English commentary Free fall by william golding

English commentary- assignment William Golding, Free Fall This passage is an extract of Free Fall by William Golding, which describes a particular character he had met in his childhood. This character is Miss Rowena Pringle who is a teacher in the school where the narrator studied. From the beginning itself, we are exposed to a set of descriptions of Miss Pringle which allows us to picture her at that particular time. The very first line of this extract shows that she is very religious and certainly experienced teacher. The narrator's first physical description of her shows that she is somehow troubled as the choice of words such as "Sandy hair", "sandy moustache" and "beard" and to which this can be confirmed is the use of the word "spinster" as for a woman who has never married must surely be lacking something. This can also mean that the narrator had some issues with Miss Pringle as "spinster" is rather a cruel word to use. We also see that there is a tension between Miss Pringle and the narrator because he was adopted by the man who was supposed to marry her. So basically here it is possible to state that the reason for Miss Pringle being a "spinster" is due to the narrator himself as he says "and who was slowly going mad". The use of the word mad can act as an allegory and can imply that she is very angry with her situation or also that she cannot adapt to the world

  • Word count: 431
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: World Literature
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How and in what ways are the female characters in Perfume by Patrick Sskind and Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman, portrayed differently?

Overseas Family School Singapore World Literature Essay #1 How and in what ways are the female characters in Perfume by Patrick Süskind and Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman, portrayed differently? Word Count: 1357 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the International Baccalaureate Diploma - Extended Essay 2008 - 2010 There is a significant difference between males and females that does not lie in their physical appearance, but rather in their respective nature. Literature confirms that males have almost always been perceived as the more dominant and independent gender, whereas females have been typified as vulnerable and dependent. Obviously, this is not always the case. In Patrick Süskind's novel, Perfume, this common misconception is accepted while in Ariel Dorfman's play, Death and the Maiden, it is challenged. In addition to being characterized through their own thoughts, dialogue, and actions, the female characters in both texts are also defined by the male characters in their respective stories. In Perfume, the hopeless murder victims of Grenouille are not only symbolic of female suppression, but also their lack of power. However, in Death and the Maiden, Paulina Salas' fight to bring her alleged rapist and torturer to justice is testament to female strength. While Paulina and the female characters in Perfume may, at times, share the

  • Word count: 1437
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: World Literature
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The writer of Unman, Wittering and Zigo, and Giles Cooper criticises the educational system of the 1950s. The story centres on a new, young, weak and inexperienced teacher called John Ebony although the Head at Chantrey School approves him.

Unman, Wittering and Zigo Mohammed Ebrahim Badat 10L How does the writer criticise the educational system of the 1950's and how relevant are his concerns in the 21st century? The writer of Unman, Wittering and Zigo, and Giles Cooper criticises the educational system of the 1950's. The story centres on a new, young, weak and inexperienced teacher called John Ebony although the Head at Chantrey School approves him. Chantrey School is a highly recommended school with a very good reputation as shown by the Head, however, the secrets of reality lie within the school. The Head is a person who cares more about the reputation and the appearance of the school than the reality of the school itself, and will do anything to stop the reputation of the school being destroyed. However the writer also creates a character called Cary Farthingale who is the exact opposite of the head. Cary Farthingale is a person who does not really care about the appearance of the school and talks about the reality of the school and criticises the Head. The play is a thriller because someone dies in mysterious circumstances and the hero, in this case John, is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. The structure of the educational system of the 1950's was the same structure as the army. In the army, people are made to follow orders obediently and do things without thinking and this is the same

  • Word count: 4602
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: World Literature
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Sequel of All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front Michael Li 9(8) Chapter Thirteen I felt my body being lifted, moved towards heaven, and relaxed in peace. When I opened my eyes, I saw-a nurse? What? I opened my eyes bigger, I'm in a hospital! I'm not dead? (After some years, I am told that I'm saved by French, what a shame!)With these questions, I tried to move my legs. They are free! I got myself out of the bed, and walked to the board where there is news and I saw the date. It is November 1918, and the war is over. We lost. We have to sign this The Treaty of Versailles that we need to pay and lose land. In addition, after I leave the hospital, I was told by my neighbors that my mom died soon after the army think I died from cancer. Afterwards, Germany went into a Depression. I am now living in peace for about 20 years, having a family with Maria. We have a child, name Peter. Nevertheless, one day I am driving my car to the market, and I am told that Hitler has been elected for president. I was shocked. Hitler was a private (the lowest rank in military) in World War I, and now his is the president? No one knows what this crazy man is going to do. Time flies, and now I'm back to the place where I belong-the army. I'm now a major-general of Hitler's army (I didn't want to go, the army forced me to go back) but compared to the wretched and rather miserable life in World War I, the

  • Word count: 1658
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: World Literature
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Miss Julie Commentary. In the play, Miss Julie, the element that grabbed my interest was the natural behaviors of the characters, and how they interacted with each other.

Miss Julie Commentary In the play, Miss Julie, the element that grabbed my interest was the natural behaviors of the characters, and how they interacted with each other. Especially the conversations between Miss Julie and Jean, they were two different ranked individuals, but still the upper ranked Miss Julie wanted to have an affair, or have a date with the lower ranked Jean. Jean and Kristin were both workers and helpers for Miss Julie, and from experience and common sense, it is quite surprising that the 'owner' falls in love with the 'workers'. When Miss Julie finds out that she doesn't have a dance partner, she decides to bring Jean for her partner. However, Jean is already taken by his fiancé, Kristin. Miss Julie, of course, doesn't care whether Jean is taken from; she just cares about her own needs and desires. She says, "{softly} Don't take it as a command. This evening we are all just enjoying ourselves together, and any rank is laid aside. So give me your arm - Don't worry Kristin! I shan't run off you're your fiancé!" This shows how much the author, August Strindberg, writes all of the character's behaviors through dialogue, but not words. In the past literature works we have read, it was quite common for the author to characterize the individuals in the plot, and did not characterize much in the dialogue. However, in this work, Miss Julie, the Strindberg

  • Word count: 492
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: World Literature
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Vietnam war

Vietnam Research Project Introduction The Vietnam War was the longest and most unpopular war in American history, the toll they paid wasn't just monetary, it cost the people involved dearly physically and mentally. Causing suffering, sorrow, and national turmoil because of bad press meant that Americans were divided. Which is why this project will be split into questions, which means I can concentrate on one aspect of the Vietnam War at a time. I shall endeavour to delve into to these questions, answering as best I can (with the help of varied historical resources from the Internet, books etc). Which leads me on to tell you the aims of this project, which are: . To RESEARCH, SELECT and PRESENT information from a variety of historical sources: narrative accounts, maps, photos, eyewitness accounts; government documents, statistics, etc. 2. To make critical use of historical sources to answer specific historical questions. 3. To understand and be able to explain the causes, key features and consequences of the Vietnam War for America, and her status as a superpower. 4. To recognize and explain different interpretations of the conflict. Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam? Vietnam was originally a French colony, during the Second World War it was taken form the French, and consequently after WW2 it was returned to the French.

  • Word count: 2450
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: World Literature
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Commentary on the poem The Road Not Taken written by Robert Frost.

The poem 'The Road Not Taken' is written by Robert Frost. Known to be a nature poet, Frost's poems use nature to convey universal messages. Written in first person, the poem addresses the themes of Choice and its Regrets. We make choices throughout our lives, some change our lives for the better whereas some for the worse. Set during the season of autumn, the traveller is walking down the woods and is faced with a choice between two paths. Every aspect of both paths were identical, there was no differentiating factor. This can be inferred from phrases such as 'just as fair', 'equally lay' and 'about the same'. If there was a distinguishing factor then one road would have become more attractive than the other. As the poem unfolds, the traveller is shown to have taken the path 'less travelled by'. It can be termed a courageous decision as the traveller tread on a path which very few have treaded on. This can be inferred from '...and wanted wear', this illustrates that the road was less travelled by and needed someone to trod on it. The poem closes with the lines 'I took the one less...difference'. This line has two connotations to it. First, it can be said that traveller is regretting his decision. He believes his choice has changed his life for the worse and regrets about what he missed, what the second choice held for me? Where would I have been? Secondly, it can be said

  • Word count: 994
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: World Literature
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Why Personal Freedom is so Difficult to Attain in Funny Boy and Billy Elliot

A Treasured Idea Who are we? I mean, we all have names and personalities, morals and ethics, needs and demands, but, what is underneath all of that? What is beneath the beauty of our skin, or the strength of our bones? I think that underneath all of this is a single idea, a thought so strong that it begins to shape us, transform us and we begin to represent that idea - at least at first that's what it appears to be. As children, we hope to become something extraordinary. We have dreams and we are all full of hope; some of us want to be the next Michael Jordan or Wayne Gretzky, others may want to cure cancer or be the first person to land on Mars and yet others may want to become Presidents and Prime Ministers. The point is that at some moment in our life we wanted to become that special somebody that everyone would know and admire, so why is it that only a handful of us have ever attained our dreams? I have learned that we lose our ability to hope as we become adults and as we realize how hard we have to work to achieve those goals. This is my story of how I obtained my special idea and why I'm trying to shelter it so that life doesn't grab it with its icy hand and shatter it to a million pieces. There are certain people who have transcended the reality of life and discovered that we will only live for so long and we might as well do what the hell we can while we're in

  • Word count: 877
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: World Literature
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Good and Evil - how do two Modern Classic Texts, The Lord of the Flies and The Crucible, reflect real life contemporary issues?

ARE HUMANS BORN INHERENTLY EVIL IS THERE SUCH THING AS MORAL GOODNESS HOW DO THE TEXTS STUDIED IN CLASS REFLECT REAL LIFE CONTEMPORY ISSUES There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it - Buddha. Humanity's thinking is conditioned by the ideals of the society around it. In order to run functionally the masses of society must support and uphold society's ideals. So society names acceptable, or encouraged, ideals good and the actions society disallows or forbids are called evil. Every day we see atrocious acts committed on the news. Even when the world condemns acts of evil they still occur, One then wonders why crimes are committed, whether these sins are an act of nature (that the perpetrator is born with certain evils) or is it instead that society has taught these people to be hateful and commit crimes, with this uncertainty In mind I set about investigating the questions; are humans inherently evil? Is there such thing as 'moral goodness'? And how do two Modern Classic Texts, 'The Lord of the Flies' and 'The Crucible', reflect real life contemporary issues? The sociological choices within 'The Lord of the Flies' reflects the evils of real life societal flaws. William Golding's 'The Lord of the Flies' is a novel based on the exploits of a group of boys aged from six to twelve who are stranded on an island in a time which the world has sunk into

  • Word count: 1727
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: World Literature
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Review of Death in Venice

Review: Death in Venice In the novel Death in Venice by Thomas Mann, the author expresses his theory of the ability of absolute passion and obsession in washing off a person's dignity and common sense through the character Gustav von Aschenbach. Mann's writing is heavy with literary devices such as Greek mythology allusions, symbolisms, imagery, foreshadowing and immense details on different characters in the plot; which contributes towards intensifying the plotline and expressing his theories through the happenings of the story. Death in Venice depicts the gradual development of von Aschenbach's passion and obsession towards a 14 year old boy he meets whilst on vacation in Venice. Gustav Aschenbach is a German writer in his fifties. He is a very serious man with great dignity and self discipline, very dedicated to his writing where everyday he spends hours and hours writing even when fatigue strikes him. One day, von Aschenbach is pondering about his writings and strolling around the English Garden when he reaches the North Cemetery. A most peculiar man caught his thoughts with his eminent features and sudden appearance, upon scrutinizing his appearance and catching the man's hard glance, von Aschenbach encounters a hallucination of his desire to be at somewhere tropical with lush greenery and damp whether. This extraordinary vision and his sudden desire to travel to

  • Word count: 1809
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: World Literature
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