Here we wish to compile a plethora of resources for A Level students to use, peruse (and abuse?) Likely to include literary articles, criticism and potentially significant musings.
Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Homework 21.09.16: Duffy's main intention in 'History' is to highlight the weakness of the female sex throughout time. Discuss.
The Destructors and History both share the theme of isolation as time progresses forward. The Destructors open with a group of people, who I am assuming to be teenagers, with one member to have claimed to have been one year old when the blitz occurred whilst in History, the elderly woman is said to be old and alone from the beginning. This theme is closely linked to that of destruction with the Wormsley Common gang ruining the property of the old man that the leader T gained the respect and trust of Old Misery, aand by the last stanza of History, the youth of society had destroyed the woman's home. This could lead to the suggestion that as time progresses, the way people treat one another becomes poorer and so will ultimately lead to our undoing one day. Whilst this is evident with the destruction of the old lady's property, it could be shown in History, as throughout time, each generation has brought something upon itself which has seemingly caused chaos in some kind of fashion. I think that The Dictators and History both share the view that as people, we are highly influential but we use this for wrong doings. We insult those who mean the most to our society, the ones who have delt with their generations attitudes towards them and now have to deal with our attitudes as well. I believe that both texts display the significance the elderly have within society and how if we mistreat them, it ruins the community and not just their lives.
In both 'History' and 'The Destructors' there is an echo of hatred from the younger generation towards the older. Not only is there a sense of conflict between the generations, both Duffy and Greene expand on war. There are correlations that war is continuous considering the 'first blitz' will not be the only bombing they will have; this pessimistic attitude runs through Duffy's poem as she personifies war with an elderly lady, knowing this is why she has woken up: to be of use as another war. However, there is evidence in both that 'old' is associated to 'misery,' as if old people are the reasons behind war. But, war resembles death and so does old age, so the correlation between the two builds up. As if it was a chore for History to ‘wake again,’ because war brings nothing but death. Socially both authors may be trying to expand on the view that old people talk about war and the view that they are wise and have been through a lot. Both resemble the negative aspects of war but of the mistreatment from society to the elderly. However, they are not both similar. ‘The Destructors’ has a negative light on the elderly as if they are useless and anarchy is needed. Or that they are the cause of war. Whereas, ‘History’ reveals the mistreatment making us feel empathetic; instead of the elderly being weak, Duffy shows them to be incredibly strong. That even if a war is going on, there is also conflict in our society between the young and the old.
The Destructors and History both share the theme of isolation as time progresses forward. The Destructors open with a group of people, who I am assuming to be teenagers, with one member to have claimed to have been one year old when the blitz occurred whilst in History, the elderly woman is said to be old and alone from the beginning. This theme is closely linked to that of destruction with the Wormsley Common gang ruining the property of the old man that the leader T gained the respect and trust of Old Misery, aand by the last stanza of History, the youth of society had destroyed the woman's home.
ReplyDeleteThis could lead to the suggestion that as time progresses, the way people treat one another becomes poorer and so will ultimately lead to our undoing one day. Whilst this is evident with the destruction of the old lady's property, it could be shown in History, as throughout time, each generation has brought something upon itself which has seemingly caused chaos in some kind of fashion. I think that The Dictators and History both share the view that as people, we are highly influential but we use this for wrong doings. We insult those who mean the most to our society, the ones who have delt with their generations attitudes towards them and now have to deal with our attitudes as well. I believe that both texts display the significance the elderly have within society and how if we mistreat them, it ruins the community and not just their lives.
In both 'History' and 'The Destructors' there is an echo of hatred from the younger generation towards the older. Not only is there a sense of conflict between the generations, both Duffy and Greene expand on war. There are correlations that war is continuous considering the 'first blitz' will not be the only bombing they will have; this pessimistic attitude runs through Duffy's poem as she personifies war with an elderly lady, knowing this is why she has woken up: to be of use as another war.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there is evidence in both that 'old' is associated to 'misery,' as if old people are the reasons behind war. But, war resembles death and so does old age, so the correlation between the two builds up. As if it was a chore for History to ‘wake again,’ because war brings nothing but death. Socially both authors may be trying to expand on the view that old people talk about war and the view that they are wise and have been through a lot.
Both resemble the negative aspects of war but of the mistreatment from society to the elderly. However, they are not both similar. ‘The Destructors’ has a negative light on the elderly as if they are useless and anarchy is needed. Or that they are the cause of war. Whereas, ‘History’ reveals the mistreatment making us feel empathetic; instead of the elderly being weak, Duffy shows them to be incredibly strong. That even if a war is going on, there is also conflict in our society between the young and the old.