Based on the novel, Step by Wicked Step, by Anne Fine, the character that I feel has changed due to certain occurrences that have taken place in his life is Colin. Colin used to enjoy his life with his stepfather. He cherished and remembers every little detail about his stepfather. After Colin's mother brought Colin to move with her, Colin's character changed gradually.
Firstly, Colin changed into a very upset and lonely boy. He enrolled in a new school where everyone had their preexisting friends already. He had to go through a horrible experience in his new school, he got ignored by the students. Nobody bothered with me. His mother, however, found a new job and was constantly busy that she forgotten to care about Colin. This made Colin miss his stepfather terribly, because he used to look for Jack about his troubles. It wasn't how it used to be with Dad. It is apparent that Colin had transformed from a loving boy to a very lonely boy after the move.
Secondly, Colin became a dreamy boy, which caused him to easily drift off in school which resulted his results to dropped drastically. The prime reason for this was simply because he misses his stepfather dearly. Every night, he would take the tobacco tin out of the toe of his boot and put it under his pillow. Colin would then pretend that Jack was still by his side, ready to listen to his rant of the day. He would hum his and Jack's favourite song and stay awake for hours talking to his dad,whom he pretended was there.
In a nutshell, Colin couldn't adapt well to the changes in his life. He became a sad, sensitve and moody person. This caused him to make a bold decision to search for his stepfather. His love andlonging for his dad motivated him to become optimistic in his search for his dad.
Saturday, 29 August 2015
Literature - Comparing Two Characters.
Based on the novel, Step by Wicked Step, authored by Anne Fine, there are two characters that have distinct differences as well as similarities. I will compare those two characters, which are Richard and Colin.
Firstly, I spotted a similarity in Richard and Colin's love which is their love for their respective dads. They both yearned for their father's presence However, in Richard's case, he had lost his father forever as his father had already perished. Colin merely lost contact with his father after he moved away with his mother without leaving any clues for his father to search for them. While Richard had no way to get in touch with his father again, Colin was still searching for his stepfather. Colin saves up every single possible penny to assist his search for his stepfather. I keep practically every penny that comes my way. Colin is determined to search for his stepfather when he is old enough. As soon as I'm tall enough, I'm off. Clearly, Richard and Colin are unable to let go of their love for their dads.
Secondly, Richard and Colin were ignored by their mothers. They did not get enough tender loving care from their mothers. Richard felt that his mother, Lilith, ignored him when she married Mr. Coldstone despite his obvious dissatisfaction for Mr Coldstone. His mother turned a blind eye when Mr. Coldstone's treated him badly and brushed it off saying everything he does is for your own good. All his mother did was to lower her eyes. As for Colin, his mother was not aware of how much he missed his stepfather, Jack, because she is too occupied working at the canteen and doing household chores. I think Mum thinks that I've forgotten him. Undoubtfully, Richard and Colin did not recieve their mothers' love.
Thirdly, Richard and Colin thought of running away to make ends meet. They could only think that as their one and only solution to their misery. Richard ran away from home in hope that he could reduce the burden for everyone. Without me, the three of them would get on well enough. Colin however, was planning to run away to find his stepfather. Both of them have their differences as Richard realized that running away does not solve any problems. This is rather obvious when he had to face the music after all the while. Colin, on the other hand, was still stucked in a deep dilemma on the idea to search for his stepfather. He even does three paper rounds in an effort to accumulate more money for the search.
To conclude, these two characters suffered a great amount of sorrow as no one cares for their well-beings. They had no one to fall back to when facing problems.However, Richard has learnt that lesson, but Colin has yet to encounter that problem. Undoubtfully, we need to think twice before making any decision in life.
Firstly, I spotted a similarity in Richard and Colin's love which is their love for their respective dads. They both yearned for their father's presence However, in Richard's case, he had lost his father forever as his father had already perished. Colin merely lost contact with his father after he moved away with his mother without leaving any clues for his father to search for them. While Richard had no way to get in touch with his father again, Colin was still searching for his stepfather. Colin saves up every single possible penny to assist his search for his stepfather. I keep practically every penny that comes my way. Colin is determined to search for his stepfather when he is old enough. As soon as I'm tall enough, I'm off. Clearly, Richard and Colin are unable to let go of their love for their dads.
Secondly, Richard and Colin were ignored by their mothers. They did not get enough tender loving care from their mothers. Richard felt that his mother, Lilith, ignored him when she married Mr. Coldstone despite his obvious dissatisfaction for Mr Coldstone. His mother turned a blind eye when Mr. Coldstone's treated him badly and brushed it off saying everything he does is for your own good. All his mother did was to lower her eyes. As for Colin, his mother was not aware of how much he missed his stepfather, Jack, because she is too occupied working at the canteen and doing household chores. I think Mum thinks that I've forgotten him. Undoubtfully, Richard and Colin did not recieve their mothers' love.
Thirdly, Richard and Colin thought of running away to make ends meet. They could only think that as their one and only solution to their misery. Richard ran away from home in hope that he could reduce the burden for everyone. Without me, the three of them would get on well enough. Colin however, was planning to run away to find his stepfather. Both of them have their differences as Richard realized that running away does not solve any problems. This is rather obvious when he had to face the music after all the while. Colin, on the other hand, was still stucked in a deep dilemma on the idea to search for his stepfather. He even does three paper rounds in an effort to accumulate more money for the search.
To conclude, these two characters suffered a great amount of sorrow as no one cares for their well-beings. They had no one to fall back to when facing problems.However, Richard has learnt that lesson, but Colin has yet to encounter that problem. Undoubtfully, we need to think twice before making any decision in life.
Nutella Cookies.
Nutella cookies. What? Yes, you heard me. Nutella is a world-renowned chocolate hazelnut spread, commonly seen in every household. To me, nutella is an essential item to sustain my life. I'm just a nutella freak, don't mind me. So, stumbling upon this recipe is a true blessing! Thank you Laura Vitale.
Makes About 3 Dozen
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Ingredients:
½ cup of Unsalted Butter at room temperature
½ cup of Brown Sugar
½ cup of Granulated Sugar
1 cup of Nutella
2 Eggs
1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
2 cups of All Purpose Flour
1 tsp of Baking Soda
¼ tsp of Salt
1 Tbsp of Cacao Powder
Process,
1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, line a few baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2) In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, cocoa powder and baking soda, set aside.
3) In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both kinds of sugar. Add the egg, vanilla and nutella and mix to incorporate well.
4) Add the dry ingredients and mix everything together until your dough comes together.
5) Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out the cookie dough on your prepared baking sheets a few inches apart.
6) Bake them for about 10 minutes.(they will look very puffy as they bake but they will flatten as they cool)
7) Let them cool completely
Adapted from http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/nutella-cookies/
Makes About 3 Dozen
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Ingredients:
½ cup of Unsalted Butter at room temperature
½ cup of Brown Sugar
½ cup of Granulated Sugar
1 cup of Nutella
2 Eggs
1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
2 cups of All Purpose Flour
1 tsp of Baking Soda
¼ tsp of Salt
1 Tbsp of Cacao Powder
Process,
1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, line a few baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2) In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, cocoa powder and baking soda, set aside.
3) In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both kinds of sugar. Add the egg, vanilla and nutella and mix to incorporate well.
4) Add the dry ingredients and mix everything together until your dough comes together.
5) Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out the cookie dough on your prepared baking sheets a few inches apart.
6) Bake them for about 10 minutes.(they will look very puffy as they bake but they will flatten as they cool)
7) Let them cool completely
Adapted from http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/nutella-cookies/
Brownies, anyone?
Brownies. Yes, brownies! Who doesn't love 'em? Definitely listed as one's comfort food. Simple to make and turning that frown upside down. Follow these following steps.
Makes 16 brownies
Prep time: 2 hrs 25 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Ingredients:
For the brownies:
1/2 cup of Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature
10 oz of semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup of Granulated Sugar
1/4 tsp of Salt
2 eggs
1 cup of Flour
2-1/2 Tbsp of Cocoa powder
1/2 tsp of Instant Espresso Powder
For the Glaze:
2 Tbsp of Milk
2 Tbsp of Cocoa Powder
1 cup of Confectioner Sugar
1 Tbsp of room temperature, unsalted butter
Small Pinch of salt
Process,
To make the brownies:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8” square baking pan with parchment paper, making sure it comes up the sides a bit, set aside.
2) In a large saucepan, add the butter and chocolate chips and melt them over medium-low heat.
3) In a large bowl, add the sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt and melted chocolate mixture. Mix everything together well.
4) Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan, bake them for 40 minutes, allow them to cool completely before glazing.
5) To make the glaze, in a bowl mix together the sugar, cocoa powder and salt, work in the butter and then start adding the milk slowly while mixing the whole time until the glaze reaches the consistency you like.
6)Spread the glaze evenly over the top, allow it to set for a while (I stick mine in the fridge because I love cold dense brownies and they set quicker this way) cut into desired shape and size and enjoy!
Recipe By: Laura Vitale. Adapted from http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/glazed-chewy-brownies/
Makes 16 brownies
Prep time: 2 hrs 25 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Ingredients:
For the brownies:
1/2 cup of Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature
10 oz of semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup of Granulated Sugar
1/4 tsp of Salt
2 eggs
1 cup of Flour
2-1/2 Tbsp of Cocoa powder
1/2 tsp of Instant Espresso Powder
For the Glaze:
2 Tbsp of Milk
2 Tbsp of Cocoa Powder
1 cup of Confectioner Sugar
1 Tbsp of room temperature, unsalted butter
Small Pinch of salt
Process,
To make the brownies:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8” square baking pan with parchment paper, making sure it comes up the sides a bit, set aside.
2) In a large saucepan, add the butter and chocolate chips and melt them over medium-low heat.
3) In a large bowl, add the sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt and melted chocolate mixture. Mix everything together well.
4) Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan, bake them for 40 minutes, allow them to cool completely before glazing.
5) To make the glaze, in a bowl mix together the sugar, cocoa powder and salt, work in the butter and then start adding the milk slowly while mixing the whole time until the glaze reaches the consistency you like.
6)Spread the glaze evenly over the top, allow it to set for a while (I stick mine in the fridge because I love cold dense brownies and they set quicker this way) cut into desired shape and size and enjoy!
Recipe By: Laura Vitale. Adapted from http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/glazed-chewy-brownies/
The River & Two Uncles.
Several years ago, I was standing in the market place of the small South Lincolnshire town where I was born and grew up. It was Thursday, market day, though it was no longer possible for a relaxed sociable crowd to meander through the stalls. Only a few traders still tried to sell their wares in side streets. The piled-up local produce to be auctioned, the ironmonger’s stack of hardware, the cakes and bread, poultry and rabbits in cages, fish from Boston, plants, second-hand books, even a fortune teller sometimes, had given way to lumbering foreign lorries spewing fumes and grinding gears. No one lingered.
I was disquieted and disappointed. The sense of not belonging to a place where I had always been recognised and felt welcome was both new and vivid. Then, too, a great deal that was otherwise fundamentally important to me there had been blocked or destroyed or made ugly. All the grassy openings between houses had gone. There were no ways that led to ponds and water meadows. In their stead were acres of absurdly over-priced houses, some grimly substantial, fenced with high iron railings and accessed only by speaking into a metal box. Commuters and capitalism had moved in. John Clare, born just a few miles away, would have wept.
It was a relief to slip though a pub yard and come out into the shelter and quiet of space between a Queen Anne house and the Abbey Church. This space could not be altered and spoilt because it contained the town’s river. I stepped on to the low parapet that edged the river, and, prompted by the familiarity of this movement from long ago, my thoughts turned upstream, where the flow had been strong and deep and where, as a boy, I’d fished, sailed a homemade raft and, once, was lucky not to drown. I can still recall the pain of the underwater pressure and the huge struggling heaviness as I was dragged upwards to the sky and sun, and I can still see the uncle who, without doubt, saved my life. His white miller’s clothes were clinging to him and his face was working with distress and rage. “That bloody boy! That bloody boy!” he kept shouting. At any moment, he was going to let me know how foolish I’d been by whopping me with his sodden hat, but his younger brother whisked me up, tucked me under his arm and, positioning me so that I was face down and coughing, rode me home on his bicycle. It was said that he could do the same trick with a young calf. No doubt, he’d be whistling at the same time.
Such men are essential to a boy’s education. That must be so because the same uncle not only always knew where the best birds’ nests were but also got the maggots for fishing, unearthed skates from the loft when the pond froze and let me collect the hens’ eggs and drive the piglets round the mill yard. Yet neither he nor his brother had the reputation for being especially perfect. In fact, members of the local Methodist church used to refer to them very disapprovingly.
Well, perhaps these uncles did sometimes take a drink or three and they did laugh rather too raucously and they did put too much money on too many slow racehorses, but, when people needed help, it was often these uncles who were called upon. They rescued Aunt Kate Sandal’s cat from the top of a fir tree, drowned unwanted kittens, helped to manhandle a grand piano into Sir Raymond May’s drawing room, put up the big marquee for the church garden fete, acted as bearers at funerals and bounced my father’s old Austin Princess straight when he got it stuck askew in our garage. Also, far fewer of our itinerant Irish labourers would have gone home singing had it not been for the go-easy generosity of these uncles. Prudes and puritans would no doubt demur. The two men were certainly not devoted to laying up treasure in heaven or anywhere else for that matter.
Perhaps the most exacting memory of them comes back from late one November evening. We were recovering from the usual big helpings of ham and eggs followed by apple pie and custard when there was frantic knocking at the front door. No one seemed inclined to see who was there. My uncles, who had been at work in the mill since 6 a.m., were sprawled in two deep leather chairs. The fire was banked up and glowing. The room was intoxicatingly drowsy. But eventually the call had to be answered. I let in an elderly woman, a member of the Mays family who had always lived not far away along the waterside. The shocked pallor of her face stood out against her lividly dyed red hair. She kept her hands in the pockets of her long coat, but I could see that the material was shaking. Both men immediately stood up to receive her. They said comforting things when she told them that her sister had gone missing again and that she was afraid that she had wandered into the river.
The wanderer, Edith, had always been a stirring figure in my imagination. She lived alone in a small elegant Georgian house near the mill and was said to be mad. Like Boo Radley in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, she rarely ‘came out’, though I had once met her face to face along a narrow pathway called Coggles Causeway. It was a bitter cold early December evening. Intense moonlight gave the scene a hard clarity in which it was only too startlingly apparent that time, season and temperature were of no consequence to her. She was wearing a thin summer dress and a round straw hat. She was carrying an empty shopping basket. Her face was puffy and every few steps she paused as if the mind needed to wait until it could engage the movement it required. Her lips moved soundlessly, but she nodded as if to agree with what she was saying inside her head. At a loss, feeling tense and embarrassed, I stood aside to let her pass. I didn’t speak because I didn’t want to disturb her.
Our search that night was fruitless. We shouted for her and held our storm lanterns high. We poked in the reeds and let our voices echo under bridges. We continued until we could hardly feel the sticks that we were carrying, but all that we saw were our shadows and occasional reflected glimpses of the moon. We were very tired trudging back along the riverbank. Edith hadn’t drowned that night though, but when I was older, I learned that it was about that time that she had finally ‘gone under’ into silence and stillness. When we got home, both of my uncles were very quiet and every now and then one of them went out to look into the millrace.
Of course, it is difficult to find a conclusion for these men, but I can say that it is highly unlikely that either of them made it to heaven. In any case, heaven would have embarrassed them. They couldn’t have worn their working clothes up there. Nor would they have been allowed to tell their jokes. Yet, if the eternal sun does shine beyond the reproving gaze of the strictest Nonconformist angels, I’d wish these uncles a place where they can be themselves, where they can be pleased when the swallows come back to the barn in spring, where they can hear the soughing of the great wing beats as they watch the swans come in to land on the river and where they can still dive cleanly into one of the deeper pools upstream.
Hear David Day reading The River and Two Uncles at the launch of The Real Story project on October 19, 2011 at The Deaf Institute, Manchester:
I was disquieted and disappointed. The sense of not belonging to a place where I had always been recognised and felt welcome was both new and vivid. Then, too, a great deal that was otherwise fundamentally important to me there had been blocked or destroyed or made ugly. All the grassy openings between houses had gone. There were no ways that led to ponds and water meadows. In their stead were acres of absurdly over-priced houses, some grimly substantial, fenced with high iron railings and accessed only by speaking into a metal box. Commuters and capitalism had moved in. John Clare, born just a few miles away, would have wept.
It was a relief to slip though a pub yard and come out into the shelter and quiet of space between a Queen Anne house and the Abbey Church. This space could not be altered and spoilt because it contained the town’s river. I stepped on to the low parapet that edged the river, and, prompted by the familiarity of this movement from long ago, my thoughts turned upstream, where the flow had been strong and deep and where, as a boy, I’d fished, sailed a homemade raft and, once, was lucky not to drown. I can still recall the pain of the underwater pressure and the huge struggling heaviness as I was dragged upwards to the sky and sun, and I can still see the uncle who, without doubt, saved my life. His white miller’s clothes were clinging to him and his face was working with distress and rage. “That bloody boy! That bloody boy!” he kept shouting. At any moment, he was going to let me know how foolish I’d been by whopping me with his sodden hat, but his younger brother whisked me up, tucked me under his arm and, positioning me so that I was face down and coughing, rode me home on his bicycle. It was said that he could do the same trick with a young calf. No doubt, he’d be whistling at the same time.
Such men are essential to a boy’s education. That must be so because the same uncle not only always knew where the best birds’ nests were but also got the maggots for fishing, unearthed skates from the loft when the pond froze and let me collect the hens’ eggs and drive the piglets round the mill yard. Yet neither he nor his brother had the reputation for being especially perfect. In fact, members of the local Methodist church used to refer to them very disapprovingly.
Well, perhaps these uncles did sometimes take a drink or three and they did laugh rather too raucously and they did put too much money on too many slow racehorses, but, when people needed help, it was often these uncles who were called upon. They rescued Aunt Kate Sandal’s cat from the top of a fir tree, drowned unwanted kittens, helped to manhandle a grand piano into Sir Raymond May’s drawing room, put up the big marquee for the church garden fete, acted as bearers at funerals and bounced my father’s old Austin Princess straight when he got it stuck askew in our garage. Also, far fewer of our itinerant Irish labourers would have gone home singing had it not been for the go-easy generosity of these uncles. Prudes and puritans would no doubt demur. The two men were certainly not devoted to laying up treasure in heaven or anywhere else for that matter.
Perhaps the most exacting memory of them comes back from late one November evening. We were recovering from the usual big helpings of ham and eggs followed by apple pie and custard when there was frantic knocking at the front door. No one seemed inclined to see who was there. My uncles, who had been at work in the mill since 6 a.m., were sprawled in two deep leather chairs. The fire was banked up and glowing. The room was intoxicatingly drowsy. But eventually the call had to be answered. I let in an elderly woman, a member of the Mays family who had always lived not far away along the waterside. The shocked pallor of her face stood out against her lividly dyed red hair. She kept her hands in the pockets of her long coat, but I could see that the material was shaking. Both men immediately stood up to receive her. They said comforting things when she told them that her sister had gone missing again and that she was afraid that she had wandered into the river.
The wanderer, Edith, had always been a stirring figure in my imagination. She lived alone in a small elegant Georgian house near the mill and was said to be mad. Like Boo Radley in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, she rarely ‘came out’, though I had once met her face to face along a narrow pathway called Coggles Causeway. It was a bitter cold early December evening. Intense moonlight gave the scene a hard clarity in which it was only too startlingly apparent that time, season and temperature were of no consequence to her. She was wearing a thin summer dress and a round straw hat. She was carrying an empty shopping basket. Her face was puffy and every few steps she paused as if the mind needed to wait until it could engage the movement it required. Her lips moved soundlessly, but she nodded as if to agree with what she was saying inside her head. At a loss, feeling tense and embarrassed, I stood aside to let her pass. I didn’t speak because I didn’t want to disturb her.
Our search that night was fruitless. We shouted for her and held our storm lanterns high. We poked in the reeds and let our voices echo under bridges. We continued until we could hardly feel the sticks that we were carrying, but all that we saw were our shadows and occasional reflected glimpses of the moon. We were very tired trudging back along the riverbank. Edith hadn’t drowned that night though, but when I was older, I learned that it was about that time that she had finally ‘gone under’ into silence and stillness. When we got home, both of my uncles were very quiet and every now and then one of them went out to look into the millrace.
Of course, it is difficult to find a conclusion for these men, but I can say that it is highly unlikely that either of them made it to heaven. In any case, heaven would have embarrassed them. They couldn’t have worn their working clothes up there. Nor would they have been allowed to tell their jokes. Yet, if the eternal sun does shine beyond the reproving gaze of the strictest Nonconformist angels, I’d wish these uncles a place where they can be themselves, where they can be pleased when the swallows come back to the barn in spring, where they can hear the soughing of the great wing beats as they watch the swans come in to land on the river and where they can still dive cleanly into one of the deeper pools upstream.
Hear David Day reading The River and Two Uncles at the launch of The Real Story project on October 19, 2011 at The Deaf Institute, Manchester:
Literature - The Part I like the most.
Question 2011 - The part I like the most.
The magnificently written novel, 'Step by Wicked Step' written by Anne Fine, has its ups and down throughout the story that instantly enraptured me and earned my liking for it, I personally think that the most outstanding part in this novel is the tear-inducing sentimental moment in Richard's story. I have mixed feelings about this part, because there are certain sentences in the letter that has the potential to make me chuckle with glee but also tear up.
Firstly, I was elated at the part when Charlotte mentioned in her letter that Mr.Coldstone died of fury when he found out that Richard is the owner of Old Harwick Hall. I felt that Mr.Coldstone did not deserve the title of the owner of Old Hardwick Hall, because he only married Richard's mother for her wealth and not sincere love. He knew Richard's mother was lonely and needed a shoulder to lean on so he took advantage of her during her point of weakness to marry her. Like Richard had said, 'the black, black bat crept up on my mother and trapped her as surely as if he'd thrown a net on her (PG19 P1) Mr.Coldstone was unwilling to spend another penny of his fortune in the search for Richard and demanded Lilith to fork out money double the figure he loaned her. His harsh words still linger in Charlotte's mind as she illustrated her letter forwarded to Richard. 'Lilith! Waste more of your dwindling fortune on this folly and I will make you pay it for twice over!' (PG 27 P2)
In my most humble opinion, I personally feel emotionally stirred by the plot where the writer revealed that Richard Clayton Hardwick returned to his home twice. “I stood like a trespasser in the shadow of the lime walk and watched the house. (PG 26, P1) He had the golden opportunity to return home and make up for lost time but he chose to escape reality once again. By doing so, he would forever be alone. This was the price he paid for running away. “I crept away, back to sea where fortune shone on me even through storms and shipwrecks.(PG 26, P4) He faced the dilemma of having to choose his path in life after reading the letter. “I have to choose whether to stay and face the damage I have done”. As an avid reader, I had expected him to return home and save his mother and sister from their misery, but his unexpected decision proved my expectations wrong. This extreme plot twist was heart rending and tugged at my heartstrings.
In a nutshell, Richard’s story stood out the most compared to the rest of the characters in this novel which really grabbed my attention relentlessly. I like that Anne Fine took a risk to write the plot twists in Richard’s story because the risk definitely paid off, although It could either make or break the whole story. Though sad at times, Anne’s brilliantly crafted story managed to pull it off beautifully.
The magnificently written novel, 'Step by Wicked Step' written by Anne Fine, has its ups and down throughout the story that instantly enraptured me and earned my liking for it, I personally think that the most outstanding part in this novel is the tear-inducing sentimental moment in Richard's story. I have mixed feelings about this part, because there are certain sentences in the letter that has the potential to make me chuckle with glee but also tear up.
Firstly, I was elated at the part when Charlotte mentioned in her letter that Mr.Coldstone died of fury when he found out that Richard is the owner of Old Harwick Hall. I felt that Mr.Coldstone did not deserve the title of the owner of Old Hardwick Hall, because he only married Richard's mother for her wealth and not sincere love. He knew Richard's mother was lonely and needed a shoulder to lean on so he took advantage of her during her point of weakness to marry her. Like Richard had said, 'the black, black bat crept up on my mother and trapped her as surely as if he'd thrown a net on her (PG19 P1) Mr.Coldstone was unwilling to spend another penny of his fortune in the search for Richard and demanded Lilith to fork out money double the figure he loaned her. His harsh words still linger in Charlotte's mind as she illustrated her letter forwarded to Richard. 'Lilith! Waste more of your dwindling fortune on this folly and I will make you pay it for twice over!' (PG 27 P2)
In my most humble opinion, I personally feel emotionally stirred by the plot where the writer revealed that Richard Clayton Hardwick returned to his home twice. “I stood like a trespasser in the shadow of the lime walk and watched the house. (PG 26, P1) He had the golden opportunity to return home and make up for lost time but he chose to escape reality once again. By doing so, he would forever be alone. This was the price he paid for running away. “I crept away, back to sea where fortune shone on me even through storms and shipwrecks.(PG 26, P4) He faced the dilemma of having to choose his path in life after reading the letter. “I have to choose whether to stay and face the damage I have done”. As an avid reader, I had expected him to return home and save his mother and sister from their misery, but his unexpected decision proved my expectations wrong. This extreme plot twist was heart rending and tugged at my heartstrings.
In a nutshell, Richard’s story stood out the most compared to the rest of the characters in this novel which really grabbed my attention relentlessly. I like that Anne Fine took a risk to write the plot twists in Richard’s story because the risk definitely paid off, although It could either make or break the whole story. Though sad at times, Anne’s brilliantly crafted story managed to pull it off beautifully.
The Real Sex Maniac
A man has admitted to having sex with up to 100 corpses, some of whom were murder victims, while he was drunk or high on drugs.Kenneth Douglas, 60, worked as a morgue attendant in Ohio, USA, between 1976 and 1992, where he committed the sexual crimes against the dead women while working the night shift.
He admitted to sexually abusing the cadavers of three women between 1991 and 1992, two of which were murder victims, and disclosed in a deposition that he had had sex with up to 100 corpses over a period of 16 years.“I would just get on top of them and pull my pants down,” he is seen telling the court in a deposition video obtained by WCPO.
The former morgue attendant’s crimes have only come to light in their entirety after the families of Douglas’s victims were told they could sue Hamilton County in Ohio by a Federal appeals court.The county now faces a Federal lawsuit and huge legal bills after a panel cited evidence that Douglas’s supervisors knew he was getting drunk and having sex with corpses while on the job.
Kenneth Douglas's testimony is revealed in the video “If I hadn’t had anything to drink when I went into work, it wouldn’t happen,” he said in his deposition. “I would do crack and go in and drink and go in.”His wife said in the deposition that she had attempted to alert the morgue supervisor, claiming that Douglas would return after work smelling like sex and alcohol.
“He said, ‘Whatever happens on county time and on county property is county business’,” she claimed.The county has claimed the abuse of the women were the unknown criminal act of an employee, and that it should not be held liable.
Douglas wasn’t discovered until 2008 when his semen was found on a murder victim, the 19-year-old Karen Range, who was killed by a door-to-door salesman. Her killer, David Steffen, admitted to her murder but denied the rape charge made against him.Douglas admitted to having had sex with Range’s corpse when she died in 1992. Her body had been slashed and she was reportedly nearly decapitated.
In 2012 he also pleaded guilty to having sex with the bodies of April Hicks, a 24-year-old woman who had fallen from a third-story window and who had died from blunt trauma, and to having sex with Charlene Appling on the day she died, between 1991 and 1992. Appling was a 23-year-old woman who was strangled while she was six months pregnant.
All three families sued the County following Douglas’s second conviction in 2012.
Adapted from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/morgue-worker-admits-to-having-sex-with-up-to-100-dead-women-9676200.html
--Based on a true-life story--
He admitted to sexually abusing the cadavers of three women between 1991 and 1992, two of which were murder victims, and disclosed in a deposition that he had had sex with up to 100 corpses over a period of 16 years.“I would just get on top of them and pull my pants down,” he is seen telling the court in a deposition video obtained by WCPO.
The former morgue attendant’s crimes have only come to light in their entirety after the families of Douglas’s victims were told they could sue Hamilton County in Ohio by a Federal appeals court.The county now faces a Federal lawsuit and huge legal bills after a panel cited evidence that Douglas’s supervisors knew he was getting drunk and having sex with corpses while on the job.
Kenneth Douglas's testimony is revealed in the video “If I hadn’t had anything to drink when I went into work, it wouldn’t happen,” he said in his deposition. “I would do crack and go in and drink and go in.”His wife said in the deposition that she had attempted to alert the morgue supervisor, claiming that Douglas would return after work smelling like sex and alcohol.
“He said, ‘Whatever happens on county time and on county property is county business’,” she claimed.The county has claimed the abuse of the women were the unknown criminal act of an employee, and that it should not be held liable.
Douglas wasn’t discovered until 2008 when his semen was found on a murder victim, the 19-year-old Karen Range, who was killed by a door-to-door salesman. Her killer, David Steffen, admitted to her murder but denied the rape charge made against him.Douglas admitted to having had sex with Range’s corpse when she died in 1992. Her body had been slashed and she was reportedly nearly decapitated.
In 2012 he also pleaded guilty to having sex with the bodies of April Hicks, a 24-year-old woman who had fallen from a third-story window and who had died from blunt trauma, and to having sex with Charlene Appling on the day she died, between 1991 and 1992. Appling was a 23-year-old woman who was strangled while she was six months pregnant.
All three families sued the County following Douglas’s second conviction in 2012.
Adapted from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/morgue-worker-admits-to-having-sex-with-up-to-100-dead-women-9676200.html
--Based on a true-life story--
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