Jack the Ripper ¨C History Coursework

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Lauren Bennie

Jack the Ripper – History Coursework

  1. From Source A you can learn a few points concerning the murder of Polly Nichols in 1888. The most obvious is the fact that she was murdered in London; ‘startled London’. This also shows that the news of her murder completely shocked and appalled the city, people obviously found it hard to believe that someone with so little money such as a prostitute would be murdered. The Source teaches us that she was incredibly underprivileged and deprived before she died as you can see when they mention she is the ‘poorest of the poor’. It is clear from this passage that there was not an obvious motive and she was not robbed of anything, ‘no adequate motive in the shape of plunder can be traced’. This could mean that it was someone she knows if there was no theft but it could just as easily be a stranger. The article also shows that it was a particularly violent murder with a lot of effort involved; ‘extraordinary violence’ which they believe to be a peculiar feature. This helps us to conclude that that the murder was committed by an unsound mind, as source A says; ‘the work of a demented being’. This article leads you to believe that it is the work of a demented serial killer that also murdered Martha Tabram, this is because they are always referring to the ‘two’ murders. All of this information however is written by a newspaper and therefore it is not necessarily to be relied upon.

  1. Source C is an in-depth description of the murdered body of Elizabeth Stride. Seeing as both sources A and B are about the deaths of Polly Nicholls and Martha Tabram the information regarding the position of Elizabeth Stride’s body in Source C cannot support the information in either Source A or B.

Source A assumes that the murderer of Polly Nicholls and Martha Tabram are one in the same. This means they believe that it is the work of a serial killer. This means that Source C can support the idea that there is a serial killer as the way in which Elizabeth Stride was murdered seems quite similar to the ones described in Sources A and B.

There are a lot of references in Sources A and B concerning the way in which the murders were carried out, ‘excess of effort’, ‘extraordinary violence’, ‘considerable anatomical skill and knowledge’, ‘no unskilled person’. It is clear that they were aware of a very experienced and intentional murderer. Also, all three sources prove the murders to be very violent. Both sources A and B are supported by Source C with reference to this skill and knowledge; ‘In the neck there was a long incision which commenced on the left side, two and a half inches below the angle of the jaw, cutting the windpipe completely in two’. All three sources agree on this point which gives the point much reliability.

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Words such as ‘incisions’ and ‘cut’ imply that a knife was used, supporting this in Source B.

Source C states that there was no money found on the body, this can support or conflict with source A. Source A says ‘no adequate motive in the shape of plunder can be traced’. No money on the body could mean that it was stolen or simply that she had none in the first place, in which case it would support Source A.

Source B Says that ‘the body was not dissected’ and ‘there are no meaningless cuts’ this is slightly supported ...

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