Broken Lives By Estelle Blackburn
"Broken Lives" by Estelle Blackburn is a relevant expository text that through research has lead to a solid argument; 19 year old John Button was wrongfully convicted of killing his 17 year old girlfriend in a hit-run. In her efforts to influence her readers of such views, Blackburn has entered into the world of a serial killer, presenting a credible, solid account of these events and their surrounding matters. In result the reader accepts the book as a genuine explanation of an increasingly explicable miscarriage of justice. The reader feels obliged to adopt Blackburn's views.
The notion of justice is Blackburn's principal value, and her attitudes express the unfairness of Buttons imprisonment. Together they underline the purpose of the …show more content…
Blackburn focuses chapters on just Cooke or Just Button, Yet when the murders happen, or Cooke is out prowling, you get paragraphs in between, with Button and Rosemary, having a good time, and just being in love with each other. Blackburn hopes that the reader will view this as Button being unable to commit a crime such as murder, to his beloved girlfriend. Blackburn pushes her opinion on the reader throughout the book, by placing Button next to Cooke, the readers opinions are shaped into those of the authors, into believing that Cooke was the murderer and that Button was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was treated unreasonably and unfairly. An example of this is in the chapter called The Marker Boy' (p91). 'The Marker Boy' is based around John Button as he was growing up, and how he worked crop dusting, as the chapter title suggests, a marker boy. It also discusses how he couldn't even kill an …show more content…
This demonstrates the ideal that information was delicately placed to make the reader respond with sympathy towards Cooke, until its seen how that upbringing effected him mentally. Blackburn then also uses common attitudes to make us dislike Cooke's everyday actions.
'With money to spend, and woman to woo. He often didn't get home until the early hours of the morning - sometimes not for a few days - but sally wasn't allowed to ask any questions.'(p48)
This manipulates the reader into disliking what Cooke does, as our attitudes come into effect, as this is not seen as the 'right' thing to do. He was 'leading the life of a single man'(p49) even though he was married, an action that is not seen as the 'right' thing to
The notion of justice is Blackburn's principal value, and her attitudes express the unfairness of Buttons imprisonment. Together they underline the purpose of the …show more content…
Blackburn focuses chapters on just Cooke or Just Button, Yet when the murders happen, or Cooke is out prowling, you get paragraphs in between, with Button and Rosemary, having a good time, and just being in love with each other. Blackburn hopes that the reader will view this as Button being unable to commit a crime such as murder, to his beloved girlfriend. Blackburn pushes her opinion on the reader throughout the book, by placing Button next to Cooke, the readers opinions are shaped into those of the authors, into believing that Cooke was the murderer and that Button was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was treated unreasonably and unfairly. An example of this is in the chapter called The Marker Boy' (p91). 'The Marker Boy' is based around John Button as he was growing up, and how he worked crop dusting, as the chapter title suggests, a marker boy. It also discusses how he couldn't even kill an …show more content…
This demonstrates the ideal that information was delicately placed to make the reader respond with sympathy towards Cooke, until its seen how that upbringing effected him mentally. Blackburn then also uses common attitudes to make us dislike Cooke's everyday actions.
'With money to spend, and woman to woo. He often didn't get home until the early hours of the morning - sometimes not for a few days - but sally wasn't allowed to ask any questions.'(p48)
This manipulates the reader into disliking what Cooke does, as our attitudes come into effect, as this is not seen as the 'right' thing to do. He was 'leading the life of a single man'(p49) even though he was married, an action that is not seen as the 'right' thing to