Yusuf's Online Journal

Thomas Hardy describes love as a curse throughout the poem. This was done by using a range of language devices which present the love as a curse. I will be exploring all the different ways in which Thomas Hardy has used different language features and devices and explain them in great detail. Also, I will be making links to how Thomas Hardy may have linked his poem to how the love may have been cursed between the two people in the poem.

The first way in which Thomas Hardy has presented love as a curse would be the way he was describing a pond on a ‘winter day’. This quotation has a sense of negativity because of how he mentioned the season. The season is during winter and the fact that he has mentioned this suggests that it is a bad memory due to the fact that cold, winter days are known to be dull and miserable. This makes a link to how the love may have been quite negative and how there was no real bond. This also links to how the love may be portrayed as a curse as curses generally represent negative things.

The second point is when Thomas Hardy says ‘tedious riddles of years ago’. The fact that Thomas Hardy has mentioned riddles explains how their love may have been similar as they find it hard to understand and crack each other which is also the same scenario in a riddle. Also, he mentions it as a memory as it is something that has happened in the past and can be looked back upon as a bad memory. This is a curse as it shows how the whole love was not real and could be seen as a trap for him to be hurt.

Another way in which Thomas Hardy has presented love as a curse would be by mentioning ‘love deceives’. This quotation also makes a link to a negative type theme through the word ‘deceive’. This word explains how their relationship was full of lies and how they were untrustworthy as they may have been doing things behind each others backs. This is a use of a metaphor because of how love cannot physically deceive but instead Thomas Hardy has compared it to their relationship in order to inform the reader of what type of relationship these two people share in the poem. The love can also be seen as curse as deceitfulness consists of lies and trickery and that can also be seen in curses.

The third point I would like to make is when it says ‘grin of bitterness’. In this quotation, it shows how the smile on the other persons face was fake and how there was no real bond in love between them. The fact that it was a fake smile can also show how their relationship was also fake as well but looked good from the outside similar to the smile. Also, the word bitterness shows how it was cutting into him and effecting him strongly similar to that of a lemon. This all can link to the theme of love being presented as a curse simply because of how their relationship was not strong and was fake and can therefore be seen as a curse set upon him.

The final point i would like to make is how Thomas Hardy has include how they ‘stood by a pond’. This explains how they they are in a negative situation because of how they were stood and not sitting. This is because if they were sitting it would suggest that they were comfortable but the fact that they are standing shows how they are in an awkward situation and they are not comfortable. Also the fact that Thomas Hardy has has used past tense to show it as a memory. The fact that Thomas Hardy has Shown this as a memory shows that it must have been an extremely significant point in his life that he was able to remember extremely small details. This can be seen as a curse as the memory has stuck with him and almost haunted him in a way therefore can be represented as a curse set upon him.

In conclusion, I believe that Thomas Hardy has used the theme of their relationship being shown as a curse through many negative parts of the text. This was done through many ways including metaphors, similes and other ways which all eventually manage to link to how it their love was a curse.

In this essay, I will be explaining the similarities and differences between the movie and the book to identify each of the interpretations given to Chris McCandless’ family members. In the movie, it presents certain relationships as distant whereas in the book it may be presented differently for a specific purpose. Also, characters of people are shown to the audience in a given way for the audience to judge and interpret them. An example of this  would be Billie (Chris’ mum) is shown as a fake person whereas in the book she isn’t. These examples will be looked into with more depth as I will be comparing and showing similarities between the ways characters have been presented in the book and movie.

The first point I would like to make is how the film presents Walt McCandless as a world apart from his son. Their relationship is presented as distant because of the limited eye contact they give for each other. Also, at the point where Chris declined the car, Walt glared at Chris with anger which suggests that they do not get along. The use of the close up shot which primarily showed each of the family members eyes is pivotal in understanding each of the characters personalities. I believe Penn done this on purpose to give the viewer an understanding of each character.

In the book however, Walt and Chris are described as sharing core characteristics. In the book, it says ‘Colleagues refer to him [Walt] as brilliant.’ This is similar to his son as it mentions how Chris ‘came into this world with unusual gifts’. This shows a link between Chris and Walt as the word gift suggests that Chris naturally got these characteristics off his father. Krackauer uses comparison between Chris and Walt to show the similarities and how they are close due to their personalities. Also, the fact that it mentions ‘came into this world’ suggests that Chris may have inherited some key aspects of his personality off his father.

The second difference between the book and the movie in how characters are presented is through Chris’ mother Billie. In the movie, Billie appears to be quite fake and boastful. An example of this would be when they are in the restaurant and she gets up to greet Chris at the door, she boasts to a stranger how Chris had just graduated in search for attention. This makes Billie seem boastful as she unnecessarily shares information which does not affect other people in order for attention. Also, she is made out to be fake. This is because she wanted to get Chris a new car in order for her family reputation to look good. She also refers to Chris’ car as ‘junk’ when the car works perfectly good as it does not look classy and up to the standards of their class. In the movie, Penn uses a point of view shot which shows Billie talking about the car and then looking over towards it. Also, the fact that Chris’ car is in the middle of two more upper class looking cars also gives the reader a hint of Billie’s opinion. The reader gets a negative view on Billie simply because of how her personality has been portrayed.

This differs to the book however because Billie is shown as a lovely and caring mother. An example of this in the story would be how she had hand knitted Chris a blanket for him to take with him on his journey. This shows Billie as a lovely and caring mother as she is putting time aside for her son when she could have easily bought a blanket for him. This symbolises the love put in and this technique by Krakauer where he mentions small details which have big meanings tells the reader about Billie.

Another example of a difference between the movie and the book would be how Chris is always behaving negatively towards his parents in the film. One of the main parts which stood out would be when Chris’ voice over was talking negatively while showing positive flashbacks of his parents when they were in school. He talks about how what they were doing was going to lead to a huge mistake and how their future is going to be depressing. He then goes on to say how he would like to stop them from going on just so he can avoid being born. This shows the negativity in Chris’ mind which explains his attitude towards his parents. The fact that Penn uses a voice over technique shows the reader the events leading up to the present time and Chris’ opinion on what has happened to try and inform the reader on Chris’ thoughts. Overall, Chris’ behaviour around his parents is mostly negative.

Krakauer  presents Chris’ relationship differently as it is more of a loving and tighter bond. This is because in the book, Chris buys his mother a gift for mothers day although he does not believe in presents and gifts. This shows how Chris has a tight bond with his parents especially his mother because he has gone against his beliefs to make his mother happy. I believe Krakauer has included this small detail to show the tight bond Chris shares with his parents in order to try and portray Chris as a positive Character to the reader.

Carine shares an extremely tight bond with Chris in the book as it appears that they are extremely close in what they do. In the film, when they are together, they are always smiling and have free flowing conversations which suggests how they share an extremely close bond. One particular example is when it showed Chris’ parents arguing and he hugs Carine telling her it is going to be al right. This shows how Chris really cares for his sister and he does not want her to be hurt. This shows Chris as a loving, caring character as he looks out for her even though he may not be particularly happy himself.

This is a similar scenario in the book but the main difference is the competition and rivalry between Chris and his character. An example of their rivalry is when it says ‘there was no way he was going to sit behind his damn sister’. This shows the intense rivalry between Chris and Carine as Chris was unable to cope with the fact that his younger sister was better than him at playing the French horn therefore he stopped playing it. On the other hand, It also shows the love that they have for each other as when Carine found out about Chris’ death, it mentioned how she could not get through a day without crying. The adjective used gives extra emphasis on Chris’ thoughts and feelings as it shows how he has got strong feelings against being beaten. The readers overall perspective would be how they have a typical sibling relationship.

In conclusion, the book and the movie have many main differences yet key similarities as well which gives the reader mixed opinions. Overall, i believe that the book is the more accurate version as it seems more realistic, therefore, the book is better.

This book explores the theme of horror due to its uncertainty and jumpy scenes. It uses language features to create that horror themed atmosphere where the reader is on edge as they are frightened of what is going to happen next.

The story is part of a sequel where two brothers work together to work out mysteries. The younger brother who is currently is at school is the clever one and works out the mysteries for his brother who is not very intelligent but works as a detective. The story starts off in their flat where the older brother receives an invitation to a school reunion from a rich old friend of the older brother. They were instructed to go to a private island off the coast of Scotland where they’d be paid £1000 and their travel covered if they came. Tim (the older brother) was forced to bring Nick (his younger brother) on the trip. Eventually they all met up and went to the island, but once they reached the island, there was no one to greet them… They went into the mansion to find that Rory had been divided into many pieces. Old school events came back to haunt these people but one person from the class wasn’t invited. As they get picked off one by one the tension and insecurity increased until there was only Nick and Tim left. It wasn’t either of them so who was it?

This story has the theme of horror as it builds tension and fear in the readers mind. The author Anthony Horowitz has done this by making the characters being killed one by one at random times of the day. As a result of this, the reader starts to fear when the next person is going to be killed. Therefore, it is the build up of tension that strikes fear in the readers mind.

As the bitter, cold wind attacked the exposed patches left on my face as I helplessly trudged along the dark snowy path . I looked around urgently for a place to rest indoors. My feet slowly giving up which summed up all my hope. Just then, my eyes fixed on a door; it looked so inviting yet so sinister. I decided to go in anyway as I came to the conclusion that I would’ve frozen to death if I didn’t go in. As I walked up to the tall menacing menacing building, I stopped and looked up at the towering door. I made out the old worn out sign which indicated to me that it was in fact an old hospital. I glanced down at the handle and started to push. The door didn’t move at all, I pushed harder this time, I heard a little crack. This encouraged me to give one more go as I put all my weight into the last push where the door finally gave way. It worked as the door swung open. I took a step into the building to take in lots of things where objects were scattered across the entrance of the old hospital. I took a few more steps , no further than a couple feet away from the entrance. Suddenly, the big door slammed shut, my heart raced, my eyes opened wide. I went back to try and open the door but the handle was half broken so there was no way to really pull the door open. Was this a huge mistake coming here in the first place?

I paced up and down trying to think what to do whilst keeping near to the door in case of any movements. I looked around as I saw a trail of blood lying on the floor as its dark red feature glistened in the dull, flickering light. The lights had a sinister effect to them as they sat so innocently in the corner of the room. The smell which was as revolting as sewers, invaded my nostrils bringing an unpleasant feeling to my nose. My ears twitched picking up faint echoes from the distance. The blood stained and damp walls closed in on me almost as if they were trying to suffocate me. I took a deep breath and walked on to explore the hospital to ensure that I would be safe If I were to stay in this place…

As i walked into one of the rooms, I looked around to see the room wrecked. Beds which had been turned over, smashed glass on the floor and then a horrific sight met my eyes. A leg, lying on the floor in the corner of the room. The air audible. My hair on stand. My hand shaking. After a while, I figured out that it belonged to a child about the age of 6 due to its size. Blood stains on the wall making out the words ‘help’ and ‘why’. A shiver went down my spine, the hairs on my neck stood up, sweat patrolling my skin. Suddenly, I heard a soft knocking. I spun around glaring at the cupboard at the far end of the room. Nothing happened. I turned around but instantly my legs gave way in fright as I dropped to the floor. There stood a little girl, no older than 6 with a missing leg which was replaced by a wooden replica of a leg. I was paralysed with fear as I looked at her face. Blood all around her face and mouth. Her brown hair distinctive as they sat perfectly on her shoulders. Her hands were behind her back as she spat out the words ‘Why couldn’t you save me?’ She began to laugh as her voice became deep as of a demon. She walked up to me and looked down. She smiled instantly sensing her evil presence. She shouted ‘Why!’ as she withdrew a knife. I closed my eyes my eyes in sorrow…