"Hobson's Choice" by Harold Brighouse, a summary.

During the previous English lessons we have been reading the play of "Hobson's Choice" by Harold Brighouse furthermore have watched the original film. A theatre critic Nightingale said "the play chronicles a shift between the generation and the sexes" but I believe that he should have added another one "class". Brief summary of play This play is set in Victorian Salford in Manchester. A man called Henry Horatio Hobson who owns a shoe shop. He has 3 daughters who he wants married off (Alice, Vicky and Maggie) with the exception of the eldest Maggie who is 30 years old because he thinks she is too old to get married and she does all the house work and minds the shop while he goes to the Moonrakers and gets drunk. Maggie decides to propose to Willie to get wed Hobson does not like it at all so they walk out to open a rival shoe store with the help of a rich women called Mrs.Hepworth. Class The issue of class is illustrated well throughout the play. Firstly when Hobson makes a fool of himself when Mrs.Hepworth, a very important high class wealthy lady enters the shop to praise Wille for his work on her boats. It is irregular for a high class person to do this to a lower class worker. Tubby Wadlow a worker tells her that Willie has made the pair of shoes than Hobson rudely comes in to the conversation get the wrong impression about what she is saying and begins to talk that he

  • Word count: 1155
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Home Burial," by Robert Frost - critical analysis

"Wade in the Mud With Me" The conversational style poem, "Home Burial," by Robert Frost depicts a relationship between a man and a woman who are uniquely estranged. There could be many reasons and factors which might account for the lack of healthy communication skills within their marriage, but there are obvious walls that have been built up between them which limit their ability to comfort each other in this time of need. Such a feat (being capable of offering emotional support to a spouse in the face of hardship) is often times an unfortunate struggle in marriages and should be addressed, since it is also one of the most essential characteristics in a long lasting and healthy marriage relationship. This young, New-England couple which Frost has portrayed for us has encountered an extremely unfortunate and anomalous trial within the past few months of their marriage. Despite the fact that they have only been married for two years or so, these almost newlyweds have already experienced the death of their first baby boy. Many couples would be expected to cling to each other if found in a situation like this, and each would rely on the strength of his or her partner. However, from the very beginning of this piece, there is a sense of opposition and division between the two (which is illustrated in their conversation and body language) that does not embody or reflect what

  • Word count: 1203
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Hopes and Dreams Help People to Survive, Even if they can Never Become Real"How is this true for George and Lennie/ the characters in 'Of Mice and Men'?

Caroline Seely 11H "Hopes and Dreams Help People to Survive, Even if they can Never Become Real" How is this true for George and Lennie/ the characters in 'Of Mice and Men'? An important theme in 'Of Mice and Men' is that of hopes and dreams. The main dream is that of George and Lennie to own a smallholding and work self-sufficiently. Indeed the story both begins and ends with George narrating the dream to Lennie. As well as George and Lennie other characters such as Candy, Crooks, Curley and Curley's wife have dreams also. All of these hopes and dreams affect the way the characters behave throughout the novel. The book is set during the American depression of the 1930s after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. During this period many Americans struggled to make ends meet. Many left their old lives in the cities of the East, such as Boston or New York, and travelled West to forge new lives for themselves based on agriculture, " An' live off the fatta the lan'." This became the 'American Dream,' this is the dream of George and Lennie. For George the dream serves two main roles. The first is that it makes him strive towards something, giving him ambition and a fantasy of betterment. This makes him a better person because he is careful with his money, doesn't go out drinking or to the brothel, but instead is careful of his responsibilities, "Me an' Lennie's rollin' up a stake, I

  • Word count: 1483
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"How Are Truth and Lies Conveyed in 'The Crucible'?"

Havering Upminster Gaynes 12847 Candidate Number: "How Are Truth and Lies Conveyed in 'The Crucible'?" Arthur Miller was a Jew living in 1950s America. At this time, the Senator, Joe McCarthy, led an anti-communist movement. American citizens would be forced to give all names of people involved in un-American activities. If those accused did not stand before the committee, they would be blacklisted and they would have problems finding jobs. Arthur Miller himself was accused of communism and he wanted to display his feelings about this matter. The story, 'The Crucible' is based on fact but it is an allegory. Miller used an event, the Salem witch trials, which occurred many years before, to reflect his views on the anti-communist hysteria. He believed that both events were very similar in the way that both involved people accusing others to protect themselves. The play is set in Salem, Massachusetts, which was a theocratic society, which means that it was governed by the church. It was a very strict society and no pleasure was tolerated. In fact, people who indulged themselves in pleasure would be excommunicated. People at that time would have believed in witchcraft and the supernatural, and they would accuse people they didn't like of being witches because they knew that it would be regarded as a very serious crime and the punishment would be severe. The

  • Word count: 2336
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"How both authors portray how women are deceived by men", Thomas Hardy and Ravinder Randhawa.

Prathieban Sathanathan Wider Reading Mrs Collins Wider Reading "How both authors portray how women are deceived by men" Women used to be totally controlled by men, many across the world still are. But this still occurs in everyday life even at this present moment in time, many men still abuse women's trust and betray them, control them, not allow them to have any freedom. Women are blinded when it comes to; 'love' even in today's present-day society. 'India.' Written by Ravinder Randhawa and, 'Tony Kites The Arch Deceiver,' highlight this issue very well. Thomas Hardy (1840- 1928) was the first major writer to focus on the countryside and on rural characters, his novels, stories and poems were set in the area he called, 'Wessex,' present day, 'Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire.' Hardy wrote at a period when life was changing in some areas for the first time in centuries. Railways were spreading rapidly as the industrial revolution started to affect the whole population. Many people were beginning to leave the countryside for jobs in the town and to move from job to job. It was also a period where belief in Christianity was under pressure. Many people including Hardy experienced a loss of faith. These changes created a sense of challenge to traditional standards, which was often reflected in Hardy's novels. Ravinder Randhaw was born in 'India' and grew up in

  • Word count: 2642
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"How did she do it?": Aphrodite's Seduction of Anchises

Forrest Johnson Professor Foss Paper #2 February 29, 2005 "How did she do it?": Aphrodite's Seduction of Anchises In the Homeric hymn of Aphrodite and Anchises, Zeus decided to put sweet desire into his daughter so that she would desperately want to make love to a prince of Troy. Aphrodite did not have the slightest clue to why she had suddenly fallen head over heels for Anchises, other than his appearance, closely resembled that of a god. Though she was somewhat confused by this unexpected desire to make love to Anchises, Aphrodite still gave everything she had, making every attempt to attract him to her. Aphrodite successfully lured Anchises by means of portraying herself as a mortal, but her immortality still showed through her disguise, manifested in her wealth, beauty, and emotional lust. Focusing specifically on lines 85-87 of this Homeric hymn, I argue that the mood of this scene has much to do with Anchises falling under Aphrodite's casual love spell. In the description of the elegance of her garments, many symbolic meanings are revealed. Her robe, is described as "out-shining the brightness of fire" and as a "robe of gold." Fire elicits impressions of heat, light, or warmth, but is also symbolic of passion, lust, love, and sexual ecstasy. Such an untraditional robe seems beyond the reach of mortals and Anchises senses this, but it still entices him

  • Word count: 982
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"How did the production convey J.B. Priestley's social message in 'An Inspector Calls' "?

GCSE ENGLISH - DRAMA COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENT By Charlotte Holt "How did the production convey J.B. Priestley's social message in 'An Inspector Calls' "? The production of 'An Inspector Calls' showed what J.B. Priestley thought of British society. The play could be seen on two different levels. One level is the fairly straightforward idea of 'whodunnit', the mystery story approach. On a more significant level, the play can be seen as a criticism of the way society is organised. Priestly, being a socialist, believed in equal rights and opportunities for everyone. He disapproved of the British class system and wrote this play, along with many others, to try and get across his socialist message. The play was written and set at two different times. It was written in 1945 at the end of World War two, but it was set in 1912 in the Edwardian period, just before World War One. His reason for doing this was that in Edwardian times, if you were poor, there was no one in society to help you. No NHS, low life expectancy, no Social Services - if you lost your house or had problems with children there wasn't any help. Education was not available to the poor as they were needed by their parents to work, Trade Unions were in their infancy - very new and weak organisations, and if you were treated unfairly at work or lost your job there was nothing to fall back on. Priestley set it at this

  • Word count: 1333
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"How Do Browning's Poems "My Last Duchess" And "Porphyria's Lover" Compare And Contrast?

Essay on "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess" "How Do Browning's Poems "My Last Duchess" And "Porphyria's Lover" Compare And Contrast? Robert Browning's two poems "My Last Duchess" And "Porphyria's Lover" are about two men who kill their partners to own them. "My Last Duchess" is about a Duke who tells us about his wife and her behaviour with other men, on the other hand "Porphyria's Lover" is about the mind of an abnormally possessive lover. The males take the dominant roles in both poems. Both poems compare in many ways, the most obvious comparison is that both poems are about men that kill their partners to own them, in "Porphyria's Lover" the lover kills his partner to stop him from being lonely and so no other man can have her, he says, "That moment she was mine, mine, fair Perfectly pure and good:" Both of Browning's poems are also monologues which are written through the male lover's point of view. The main difference is that in "My Last Duchess" the duke kills his wife indirectly by giving orders, the Duke says, "Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together." This makes the reader feel more a little less shocked, while on the other hand in "Porphyria's Lover," the lover kills Porphyria directly which makes the reader a little more shocked, he says, "in one long yellow sting I wound three times her little throat around, and

  • Word count: 1284
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"How do the directors of E.T. The Extra Terrestrial and the Elephant Man convey to an audience that the central characters are outsiders in society?"

"How do the directors of E.T. The Extra Terrestrial and the Elephant Man convey to an audience that the central characters are outsiders in society?" Throughout both films there are many similarities and differences between the directive strategies of Directors David Lynch and Steven Spielberg although it should be remembered that there is a theory that all stories derive from six basic plots. The directors have chosen characters that compare with the general feeling of the period for the two similar plots. Spielberg in ET developed a plot creating and using a modern day fairy tale whilst David Lynch creates his plot in Elephant Man with a more credible scenario by using a historic figure, John Merrick. In Victorian times disfigured people were at the bottom of society whereas if John Merrick had been placed in the 1970's he would have received greater sympathy which would not have been the affect that David Lynch sought to convey. During the opening of ET there is an apparently insignificant but important scene. ET bends down to grab a plant as the camera moves slightly to the right, showing a rabbit which is clearly comfortable with this 'outsider' being there. Spielberg uses the concept of a rabbit's instinct to show that ET is a harmless creature. As the authorities arrive ET is left behind, on earth and Spielberg closes the scene with a long-shot of the city. He

  • Word count: 2819
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"How do the themes explored by Mary Shelley in 'Frankenstein' relate to a modern audience?"

Natalie Davidson 11ZA3 "How do the themes explored by Mary Shelley in 'Frankenstein' relate to a modern audience?" The beginning of civilisation brought the evidential classification of people as insiders and outsiders in any close society, due to the narrow stereotypical minds of the masses and often the simplistic facts of life. People are separated from the rest of the community as a result of perhaps their physical appearance or a difference in their personality. Stereotypical idols in today's society are greatly influential; we are quick to identify faults in others and use this excuse to ostracise them from the world and ourselves. Mary Shelley embodies this 'outsider' through the monster that Frankenstein creates. He is isolated and rejected by everyone, so we are made to empathise with him; human beings have a natural instinct to do this, so the text is universalised. Ironically, at times the monster is more humane than those who consider themselves human, those who consider themselves 'insiders', opposed to the monster- an outsider. This novel opens on a personal note, Shelley uses the device of letters as a hook to draw in the reader; an invasion of privacy universalises the thoughts on paper, like reading someone else's diary. This makes it easier for us to empathise to Captain Walton and subsequently Victor Frankenstein, who is very similar in many aspects to

  • Word count: 1765
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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