Author: Eugene

Slavery had started in 1619 when the Dutch had first brought the first group of captured Africans to America. West Africa was in fact part of a major trading network that dates back even before the Europeans. Trading routes had crossed from the Sahara further linking the north to the west. A lot like Africa , America was also shaped by slavery. To kill a Mockingbird  relates to slavery in America in-which throughout the book it portrays a crippled black man who is wrongly accused of raping a nineteen year old white girl. This is a realistic take on how discrimination and how blacks can be wrongly accused and mistrusted at that time is shown by this tale.

The Courthouse in  how to kill a mockingbird are very old and are the only surviving remains of the old courthouse in which had been used in the times of slavery and corruption. The old Courthouse was burned down 32 years after the abolishment of slavery. The courthouse was held in Alabama which is in the deep south and many of its inhabitants did not like the fact that Black People were free from slavery and by law are allowed to walk freely among the majority of White people. Even thou the Courthouse was burned down to show that times are different, the Maycomb inhabitants  kept what was left which was the Sturdy Greek pillars  and built a new section of the courthouse so that they could connect.

The evidence of Harper Lee’s morality can be shown throughout the text using character. I can explain this because the main protagonist Scout is  used as a vessel in which Harper explains her moral beliefs and thoughts on racism in the southern part of the United States. She does this because anything said from a child is acceptable as they have much to learn and they are young and naive meaning  that anything said will be taken lightly. However if Harper lee was to express her views with the world directly then there would have been an uproar because of her being a fully grown adult.  Many of the characters in the book are likely to have been influenced by the author’s childhood as she sees Scout as a younger version of herself. “Well how do you know we ain’t Negroes?” This is one of the many questions that Scout asks Atticus who is her biological father and helps her out throughout the book. For someone studying the 1930’s or Racial Segregation in Southern America then this would be a good source for understanding what it most probably would of been like, because the author actually watched her friends experience such negativity as she grew up, and she would therefore be able to capture the events from their perspective as well as her own. Children are not born Racist and are actually born happy and this means that children are only introduced into hate and misfortune by their parents. How Jem and Scout view the world is a reflection on how they were brought up by Atticus.

Turf written by John Lucas is one of my favorite books as it explores the student life in north London,Hackney.
The book follows Jay, a student growing up in Hackney, North London and as his 16th birthday approaches, Jay is offered the chance to move up in the ‘food chain’ from the youngers to the Olders of the Blake Street Boyz (His local Gang). But to be accepted in he is asked to kill a classmate, and Jay begins to rethink if the Blake Street Boyz is all its pumped up to be. Jay has been sent to live with his ardent Christian aunt; her flat is a “Welcome Break for souls” crammed with metaphors, including a hologram of Jesus that taunts Jay with life or death.
The book contains many hints to religion and choice.Jay meets new characters who teach him new lessons and change his perception of life. Although this book is for teens it contains sexual content and violence which i like because its a lot more realistic because it goes beyond the stereotype.The book is read in 3rd person but from Jay the main antagonists perspective. I find it entertaining how John Lucas (the writer) writ the book with so much detail but hadn’t had any history with hackney or gangs. Often the book is quite comedic and funny but are diluted down with unfortunate happenings. The author guided the plot with Jays decisions and choices. He also creates characters like Leo in which hangs around a church and has a rather large spliff in which he smokes and gives many prophecy’s to jay almost like the apothecary in Romeo and Juliet. His aunt also steers Jay’s direction by talking to him about religion and the smart choices. The book explains the segregation between whats cool and whats not mainly at the start in which it explains that when your 15 everything matters. Jay explains how Mars,twix and snickers are too mainstream and flake , Buenos and malteser are too girly. He then explains how Galaxy is not too girlie, but actually that galaxy is a good choice because it shows certain class, like a mans taste. But soon after he explains how he would of liked to eat a Milky way bar but that’s light and fluffy because it took him back to when things were simple and it didn’t matter what chocolate he ate but now he seems to think that there is no way eating a chocolate bar not in his section.

Mockingjay is the Third and last instalment of the Hunger Games Franchise. The start of the book returns to the cliffhanger of Catching Fire (Previous book) and the contents of the book has remotely changed from the first book as the story doesn’t revolve around The arena or the trials but the consequences and conclusions to the main protagonists actions. The heroin is called Katniss Everdeen and she is a near traumatized young adult who has gone through physical and mental trauma to protect her family and friends.The world is a post-apocalyptic dystopia in which citizens are very much like puppets with strings a lot like reality shows today instead with a fear of death rather than a fear of unpopularity controlling them. The puppet master is President Snow who’s appearance is of a retired Father Christmas with puffy lips and a single white rose tucked snug in his breast pocket. Katniss chooses to replace her younger sister Prim in the Arena where selected youths are chosen from each district to fight to the death and where one victor is allowed to survive. Throughout Katnisses time in the games she gives off gestures and signs of resistance. This is the first incentive that she will be the beacon of hope for Panem. The Mockingjay is figure or idol in which will free them from the clutches of the Capitol. A Mockingjay is a bird like creature created by the Capitol using the genes of  Jabber jays which were birds that the Capitol genetically engineered to be spies during the rebellion of the past 13 districts.The Jabberjays had collected the information for the capitol and had fulfilled their purpose so the laboratories were destroyed and the surviving subjects were left in the wilderness to die out. Eventually they had died out but not until they had passed on their genetic code to female Mockingbirds. The use of having the Mockingbird could have been a hint to the Harper Lee novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ as it shows pride. The book is written in 3rd person but from Katniss’s point of view which i also enjoy because the author is also a female so this helps the connection between the antagonist and the writer. Suzanne Collins even states that”Katniss is a wreck” This was a good pillar for the book because it doesn’t contain any stereotypes as the apocalyptic war had changed them. Her character is a tom-boy who hunts animals and sells them to feed her small family as her Father was killed in a mining accident when Katniss was younger and her mother was a doctor for the sick and starving community. This had made Katniss the man of the house and this had stripped her of her childhood. For female readers this was good because there are not many Female heroes in today’s novels and films as Katniss is independent and strong instead of a damsel in distress.The setting of the hunger games was based on  reality TV and coverage of the war in Iraq with child soldiers being killed and people watching it on TV. She was also influenced heavily by Greek Mythology. The story of Theseus and the Minotaur is a favorite story and she had used the children being sent to death in the arena with the Minotaur in her story being King Minos of Crete as President Snow and Athens is panem in which King Minos demands Athens to send him seven children every year. This had been the backbone for the famous franchise. This does not have many non fiction parts as it is an allegory like Animal Farm but for the distant future. This is very different and therefore unique as it explores the dark side of humanity. The few books that surround the Hunger Games are Divergent,Twilight and Maze runner.

Bayonet Charge written by Ted Hughes

“Bayonet Charge” is set in the First World War from 1914 to 1918. The poem elaborates the situation that many soldiers had to face. Going over the top is when the soldiers would climb out of the trench with their Long knives known as bayonets attached to the end of their rifles and head out on the battlefield to face heavy fire and mortar shells. The first paragraph is about an anonymous soldier in who gets out of the trench and charges ahead a midst the flailing bullets towards the enemy trench. It has a lot of metaphors and adjectives to guide our imagination. The rest of the poem just explains the journey and what the soldier is going through to reach the enemy stronghold (Or Trench). I very much enjoy re-reading this poem because it contains a lot of action and descriptive metaphors to fill my reading needs.

The poem is somewhat written in the same way as Out of the blue as they both contain many rhyming adjectives and also other similarities.”In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations. Is he the hand pointing that second”. This sentence stands out for me as the poem is to do with war the poem makes a reference to soldiers using the stars for navigation and a way of telling the time. There is also a use of personification as the the hand of the clock is referenced as a human hand.

Dear Mum and Dad

Hi Mum hi Dad how’s things? The weathers pretty moist and damp I mean its virtually the same as back home aha. in Asia but At least the foods nice. How is Stella by the way ? Is Dad still taking her out for walks ? I have so much to say but not much ink to use so I will try to make this quick. Our defenses are good and its just a simple recon mission that we have to deal with but then ill be straight on a flight back to Norbury where a check should be delivered carrying the dosh. Cant wait to see you.   X

From your beloved son Gary.

The character that I have chosen is Lev.
I like the character Lev because he appeals to me. One of his traits that I like is his tough exterior in which part of the script he shows his softer side. Lev seems to care a lot about his squad and with the bird that flew in he did not allow the bird to stay in their group. He cares very little for bullshit and likes to show it. He also indicates in a part of the play that he believes fights should be fair and he would love to fight Like a Roman Soldier.
The scene in which the soldiers reminisce on what they miss and what was back home. This includes someone indicating that would love to be reunited with their gaming console that is an “X-Box”. By this being said it indicates that the time period is set soon after The November the 21st , 2001 when the Xbox was initially released.
“The Grandfathers” script is set in Central Asia preferably Nepal on a hillside.

Propaganda enables governments to manipulate people because they have a lot of power and
That makes the general public vulnerable to brainwashing.
Propaganda in Animal Farm is based on the character of Squealer because he
Uses his words to his advantage by altering opinions of other characters in the book.
This use may be used through newspapers and posters e.g in the great world war .
Mostly throughout the book Napoleon Continue reading

P : I believe  that Squealer uses persuasive language to manipulate the animals and to get what he wants.

E : The evidence for Squealer’s wit is Napoleon grinding down the commandments and changing it into one “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”.
Many of the animals quote that Squealer could “Turn Black into White”.
He uses the word “Comrades”. He justifies the fact that Pigs need the milk and apples to feed there smart brains and and that if they did not get apples Farmer Jones might come back and reign terror.