Posted by John Nichols on May 09, 2003 at -1:23:46 from 165.91.199.202 user Mcneacail.
In Reply to: Re: Beckfoot Bells, and Dick School posted by David Bamford on May 08, 2003 at 22:25:00:
The problem with Dick going to School in London is why is he getting on a train at Crewe on the day school breaks up.
I must say the time from the school to the 8:40 train supports Dick being a Salopian.
No matter how I wish otherwise.
In terms of extending stories, Shakespeare is only retelling stories that have been told before his time, albeit to a slightly better standard.
I do not think that AR uses the Class in any overt or negative way as Buchan does with his xenophobic statements at essentially the same time, I suggest if one wants to see secondary females try reading
The McNab story - a ripping yarn but highly sex separated.
For RB I am merely making observations about human nature. Given a chance I would send a son to do Construciton Science at this University if he was interested becuase of the network. It exists and that is normal human behaviour. Look at the reaction to SARS - we have a new discrimant but still a dsicrimanat.
I think AR is telling the story as it was at the time and he includes the charactoers in an appropriate setting, if Jackie worked on a farm in summer then there would not be much time left over for play that is simply a fact of life. Most of my students here have worked over the summers for years in the poorer areas - akin to Beckfoot and the Low Farm.
I am not disparaging a system that exists and still exists. Check out the Harrow website. If I could afford to send a son there I would.
My Nephew goes to a General Public School in Sydney - his parents are killing themselves to do it, because they believe it will give him a better education than he could have got in the samll town farm school - a reasonable size but completely unacademic, their decision was based on the improvement in Liam (elder brother) when he went to the School for his last two years of high school on a Vietnam Vet Scholarship (his father was on the gun line for several months.)
AR's world is no different to today - as I understand it from a Barrister friend in Sydney 75% of the Barristers come from one Public School.
Where I am at TEXAS A&M some people have been coming here for 4 -5 generations in one family - the students say it was simply expected. I feel like Mr Chips some days. (It can make you cry at times the sadness some of these students have seen, but it merely shows me the reliance of the youth.)
I have a Nancy in my current class. It is interesting to watch at times.
There are lots of rednecks here as well.
Ransome wrote some great stories and one day someone will extend him becasue he created such great characters, to copy is on form of flattery. Shakes peare did it. We should be thankful that AR is good enough to want to copy.
Hopefully we are mature enough to accept the difference and are not 12 year old Harry Potter fans. Although duelling pistos should be hidden tonight. (Just joking - honest )
There is also a psychological issue with nancy and john in terms of lack of seperation - they lack the necessary distance to be lovers after being friends. I just can not see, a nice thought but no.
John.
PS Go look at the lakeland cam there is a swallow in one of the pictures (the boat looks just like her - sorry a boat is female alwys has been.