Techniques Employed by the Author of Jack the Ripper - Research Paper Example

Lecturer: Jack the Ripper Introduction Jack the Ripper is a short narrative that was written by Paley Bruce in 1995. The narrative attempts to reveal murder mystery of an unidentified serial killer who vigorously killed a number of people in impoverished areas (Paley 21). The increased murder in the Whitechapel district, London was a mystery because the serial killer murdered and injured numerous people. The storyline presents plot synopsis and it includes an introduction or background information to the setting of the story. This is a factual story, which has a controversial case of murder that took place in the city of Whitechapel. Paley, the author of Jack the Ripper presents varied characters and conflicting issues are also analyzed but the case remains unresolved. Thus, the essay attempts to model the techniques employed by the author of Jack the Ripper. Plot Overview The storyline focuses on the crime issues and social economic problems that arose in the Whitechapel of London. These economic and social problems of all sorts were contributed by increased immigration of people to the city centers of Eastern Europe. The narrative mainly features one of the serial killers known as Jack the Ripper who received unprecedented exposure in the social media services. Jack the Ripper terrorized people in the Whitechapel district whereby he killed about five prostitutes by injuring their bodies in a strange way, which revealed that he had the knowledge of human anatomy. In most cases, prostitutes or the women who were working at night in the clubs were the major subject to physical attacks. This accounted for increased death rate especially for women prostitutes in the Whitechapel city. The politicians pointed fingers towards each other and the press went into whirl after several attempts that led to failure of identifying the serial killer who was eventually nicknamed ‘Jack the Ripper’ (Cornwell 123). The nickname of the serial killer originates from a letter which was written by someone who identified himself as ‘Jack the Ripper’ who murdered people mysteriously. However, the motive of the serial killer was not known and he could not be arrested easily. The killer was never captured despite the significant attempt that was made by the government to capture him; hence the case issue remained the most notorious crime issue in the city. Setting England experienced high rate of Irish immigrants in the midst of the 19th century; thus the population became high especially in the major city centers. The Jewish refugees also migrated into the same area of Eastern Europe; thus the Whitechapel of London in the East became highly overpopulated. The housing and working conditions became worse and the significant economic underclass emerged. This contributed to increased robbery cases, drug addiction cases, violence and crimes of all sorts; thus endemic poverty drove many people to crimes issues, as well as, prostitution. The financial problems were accompanied by increased social economic problems that caused much tension in the society; thereby driving many people into crimes of all sorts. The crime, racism, immorality and social economic disturbances increased rapidly up to an extent that the police services in the metropolitan of London could no longer fight or manage the crime issues effectively. Frequent demonstrations followed due to poor public safety; hence this contributed to police intervention and increased public unrest. The problems of increased crime rate, racism issues and severe lack of public safety led to the perception that Whitechapel was a place for immorality and other social crimes. Such perceptions were intensely strengthened by brutal and serial murder cases, which were attributed by Jack the Ripper. Characters There are varied characters portrayed in the novel but the main character is Anthony Perkins who played the role of Jack the Ripper. The author started acting from his teenage life and he has acted in varied films. Ripper was the suspect of serial killings and it was assumed that the suspect could have been a well-informed superior class man who was perhaps a noble man or a doctor who ventured into the district area of Whitechapel (Paley 47). Such cultural theories and perception about the serial killer contributed to fear for medical careers. Thomas Bond is another character, well known as the British surgeon; thus he was considered as one of the offenders who were well associated with notorious murder cases. Edmund Reid is another character who was the CID of the metropolitan police in Whitechapel; thus he played the role of investigating in the controversial case of Jack the Ripper (Davenport-Hines and Perry 32). Others who helped Edmund in the case investigations were Henry Moore and detective inspector Walter Andrews who carried out investigations after the assassinations of Nicholas. There are other five characters that also lost their lives and they were connected with the case; thus the author referred them as the canonical five. These characters were assassinated in the midst of August and November of the year 1888 (Curtis 91). The last characters are the victims of murder mystery such as Annie Chapman, Apron and Nichols among others who were killed in varied occasions. However, among the murder victims identified in the story, only two of them survived from the incidence that is Millwood Annie and Wilson Ada. Conflict and Resolution The author of Jack the Ripper presents conflicts in this novel as the central theme for the novel arising due to social problems. In literature, the conflict issues are literally an inherent compatibility that takes place in more than one character. Therefore, conflict in literature creates tension and it also enables the reader to develop interest in the narrative by having doubt to the intended outcomes. Conflict in literature may occur due to varied aspects, which drives characters of different forces involved in a certain case (Barnet and William 23). However, conflicts may be internal or external in nature; thus the internal conflict is the one that takes place within the mind of the character and the external conflicts is that one, which develops between characters. Therefore, the purpose of employing this technique in literature is to create tension in the narrative; thus making the reader to develop interest about the story. In the novel of Paley, varied conflicts arise and they can be classified in different categories. One of them is the conflict against man and society; thus these conflicts may result due to problems affecting man in the society. For instance, the conflict about man against the society is revealed whereby the society is forced to make immoral decisions. This is because of being frustrated by social economic problems and poor governance; thus the society fails to meet the demanding needs of people in Whitechapel district. Many characters especially women engage in prostitution in order to earn a living whereas others participate in criminal activities. The social problems led to demonstration in the public, which also led to the public unrest (Curtis 41). There is also the conflict of man against man and this is where the characters turns against each other. For instance, this kind of conflicts arose due to crime of all sorts such as robbery and many others that contributed to murder cases. Also, the case where the politicians started pointing fingers towards each other due to increased social economic problems in Whitechapel district can be a good example. Although conflicts may not always present a decree in a story, the resolution to the conflict may produce a conclusion, which may or may perhaps occur as the storyline ends. In the novel of Jack the Ripper, the controversial case of serial killings remains unresolved despite several attempts to carry out investigations (Paley 34). The nature of the murder cases for many victims draws the attention on the need to resolve poor living conditions in some of the cities in London. This is because the crimes and diverse conflicts can be traced back to poor living environment. This was the main reason that led to the public protest against poor sanitation environment, robbery and crime rates of all sorts. Therefore, the murder mystery remains unresolved because of failure to find clear evidence and beyond reasonable doubt about the identity of the serial killer. It is the role of the reader to draw and make final conclusions by critically thinking about this controversial case. Conclusion In conclusion, the essay attempts to model the techniques employed by the author of Jack the Ripper in the story. The author of Jack the Ripper attempts to employ varied techniques of presenting the narrative in a way that makes the narrative appealing. Although there are varied techniques employed in literature, the author presents a few techniques that make the narrative appealing. First, the plot overview provides a synopsis that enables the reader to understand clearly the entire story, which is being presented. The settings offer a succinct background and this is significant because it enables the reader to understand where particularly this narrative took place. Varied characters are revealed and character in literature writing has different roles, which they play; thus they make the narrative complete. Lastly, conflict and resolution serves as the main purpose of the story; thus conflicts have been classified depending on the internal and external forces. The resolution of the conflict remains unsolved; thus leaving the reader to make conclusions about the controversial case presented in the story. Work Cited Barnet, Sylvan, and William E. Cain. A Short Guide to Writing about Literature. New York: Longman, 2000. Print. Davenport-Hines, Richard, and Perry Curtis. "Jack the Ripper and the London Press." The London Review of Books. 24.7 (2002): 1-37. Print. Curtis, L P. Jack the Ripper and the London Press. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001. Print. Cornwell, Patricia D. Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed. New York: Putnam's, 2002. Print. Paley, Bruce. Jack the Ripper. London: Bruce Paley, 1995. Print. Read More