifications, extensions, and variations on her later, more sociological work's powerful central and titular metaphor. The book

  • Word count: 3439
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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An analysis of Laurence Sterne's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

An analysis of Laurence Sterne's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman Course: Anglo-Irish Prose Fiction Tutor: Hartvig Gabriella Written by: Dora Mosonyi 5th year English major In this essay my aim is to demonstrate how the author parodies the different narrative techniques, how he uses the "time-shift" device, how he introduces the relationship between the narrator and the reader, how he addresses the reader and how he makes use of the "hobby-horses". For an introduction I would like to mention some aspects of the novel and its reception. Sterne is best known for his novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, for which he became famous not only in England, but throughout Europe as well. Sterne wrote Tristram Shandy between 1759 and 1767. It was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1760, and seven others following over the next ten years. According to a literary webpage it was not always thought as a masterpiece by other writers such as Samuel Johnson who said in a critique from 1776 that "nothing odd will do long. Tristram Shandy did not last"; but in opposition to that European critics such as Voltaire and later Goethe praised the book, "clearly superior". (www.sparknotes.com/lit/sterne). "The novel may have been for Sterne and his contemporaries an excitingly new form, but Sterne manages to bring home to the reader

  • Word count: 3162
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Aronald Bennet

Looking at the social comments Arnold Bennett makes. Examine his use of language and literary devices to convey his point. In the story news of the engagement Arnold Bennett makes several social comments. He uses different types of language and literary devices to convey his message to the reader. Throughout the story Arnold Bennett shows the nature of the character Philips relationship with his mother. As the story progresses Arnold Bennett uses different techniques to convey Philips behavior and attitude towards his mother. At the end of the story his message is shown to the reader and from this point onwards my focus will be on Philips journey throughout the story, how he changes and his sudden realization of how poorly he has inwardly treated his mother The first significant phrase in the story appears early in the first paragraph. The phrase used is 'preparing for me' and it is a very important quote as it reveals Philips viewpoint towards his mother. The reader can infer immediately that Philip is appearing to be sarcastic or even patronizing. The word 'preparing' is deliberately placed between inverted commas by the writer. This is an extremely effective method of revealing to the reader Philips tone of voice. It can be perceived that Philip is talking in a tone of disrespect towards his mother and that he is sure that his mother has no other plans which exclude him.

  • Word count: 3162
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Prose essay

Explore how the writers of the short stories studied communicate meaning to the reader. Introduction: The short stories I have chosen to focus on for this essay are ''Flight' by Doris Lessing and 'Your Shoes' by Michele Roberts. I will briefly refer to a third, Graham Swift's 'Chemistry'. I will show the character's desire for control or continuity which conflicts with the choices or sense of independence of another character. I will consider how the writers use the theme of a generation gap, and use symbolism and metaphor to convey meaning to the reader. Both the writers of 'Flight' and 'Your Shoes' the narrative technique of symbolism. In 'Flight' the grandfather uses a pigeon and in 'Your Shoes' the mother uses a pair of new white training shoes (trainers). Both symbolise purity, they are portrayed as precious and in need of being looked after. In both stories, the treatment of the symbolic objects shows how both the grandfather and the mother wish to protect their loved ones from the evils of the outside world. They are also showing that they need to be controlled for their own safety, that in their opinions they are still too young to take this journey on their own. Both of these characters are possessive and don't want to let go of what is dearest to them. Both characters act more possessively due to previous experiences, the grandfather has seen other

  • Word count: 2848
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Wonderland Vs Neverland

Everyone looks at growing up differently. Some wish to hold onto their childhood innocence, whilst others have lost it, struggling to find a more mature identity. The literary works of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie each tackle one side of the transition between childhood and adulthood. For Alice, the world of adults is confusing, but she wants to fit in, wants to be older, and is tired of being treated like a kid. She strives to be older by acting the part of a mature young woman, her world of Wonderland reflecting this fact, as its older, contains more adult themes and concepts, and ultimately helps little Alice through her child to adult transition, allowing her to find herself. Peter is quite the opposite. For him, growing up is a definite no, and he holds onto his innocence at any cost. His world, Neverland, portrays this, as things are strictly good or evil, black or white, with an obliviousness to see the fine line in between, and allows Peter to know exactly who he is. These young protagonists are surrounded by a cast of characters that help outline which side the separate authors take on growing up, and how such things as innocence, maturity, identity and escapism all play parts in these coming of age tales. Alice is seven-years-old. While most kids her age are playing "with a range of toys from wax dolls to toy

  • Word count: 2800
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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