Interesting Context
What I found cool in this project is how they connected prison and class, which was a recurring topic throughout The Secret River. It was touched on slightly when Thornhill attempted to bribe the executioner to kill his friend quickly, but other than that the book did not go into much detail and didn't even mention the possibility of buying himself out of a sentence, probably because it wasn't even a consideration.
I also like how they brought up the prison conditions. Despite all the descriptions we were given regarding the conditions in Australia and all the homes in England, not enough time was spent in the prisons to give nearly as much imagery. Giving some more context as to what life in the prisons was really like helps me to visualize the scenes there. It also gives more of an insight as to what it was like for Thornhill at the absolute lowest point in his life.
I am glad you thought our project added some new context to the book; that was definitely our intention! It was such an interesting this to research. I have spent a lot of time researching the present day criminal justice system, and it was interesting to see some of the similarities between that and the London 18th century systems.
ReplyDeleteI know it's beyond the scope of the assignment, but it would be very cool to add some of those connections between the past and the present to the exhibit, Avery... food for thought!
DeleteI also believe this group did a great job connecting the novel as a whole to class and prison. When I was reading, I breezed over the idea, but now that the presentation highlights the topic of prison and the system, I learned a large amount of new information and appreciate their entire project.The prison conditions fascinated me and I made small connections between the prison conditions then and now.
ReplyDelete