Essay based around a historical time.

plosh

Ok so for my mock English paper I have to write a story based around a historical event.
(I posted it here rather than the Leaving Cert tread because it felt more suitable :L, you can move it if you like)

Im not sure what event I want to write the story on yet. (Feel free to give me some ideas if your feeling generous please!)
I was thinking of separating the story into two perspectives. Like say if it was the assassination of somebody, the first three paragraphs would be about the person driving the car during the event, and then the next three about maybe a family member and what they were doing during the time of the incident (Sort of like a "A day in the life by The Beatles" vibe)

Anyway I was wondering could someone give me some tips on how to do this. Like I know in a movie or song when the story jumps to multiple perspectives during the same period of time its pretty easy to tell. But how would you make it clear on paper?
Anyway I hope someone reads this and helps me out and if you have read this far then thank you!

cobsie

I take pity on anyone sitting their mocks again...therefore: don't jump perspectives, you are not going to recreate the complex tableau of Oliver Stone's JFK in 4 handwritten pages

For the kind of essay you are talking about, in the kind of situation you will be writing it, your very best bet is to be specific. Take ONE person - a child in the crowd, the driver of a car etc (seems like you have assassination on your mind for the event) and write from their perspective, trying to be as imaginative as possible with the small details. Stay focused and your narrative will work really well.

suggestions for the historical event: the Easter Rising, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Rosa Parks refuses to sit at the back of the bus in Alabama

Good luck!

plosh

Ye I know what you mean, I was just tryna switch things up a little, come up with something a bit more creative than my usual essay. But im deffo not going to do the multiple perspective thing for my mocks its far too risky!
And thanks for the ideas BTW, im defo gona play around with different ideas.
And the the mocks are pretty harsh alright
But im not too bad at English so im not particularly worried about that

And thanks again by the way

pickarooney

cobsie wrote: »

I take pity on anyone sitting their mocks again...therefore: don't jump perspectives, you are not going to recreate the complex tableau of Oliver Stone's JFK in 4 handwritten pages

For the kind of essay you are talking about, in the kind of situation you will be writing it, your very best bet is to be specific. Take ONE person - a child in the crowd, the driver of a car etc (seems like you have assassination on your mind for the event) and write from their perspective, trying to be as imaginative as possible with the small details. Stay focused and your narrative will work really well.

suggestions for the historical event: the Easter Rising, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Rosa Parks refuses to sit at the back of the bus in Alabama

Good luck!

Rosa Parks from the POV of the bus driver could be good. Or the moon landing from the POV of the as yet undiscovered life form living there

plosh

Ooow I like that moon landing one

I was also thinking about one about a French demonstrator storming the Bastille during the French Revolution?
Bad idea or what?

EileenG

How about a prisoner in the Bastille? You could put in lots about conditions in the prison, the uncertainty about what was happening outsides, the reaction of the crowd when they discovered how few prisoners there were, what happened after.

Unless you are writing a novel, I'd stick to one perspective. Don't forget you can use flashbacks and conversation to bring in more information if you want.

davyjose

One of the three wise men? You could answer a couple questions I've always wondered:

Why myrrh? No, really, a baby has just been born -- in a manger -- to an impoverished carpenter and his wife. And of all the possible gifts you imagine they might make use of ... you come up with myrrh? Mmmmkay.

You're following a star. I get that: for millenia folk have been using the cosmos as a means of navigation. But to pinpoint an exact location? It's not fcuking GPS guys. What gives?

Three kings? Three kings my ass. Imagine Joseph and Mary's reaction to three kings showing up at the barn? "Who are you guys?" "We're just a bunch of Kings bearing gifts." "Kings? Holy sh!t, this is awesome. To be honest we were kinda sweating on the whole 'it's the middle of winter, we're in a barn, and our newborn baby is being hunted down' thing. But now you guys are here, maybe we can bunk in with you guys. Where you staying? The Ritz? the Hilton?" "Hmmm.... Hmmm... well, eh ... we were kinda hoping we could stop here?" Later that night, Mary's body bruised and torn by the savagry of childbirth. "King's eh? :rolleyes: Kings my ass."

Joseph: gullible much?

The myrrh. I can't let this one go. And Frankincence. WTF lads? It's the son of God FFS. The one with the gold must have been mortified.

OP, write this story, and unlock, for once and for all, the answer to these elusive questions.

pickarooney

Myrrh?

The first Christmas and already the tradition of regifting had begin, I reckon.

EileenG

Is this the time to say that Myrrh is not a bad gift to bring to a woman who's just given birth? Traditionally, it's an antiseptic, wound healer and analgesic. Traditionally, it was as valuable as gold.

Kinski

davyjose wrote: »

Why myrrh? No, really, a baby has just been born -- in a manger -- to an impoverished carpenter and his wife. And of all the possible gifts you imagine they might make use of ... you come up with myrrh? Mmmmkay.

I think you might be conflating different versions of the story. I ain't no Bible scholar, but I think the myrrh is just in the Gospel of Matthew, and the manger is just in Luke. Likewise, the shepherds are in Luke, the wise men in Matthew. I'm basing all this on what I can glean from Wikipedia. Maybe the OP could write a story where a shepherd runs into a wise man, and they proceed to argue over what actually happened!

pickarooney

This is beginning to sound a bit like Rashômon.

plosh

pickarooney wrote: »

This is beginning to sound a bit like Rashômon.

Sounds like one crazy film alri haha!