Bowen

[Bowen]

Hello! Thanks for the lesson. Here is my history mock exam answer.

 

We all know what America is. A country famous for golden eagles, baseball and hot dogs. However, behind all that lies a darker secret. We will dive into the murky realms of America’s past, specifically at the Salem witch trials. I shall be talking about how the witch trials told us about the confusion, religious battle and gender separation which the American colonists faced.

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people in Massachusetts between 1692 and may 1693. More than 200 people were accused of witchcraft, of which 30 were found guilty, 19 were hanged, and a man named Giles Corey died under torture for refusing to enter a plea. It was a dark time, with people arrested over the slightest bit of confusion. But why did these witch trials even happen?

People were mainly accused when people were confused. Strange happenings, such as robberies with no clear thief, or objects disappearing despite high security, or surviving a freak accident, could all end up with all the fingers pointing at you. But how can this injustice be stopped? Well, that is very difficult. Most people confessed to their “crimes” under torture, wanting it to end. And people who claimed to be innocent would most likely die regardless, such as Tituba, who, under pressure for her life and likely beaten into submission by Parris, she ultimately “confessed” to the crime. “The Devil came to me and bid me serve him,” she allegedly said. She described the Devil appearing as a “hog and sometimes like a great dog”; a “thing with a head like a woman with two legs and wings”; a hairy creature; a red rat and black rat; and a tall man in black clothes with white hair. She also confessed to riding on sticks with the children.. As I have mentioned before, confusion played a key role in this horrible bit of history. Nobody knew who to blame. They had lost something in a manner that was unknown. Naturally, people began to believe in the supernatural, especially after three young girls experienced fits of screaming, strange bodily contortions and murmuring incoherent sounds in January of 1692. The doctor had SUGGESTED that this was the cause of the supernatural, further proving that when people are confused, they come up with wild theories. This confusion was the key spark that ignited the start of the Salem witch trials.

Another key factor which contributed to the Salem witch trials was religion. The church used the structure of its teachings and the beliefs of its followers to construct a system that went against women and those accused of witchcraft. The actions of those accused were deemed as ungodly, demonic, and evil. Therefore, their perceived immorality led to much tension within the Church. Of course no one would approve of demons running around free, so they began to round up people whom they thought were the reasons for these strange events and began conducting tests on them to see if they were demonic or godly. As part of the infamous “swimming test,” accused witches were dragged to the nearest body of water, stripped to their undergarments, bound and then tossed in to see if they would sink or float. Since witches were believed to have spurned the sacrament of baptism, it was thought that the water would reject their bodies and prevent them from submerging.

According to this logic, an innocent person would sink like a stone, but a witch would simply bob on the surface. The victim typically had a rope tied around their waist so they could be pulled from the water if they sank, but it wasn’t unusual for accidental drowning deaths to occur. Witch swimming derived from the “trial by water,” an ancient practice where suspected criminals and sorcerers were thrown into rushing rivers to allow a higher power to decide their fate. This custom was banned in many European countries in the Middle Ages, only to reemerge in the 17th century as a witch experiment, and it persisted in some locales well into the 18th century. For example, in 1710, the swimming test was used as evidence against a Hungarian woman named Dorko Boda, who was later beaten and burned at the stake as a witch. But we still have one more factor to discuss on these horrible happenings.

Gender separation. An estimated 75% to 85% of those accused in the early modern witch trials were women, due to the fact that people accused the poor and helpless, mainly women. Women without husbands or widows were deemed dangerous due to the fact that there isn’t a male to “control them.” Most of the accused were young girls, typically below the age of 20. The youngest person was Dorothy. Dorothy and her mother Sarah were accused of practising witchcraft in Salem at the beginning of the Salem witch trials in 1692. Only four years old at the time, she was interrogated by the local magistrates, confessed to being a witch and purportedly claimed she had seen her mother consorting with the devil. As a result, she was confined in prison for nearly eight months.

Now we have seen the Salem witch trials and how confusion, religion and gender separation contributed to it. I hope I have helped you gain a deeper understanding of the Salem witch trials. Now as you go about America, disregarding all of the historic landmarks, just take in all of the great and horrible things which were pivotal in shaping America to the country it is today.

[Bowen]

Hello! Thanks for the lesson! Here is my test answer:

 

Florence’s feeling is conveyed in the extract in a number of ways.

“The deep wound in her breast” really emphasises the shock of losing her relatives’ love. The word “wound” is one in which we associate with the deepest  damage done to us, used in this instance to represent the gaping hole in her emotions. The author has manipulated this word, with its many meanings, to assist us in picturing Florence’s horrible reality. Furthermore, emotion is a key thing here, proven by the words “in her breast.” The breast is close to the heart, which is the organ in which we associate love with. The wounded heart symbolises her grief, perfectly fitting into this extract full of sadness.

Another way her feelings are represented is through the simile “like the sole survivor on a lonely shore from the wreck of a great vessel.” This paints a vivid image of the isolation and grief she had bearded upon her shoulders. As a sole survivor of a shipwreck, she would have been desperate to go anywhere inhabited, which brings us back to the fact that she is seeking a new home. She will undoubtedly travel for ages, looking for someone who would take her in, just as much as a survivor would scour the entire island they are on to find some sign of civilization. Charles Dickens has used this simile well, helping the reader to grasp the idea of her desolation.

Another point to make is, Charles Dickens has pictured Florence’s depression when he described London as a “wild wilderness.” Florence is a girl. A young girl. Who would have perceived anything normal sized to an adult, humongous. A thing that the reader notices is her perception. We have already stated her perception of any object, but that also lets us know how confused and frightened she would be. “Wilderness” suggests that London was like an unknown land to her. She had no clue where to go, further shown by her thoughts of “where to go? Still somewhere, anywhere!”

Adding onto those points is another I can make about the quote  “Oh, Di! oh, dear, true, faithful Di, how did you come here? How could I ever leave you, Di, who would never leave me?” and the paragraph after that. Di, or Diogenes, is her faithful dog. In the preceding paragraph, we see his eagerness in rejoining his master, “endeavouring to kiss his mistress flying…defiance of his species.” We see no mention of Florence’s sadness or depression. Perhaps her dog has cheered her up. She only has one thing that loves her in this miserable world, of which was walking alongside her. This makes the reader feel happier for Florence, for although her entire world is filled with hatred of her existence, with people having “surprise and curiosity” on their faces, still is loved by a faithful dog.

One final point to make is about the fact that she had “quickened her pace” upon spotting the quarters of the little Midshipman. She had been on the hunt for a couple of days, searching for someone who would take her in. The fact that she had sped up, despite the fact that she was weary and hungry, shows her determination and relief in finding somewhere, which could potentially be her new home. This makes the reader feel at ease, knowing that she had found sanctuary at last.

Overall, charles dickens has conveyed Florence’s feelings in a variety of ways, a couple of which have been shown above. His skills in assisting us to picture the contrast between our lives compared to hers are second to none.

[Bowen]

Thanks for the lesson! I have listed a few points here from homework:

History week 1:

c. 980 – c. 1030 Norse settlement established in Newfoundland, North America, by Leif Erikson.
1453 The Ottoman Empire closes the overland Silk Road trade routes between Europe and the East, initiating the European Age of Discovery.
1492 – 1504 Christopher Columbus makes four voyages to the New World; opens the way for European colonisation of the Americas.
1500 Brazil is claimed for Portugal by Pedro Álvares Cabral.
1519 – 1521 Hernán Cortés of Spain conquers the Aztec nation of Mexico.
1534 – 1535 North American region of Canada claimed for France by Jacques Cartier.
1572 The Inca of South America were conquered by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro.
1587 – 1590 English colony of Roanoke in North America established and failed.
1607 – 1608 English Popham colony established in present day state of Maine, North America; fails after 14 months.
1607 – 1699 Colony of Jamestown succeeds as the first permanent English settlement in North America.
1609 – 1624 Hudson River Valley and parts of present-day New York State and Canada claimed by Henry Hudson for the Netherlands.
1620 – 1691 Plymouth Colony established in modern-day Massachusetts, North America; foundational colony of the later United States.
1697 The conquest of the Maya Civilization completed by the Spanish conquistador Martín de Ursúa.

[Bowen]

Thanks for the lesson!!! I have pasted my answer below🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳

 

The attempt to create a suspenseful atmosphere is very much successful due to a number of ways. The story is set in an old castle, with the story starting off with the owner warning the narrator about potential dangers. Firstly, the owner of the place seems to foreshadow the danger upcoming, with his warning that “ should [the narrator] leave these rooms [they] will not by any chance go to sleep in any other room.” He states all of the queer and sinister things about the place in his warning as the reader, we feel the uneasiness portrayed by these words. The reader wonders why they are giving these warnings? This place must be risky to stay in. After this, further on in the story, the speaker felt like they were “indeed in prison.” This makes the place feel very restricting, as if it were a monster and trapped its prey within its walls. The reader then worries for the teller’s safety, further heightening the sinister atmosphere around the place. We could imagine a fly being consumed by a venus flytrap. Stuck, with no way out. Continuing on, we can see the amazing expanse of beauty beyond the prison of a place. “The soft light of the distant hills became melted, and the shadows in the valleys and gorges of velvety blackness. The mere beauty seemed to cheer me.” This quote backs up my point, as it represents the extreme beauty of nature beyond the grisly walls of the “prison.” This creates a strong contrast between the sinister atmosphere at the castle compared to the pretty landscape that can even make the “prisoner” feel better, despite being stuck in the wretched place. This makes the reader feel a small sense of relief which helps to ease the stress caused by the previous through events in the story. At least beyond is beauty and safety. Finally, the storyteller “[starts] at [their] own shadow,” showing all of a sudden, they became super jumpy to things even as harmless as a shadow. This shows their heightened sense of insecurity, suggesting the area around her is uncomfortable for them, which is absolutely true. This makes the reader feel as insecure as the narrator, worrying what may happen next to them.

[Bowen]

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