M Adjei-Mensah's Online Journal

Those last days. No way of wrapping it pretty or pretending otherwise; Rafa was dying. In fact he’d been dying for a couple of months now. Mami and me were still taking care of him and now that Pura had left completely, Rafa was even more broken than before. He became pale it was as if the life force was being sucked out of his body.

Rafa was changing, in the wrong ways. First he stopped talking to us then before we could notice he stopped listening too. All of his thick black hair had left his head and none of his clothes fitted him anymore. He became nothing but a mindless shell of a man. Rafa would stumble into the living room slowly, just like how you would expect a zombie to. H glanced down at me and glare deep into my eyes kind of like the way I look at arithmetic equations.

I stuck my hand out, ‘ Here take it.’ I offered him the television remote but Rafa did a lengthy 180 degree turn and slithered back into his room. His bare feet shuffle along the green and cyan carpet. I honestly have no idea how he didn’t feel the rope burn that both Ma and I could see crawling up the back of his heel. Rafa slipped back into bed and closed his eyes. This had become a routine that would not be broken. Hours later he would start the same cycle again.

After the radiant sunset that had turned the skies themselves became confused. Blue, orange and pink all at once but I wouldn’t dare try ignore its beauty. ‘So this is the American Experience, a broken brother but nice skies though.’ I whispered to myself. To be honest I don’t know why I whisper these things its not like Rafa has anything to say about it, and as for all those dicks out there, well I can be asked to care about what they think anymore. The front door creaked open Ma slithered into the house. With a sigh and a petty cough Ma unloaded her luggage onto the desk and waltzed into her room. ‘Mami.’ I called out to her as I entered the building from the balcony.                                                                                                                                     ‘Si Yunior,’ Ma replied with a bit of regret, ‘What do you want. Don’t waste my time.’ Ma worked hard and anytime she could get off work was blessed time that we as a family wouldn’t dare to waste.                             ‘Could you ask Gladys for the keys to her car?’                                                                                                     ‘What?’ Ma called out with a certain sense of uncertainty.                                                                                     ‘Please!’ I pleaded.                                                                                                                                                 ‘Why?’ Ma asked as she got off her bed,                                                                                                               ‘The appointment.’ I replied whilst lowering the volume of my voice. Mami walked out of her room with tears like crystals sliding down her smooth face. ‘No ma,’ I said gently as she burst into tears I sprung into action and put my arms around her. She wiped the tears of her cheek and we both separated into our rooms.

‘Yunior!’ Ma yelled, ‘ Wake up you lazy boy.’                                                                                                         ‘I’ll have you know I work hard and I wasn’t sleeping it was just a nap.’ I replied whilst rubbing my eyes, I twisted my body expecting to see my mother standing at the door with a dirty dish in her hand or this terms grade results, instead I find her digging through my stuff as efficiently as a mole would in the ground. ‘Whats up Ma?’ I asked as I watched her transport my pile of mess from one side of the room to another one. After several minutes of a diligent and efficient  search she stood up and turned to me holding a cigarette pack in one hand and a lighter in the other.                                                                                                              ‘Follow me,’ She said quietly,                                                                                                                                ‘Ah come on Ma.’ I replied with a yawn in between each syllable.                                                                        ‘Now!’ Ma shouted, then I looked at her face and realized she wasn’t asking. I left the comfort of my bed and walked onto the balcony after my first step I noticed how much of a mistake I had made. The cold night breeze hit me and the goosebumps sprouted out onto my arms just like the dwarfs from the Lord of the Rings do the surface. Ma handed to me the packet as she firmly looked out at Perth Amboy over the freezing rail of our balcony. ‘Take one.’ She said as she gestured the pack to me.                                                                       ‘Okay?’ I stuttered wearily with a little bit of a shiver. Ma was used to people smoking around her, she did have to deal with Pa, Rafa and I smoking inside so I’d say shes adapted well. However she refused to ever take a bit herself, except from when she was extremely pissed off.                                                                     ‘If I know you boys, I know your brains are functioning at full capacity when you feel the cigarette paper in between your lips.’  Ma grinned and laughed for a little bit. The lights never shone brighter than that night and somehow the sky was cloudless and the sparkling stars twinkled in the moonlight.

There we were at 11:30 in the evening standing on our balcony staring out into the open as the natural sounds of Perth Amboy rared on. The whizzing sound of the cars, vans trucks kept going. This place knows no rest, its as if the people never need sleep.                                                                                                       ‘Ma, how long you want me to be out here, I like the smoke and all but its late god dammit.’  I expressed as the cold was continuously breaking through the thin layers of my clothes.                                                           ‘Listen, right now I need to think.’ She replied hastily                                                                                             ‘Then why bring me out here? So I can freeze to death?’ I started to move around hopping from one foot to another.                                                                                                                                                         ‘Cus!’ Ma screamed at me. ‘I’m scared and don’t know what to do.’ Her voice lowered in volume and the stream of tears began again. ‘ Even when I pray I cry. I just don’t know what to do.’ I put my arms around her again and brought her inside. After several cartons of cookie dough ice cream Ma had finally gone to sleep. I went back onto the balcony. Alone.

I had been alone for the majority of my life. The only time I wasn’t was when Rafa and I were sent to the countryside during those summers. Even at school I never spent longer than half an hour talking to one person and it wasn’t like I did any work. But at home it was worse. At home, Pa wasn’t around he was here in America with his new chick from Puerto Rico. Rafa was always undoubtedly her favorite, he was her first born after all. She had to bear multiple miscarriages so Rafa was a serious break through for her, not to mention his chiseled looks and perfect hair. That left me, by myself to climb any tree I could and gaze into the sky to think. I thought about our family and how much we had endured back in Santa Domingo, and I think. If we could survive all we did there we’ll get through this. Tonight, I wouldn’t be alone it seems. Ma had walked out onto the balcony with some sheets. She eased into my chest and we let the cool night breeze take away all of our sorrow. Birds started to chirp repeatedly. I felt a sharp warm feeling collide with my face. To my surprise it was the fresh yellow sun sharing it’s warmth with the world. I raised his heavy hand to wipe away all of the dribble that was sliding down my cheek. Suddenly I became rapidly aware of the fact that I was still shivering and when I ran my hand over my arms, I could feel the goose bumps hardening as the early winds brushed against his skin.

‘Ah, look who’s decided to join us.’ Gladys chirped arrogantly. I stepped into the apartment when that unexpected voice interrupted my stride.
‘Oh lord no. Must be a dream.’ I muttered underneath my breath, I started to repeatedly pinch and punch myself to try and prove that I was still asleep, but nothing worked. Ma walked out of the kitchen and gave me a sly wink.
‘Stop standing there and come and help.’ She said with the cheesiest grin ever. Ma was never good at hiding her feelings at home. It was disgustingly obvious that she was currently going through unbearable agony with Gladys in the room. I was in no means ready to share that agony. I put on the best fake smile i could find and strolled into the kitchen. I gave Ma a big hug rubbing my clothes against hers.
‘Jesus, Yunior you stink. Get in the shower.’ Ma quietly whispered in my ears. I grinned at Ma and waved at Gladys.
‘Where you of to now?’ Gladys inquired. Nosiest bitch ever is the title she would undoubtedly win.
‘Shower.’ I replied, ‘ Busy, day ahead.’ I turned my back to both of the women in the room and walked into the shower.

I never liked spending long amounts of time near water. In school one time when swimming as the new P.E topic I was incredibly uncomfortable. Come on Yunior was what everyone would chant as they were simultaneously diving into the pool with all kinds of twist and flips.
‘Yunior jump in, you don’t want another F now do you?’ My instructor taunted me with.
‘You know what, Fuck this.’ I shouted, ‘ and fuck your F too, white motherfuckers.’ I tried to sound proud and confident but the war rippling beside me scared me immensely. I had never been so embarrassed in my Freshman year but I didn’t care. I was hoping Ma never found out.

But for this occasion I had to deal with it. I was sat down with my back to the door trying to pick up fragments of their conversation. Who am I kidding, I was just waiting to hear the door slam but that didn’t seem to happen quickly. Ishowert was difficult to pick up the conversation over the continuous pelting from the shower.
‘Christ Dolores are you gonnna let the boy drown himself. Or are you letting him sap away your money.’ Gladys loves to critique but ma didn’t enjoy. I could sense how she switched from lovely host to an annoyed mother. Her glare was as sharp as Rafas old job. The look cut straight through the fake environment Ma had created. Gladys was delusional and she believe she was wanted but in reality she was loathed in our house.

I started to repeatedly bang my head against the door but the shower muffled that sound. All I wanted was for Gladys to leave but she was not moving. She had definitely overstayed her welcome. After a while I couldn’t hear anything so I put my hands up and thanked god for this act of mercy. I turned off the shower and slung the my towel around my waist. It was an orange towel with Aztec patterns dancing around on the material with perfect synchronization. It span across the entire bathroom which was laid with shiny white tiles. Or at least they were shiny before I fogged them up with all of the steam from the shower.

The shower was a chrome type silver but had developed tiny patches of rust over time, but when I look at the shower the only thing I think of is Rafa. ‘If it gets the job done.’ He’d say with that typical Rafa grin. How cliche even for Rafa. As I turned the shower knob and the sound of the water colliding with the ground had ceased I managed to hear the door slam shut. I an out the bathroom ecstatically only to see Ma washing Gladys’ dishes. ‘Finally, boy I hate that dinosaur,’ I exclaimed after jumping onto our couch.                                                                                                ‘You should be nice to her.’ Ma responded.                                                                                                                                                           ‘Why? What has she done for me, as far as I can be bothered to remember it’s always me carrying her groceries upstairs.’ I stated boldly. She held her hand out and started to repeatedly throw and catch something. It was the bronze ignition key to the bug she calls a vehicle. ‘Of course. You wouldn’t do a nice thing like cook her breakfast. There had to be a catch. ‘                                                                                                               ‘I’m gonna let that slide, but come on you should know by now I know what I’m doing.’                                                                                         ‘Alright Ma, but seriously, a little heads up next time.’                                                                                                                                                ‘You got it. Yunior I need you to go do something.’ Ma requested                                                                                                                             ‘Go on.’ I replied intriguingly hoping she wanted me to take the car and park it in a secret garage where Gladys would never find it. I was getting really tired of not having a vehicle to my name.                                                                                                                                                        ‘Run to the gas station and buy a couple canisters.’ Ma turned around and shrugged her shoulders, ‘You don’t wanna have to carry Rafa to the appointment do ya? Ma had turned on her taunting voice and she knew I couldn’t refuse because she got the car.                                                   ‘A car with no fuel. Sick.’ I said whilst raising my middle finger and pointing it at the door. Even when Gladys is being helpful she’s useless.

An hour later after I had got dry, dressed and ready I threw on my leather jacket and blue jeans. I put on my tanned backpack and my brown timberland. ‘See ya Ma.’ I shouted as I left the building into the murky hallway. This hallway was never going to change. We had gone through 6 different neighbors but no-one was ready to fix up the place. There was graffiti everywhere, half of the carpet had been either torn up or eaten by rats. I ran down the stairs only to find the exit of my flat, drenched by rain. On a normal day it would take me 30 minutes to reach the gas station but when its trucking down with rain like it was then there was no way of me waling at that  kind of speed. It seems Hecate had it out for me. First Gladys, now rain. I wonder what’s next.

The petrol station was a small one with only two filling stations, cars from all areas of Perth Amboy would come and queue for absurd amounts of time. Even those who were on foot had to come and line up with the cars. The station was always so busy the owner never had a chance to fill up the canisters so instead he started cheating us for them. Now we have to pay for the lone container and the fuel we are going to put inside it. The inside shop area was dark and dingy there would be mould on the walls but the manager didn’t care. Walking in there made me nauseous and I struggled to breathe. The woman at the till was dull and hated small talk. If anyone needed a visit from Nanny McPhee she did. She looked like her too, with a boil on the side of her noise and cut eyes that would burn the soul of anyone who gave her direct eye contact. Rafa used to say that she was one of Lucifer’s Demons who managed to slip past the gates of hell.

Once I had left the station with both hands occupied by full Jerry Cans I started on my trek back home. I decided that a walk through the park would be nice, so I cut through the park which had quite honestly see better days. There were puddles of water all around and the occasional stream of water with bits of soggy leaf and old snow. As I was walking through the park I spotted two boys form our school who were also walking through the park but at the speed of snow. I wasn’t really in the best place for social interaction that long ass wait at the station had royally pissed me off. I flared out my leather collars and tucked my head into them. ‘Yo, did you here about….’ One of the boys said.                                                                                                       ‘Rafa?’ The other boy interrupted, ‘ Yeah man.’ I don’t usually eavesdrop but when two idiots are as loud as that, there ain’t no way I’m ignoring that.                                                                                                                                                                                       ‘Sad init? He was the one that was gonna make it.’ The first boy replied.                                                                                                 ‘What, as a seasoned drug dealer? Deranged sex addict? Or all of the above?’ It was at this moment my interest peaked.            ‘Damn nigga, what’s up? You being negative again. Listen there are plenty of other fish in the sea.’ The first boy responded, ‘ Emmanuel, you don’t say them things.’                                                                                                                                                         ‘Josh, you should know by now, I say whatever I want,’ Emmanuel responded with a cheeky grin on his face. ‘ Honestly I’m glad.’                                                                                                                                                                                                     ‘There’s something wrong with you.’                                                                                                                                                             ‘Yeah, I’m salty. Deal with it.’ I paused next to a broken bench and dropped both canisters on the ground. I picked up a metal pole.

‘Yo ese’ I screamed as I turned around. With a thrust a body had dropped on the floor, with cold tears sliding down his face. ‘Don’t you ever let me catch you talking about my bro like that, you understand?’ I started booting his back, head and legs. After a while I broke down, when I looked at the blood dribbling out of his mouth and the pole that I had stuck him with I began to cry. Luckily Josh had legged it by this time so the only person around to see was on the floor and curled up into a ball. Whilst I was kicking this kid on the floor, I realized some stability and wiped the tears of my face. I picked up the metal pole which was lying on the concrete floor that the rain was pelting. At this point I could feel nothing, not the rain, or the cold. Just the immense anger and rage that had been building up inside of me. I paused the constant abuse, and picked up the metal beam.

At this point someone had run up to me and was watching from only a few feet away but I couldn’t care less. ‘You know, I used to play baseball. Actually, we used to play baseball me and Rafa. he was always better especially at batting. With his strong forearm and incredible aim he could hit anything. Curve, fast and screw balls anything he’d return. Lets see if I learned a thing or two. I lined the pole up with the boys head. He had thick flowing hair and his goatee was short and rough. I raised the pole high in the sky, my eyes bulged as if they were wanting to escape my head. The rapid decent began and before long it was over.

The boy twisted his battered and bruised face only to see a steel beam suspended a couple of feet away from face. He scrambled to his feet, screamed an apology and limped away. I was stood there with my head hung and pole resting in my fist. I felt the soft touch of someones smooth hand caressing my shoulder and hand. The warm encouragement from this bystander removed the burden I had to bear.                                                                                                                                           ‘Its okay.’ A soft voice whispered into my ears, ‘ We all would have done the same.’ I dropped the pole. The sound lingered on as the metal settled. I had burst into tears and into a hug with this unknown girl. It took a while for me to realize I was currently hugging Cindy. Cindy is the smartest, cutest and most popular girl in school. There isn’t a guy in school who doesn’t have a crush on her. She was first on Rafa’s bucket list. This the only girl Rafa struggles with. Her soft blond hair came down to her tetas. She would often add extra make up to her cheeks to try and change their color as she hated when they were pink. The only thing that puzzled me is how my arms are currently wrapped around her body.

‘Come on lets go home.’ She gestured towards the canisters and I picked up both of them and we began to walk home, Cindy wrapped her arm around my torso and held on as tight as a toddler would some monkey bars. When we got to the flat there was an ambulance parked outside. I refused to acknowledge it but I could see the worry in Cindy’s eyes. I kept walking.We got to my apartment and to our horror we found the door wide open and with a lot of movement going on inside. I put down the gas and took a step in. There were three paramedics and Gladys standing around two gurneys by the sofa. Cindy took hold of my hand and walked with me as we got closer to the bodies. On the left was Rafa his eyes were closed and a white sheet had covered him from his feet to his neck where there was a fold. Next to him was Ma. She laid there too, with her eyes closed as well. ‘They’re just sleeping right,’ I asked the paramedic with a waver of panic in my voice. ‘ You just hit them with anesthetics right?’ I looked around frantically waiting for one of them to answer.  ‘Right?’ I shouted once more. Cindy got hold of my shoulder, Gladys looked away and the Paramedics continued to prep the gurneys for the ambulance. I dropped to my knees and stated to cry.

I waddled over to Ma and Rafa. I glanced into their faces hoping that they would spring into action but nothing happened. Two more medics came into the room and they covered Rafas face with the sheet. Cindy guided me by the shoulders out of the way. ‘Let him go.’ She whispered. The medics picked up the stretcher and carried him downstairs. I rushed to the window to watch. They put him in the back of a van labelled ‘Morgue’. They returned and received Ma but carried her into the ambulance. One of the medics came to me and hesitated to touch me but he said sorry for my loss in an appalling empathetic voice.The medics left and there was an awkward silence in the room. I collapsed onto my couch with nothing to say.                                   ‘He’s in a better place now.’ Gladys remarked as she left the apartment. Cindy was about to leave and at the door she turned around, ‘I’m so sorry.’ She said.                                                                                                                                                                  ‘Thank you.’ I said, ‘ For everything.’ Cindy closed the door and walked over to me. She tilted my head upwards and we looked into each others eyes. After a quick stalemate her soft lips touched mine and we lay there on there couch.Together. Those last minutes, no way of wrapping it pretty or pretending otherwise: Rafa was dead.

My Hypothesis

The larger the surface area of a paper plane the more time it will take to hit the floor.

Independent Variable – The surface area of the plane.

Dependant Variable – The time it takes the plane to fall.

Supporting Evidence:

‘Objects with large surface areas, such as parachutes and shuttlecocks fall more slowly because they experience more air resistance.’ – BBC Bitesize

‘Air resistance depends on two important factors – the speed of the object and its surface area. Increasing the surface area of an obect decreases its speed.’ – study.com

Is Macbeth a tragic hero or just a savage butcher?

In my opinion, Macbeth  is an unfortunate hero. Throughout his life his been manipulated and tricked to believe one thing and then another. He was brainwashed by the subtle sound of the and given the fact his purpose was to clash swords with another you can’t help but question whether he could ever fight it. Then manipulated by the wife he loves so much. The woman he would do anything for her. If you think about it, he couldn’t repel three women in rags how was he supposed to deny his own wife. This essay is about my views on the question that was presented to me, ‘Is Macbeth a tragic hero or just a savage butcher’?

Firstly I would like to start of with the witches and their manipulative prophecy. Act 1 Scene 3. Macbeth and Banquo have just finished the battle against the Norwegians and the rebels from the civil war. Suddenly in an open field they encounter the witches. This point shaped the rest of Macbeth’s life.                                                                                                                                                                                             ‘All hail Macbeth Thane of Glamis.’                                                                                                                                                                   This quote was an important one in the matter of getting Macbeth and turning him from a loyal warrior to a tyrant with a goal and a weapon. This quote or line is what got Macbeth uneasy in the first place. Think of it, three random ladies, that you have never seen met before, covered in rags and would have been unpleasant to look at know who you are and your post in society as a Thane and where of. This would have gained the attention of Macbeth and Banquo. If this wasn’t the first witches line the whole play could of turned out differently. It wad a shame that witches knew exactly how to play Macbeth and this is one reason for why he is a tragic hero.

The next quote I would like to talk about is the third prophecy by the witches.                                                                                                   ‘All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter.’                                                                                                                                                 This line from the witches gave Macbeth the final blow. ‘Thou shalt be King hereafter.’ At this point in time Macbeth had just been told he was going to become King. Now most of you would be asking, why didn’t he just ignore them, that proves hes an un-loyal butcher. However that ties in with my previous point. The first line the witches say get him to believe what they say, but he was a little sceptical. The thing that kept his trust in them was that Ross came and answered the second prophecy ‘All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor.’ If you were in his shoes you’d believe them to. Furthermore everyone would love for someone to come up to them and tell them that you’d become a King. In Macbeth’s time and in his mind. The first thing he thought about was his wife. He wants the best for her and therefore wanted to become King to provide for his family. Unfortunately for him eventhough he tried his hardest to do the best for his family his fate seemed to be sealed a long time ago proving that Macbeth is a tragic hero.

Many people say that once Macbeth was crowned he became a ruthless killer that maintained power through deaths. I say that part of that is true. He did maintain power through deaths but their bloods weren’t drawn by his blade therefore denying the phrase, ‘savage butcher’. Despite my views I cannot change the events that happened in Macbeth’s life. Macbeth is guilty of the death of many, and this is something I cannot ignore. A great example of this is that Macbeth ordered the death of his friend Banquo. He sent three assassins to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. No-one can deny that what he did was wrong but to him it was necessary, for him to keep his family as royalty. The prophecy sated that the son of Banquo will come to reign after Macbeth so to keep his families position he had to. Most of you might be thinking that Macbeth is a coward because a man of his stature was to afraid to duel someone instead he hires assassins. Well the my way of responding to that is, why do you think he didn’t do it personally? All of these events happened because he was determined to be king for his family.That means he had to eliminate Banquo but if he had done it personally he would have been caught and if not killed immediately people like Macduff will recpgnize his trechary and kill him then along with his wife. That is not being a coward thats being smart for the long term however by this time he had been manipulated so much that despite his own plans other plans were already in place. If Macbeth isn’t a tragic hero I don’t know who is. Continue reading

Dear Diary,

I have done the unthinkable. I have killed my oldest friend. Banquo. No ibe can understand the amount of sorrow. Its too heavy a burden to bear, I can feel my heart sinking into the bottom of my body. I am unworthy, let the heavens strike me where I stand. I look back at the time shared with Banquo. We’ve fought together, wept together and yet  I was still capable of ordering his death and that of his sons. All of the things a man could want, I have and yet the fruits of my labour are sour and tastless. Amongst me there is a side that has been born. I morn but celebrate. I am filled with grief but am flowing with joy. Many feelings fluxate throughout me, I feel they cannot go unaddressed.

My best friend has become a victim of the greed that impowers my wife and I. Anyone who knows the truth will agree that the heart that beats within my chest should be stripped away from me. I am a human that does not deserve to live let a lone Kingship. However Banquo was just a simple soul in my, many others have been in that position. I am a man of war. My hands are tainted with the blood of my enemies. Banquo was a friend until he sided with the previous sire, Duncan. To hell with him and all of his children.

In fact I have done nothing wrong. All I have done was point a few men on the path to vengance. Banquos error was taking taking the message of the wierd sisters lightly and making so many enemies. I have faith they will deliver Banquos life straight into the hands of Hades himself. I am King of Scotland now. I have a country and a wife to worry about. Not an eliminated threat, a to be corpse.

I wish I could honestly say that. Wearing the crown that belonged to one that trusted me and the same on stolen from the son of my most loyal friends. How could anyone forgive me especially my wife. I have done a deed that cannot be undone. She must think of me a monster. I did this for her, my Queen. Enough, is enough.Banquo will bs dearpy missed however I have done what is nescessary. In fact all I did was enforce the words in which the sisiters spoke. No one can trifle them with their intelligence and knowing.

At the end of the day Banquo is gone. It may be in cold blood but that is only because I care so much for him I would not dig the blade into him. My children, and my childrens, children will remember the man called Banquo. As for now. The deed is done nothing can change that.

Until Tommorow,

Macbeth

 Dear Diary,

Today I witnessed the greatest battle in my lifetime so far.  There was a great meeting between the forces of King Duncan and the rebels lead by Mcdonald. The fight was a good one and hard to interpret the upper hand. The advantage swayed from the national army and the rebels.  It was then I saw him. Macbeth. He was the biggest, bravest Scotsman I’ve seen. He came welding his thin blade of valour. As the war waged on the leader of the rebels came to fight and he challenged Macbeth to a one on one battle. Of course this was after Macbeth had slain the rebels and created a direct path to Mcdonald.  In the fight Macbeth had completely dominated their leader.  He killed him so gruesomely.  Macbeth took his blade and sliced Mcdonald from his belly to his jaw. After the loss of their leader the rebels retreated with King Duncan and his forces giving chase.

We thought the battle was over but actually it was just the beginning of a full out war. Macbeth and his men were still cheering on, little did they know a Norwegian Lord came to the rebels aid and started a fresh attack on Macbeth and all of the army. The surprise attack took its toll however that would not silence the silenced blade of Macbeth. This time round Macbeth had to share his glory with Banquo. Although in reality Macbeth did all the work.  Anyway the two one the battle for Kong Duncan.

Dear Dave,

I am writing to you because you are my oldest friend as have supported me through my directory classes all the way until my first play. I thought you deserve to know what I’m currently working on as it quite frankly is the biggest thing I’ve worked on.  The play I will be directing, and staging is the well known play Macbeth. As you already know this was one of Shakespeares’ many famous plays. Therefore as you could imagine there is a hell of a lot of pressure on me to produce a good show for the public. I thought that I would just run my current ideas before we start the showings next week. Hopefully this will reach you in time and you’ll be able to reply and tell me what is good about it and any ideas you might have.

Since you’ve been to watch almost as many plays as me you know very well that the first scene sets the tone for the rest of the play.  So I think I’ll run by you my ideas for ‘act 1 scene 1’. I wanted new spin on the three witches so they are rich, famous triplets who everybody idolises. That will be displayed at the prologue of the ay by a projector.  There is going to be a magazine like The Sun that has the triplets on the front cover. Then when the play starts they’ll arrive in stylish clothing each wearing different colors. The first witch/sister will be wearing a tight ggolden yellow dress made of shiny silk. The crest of the dress will have a tabby cat. The second witch/sister will be wearing the same type of dress just will.be a dark green color and the crest will be a toad. The third witch/sister will just have a dress that’s pink but without a crest. They’ll arrive in Bugatti Veyrons that are the same colors as their dresses.

The setting they will meet in will be in the country side in a desolate location miles away from any civilisation. The rain will fall and once they reach their positions in an equaliteral triangle lightning will roar and strike the ground in the middle of the triangle. Their hands will link and for a moment or two they’ll close their eyes and be silent.  Whilst this happens a fog machine will create smoke around their feet. Lights will dim in the area around them but a direct beam of light will shine down on them.

After that they’ll start the famous dialogue again. The witch with the cat will say the first line and will the lines will be said in the order the cat, the toad and the blank. The witches won’t

It was a sunny, mild afternoon. Michael was in his new ship and was racing his best friend Callum. Blitz Berg was the best racing arena and was always free. Blitz Berg is just outside our city. The sky was cloudless, other than the ones gathered at the top of the mountain, and Cactrycius’, our planet’s, third sun was burning bright. It was around 13 o’clock in the morning. The best time to race.

There was a fresh summer breeze that blew in through the windpipes at the back of the ship. I always love it when a fresh breeze blows into my ship. The wind smells like pasta due to the natural chemicals in the environment. As I flew around in my ship I kept thinking about how much fun entering the actual race track is and Blitz Bergs size. From the outside of the arena you can’t really appreciate or notice how big the track really is, but the racers in the arena know otherwise. To enter the race you fly your ship up to the top of Mount Kasik, there you find the docking pad. Before every race even just a friendly race we have for fun our ships are completely checked for any malfunctions that occur in any form. Up at the dock while we wait for the all clear, the only thing visible is the opposite ships lights. The clouds are so thick, our wipers have to be on maximum speed to get rid of the water that condenses on our wind shields.

Once the regulator checks we are okay to race our ships are locked into the Catapult. The Catapult is what we call this convoy. Suddenly the convoy activates and our ships start to move down the edge of the mountain. We break through the clouds and can suddenly see most of Miakny. Miakny is the name of the city we live in. In the centre the biggest tower on this side of the galaxy. It is so tall my ship would run out of fuel by the time we reached a quarter of the way. As we go down the side of the mountain the convoy speeds up until we almost reach the speed of sound. The convoy then began to seem like what the ancients used to have. They called them Roller-coasters. At that point we were about to be launched so, the officiator shut down our power source so that we couldn’t turn on our ships. Using a private radio line all the racers, Me and Callum, here the countdown. Three. Two. Race! And our ships were launched into the Blitz Berg arena.

The second we come three feet close to the ground our ships are activated and we begin to hover. Callum and I had no intention to race properly, as friends this is what we share. We both love to fly our ships. Even though we entered like we were in a real race we actually just like the atmosphere. Blitz Berg is our sanctuary or relation and fun. Although flying our ships wasn’t the only reason we liked to come here. The arena itself was fun. Blitz Berg is commonly known as The Track of Thrills and Trickery. Why? Well for starters, the lush green grass below us was actually partially grass. In some areas there were real grass but the rest was all holographic. Now racing above the hologram was fun but what is underneath it, that’s a whole new level of excitement. There we traps and tests. Trials and Tribulations. Only professional racers were permitted below there Callum and I couldn’t even think about it, but we watched people down there before.

There are so many great experiences to be had here. Cactrycius is an amazing planet with amazing scenery. The scenery is actually why my parents moved here we used to live on Cibertron. Dad used to do business here all the time but it was when Callum and I were four years old that our mothers took us here on a summer holiday when they decided Cactrycius was a better home than Cibertron. Cibertron is an engine planet. All there is over there is scrap metal and burning coal. Often the occasional thieves would come and steal our fridge and melt it for money. Whereas here everyone is friendly and when I look around and see the bluest of seas and the tallest mountain, where we were just at, with just the right amount of snow on the peaks. I don’t see factories and import cargo ships carrying coal. Sunset, that’s when they are most beautiful and amazing my mum always says to me. One day I will hike to the very top on my own feet, you know when I’m bored and have no ship.

I was daydreaming until I heard Callum. “Mike this place is sick.” Apparently Mike was supposed to be my name but the guy that wrote it down on my birth certificate made a mistake and called me Michael. Now only my close friends or my relatives can call me Mikes. Really and truly its just my family and Cal, that call me Mikes. Besides Callum gave me that nickname in the Infantry and that was when that’s where the story of Mikes and Cal all kicked off. That’s where we met and I’ll never forget the sanitized smell of the main infantry. That was why it was my favourite place to visit. Sometimes, in our spare time, we would volunteer to help out in the infantry purely because of memories and that everlasting scent of happiness. When we were around 11, we went through the stage where boys stare at girls and girls stare at boys. I found myself in the Infantry’s lobby a lot because Callum had a crush on this girl. Her name was Stephanie. She was a fairly tall girl a bit taller than me. She war the newest Cyber Tech glasses. She was a tanned girl just like Callum and I. There are three suns after all. She had smooth, fast flowing blonde hair with brunette roots. Originally I liked her but for Cal, I subsided my feelings until I found another cut girl, witch I did. So I acted as his wingman and the results were unfortunate for him. Stephanie actually liked me instead of him. It was then he lost most of his confidence, it scared him for life. I really hope he can gain his confidence again. I know what you’re thinking. What did I do? It was all my fault and I am the worst wingman or friend in the history of life in all of the 61 worlds that were pushed into the Milky Way. I’d just like to say, I turned down our date and ended the to be relationship, all for my friend. Which I believe is the very action that makes me a great friend.

“I know right. Cal, why is this place always empty? There are hundreds of racers on Cactrycius. Why does no one else use this arena?” Callum was a lot more knowledgeable than me, but was too modest and shy to share his knowledge, so that’s why I ask him for a lot of answers and for a lot of advice. After all, I’m the only one he speaks to other than his family.

“Its cus of the intense arena traps. Mainly the asteroids. Apparently they are dangerous and strong enough to end the life of the very best racers in all of Cactrycius. Whatever you do, try to avoid setting them off.” He said it with the most modest yet scared and frightened face ever. I’ve always felt like he was my brother so to see him like that doesn’t make me happy at all.

“They’re that bad. Wow. Lets try them, you know if you want to?” Callum was always a little bit timid, I can’t say the same for me, I’ve been told I’m a little reckless, but that is why we are such friends I guess. Its a great balance to have we rely on each other. Rumour has it I destroyed the town hall in 3 minutes, but who can be certain. The area in Blitz berg was amazing. It was always green with a few totem poles. The Totem poles were scattered all over the tack. Apparently they were there when Cactrycius was discovered and who built them has always been a mystery. When the ancients found this planet and pushed it into our gravitation orbit, there was no one on the planet just strange actions.

“Oh no, no, no, no definitely not. I don’t feel like dying today Madam Poof warned me that you’ll get me killed before I reach 18. I bet that you wouldn’t and want to live to collect my prize from Poof. Of course you would know that if you stayed in her class.” Callum and I were teenagers. I was born in September 3402 whereas he was born in October 3402. That makes us 13 as its December 3415. On Cactrycius, the way the curriculum worked was that from the age of 3 to 8 you had to learn every subject including rocket science. I remember I was in the History Department at ‘Bright Kids Primary School’ there was a man I remembered from Cibertron. He was a Galaxy known Historian. He lived on Earth for 26 years until he retired and decided to help children instead of continuing his research. He told me in our 5 years of school we were as intelligent as the ancients after 3 years at any university. After those five years you need to chose your future occupation. The choices ranged from cleaning space to the army. Callum and I had a similar interest. We both wanted to be war pilots like my Dad. So that meant we to take a six year course with Poof. She was, unfortunately, Miaknies only flighty instructor.

“Poof hated me. So I left and taught myself. Saved my family some money which got us these Ships and Licenses. It was the right decision, as in look at how good of a pilot I am now.” I said whilst turning up the volume on my transmitter. The ships we were in are no where close to a state of the art, professional ship and therefore a couple of modifications.

“Modesty was always your strong point,” Callum said with the most sarcastic face ever. “Besides that is all your fault. You destroyed seven of her favourite ships.” I sighed and looked over at Callum, only to find him smirking at the memory. Suddenly there was a loud green flash and asteroids started flowing into the arena. We started looping and spiralling around each other. We were flying comfortably until the asteroids started speeding up. We were flying at an incredible speed. A loud bang sounded in my ears, I looked over at Cm who was wearing soundproof headphones. We levelled out only to see an asteroid in the form of our death. It was an enormous rock. Thallue master of all space asteroids and it was about to destroy my bones and crush us both. Asteroids as big as Thallue are all named and in our solar system there is quite a few. Thalleus is the biggest of them all and it just happened to come drifting through a space warp time portal.

“Mikes, pull up.”

“No Cal, there is no point at this stage. We had a good run. ”

“Mikes if we don’t make this I just want to say sorry for getting us into this and that I broke Poofs seventh ship” I looked at him with a lot of shock. The asteroid grows continuously as it comes closer to us. In Cactrycius flyers are trained as boys to prepare for space missions and death. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I continued the bound collision course until yet again another loud sound occurred. I opened my eyes and saw my ship flying parallel to Callum’s through a barrage of small asteroid rocks that were once apart of the biggest ever. After passing through all of the rocks we simultaneously saw a fleet of Jingle-ton, Dingle berries. A species of squirrel men that live in their space ships in colony sizes, with their guns facing us.

In front of us was the biggest ever fleet of ships. There at least a dozen dozen ships in the sky. They all had camouflage tiles which was why we couldn’t see them at first. Their ships were the palest shade of grey ever. They each had around 100 boarding platforms. I received a radio message from Dingle the leader of the Jingle-ton, Dingle berries clan.

“Prepare to be boarded and searched. Any hostility will not be taken lightly and we will destroy you but hospitality will be noticed. Fling-flang-mooley.” The line was cut and the mother ship moved closer towards us and was extending breech arms. Callum was tidying up his ships. So I thought why not do the same.

“What a day almost died and met Dingle.” I said with a cheeky grin.

“This isn’t good for my health Mikes.” Callum said with faint nausea.

“Lighten up Cal, you sound like one of the elders. Besides what is  the worst that could happen.”

It seems I had spoken a tiny bit to soon. We found ourselves as working slaves for two hours until Dingle demanded an audience with us. We were clothed in the skin of the Great Greens. Great Greens are an extinct species. They would be challenged to find. Once found then the hunter would skin them alive and finally kill them. It was a sign of great strength, skill and intelligence. Something to be proud of but for me I hated the whole idea. This challenge is the reason I ran away and disowned my uncle. He was the man that killed the last two Great Greens and ended a whole species.

The guards came and removed us from our cells I turned to Callum who was completely scared and tried my best to reassure him. “Cal there is absolutely no need for you to worry about anything. Back then in the arena when we were about to get destroyed by the enormous space rock, you said something. You said ‘Pull up’. In the face of potential death you tried to save me and you know I always return the favour. There is absolutely nothing that can separate us.”

“Thanks Mikes, I completely, 99%, might just believe that you’ll get us out of this.” We smiled at each other then we were tugged by the fused rat intestines and rope handcuffs. Inside the ship was incredibly different. It was colourful and colourful has the festival that the ancients had. It was called Divali. Since the war in 2100 no-one came out to celebrate. There was a gobsmacking amount of colours. Every where there were pictures of Dingle. They varied from him on his throne, at a feast or at war. The floor was covered in the skin of the discovered Saber-Tooth Tigers and Dribble Bears.

We had reached doors big enough for a thousand racing ships to enter all standing vertically on top of each other. The doors opened after a blinding light we entered. There were a few dozen armed soldiers and an enormous crowd of people staring at us as we walked down the isle. The whole room was pure gold from Thrithia and chrome plated. The was a thrown hidden by a dark veil. Shells sounded, the veil was removed and there he was Dingle sitting on his thrown. “Michael and Callum welcome to my humble audience Its a pleasure to have two Cactrycians in our presence.”

“How do you know our names and where were from?” I interrupted him to ask.

“Well ~ Mikes ~ I intercepted the radio frequency you were sharing with Callum. You see we’ve been watching you all day and you had no idea. May I add I’m quite impressed with both of you. Callum your intelligence is superior.  Knowing that you were about to hit the speed of sound henceforth you put on soundproof protection.” That’s what that sound was. It was a sonic boom. I heard they only occur when the sound barrier is breached. My train of thought was interrupted with the applauding of the crowd for Callum. I looked at him and saw a sight I was hoping to see. The faint sign of a grin. I started to clap for him until Dingle continued to speak.

“Pipe down, where was I, oh yes you Michael, your flight skills and endurance are amazing. You skilfully dodged the asteroids without colliding with Callum. Additionally, normally when fledglings like you breach the sound barrier they go death or even die from the sound waves rushing their ears. It barely even fazed you. Also your evaluation and maturity levels are quite high. Back when you were facing the asteroid Callum told you to pull up. However you refused, you said there was no point you wouldn’t have made it and you were right. Also when you were a meter or so away from it you embraced the fact your were going to die. That shows maturity therefore I am proud. I’m officially volunteering you to do the hunt. Take them back to their cells and prepare them for flight.” We were pulled away and returned to our cells.

“Mikes what was he talking about?” Callum asked eagerly.

“Cal, I have absolutely no idea. Don’t worry we’ll get through this together. Their coming quiet.” I said quietly. In a rush we hustled to our beds. Two guards came one with the keys and the other with two velvet black leather clothing that covered everywhere on our bodies except the head. Though it did come with a hood. We got dressed and then we were taken back to outside. To our surprise there was a velvet black racing and travelling ship combined that matched our clothes. Men were loading the ship with our belongings and other cargo. I think it was food. Dingle came out and smiled at us.

“What have you volunteered us to do?” I asked him immediately as I pushed Callum behind me in a protective stance.

“Well Mikes, Its a bounty hunt. There is a man on a planet at these coordinates. I want you to find him and bring him back. With or without a body. He goes by the name of Zeesh or the nightmare whisperer.” Dingle replied.

“And if we refuse?” I asked.

“Well you don’t.”  He said so confidently.

“But if I do?” I assured him. Then suddenly every guard lifted there plasma pistols or aura automatic machine guns.

“Simple, you die.” Dingle said with out any sign of hesitation. I took the coordinates from his hand. He walked away. Two guards approached us. They handed us each a plasma pistol and aura automatic sub-machine gun. They told me in my ear that there was more and a supply of ammo on board. I turned to Callum and saw him holding his weapons.

“Don’t worry you won’t have to use them.” We walked on board and prepared to take off. We set a course to the coordinates. As the thrusts began and coolers activated the landing dock equipment were grabbed by a mechanical arm. We were being held back by someone or something. I looked around only to see my dad using a long metal hook to keep the ship at bay. Dingles army was ready to fire and the civilians scattered at the mere sight of him. Hope had returned to us. We sprang to action quicker than a leopard after its prey. I shut down the engines so quickly it looked like I had been a clueless gamer button mashing in a game of Fifa 1416.

The door to the ship opened as Callum and I sprinted into my dads arms as he held them out with the biggest smile on his face. The last time I saw my dad was when both Callums’ family and my family went to visit the planet Thrithia. He’s quite a busy man, you know considering he is the man who saved the human race by single handily defeating an army of Cre aliens that were intruding Earth. Due to this act of heroism he was granted an alien liquid, called Enducicum. Enducicum made him immortal and he hasn’t aged. Over the years he has made friends and enemies. Dingle. Dingle was an enemy.

“What do you think your doing?” bellowed the loud deep voice that was my father as he looked at Dingle. “This is my child and his friend and if you thought you could get away with sending them to their deaths you were wrong. Force them into this and I personally promises all the hairs on your head, I will kill you.”

“Calm down Malcolm. I wouldn’t do that?” Dingle replied with the cheekiest grin.

“You must honestly take me for a fool. I’ve been alive for 1400 years, I discovered your species and you think of me as if I were dirt on your shoe.” Dad stormed of being immortal hasn’t done his temper any favors. He walked to the ship and pried of the wall of the ship. He leaped in and rummaged around until suddenly he walked out. He come walking out with four guns in his hand. They were the guns that we were given to use.

” I know exactly what you were planning to do and its not going to happen.” He dropped three of the weapons and aimed the last one at Dingles head. Dingles army ran into formation and all aimed at my father. Of course this was all a waste of time as the only thing that can  kill Malcolm is liquefied silver.

“Hang on a second,” Callum said “How did you know what are mission was to be?” Cal asked

“Yes Malcolm,  how exactly did you know?” Dingle added

“Well, I was hoping you would ask. Its quite ironic actually I ave you a dose of your own medicine. The galaxy defenders have installed camouflage panels and have been watching you from when I discovered you planet in 3006. To really rub the salt in the wound we hacked your communications set and have been listening to you.” I expected nothing less from my Dad he is a legend. He knows every trick in the book, there is no fooling him. One time I wanted to go to a film past curfew and he was waiting outside the theater only to take me home.

“You see Malcolm, here is what I don’t understand, you know I want them to get Zeesh. Who has easily avoided the army for centuries but you don’t want to send to individual undercover part time agents.” Dingle argued.

“Believe it or not but you are not the only reason I came here. I was looking for Michael and Callum to ask if they wanted to do this. Not abduct them and force them to, because at you rightfully said they both have unique skills and together are quite a duo. So Callum are you up for this?” Dad asked.

“I’m in, if Michael is in.”Callum answered

“You know I’m in.” As I gave a small nod to certify what dominance I had.

“Great then its decided. Tomorrow your training begins.”

Philip Reeve creates an effective Shrike character by using what I would say is the two face treatment or aspect. In other words Reeve has made two sides to Shrike. In these essays I plan to discuss with you on how this effect creates an effective character. As the title suggests there are two parts to this essay. This essay will specify with the first side of Shrike introduced to us.I think it would be a good idea to clarify what I mean by Two Face effect. If you read a lot of fiction then the chances of you reading about the villain Two Face has been introduced to you. If it hasn’t and you like a lot of fiction I suggest you read about him. Back on topic when somebody refers to Two Face they mean there is more than one side to someone or something. This is exactly the same with Shrike. Now let’s look and think about his two sides. These sides are a very scary, terrifying Shrike. The second is an unexpected caring, helpful Shrike.

The first side of Shrike that is introduced to us in the dangerous, terrifying Shrike, followed by the caring helpful Shrike. Reeve has implemented five different aspects to this Shrike which all help complement each other to create an effective Shrike character. These five different aspects are; what he says, how he says these things, his appearance, his actions and his effects on others. As I said all of these aspects create an effective character,and this essay is all about explaining this to you. Therefore I will explain all of this to you.

Firstly, lets look at what he says as his scary side. Shrike as we found out is a Stalker. Stalkers were created long ago by the nomad empires. They would drag dead soldiers and wire old tech into their nervous systems, before they were fully dead. So Shrike had been human which would make you think that his vocabulary would be very wide considering that he was human and other the centuries he would have spoken many different languages. However when we meet Shrike the first time round all he seems to know is his employer, the Lord Mayor, the name of his targets and ‘Kill’. I know this for a fact and have even found quotes to support this statement. “hester shaw’ it said ‘thomas natsworthy” Followed shortly by, “I WORK FOR THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON NOW.” The last quote for now is “he has sent me to kill you.” The way he uses these words creates a massive amount of effect for Shrike only. Reeve obviously has taken great care with Shrike and he knew what type of person he wanted Shrike to be. This makes the word selection crucial. How does this create an effective character? Well it makes the reader want to find out more about Shrike. Reeve makes his readers think hard to try to guess what happens next and only by one character’s word selection. All of this creates massive effect. However you realize this when you think about it in-depth. Reeve makes his readers think about the text and keep the reader on the edge of their chairs.

Now lets look at how he says those things as his scary self. There are two ways to look at how he says the things he says. Here are the breakdown of these two ways. Reeve has done a necessary amount of research on sounds that many people really don’t like. The sounds that make you shiver and all you want at that moment is for that sound to stop. That is what Shrike sounds like as we are told in the text. These quotes are my examples straight from the text to strengthen that statement. ” replies a voice from darkness.” Before we continue exploring other quotes let’s think about this quote. It says a voice from darkness. This does nothing other than strike the reader with fear. This all helps with adding to the effect of not only Shrike, but the scene as well. Next there is this quote, “screeched a voice like a saw cutting metal.”  This quote talks of scraping two materials that are incompatible creating sound waves. It is so irritating you barely call it a sound but more of an annoyance. This makes the reader think about how Tom must feel. Shrike’s voice alone is enough to end the life of the faint of heart. This paragraph is only half of one of the ways Reeve creates an effective character in this mini topic which is how he says what he does. These descriptions are like the best paint that can be found.  Reeve uses these tools to paint a highly detailed painting in the readers head. As this is a fiction book this technique also increased your use of  imagination and this makes reading the book all the more fun.

The second part to that previous point is that Shrike is incredibly blunt yet sharp at the same time. Shrike is as sharp as a Swiss army knife when it comes to fear. However he is extremely blunt and straight forward with his speech. Shrike does not have a range of options when it comes to speech as I mentioned earlier on in the essay, however one thing that I didn’t mention was his use of sentences. Shrike only uses simple sentences that barely exceed six words. This makes Shrike seem all the more robotic however his word selection eliminates all thoughts of the nice helpful robots, and replaces them with killing machines. An example of these short, simple sentences is, “he has sent me to kill you.” He delivers these sentences simply and without any hesitation. Shrike does not beat around the bush but tackles it boldly. This part of how Shrike speaks could possibly be the most subtle yet most effective. It creates the most activity in your mind.

The next aspect, of the killing machine named Shrike, is his appearance. We know from looking at his speech altogether that Shrike is a killer. This makes us think, but what is needed is a picture to be perfectly painted with the finest paint across the world, description. Philip Reeve has already created quite an effective character. However he needs to fine the picture in our minds to match the words on the page. The quotes following are actually one big quote that I will break down and explore. “It was seven feet tall.” Reeve uses the word ‘it’ instead of the pronouns ‘he’ and ‘she’ This refreshes our memory with how little human Shrike really is. “beneath his coat shone metal armour” This description describes his torso. Which makes you think if his chest was pure metal where was his body? Again this adds a great amount of effect. “Its mouth was a slot full of metal teeth.” This description tells us Shrike was designed to kill in any way it sees fit. As for the rest Shrikes description in terms of appearance it would be best for you to read it yourself and interpret it yourself, as this will help you understand how Philip has created an effective character. Explaining this through an essay is quite hard to do and therefore reading it yourself will be better, in terms of you altering or interpreting this yourself. 

The second last point on Shrikes dark side is his actions. We, as readers don’t really know how Shrike acts until chapter twelve in the book Mortal Engines. Even though we don’t know too much on how he acts Reeve introduces them to us in quite an aggressive, yet interesting way for the reader. Reeve has really thought about his target group of readers. If you aren’t into violence then this next part is not for you. “it smashed the man aside with a sweeping blow of one huge fist not even bothering to look back.” From reading the book you’d know that Airhaven is mostly populated with aviators and aviatrixes. This means to that there must have been a great amount of strength, a long with the arrogance of not bothering to look back. This action sends a direct message saying that Shrike is a lethal weapon and one that would not hold back. Evaluation needed here

The last aspect on Shrike is his effect on others. Shrike had a major effect on Tom and Hester. Lets look at Tom before Hester. Tom is a very timid character ever since we met him in the museum. He was afraid of Pomeroy and Mellipant. “had no friends to stick up for him” Obviously ‘him’ is taking about Tom. However Shrike struck him with the most amount of fear he had ever experienced and then some. I know this as in the text it says “Tom jumped up and his chair fell backwards with a crash” Shrike had made Tom so scared he wanted to run before he even stepped in the room. “He realized he had wet himself.” Tom felt so threatened he wet himself. That is serious fear. Now lets look at Shrikes effect on Hester. We already know that Hester is a very brave, fearless girl. Although when Shrike is in play, you wouldn’t be able to tell if that was true. These quotes can be used as support for that statement. “There was an edge of panic in her voice that Tom hadn’t heard before.” And Tom and Hester have been through a lot together. That must mean Shrike is a character not to be messed with as he is able to make even the toughest of assassin’s fear him.  Reeve was expecting this to happen because it helps emphasize Shrike to a massive extent. It turns a detailed picture to a detailed picture in excellent high-definition. Though that’s not the only effect it has. Reeve has written the book in such a way that you imagine that you are in the scene at the time.

In the book Mortal Engines there is a recurring theme of technology. Examples of this is how Tom and Hester are living in the Traction Era, cities move on tracks and individual towns have the technology to devour towns as we know from the text. Due to this theme there is a possibility that Reeve has actually sending a message through the interesting book Mortal Engines. Now you might have a different opinion to me however this is mine. Philip Reeve is telling us that technology is amazing and I gather this information from the fact that technology has progressed to the point that while towns can actually travel through different means. Although I believe there is an additional message. This is that no matter how much technology progresses there is always a limit. This is shown through Stalkers and Shrike. The ancient Nomad towns should have never revived the dead soldiers. This itself creates an unpleasant picture in your mind. Further on we are told Shrike is a killer and only because of the Technology. This is my evidence to my statement that Reeve has used the constant theme Technology and that it is great but to a certain extent.

Reeve did not just stop there. In fact he has sent another message through the text. This is the aspect of environment and how we treat it. In the world that Tom lives in, that environment has been torn in peaces and has suffered so much damage that there is no way for it to be repaired. I believe this because in the text there are specific times when Reeve has implemented this thought. An example of this is at the very beginning of the book in the very first sentence. ‘across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea.’ As the quote says they are in the sea however the environment has been damaged so much that there was no water allowing people to cross the sea bed. That was only one of the examples in the book. We also know that this world is in the very far future as in centuries. However I think Reeve is actually using this book to send the message that we should take care of our environment, before we reach the point where there is no return.

I’ve covered quite a lot in this essay, and therefore will now conclude it. Reeve knew what type of character he wanted Shrike to be. And has thought in-depth to how to create a good character like every author does. By doing this he has been able to create a good well planned out character. However this is not all from me as there is another essay on its way explaining the other side to Shrike. Thank you for taking the time to read this leave comments below and I will reply when I can. I hope you look forward to my next piece of work as I do.

Grendel is a hideous swamp monster

She loathes the Danish and its royalty

At night the Danish may live no longer

When Grendel says she is very hungry

She searches for her lunch in the great hall

Where thirty men have gone soundly to sleep

She devours all whether short or tall

Like a wolf would an unprotected sheep

Beowolf doth arrive in the next morn

He aids in the kings pursuit of Grendel

Yet again she comes but only to scorn

At Beowolf who doth make her tremble

They brawl in the hall as she tries to flee

A severed arm is waved in victory