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A BOOK REPORT by Anne-Sophie Title : The Masque of the Red Death
Author : Edgar Allan Poe
Date of publication : May 1842
Setting : I suppose Middle Ages
Characters : Characters’ descriptions:
The Prince Prospero
It's an excentrique man. Indeed, we can see particularly with the construction of this abbey- The 7 appartements.
The Prince is also selfish. In fact, he takes in his monastery only Knights and dames of court.. Then, it's a person fearful because when the « The Red Dreadt » to approach him , he runs away .The Red Death
It's a character very strange.. Moreover, we can't qualifie « The Red Death » of person. She wears a white mask and I suppose a sort of cape.
Main theme : "The Red Death" who's the pestilence terrorized everybody.
Summary of the plot:
During a long time the pestilence ravaged the country: it called « The Red Death ». It caused in people of sharp pains , sudden dizziness and profuse bleeding. The patients were completed in half an hour.
Result ( suite) the depopulated of his dominions, The Prince Prospero gathered in one of his abbeys: Knights and dames of his court. After, 5 or 6 month of seclusion in abbey, the Prince organized a sumptuous masked ball.
The Prince was an eccentric person. That's why, he had decorated very strangely the 7 rooms where there was the ball. Indeed, each rooms had a specific color. Moreover, the color of the windows corresponded to the decoration. For example, there was a blue, a crimson, a green, an orange, a white, a purple. However, the 7th was different: she was black and the panes of the windows were deep blood color. It was sinister and dark.
This room inspired fear to the people, that's why nobody wanted to enter. Inside, was a large ebony clock that sounded sinisterly evry hour; so everybody stopped to talk and the orchestra ceased to play. A trouble was created. The more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused reverie or meditation. Then, when the echoes of the clock was stopped, hilarity through again the crowd.
The evening, passed well until a strange character come to perturb the people. Dressed a cape and a sinister mask, the character advanced... So
Personal opinion:
Despite the difficulty of understanding this short story , I liked the plot. Indee, it's special, strange but also unusual. However, from my point of view, the end of the news is not very original. In reality, I was expecting the presence of a turnaround of situation.
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Written by Edgar Allan Poe "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story which was published for the first time in 1843.
Plot Summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tell-Tale_Heart
short story (link)
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The fifth child by Doris Lessing
Extract 3
In this extract, Harriet after introducing Ben in a special institute ( North of England ), she decides finally to visit him, see his "new life".
* Firstly, we are in an atmosphere a little oppressive when is in car: "grey wintry rain"
*Then, we discover the landscape, the atmosphere of the place which is bland and sad.
- "dark stone" - "grey drifting rain" -"the rain was now a cold deluge"
* But also how is the building or rather his description:
- "regular windows" - "three rows of them were barred"
- "hand-written card - "this oppressive building"
- "silent" - "the big door was shut to exclude her"
-"dark caverns of a corridor" -"smell of disinfectant
-"absolute silence" -"highthin screaming"
* Several action verbs are perceived, they allow text to be more alive.
For example: "she entered" / "she rang and waited" / "the door abruptly opened" / "saw" / "stared"/ "nothing happened" / "rang again"/ "returned to the corridor .
In this way, the author makes the text more lively and the reader discover the place without to grow weary.
* The characters or persons are also described. Indeed, the young girls who opens the door Harriet "wearing jerseys, cardigans, and a thick scarf" ; "curly yellow hait"; "blue ribbon" ; "tired"
* Harriet presented to the little girl " I'm Mrs Lovatt and I've come to see my son".
From my point of view this extract is essential because the reader becomes aware of the woman is Harriet. In spite of her reluctance to Ben we can detected that Harriet doesn't hate his own son in reality. She reveals to readers his maternal instinct.
To my mind she loves Ben because she comes to see. So, she takes interest him, she wants to see if he lives in good conditions.
Extract of this novel (link)
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The fifth child by Doris Lessing
Extract 4
* The characters present in this passage are the gang of Ben, David and Harriet.
** In this extract, when David came home one evening and found the gang to his home, watching television surrounded by: " beer cans, cartons of take-away Chinese, papers that had held fish and chips, all over the floor " he asked them to clean.
Then, David asks young people to return home. Ben leaves with the gang. David and Harriet have a conversation. Seated before his plate, David begins the dialogue. They both speak primarily of Ben.
Shortly, after Harriet and David finds himself in their bedroom, lying down in bed. Harriet spoke to David but got no answer because he sleep.
*** David and Harriet have a conversation related to Ben.
David thinks it's time to sell the house. He told Harriet that it is madness to keep it.Harriet says that he is right. She agrees to it.
However, she persists in thinking and saying that maybe the children would liketo keep it.
David does not share this view. Indeed, for him he has no children because all his children have left home because of Ben. He said Harriet has only one child: Ben.
Harriet says that Ben will eventually leave.
David asks why he would do because everything is at his disposal in the house:
come whenever they want, do what he wants, eat according to his desire ...
But for Harriet's life with the gang's lack of action, adventure so she said one day he will go to big cities. He depends of his only companions.
Despite this explanation, David is convinced that Ben will not leave the house because it's like a hotel and Harriet to keep up that it will eventually go to follow the gang.**** David seems like superior from the gang. We can see because when David do his request to clean the scraps, the gang reacts immediately. Davis is considered as the master of the house. For this man, the band doesn't the right comes to encroach upon on his territory. Harriet and David seems like from nowon separated by a mural a transparent wall. Now, Harriet and David must sell the house. Moreover, David reproach to Harriet not to have children but more exactly he reproach to Harriet their "son" Ben. This child is considered as guilty but also Harriet. In this extract, David appears more old, shadowy and stopped. During this last years, he wasn't happy. In spite of this, Harriet hopes to find alife as before : she proposed to David holidays to be together.
Extract of this novel (link)
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England in the 60s and 70s
England in the 60s and 70s (link)
Swinging London
“Swinging London” is a term used to describe the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in London, in the 1960s.
In English, the wave of the Swinging London which is a real collective creation of the post-war teenagers will destabilize the old moral principles of the old society.
Ex: Film: The Knack (1965- Richard Lester). This film is very representative of England that swings.
The movement “Swinging London” includes the Music:
- The Beatles (English)
- The Rolling Stones (English)
- British Invasion (American)
The movement “Swinging London” includes Fashion and Symbols:
During the time of Swinging London, fashion and photography were featured in Queen magazine.
Jean Shrimpton has become an icon and the supermodels the best paid in the world. Shrimpton was called "The Face of the '60s", in which she has been considered by many as "the symbol of Swinging London" and the "embodiment of the 1960s". So, the fashion was a symbol of youth culture.
The British flag, the Union Flag, became a symbol, assisted by events such as England's home victory in the 1966 World Cup.
The movement “Swinging London” includes Films:
The phenomenon was featured in films of the time, celebratory and mocking: For exemple: The Knack (1965), Casino Royale (1967)...
The comedy is also includes: The Boat that Rocked...
The movement “Swinging London” includes Television:
One television series that reflected the spirit of Swinging London was The Avengers (1961-1969).
The movement “Swinging London” includes Book:
Adam Diment's spy novels featured Philip McAlpine.
The family Planning Act 1967
The National Health Service (Family Planning) Act of 1967 allowed doctors to give family-planning advice and to prescribe free contraceptives, initially to married women only.
The Abortion Act: can if two independent medical practitioners agreed that continuance would cause physical or mental risk to the health of the woman or her existing children
1967: The National Health Service (Family Planning) Act enabled LHAs to give birth control advice, regardless of marital status, on social as well as medical grounds using voluntary organisations such as FPA as their agents if they wished. FPA National Council resolved that branches would be allowed to give advice to the unmarried if they wished. Mr. Robinson K responding to a question in the House of Commons said: should help young girls of 16 who come to the clinic for advice. votre commentaire
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