English question 4
A student, having read this section of the text said: “The writer brings the very different characters
to life for the reader. It is as if you are inside the coach with them.”
Plan ;Agree- separate descriptions, different emotions, good description of the setting for imagery,
weather links to characters dis; third person- not personal, no names
I partially agree with the statement as the description of each character is very different and so you
are able to connect with them and understand them due to their different reactions of the weather
in the carriage journey and how the weather reflects them. For example, the writer describes the
first character introduced and says ‘and he for one would never travel by coach again’ which
suggests his anger and frustration towards the driver as he was ‘cursing him in a high petulant voice
for a rogue and a murderer’ which reflects the characters dramatic attitude as there will obviously
be no deaths yet is shouting how they will be dead by morning. The adjective of ‘high petulant voice’
causes the reader to be able to imagine the what the scene was like in the carriage as it adds to the
description of the clear windy and rainy scene which also reflects each character which is being
talked about at the time. For example, when the man is being talked about the weather ‘bringing a
shower of rain upon himself and his fellow-passengers’ can cause the reader to be able to make links
to his personality and the weather as his constant complaining to the other people he is sitting with
would carry his bad attitude to them as well.
Additionally, the last character which is introduced which is given a name ‘Mary Yellan’ which
immediately connects the reader and the character on a more personal level and it also catches the
reader’s attention as the other characters don’t have a name. Mary comes across as more collected
and not engaged with the other characters as when rain fell on her ‘she brushed away with
impatient fingers’ and sees it as ‘rain oozed’ the adjective ‘oozed’ suggests that the weather doesn’t
seem as violent in her perspective as earlier in the text its described as ‘constant driving rain’ and
‘shaking the coach’ contrasting to her more unbothered angle which suggests to the reader that she
may be preoccupied in her own thoughts. It could also suggest that her personality reflects the same
calmness as the description of the rain. She also clearly views the weather rather as a nuisance than
a big obstacle as she watches with ‘desperate interest that some ray of light would break the heavy
blanket of sky’ which is again a separate viewpoint of three different characters that are structured
into three different paragraphs which the writer did to emphasise their differences in character to
make it stand out to the reader.
On the other hand, the text is written in third person which takes away the personal element for the
reader and so lacks that connection with the narrator. The text being in third person means that the
reader cant experience emotions or thoughts first hand which would take away the life-like element.
Also, the first two characters which are introduced are without a name and instead referred to as
‘one old fellow’ and ‘nearest neighbour’ that causes a lack of knowledge and personality as the
characters not having a name may not make it memorable for the reader and less life-like. The
writer may have done this so that the reader can focus on the way that the character acts and how
that impacts on the tone of the setting as you are able to tell more about a person’s character rather
than only on their name.
A student, having read this section of the text said: “The writer brings the very different characters
to life for the reader. It is as if you are inside the coach with them.”
Plan ;Agree- separate descriptions, different emotions, good description of the setting for imagery,
weather links to characters dis; third person- not personal, no names
I partially agree with the statement as the description of each character is very different and so you
are able to connect with them and understand them due to their different reactions of the weather
in the carriage journey and how the weather reflects them. For example, the writer describes the
first character introduced and says ‘and he for one would never travel by coach again’ which
suggests his anger and frustration towards the driver as he was ‘cursing him in a high petulant voice
for a rogue and a murderer’ which reflects the characters dramatic attitude as there will obviously
be no deaths yet is shouting how they will be dead by morning. The adjective of ‘high petulant voice’
causes the reader to be able to imagine the what the scene was like in the carriage as it adds to the
description of the clear windy and rainy scene which also reflects each character which is being
talked about at the time. For example, when the man is being talked about the weather ‘bringing a
shower of rain upon himself and his fellow-passengers’ can cause the reader to be able to make links
to his personality and the weather as his constant complaining to the other people he is sitting with
would carry his bad attitude to them as well.
Additionally, the last character which is introduced which is given a name ‘Mary Yellan’ which
immediately connects the reader and the character on a more personal level and it also catches the
reader’s attention as the other characters don’t have a name. Mary comes across as more collected
and not engaged with the other characters as when rain fell on her ‘she brushed away with
impatient fingers’ and sees it as ‘rain oozed’ the adjective ‘oozed’ suggests that the weather doesn’t
seem as violent in her perspective as earlier in the text its described as ‘constant driving rain’ and
‘shaking the coach’ contrasting to her more unbothered angle which suggests to the reader that she
may be preoccupied in her own thoughts. It could also suggest that her personality reflects the same
calmness as the description of the rain. She also clearly views the weather rather as a nuisance than
a big obstacle as she watches with ‘desperate interest that some ray of light would break the heavy
blanket of sky’ which is again a separate viewpoint of three different characters that are structured
into three different paragraphs which the writer did to emphasise their differences in character to
make it stand out to the reader.
On the other hand, the text is written in third person which takes away the personal element for the
reader and so lacks that connection with the narrator. The text being in third person means that the
reader cant experience emotions or thoughts first hand which would take away the life-like element.
Also, the first two characters which are introduced are without a name and instead referred to as
‘one old fellow’ and ‘nearest neighbour’ that causes a lack of knowledge and personality as the
characters not having a name may not make it memorable for the reader and less life-like. The
writer may have done this so that the reader can focus on the way that the character acts and how
that impacts on the tone of the setting as you are able to tell more about a person’s character rather
than only on their name.
