Key Skills in English 114


___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________


warrant for his arrest. This entire exchange takes place in a polite and respectful manner. The sergeant suggests that others are willing to pay Dan’s fine if he cannot afford to pay it himself. Rather than grasping at the opportunity to escape imprisonment, Dan refers to the warrant as an ‘unneighbourly document’ and chooses to go to prison. It is not until the end of the story that we discover what offence Dan has been accused of; he ‘had the grave misfortune to open the head of another old man’, who had to be hospitalised. There is no doubt that Dan wants to go to jail in order to embarrass his victim and not because it is legally and morally just that he pays for his crime. He knows that his neighbours will support him, which they do, and that the old man will be punished for seeking justice.


The story ends with the victim having to scurry indoors to hide from the group of Dan’s friends who are openly shaking his hand and offering him support.


3. As the theme develops why does it interest you? Support your answer with reference to your chosen novel or short story. (You can use the Point, Quote, Explain technique for this answer.)


This theme developed in a way which held my interest right up to the final sentence. The fact that I did not know the reason for the sergeant’s visit, but guessed from the title that it had something to do with the law, made me want to read on. [P] It came as a bit of a shock to discover that a man, suffering from arthritis and as old as Dan Bride could be capable of splitting open the head of another old man in the course of a row. [P] This was not a ‘grave misfortune’, it was an assault which left the victim ‘hospitalised’. I found it very interesting to observe the attitude of the sergeant. I would have expected a more abrupt and official manner, not bread and tea and plenty of small talk! [Q+E] There is also something very interesting in the fact that Dan is allowed to choose the day he will go to jail. [P] That is not usual for somebody who has committed a serious, violent crime. The fact that the sergeant is treating Dan so politely is nothing short of astonishing. He even tells Dan that he will ensure that he is made ‘as comfortable as if you were at home’ while he is in prison. This sergeant, who drinks illegally made alcohol with Dan, certainly has an extraordinary attitude to law and order! I began to wonder about the majesty of the law, which seems to condone violence. [Q+E] Of most interest, however, is the reaction of Dan’s neighbours. [P] Not only are they willing to pay his fine but they shake his hand before he is taken away. This sympathy shows an interesting attitude to the law and how the people view justice. Although I sympathised with Dan – he was not a wealthy man and had been cheated by the other individual – I still found it fascinating that the community would condone his violent behaviour. In the end, the old man who was assaulted is left feeling ashamed that he set the law on ‘one of his own’. [Q+E] I found it very curious that Dan’s assault on a man who cheated him was seen as a lesser crime than that committed by his victim. The whole story questions the notion of what constitutes legal, impartial justice.


Unit 3: Ficiton


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196