THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY- Part 1 (Character / Moral Values / Theme)

For my Form 1 and Form 2 students, here are some useful notes for all of you...

TECHNIQUES AND GUIDELINES FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTION OF PAPER 2 

~THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY~

•          Choose only one novel for the answer. Do not write about all the novels.

•          Your answer should be a short essay of more than 50 words.

•          Your answer must be in continuous writing.

•          Check your spelling and grammar.

•          Do not spend more than 20 minutes on this section.

Outline:

•          Name the novel that you have chosen.

•          You can briefly state what the novel is about.

•          Name / state the character / event / lesson etc you have chosen, depending on the question.

•          Describe / list / highlight at least 2 characteristics / actions / events etc as examples / reasons to  support your choice.

•          Describe / show how character / event / lesson etc affects other characters / people and you.

MODEL QUESTION AND ANSWER.

Based on the novel above, choose one character which you think is important. Write about the character that you have chosen and give reasons for your choice.

I would like to write about Charles McCarthy from the novel Boscombe Valley Mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Charles McCarthy was an evil man. He knew that John Turner was Black Jack from Ballarat, a group of notorious robbers that robbed stagecoaches carrying gold from Australia. When Charles McCarthy met John Turner in England twenty years later, he started to blackmail him. Charles did not know that John Turner had turned over a new leaf and started a new life in England.      Charles McCarthy is an important character because he was the real villain in this story. In the initial bargain, he asked for a house and some land and John Turner gave him a house on his farm and allowed him to stay rent-free. Over the years, Charles McCarthy became greedier and demanded more money and finally, he wanted his son, James to marry Alice Turner so that he could lay his hand on the Turner estates and wealth. John Turner loved his daughter very much and he did not want her to suffer so he killed Charles by hitting him violently with a stone on the head.      Charles McCarthy was an evil man. His greed made him lose his life under the hands of John Turner. If he waited for a while, maybe his son would have married Alice Turner because both of them were in love with each other. In the end, John Turner killed him because he was afraid that his beloved daughter would know the truth about his past and he did not want Alice to suffer because of his past mistakes.

State the name of the character and the novel you have chosen. State some general background of the story. Highlight the points of the question (an important character) State your own opinion.

Based on the novel above, state one lesson that you can learn from this novel and give reasons for your choice.

One important lesson that I can learn from the novel Boscombe Valley Mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is crime does not pay. We can never run from a crime that we have committed because the past will always come back to haunt us. In this story, we learn that John Turner was a rich and respected gentleman but in the past, he was known as the notorious Black Jack of Ballarat. Twenty years later, his past caught up with him when Charles McCarthy recognized him and started to blackmail him.      To keep his secret safe, John Turner agrees to let Charles and his family lived on a farm in his estate rent-free. However, Charles became more greedy and demanded more money and demanded that his son, James to marry John’s only daughter, Alice. John Turner finally had enough and murdered Charles in cold blood.      From this story, I learnt that crime does not pay. We must be responsible for all our actions because one day, this past mistake will come back to us and we have to pay a high price for it.

State the name of the novel and the lesson you learnt. State some general background of the story. Highlight the points of the question (a lesson learnt) State your own opinion.

c)     Based on the novel above, state one important theme and give reasons for your choice.

One important theme that I can find from the novel Boscombe Valley Mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is love. This novel is an excellent example of love because I can see different types of love portrayed in the story. First, we have the love of two young people, Alice Turner and James McCarthy. Alice loves James and understands him well enough to know that he is a kind person who is incapable of killing another human being, let alone his own father. Her love for him driver her to hire the best known detective, Sherlock Holmes, to prove his innocence. Finally, their love triumphs and the two are happily married.      Another evidence of love is between a father and his daughter. In this novel, John Turner loves his daughter, Alice, so much that he is willing to do anything to protect her. He even goes to the extent of murdering Charles McCarthy so that Alice would be safe from the evil and scheming Charles. Alice also loves his father very much and she takes good care of him, especially when he is sick.      In the end, it is this evidence of pure love that melts Holmes’ heart. We should learn from these characters that true love does triumph in the end.

State the name of the novel. Highlight the points of the question (a theme portrayed) Give another example with support from the story. State your own opinion.

Hmm... I hope these notes are helpful when you are revising for your exams, ok! :)