Barry Hines: A Kestrel for a Knave The novel ‘A Kestrel for a Knave’, by Barry Hines, is set in 1968 in a Northern industrial estate. It is about a boy named Billy Casper who is under pressure at home and struggling in school. The only time when he can get away is when he escapes to the countryside to experience nature in all its glory. The title of the novel is a sort of play-on-words, as in medieval times there was a group of people called knaves who were, like Billy in the novel, the
A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines For this assignment, I shall be looking at Barry Hines’ novel ‘A Kestrel for a Knave’. The story focuses on a day in the life of Billy Casper, a fifteen-year-old schoolboy growing up in an environment lacking in many ways. In this assignment I am to look at examples of deprivation in the various areas of Billy Casper’s life. Barry Hines writes about a young boy growing up in the 1960’s. Despite the fact that the Welfare State had been in place for
A Kestrel for a Knave tells the story of a day in the life of Billy Casper. The story is written in the third person, but there is little doubt that we are encouraged to look through Billy’s eyes. The setting is South Yorkshire in the 1960s – probably Barnsley – though Hines never names places. In the novel of Kestrel for a knave, it shows the lack of opportunities, lifestyle and just how much the education system fails him. Throughout the essay I will describe and explain each character as they
Main Points of Barry Hines' "Kes" In this essay, I intend to discuss three main points highlighted in Barry Hines’ play, ‘Kes’. The main theme that I will explore is how Barry Hines viewed teachers in the 1970’s (when the book was first written). Kes brought up the question of whether corporal punishment worked or not. I aim to conclude to whether or not corporal punishment worked. Another aspect of the education system in the 1970’s that I will explore is if pupils from poorer backgrounds
Hume’s argument against the “sensible knave” stems from his writings in An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, in which he writes his philosophical views based upon the activator of human moral action. The argument within Hume’s writing carries importance because it addresses the question of what drives, or what should drive, a person to be and act justly. His argument also encounters and explains the positive and negative consequences of moral actions. In the conclusion of his writing he
Comparing Oliver Twist and A Kestrel for a Knave Introduction ============ In this essay I am hoping to show the similarities between the novels 'Oliver Twist' and A 'Kestrel for a Knave'. Charles Dickens wrote Oliver twist in the early ninetieth century. It was set in the area of in and around London. Whereas A Kestrel for a Knave was wrote in the 1960s by Barry Hines and is set in the area of Barnsley. Although the two Novels are set one hundred and thirty years apart there are
Double Knaves as the Worst Villains in Society Shakespeare believed the worst villain was the two faced person. Not the person who outright showed they were a villain. The underhanded villain the villain that hides in the shadows and doesn't show their true colors were the worst rogue of all. Shakespeare created characters that were realistic. To do this he received insight from the world around him. In Shakespeare's time he must have been inspired by many rouges of his time. In most of
Treatment of Billy in A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines In "A Kestrel for a Knave", Barry Hines tells his realistic story of a boy called Billy. Firstly Billy lives with his mother and brother in their small house in Barnsley. His mother smokes cigarettes all day and asks, "You haven't got a gag on you, have you, love?" and "Do me a favour, love, and run up to t'shop for some fags." By asking if he can go to the shop and buy some cigarettes, obviously is showing that she is a selfish
In this essay I will be looking into the treatment of Billy in A Kestrel for a Knave, the emotions surrounding them and comparing and contrasting the differences between how three characters treat Billy, those three characters are Billy’s Mother, Jud, and Mr Farthing. The novel, A Kestrel for a Knave, is about a young boy who doesn’t fit in much, he doesn’t have a farther and gets picked on at school, to top it all off he has a terrible home life with his brother Jud bullying him and his mum going
Compare the characters of Mr. Grycefrom Barry Hines' Kestrel for a knave' and Mr. Squeers from Charles Dickens Nicholas Nickelby During the course of this essay I will be comparing the teaching methods, school conditions and general demeanor of Mr. Gryce, a secondary school headmaster in the 1960's, and Mr. Squeers who controls a boarding school for disabled and unfortunate children in the 1830's. Both schools are set in Yorkshire. Mr. Gryce is an experienced teacher with 35 years in
Comparing the Ways in Which Mrs. Casper, Mr. Sugden and Mr. Farthing Treat Billy in A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines I am going to compare how these three characters, Mrs. Casper, Mr.Sugden and Mr. Farthing treat Billy, a 14 year old boy, living up north in a rough school and he has quite a hard time. Mrs. Casper, who is Billy's mother, has no time for Billy "Oh stop pestering me! I'm late enough as it is!" She finds her social life and nights out more important than listening to what
right action can become a wrong action and the other way around. The question is, why we should be moral if it is not a written law that we must follow. In this paper, I’m going to discuss the issue of two characters, “the fool” and “the sensible knave” and explain which one I prefer in addressing the problem and justify morality. Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher who is famous for his book “Leviathan”
1.3 Hume’s argument for inductive scepticism in the Enquiry starts with a division of the things that we think about and a realization of the limitations of our perceptions. All the objects of human reason or enquiry may naturally be divided into two kinds, to wit, Relations of Ideas, and Matters of Fact. Propositions of this (the first) kind are discoverable by the mere operation of thought, without dependence on what is anywhere existent in the universe. (the second kind) are not ascertained
and the Knave uses a bloodhound whose name is Bayard (Timothy Spall) to track her down with the promise of freedom for Bayard’s wife and pups. Alice has then met the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), who then takes her to the Mad Hatter’s place where the Dormouse is at. She also meets the March Hare (Paul Whitehouse). The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) is absolutely delighted to see Alice and is rather excited about the up and coming Frabjous day in which Alice will kill the mighty Jabberwocky. The Knave then
” (Wullschlager 55) Lewis Carroll gives the reader information about Alice’s maturation and assurance that she will turn into a just adult as well as social commentary on Victorian England through the trial of the knave, the Mad Hatter, and the Caucus Race. During the trial of the knave, Alice reaches the pinnacle of maturity by standing up for herself, the wronged, and her morals. Alice physically grows in size during this trial which represents her menta...
life and she must learn to adapt to illogical circumstances that are uncomfortable and unfamiliar such as when Alice contemplates the Mad Hatter’s riddle, when Alice plays a part in the Queen of Hearts’ shenanigans, and when Alice takes place in the Knave of Hearts’ trial. Alice’s conversation with the Mad Hatter is her first experience in new territory of ridiculous situations as she tries to understand the confusing words of the Hatter. The Queen of Hearts’ unpredictable behavior further prepares
using parody, satire, and symbolism, Lewis Carroll pointedly compares Alice’s dream-world to his own existing world of the 1800s. Parodied events in Wonderland, such as the trial of the Knave of Hearts, pave the road back to age in which Carroll lived; that is, the 1800s. In the trial of the Knave of Hearts, the Knave of Hearts is accused by the Queen of Hearts of stealing the Queen’s tarts. For the duration of this unjust and rather ridiculous trial, different actions of the court are exaggerated
Explain how language and/or generic conventions are used to construct unequal power relationships. Explore how this occurs in at least one dramatic script you have studied. David Cushieri once said “The mind is a powerful force. It can enslave us or empower us. It can plunge us into the depths of misery or take us to the heights of ecstasy.” In Othello, written by the playwright Shakespeare, the power in each and every relationship has taken the majority of the characters down to the depths of
combination of qualities until they made the discovery that it was just of age and a blockhead"(pg 187). One aspect of being 'gentlemanly' to pip was education, "'He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy!'"(pg 57) says Estella. This makes Pip regret his own background and assumes that, as Estella says that the "knaves are not Jacks", this is the case. When Pip first arrived in London he was completely ignorant of the local etiquette and the way of doing things that was assumed to be right.
the fool’s lesson places a special emphasis on the merit of loyalty, for while he encourages Kent to entertain the notion of jumping ship, he also tells him to think twice before abandoning his friendship with Lear: “And let the wise man fly. The knave that turns fool that runs away; the