Explorers or Boys Messing About?
- Journalistic writing - relaying the facts but presenting them with a small amount of bias to get
his view across (he could be more outwardly critical)
★ Title = rhetorical question which invites the reader to make a decision by informing them that
they will be paying the bill
○ Questioning whether the men are true explorers or simply “boys messing about” =
sarcastic and mocking tone, ridicules them + encourages readers not to take them
seriously
“Plucked from liferaft”
➔ Presents the explorers as helpless, immature and a burden
◆ Typically, things that are plucked are annoying and unwanted, Morris may be
intentionally using this language to imply that their ignorance has caused them to be
an inconvenience to society
“Their last expedition ended in farce”
➔ Two men = immediately introduced as a comical mess, not being taken seriously by the
writer, therefore, reader is less inclined to view them as legitimate and experienced explorers
◆ Fact that it starts with this line puts emphasis on fact that they have already caused
trouble before, suggesting this rescue wasn’t a one-off mistake
“Adventure”
➔ Depicting the men as juvenile and immature, like boys embarking on a fun adventure, rather
than grown men who are supposedly knowledgeable explorers on a serious expedition
◆ Once again encourages reader to not take them seriously, possibly with the aim of
highlighting that their tax money is going towards helping the two men as a result of
their ignorance and irresponsibility
“Tragedy” + “plunged”
➔ Powerful language - highlights how badly the crash could have ended
◆ Underlining the severity of situation makes men look foolish and unprepared, writer is
suggesting that this crash was due to their error however it’s a taxpayer’s
responsibility to fund the rescue
“Rescue involved the Royal Navy, the RAF and British coastguards”
➔ Tricolon list of important and highly respected authorities shows the scale of the rescue
mission + how much trouble them men caused and therefore, how much money it cost
◆ Creates contrast between the esteemed organisations and men themselves,
suggesting their not worthy of appreciation
“The men’s adventure had cost the taxpayers of Britain and Chile tens of thousands of pounds”
➔ Shedding light on controversial issue - whether taxpayers should cover the cost of rescues
like this
◆ Informing the reader, suggesting that they have been negatively impacted as a result
of the foolishness of the men’s adventure
- Journalistic writing - relaying the facts but presenting them with a small amount of bias to get
his view across (he could be more outwardly critical)
★ Title = rhetorical question which invites the reader to make a decision by informing them that
they will be paying the bill
○ Questioning whether the men are true explorers or simply “boys messing about” =
sarcastic and mocking tone, ridicules them + encourages readers not to take them
seriously
“Plucked from liferaft”
➔ Presents the explorers as helpless, immature and a burden
◆ Typically, things that are plucked are annoying and unwanted, Morris may be
intentionally using this language to imply that their ignorance has caused them to be
an inconvenience to society
“Their last expedition ended in farce”
➔ Two men = immediately introduced as a comical mess, not being taken seriously by the
writer, therefore, reader is less inclined to view them as legitimate and experienced explorers
◆ Fact that it starts with this line puts emphasis on fact that they have already caused
trouble before, suggesting this rescue wasn’t a one-off mistake
“Adventure”
➔ Depicting the men as juvenile and immature, like boys embarking on a fun adventure, rather
than grown men who are supposedly knowledgeable explorers on a serious expedition
◆ Once again encourages reader to not take them seriously, possibly with the aim of
highlighting that their tax money is going towards helping the two men as a result of
their ignorance and irresponsibility
“Tragedy” + “plunged”
➔ Powerful language - highlights how badly the crash could have ended
◆ Underlining the severity of situation makes men look foolish and unprepared, writer is
suggesting that this crash was due to their error however it’s a taxpayer’s
responsibility to fund the rescue
“Rescue involved the Royal Navy, the RAF and British coastguards”
➔ Tricolon list of important and highly respected authorities shows the scale of the rescue
mission + how much trouble them men caused and therefore, how much money it cost
◆ Creates contrast between the esteemed organisations and men themselves,
suggesting their not worthy of appreciation
“The men’s adventure had cost the taxpayers of Britain and Chile tens of thousands of pounds”
➔ Shedding light on controversial issue - whether taxpayers should cover the cost of rescues
like this
◆ Informing the reader, suggesting that they have been negatively impacted as a result
of the foolishness of the men’s adventure
