Trumpets Sound No More By Jon Redfern
Blog By Josh Blake
In the novel Trumpets Sound No More by Jon Redfern it is clear that it is well thought out and a well written novel. John Redfern’s novel was not a huge page-turner for me but I can see some similarities to Charles Dickens writing style. Trumpets Sound No More is a murder detective novel written by Jon Redfern, with the leading fictional character being Inspecter Owen Endersby. This murder case is the first that Endersby is attempting to solve the murder victim being Mr. Cake.
The killing of Mr. Samuel Cake in 1840 London just pages in was a shocker. His death was definitively set to be a great mystery with lots of lies and disseat. With few leads at the beginning of the novel other than mud in his home which Endersby thought was suspicious. I thought that the neighbors were completely useless in helping Inspector Endersby solve this murder. Inspector Owen Endersby is given only six days to find out whom the villain is. He must resort to different leads that lead him into the heart of 1840’s London anybody that can be a help to Endersby he interrogated. In London 1840’s the time was not peaceful in the city with lots of crimes going on and Endersby finds many things that he wishes he could forget.
Living in London in the 1840's often meant that you were living in a very poor quality of residence. In both Great Expectations and Trumpets Sound No More portrayal of the Victorian Era they say that life is bad and that the housing conditions are terrible. The characters are not directly reflected by their home in either novel because most of the characters had a decent amount of money to afford good homes. A great example of a description on the city of London and the city of London’s homes was on page 10. This was the description of Mr. Cake's house. "The cab pulled up to a wide, handsomely-kept three storey brick house. An iron railing guarded the area staircase leading down to the kitchen below street level. Over the polished front door was a half-moon window. Two stout chimneys capped the stout roof." I thought that this was a very good description of a Victorian Era home. In London many of these houses are still around with residents living in them.
Three main comparisons that I found in the Trumpets Sound No More characters and Great Expectations characters was Betty to Biddy, Owen Endersby to Mr. Jaggers, and Mr. Ratcliff to the Aged Parent. Betty and Biddy are similar as they are female, they both have a nice and friendly personality but this can change quickly if they get upset. Owen Endersby and Mr. Jaggers are similar because they both involve in solving crime. However they are different because Jaggers is a lawyer who represents criminals, while Endersby is a detective and he tries to find them and bring them into the lawyers. Mr. Ratcliff and the Aged Parent are similar because they both are old men who do not have very much to do but hang around and pay attention to their homes and surroundings. They are different because Mr. Ratcliff lives alone and does not have his son looking after him like the Aged Parent does with Wemick.
The three themes that I found in the novel Trumpets Sound No More was guilt, innocence and crime, injustice, and chaos and order. Guilt, innocence, and crime was the most prominent of the three main themes because a detective murder story is all about crime and trying to find out who is guilty and who is innocent in the mass of possible suspects. This is a clear theme in Great Expectations as well in many situations such as the convicts in the graveyard with Pip and the soldiers. Injustice is also a critical theme in the novel because the Mr. Cake murder kick-started this murder detective story and most of the book is discovering if his murder was an injustice one or not. Chaos and order was the third identifiable theme in the novel because when Mr. Cake died they had only six days to find out whom he was killed by. Any detective story involves a chaotic series of events in the process of discovering who actually killed the victim.
The thing that I personally was most surprised about in Jon Redfern’s depiction of the Theatre world in eighteenth century London England was the great deal of audience support and connection with the actors. I did not think that so many people would go to see a play or a theater production. That is what most surprised me about Jon Redfern’s depiction of the Theater world in London England in the 1840’s.
Two prominent symbols in this novel is the pub and the puzzle. The pub is a symbol of a meeting place where Inspector Endersby can get information on possible suspects and find out more about his case because in those days the pub was a form of entertainment. The puzzle is a symbol of consistent confusion because Endersby is trying to figure out who killed the victim.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Josh Blake Blog on The amber spyglass By Philip Pullman
Josh Blake Blog on The amber spyglass By Philip Pullman
The amber spyglass
Philip Pullman
In the novel The Amber Spyglass which is the third and final book of the His Dark Materials series. The novel opens with Lyra Belacqua being kidnapped and hidden with her mother, Mrs. Coulter, within the hills of the Himalayans in a dark cave above a village. Lyra and her demon Pan are forced to take a drug that makes them sleep. They get food from a village girl who brings them supplies she has no idea that Lyra is there against her will she just thinks that she is really tired all the time. Will Parry tries to save Lyra from Mrs. Coulter but does not realize that the church, Lord Asriel, and him are all trying to get Lyra. Will finally manages to get Lyra away from Mrs. Coulter. They escape to the ghost world where they meet all souls of dead people. Lyra and Will decide to free the souls so that they can be at rest, to do this Will cuts a window into another world where the souls vaporize from the sun which sets them free. Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel die because they fall into a giant pit whilst fighting an angle. Lyra and Will discover that they are in love but just as they realize this they have to go back to their own worlds to live out the rest of their lives.
The themes at work in this book are fighting for freedom, maturing, death, and knowledge.
The language that was used was that of two maturing individuals with growing knowledge of the world around them and trying to use new word that they pick up along the way. I think that it was very effective.
The issues that were raised in this book were maturing, dealing with death, religion, and trust this has pertained to me and others similar to my point of view.
I have not noticed any similarities to something that we have done in class.
I think that to make this book more interesting that author had to talk a little bit more about how the souls got to the place where they were.
Yes, I would recommend this book to other people in my class and to older generations to.
Josh Blake
The amber spyglass
Philip Pullman
In the novel The Amber Spyglass which is the third and final book of the His Dark Materials series. The novel opens with Lyra Belacqua being kidnapped and hidden with her mother, Mrs. Coulter, within the hills of the Himalayans in a dark cave above a village. Lyra and her demon Pan are forced to take a drug that makes them sleep. They get food from a village girl who brings them supplies she has no idea that Lyra is there against her will she just thinks that she is really tired all the time. Will Parry tries to save Lyra from Mrs. Coulter but does not realize that the church, Lord Asriel, and him are all trying to get Lyra. Will finally manages to get Lyra away from Mrs. Coulter. They escape to the ghost world where they meet all souls of dead people. Lyra and Will decide to free the souls so that they can be at rest, to do this Will cuts a window into another world where the souls vaporize from the sun which sets them free. Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel die because they fall into a giant pit whilst fighting an angle. Lyra and Will discover that they are in love but just as they realize this they have to go back to their own worlds to live out the rest of their lives.
The themes at work in this book are fighting for freedom, maturing, death, and knowledge.
The language that was used was that of two maturing individuals with growing knowledge of the world around them and trying to use new word that they pick up along the way. I think that it was very effective.
The issues that were raised in this book were maturing, dealing with death, religion, and trust this has pertained to me and others similar to my point of view.
I have not noticed any similarities to something that we have done in class.
I think that to make this book more interesting that author had to talk a little bit more about how the souls got to the place where they were.
Yes, I would recommend this book to other people in my class and to older generations to.
Josh Blake
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman Book 2 blog review 2.
Blog #2
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman Book 2 blog review.
The Subtle Knife is the second book in the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials.
The second book begins in another universe; in an England is much the same as ours. A 12 year-old boy named Will Parry takes care of his mentally unstable mother. He gets into lots of fights at school because of teasing form other boys. He accidentally kills a man who had attempted to steal his father’s letters from his house. His father had left along time ago because he was an explorer but he never retuned. Will runs away after killing the man and sees a cut ‘window’ in empty space that leads him into another world. In the city he and Lyra meet, they journey together through the deteriorating city of Citagazze. To Lyra’s horror she sees that Will does not have a daemon. The only inhabitants are children all the adults have left. Will fights a young teenager for a knife that can cut through the matter that holds the different universes together and make a window into a different universe he then becomes the bearer of the knife. Wills father had lost his way while journeying through worlds contrary to what the reader was meant to believe before. Will meets his father but does not get to know him because a witch kills John Parry because he once loved her and he went off with Wills mother instead. The book ends with Lyra and Will separating and vowing to find each other again.
The main theme in this book is Authority between young Lyra and Will. Will is one year older than Lyra but due to Lyra’s nature she always questions authority and there is this continual power struggle between them.
The language that was used was that of two pre-pubescent children with little knowledge of proper English just street slang. The point of view jumps back and forth from Lyra and Will. I think it was very effective.
The issues that were raised in this book were growing up, finding new friends, and trust this all has pertained to other adolescents and me.
The author could have improved his book by giving more information about Wills father and how the knife works I think that that would of made the book more interesting.
Yes, I would recommend this book to other people.
Josh Blake
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman Book 2 blog review.
The Subtle Knife is the second book in the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials.
The second book begins in another universe; in an England is much the same as ours. A 12 year-old boy named Will Parry takes care of his mentally unstable mother. He gets into lots of fights at school because of teasing form other boys. He accidentally kills a man who had attempted to steal his father’s letters from his house. His father had left along time ago because he was an explorer but he never retuned. Will runs away after killing the man and sees a cut ‘window’ in empty space that leads him into another world. In the city he and Lyra meet, they journey together through the deteriorating city of Citagazze. To Lyra’s horror she sees that Will does not have a daemon. The only inhabitants are children all the adults have left. Will fights a young teenager for a knife that can cut through the matter that holds the different universes together and make a window into a different universe he then becomes the bearer of the knife. Wills father had lost his way while journeying through worlds contrary to what the reader was meant to believe before. Will meets his father but does not get to know him because a witch kills John Parry because he once loved her and he went off with Wills mother instead. The book ends with Lyra and Will separating and vowing to find each other again.
The main theme in this book is Authority between young Lyra and Will. Will is one year older than Lyra but due to Lyra’s nature she always questions authority and there is this continual power struggle between them.
The language that was used was that of two pre-pubescent children with little knowledge of proper English just street slang. The point of view jumps back and forth from Lyra and Will. I think it was very effective.
The issues that were raised in this book were growing up, finding new friends, and trust this all has pertained to other adolescents and me.
The author could have improved his book by giving more information about Wills father and how the knife works I think that that would of made the book more interesting.
Yes, I would recommend this book to other people.
Josh Blake
The Northern Lights by Philip Pullman Book 1 blog review.
Blog #1
The Northern Lights by Philip Pullman Book 1 blog review.
Northern Lights is one of three books written by Philip Pullman following the adventures of Lyra Bacquela and here daemon Pantalaimon. The book begins in Jordan College, Oxford where Lyra is an average 11-year-old girl who likes to play with her friend Roger Parslow and has no regard for the old scholars that try to teach her Math’s, English, ect... Lyra soon becomes aware of Dust (not regular old dust) that only is attracted to adults and not children. Soon stories of children disappearing and being sent to the north by a group nicknamed ‘Gobbler’s’ because they gobble children up and take them away Roger Parslow was one of those kids. So Lyra sets out on a trip to find Roger and all the other missing children she meets her mother, goes on a trip to the north with gypsies, makes friends with a Polar Bear and frees her friend roger and the others not knowing she is putting him in more danger because of her father. The church in this world has a lot more say in politics and over all government doings.
The themes in the book that I read was Religion the church vs. science, Power Struggle between Lyra’s mother and father, and Separation from Jordan college, Roger Parslow, and her parents.
The type of language the that author use was that of a young girl and point of view that the author used was that of Lyra’s but it sometimes jumped back and forth to follow a characters description more in depth.
The issues that were raised in this book were religion, scientific development, and growing up. I think that the growing up part of this book pertains to me and other adolescents because we all have to grow up sooner or later.
I have not noticed similarities to the work we have studied in class thus far except for some rhetorical devices.
I think that the author could have improved his book if he put more description and emphasis on how polar bears learned to talk and use weapons. He could of also talked a little more about the holding camp in the north where the gobblers took all the children.
Yes, I would defiantly recommend this book to other people.
Josh Blake
The Northern Lights by Philip Pullman Book 1 blog review.
Northern Lights is one of three books written by Philip Pullman following the adventures of Lyra Bacquela and here daemon Pantalaimon. The book begins in Jordan College, Oxford where Lyra is an average 11-year-old girl who likes to play with her friend Roger Parslow and has no regard for the old scholars that try to teach her Math’s, English, ect... Lyra soon becomes aware of Dust (not regular old dust) that only is attracted to adults and not children. Soon stories of children disappearing and being sent to the north by a group nicknamed ‘Gobbler’s’ because they gobble children up and take them away Roger Parslow was one of those kids. So Lyra sets out on a trip to find Roger and all the other missing children she meets her mother, goes on a trip to the north with gypsies, makes friends with a Polar Bear and frees her friend roger and the others not knowing she is putting him in more danger because of her father. The church in this world has a lot more say in politics and over all government doings.
The themes in the book that I read was Religion the church vs. science, Power Struggle between Lyra’s mother and father, and Separation from Jordan college, Roger Parslow, and her parents.
The type of language the that author use was that of a young girl and point of view that the author used was that of Lyra’s but it sometimes jumped back and forth to follow a characters description more in depth.
The issues that were raised in this book were religion, scientific development, and growing up. I think that the growing up part of this book pertains to me and other adolescents because we all have to grow up sooner or later.
I have not noticed similarities to the work we have studied in class thus far except for some rhetorical devices.
I think that the author could have improved his book if he put more description and emphasis on how polar bears learned to talk and use weapons. He could of also talked a little more about the holding camp in the north where the gobblers took all the children.
Yes, I would defiantly recommend this book to other people.
Josh Blake
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)