Essay 2 and analysis.

I am Daedalus and i am writing in my diary.

Day 285-

After being thrown in the labyrinth and chased by that terrifying Minotaur, Icarus and I finally escaped. Thank god.  Quite literally. If I hadn't been the one to build the trap then we would have died there and then. Thankfully we got out and managed to get to the shore of the island. That's where we are now. It’s the best place for us to stay whilst we are avoiding King Minos. The trees and bushes around us provide the perfect refuge for the time being. I am just glad that my son is okay. He seems to like it here especially now he is helping me with my amazing idea to get us out of here. I've had him busy since we have been here. He has been collecting feathers for me. I don't want to say what my plan is though. I best to not reveal anything just yet. Looking forward to tomorrow, getting on with this project is going to be extremely good.

Day 293-

It has been exactly one week that we have been on this shore of the island and I cannot express how excited Icarus and I are to get the project up and running. Apart from getting him to help me with the project, I am also in the middle of teaching Icarus how to fish. We need some sort of food and I won't be able to be the one fishing for food when I am in the midst of the project. Just waiting for our collection of seagull feathers to build up before the project can happen. It's getting closer and closer and closer.

Day 301-

I am so very proud of my boy. Not only has he been providing us with food everyday he has also been out collecting more seagull feathers. We now finally have enough for the project to begin. I am also ready to say what my plan is. I have had time to precisely think it through so now is the best time to say. We are making wings. Yes! Wings! We are not able to get off this island by boat as all the ships are controlled by King Minos and we can't risk getting captured again. Which leaves us no option apart from flying? Now we have enough feathers, I need to study how the seagull flies and up and away we will go.

Day 307-

We have now been on this shore for three weeks and we have made an amazing start on our plan to get us out of here. Today has probably been the hardest day so far. Icarus is getting far too impatient but he just does not understand how precise the measurements have to be. For the past three days i have been study the ways in which seagulls wings operate. This is a crucial stage as next comes the measurements and then the making. If he just waits and stops pestering me time will fly by and we will be off in no time.

Day 315-

Week four. Icarus and I have progressed so much. I asked Icarus to find some, well a lot of bee's wax. Only he could do this. He was out for two and a half hours and come running back telling me he had hit the mother load and my god he had. He has also been collecting more seagull feathers as he insists that we should so we definitely have enough for the wings. He is a smart boy but really he is just too excited. We have agreed on going to Sicily. To be completely honest, I am rather excited too.

Day 321-

Finally after six weeks stranded on this shore, we are finally ready. Finally! This past week has been all about the measurements. It has been intense but we have pulled through it and the wings are now made. Icarus and I are finally getting out of here. My boy and I will be in Sicily this time tomorrow. Excited isn't even the word to describe how happy we both are.

Day 322-

Why didn't he listen to me? Why oh why! Something incredibly bad happened yesterday. Absolutely nothing went to plan. He was far too excited. I just don't even know what happened. I sincerely thought he would listen to me. I told him; do not fly too close to the sun because the wax on the wings will melt. He knew but he just did the opposite. This is my fault. I should have told him more clearly. I should have kept him close. I am now alone, in Sicily. All alone. What am i going to do?

Day 323-

The whole day just keeps repeating in my head. It should have been me not him. He should still be here. My boy should be the one in Sicily. I just do not know what to do now. 

Analysis

In this creative writing piece I have used a series of minor sentences to emphasise the mood that Daedalus is in. Towards the beginning I have used minor sentences to show how relieved and excited he is but towards the end I have used them to show how angry and upset he is and I think it works better here. I have also used a rhetorical question towards the end; this again shows the mood Daedalus is in as he is asking his diary why Icarus didn’t listen and what he should do. The text is written in colloquial language to show how comfortable Daedalus is about expressing his feelings and even though he was looked up to it also shows that he is laid back. 

Essay 1 and analysis

I am the ploughman, telling the story to my friends in the pub. 

HEY guys.

Hey!

How is work at the moment?

It’s getting better.

That's good then but you will never guess what has happened. You know how we were told that king Minos was coming up with a way to get rid of that awful Minotaur?

Yes?

 Well he didn't even get rid of it. You know what he done? He tried to come up with a way to keep it trapped here. Some sort of trick, an erm... labyrinth I think he calls it. God knows what that even means but apparently it is some sort of maze that the Minotaur is stuck in. And you know that Daedalus?

The one who was in here the other week with his son?

Yeah, King Minos instructed him to build the trap. Surprisingly he did and then King Minos called for him and his son to be put in the trap with the Minotaur. To me that don’t sound fair at all does it?

No, definitely not. I mean he didn't deserve that but his son, he did not even do anything wrong.

I don't actually know if he did or not but that's what I thought anyway. Well, they got out. I have no idea how but they did. I suppose it would be because Daedalus knows his way about it. Anyways that's not even the end of it. It’s probably hard to believe but it got worse for Daedalus and especially his poor son Icarus.

What happened then?

Apparently they went to hide out on the beach for a while so King Minos didn't find them again. Then Daedalus had the strangest thought ever.

The strangest?... What was that then?

Actually, it might only be me who thinks that it is strange. Anyway he thought he would build wings!! How out of this world is that?  

That is pretty out of this world! 

No-one I know has ever thought about doing that never mind trying to do that. There is all sorts of things that could go wrong isn't there? 

Of course.

Things like hitting a bird and falling or flying for too long and the wings breaking and falling. Anyway back to what happened. It took them six weeks but the wings were finally done today. 

Today?

Yes, today! They used seagull feathers and bee's wax. Daedalus told Icarus not to fly too close to the sun as the wax would melt. Some say that Daedalus warned Icarus but some were not convinced. I for sure think he warned him. Icarus done what any young boy with wings would do, not listen to his dad of course. 

Oh no, I'm not sure i want to hear the rest of this...

Once up in the air the boy was far too excited and because he did not listen to his dad, he did exactly what he wasn't supposed to do. Before Daedalus knew it he could hardly see his son. Icarus had flown so incredibly high that his father was nothing but a small dot below him. 

oh no... 

Daedalus then saw feathers falling down towards him, one by one. Icarus had almost lost his feathers and started falling. He had flown too close to the sun and his wings had melted. 

Just like he wasn't supposed to do.

He fell with a huge wallop into the sea just along the road over there. It’s such a shame. The only things that came to the surface were a few feathers. The only ones left attached to him. Daedalus, well nobody knows where he is. 

I'm sure I heard someone say that he was planning to go to Sicily?

Well on the way here I saw one of the passing boats pulling that poor boy’s body out of the sea. And that's where i got told what had happened by one of my mams pals. I just can't believe that something so out of the world could happen right on our door steps.

Oh I know, It’s crazy.

It sure is.

Analysis

I have used many questions in this piece as this is how someone would normally try and fully explain a situation that has happened. This helps the listener to fully engage into the conversation and also helps them with remembering people or even just understanding the story. I have also tried to use assonance within this piece. This makes these small sections of the text hang together and flow better. It draws the attention to these parts and also helps the listener to be fully engaged in the conversation. This piece is written in colloquial language. This is suitable as this is how a ploughman would speak. They wouldn't speak in formal as that's not the social group they are in. This shows that the social group of the ploughman is relaxed and free flowing. I have also used minor sentences throughout this piece. This makes was used to try and set the scene a bit more. Using shorter sentences suggests that the ploughman is comfortable with his surroundings which he is.