4.

Firstly, in the beginning of source A, Elizabeth views Glastonbury as a horrible and

unpleasant event and encourages people not to come experience it: “ The tents are being
chased by a group of shivering, half-naked people who look like the survivors of a terrible
natural disaster”. This emphasises the horrific conditions that the harsh weather has brought,
creating the atmosphere of a “natural disaster”. The verb “shivering” highlights the
discomfort that the weather and could be suggesting the dangers of the weather as the
“shivering” and lack of clothing (“half-naked”) to protect them from the bad weather could
lead to people suffering from hypothermia. This exemplifies the severeness of the weather
and Elizabeth’s resentment towards the event because it is dangerous and uncomfortable.
Furthermore, the use of the phrase “ survivors of a terrible natural disaster” emphasises
Elizabeth’s confusion that people would enjoy going to Glastonbury because it seems to only
cause suffering similar to natural disasters. A Natural disaster has terrible consequences and
is viewed as a tragedy, this is what Elizabeth compares Glastonbury to. Additionally, the
plural noun “survivors” implies that you could never enjoy this event and can only hope to
survive what it entails. Elizabeth is discouraging people from attending Glastonbury because
of the clear emphasis of the atrocious atmosphere and conditions in Glastonbury.
Contrastingly, in source B, Dickens portrays the Greenwich Fair as enjoyable and pleasant,
he encourages the reader to join in with the festivities: “five minutes walking brings you to
the fair itself […] the entrance is occupied on either side by the vendors of gingerbread and
toys : the stalls gaily lighted up, the most attractive goods profusely disposed, and
unbonneted young ladies…”. This illustrates the joyful atmosphere that envelopes the
Greenwich Fair, the use of the asyndetic list accentuates the unending amount of activities
that you can participate in. The quotation also exhibits the popularity of the fair by both
customers and vendors, who are selling an unfathomable amount of goods such as
“gingerbread and toys”. The adverb “gaily” further stresses the cheerful/ light-hearted
environment, it also connotes Dickens view of the Greenwich Fair because he describes it
with the uttermost amount of detail. The phrase “lighted up” could be a metaphor for Dickens
perspective of the Fair, because it is a positive and good event filled with the joy and
happiness that is usually associated with light. The positive description of Greenwich Fair by
Dickens juxtaposes the distaste that Elizabeth has for Glastonbury and her negativity towards
the event.
Secondly, in source A, Elizabeth describes Glastonbury as informal, random and hectic.
Though Elizabeth was extremely sceptical of Glastonbury and doubted someone could enjoy
such an event at the beginning of the source, at the end she reluctantly admits that it is
somehow enjoyable: “but Glastonbury still managed to preserve a healthy degree of
wackiness […] twirling round and round in bare feet […] Bizarrely, everyone seems to be
having a brilliant time and there are broad grins wherever I look. In fact, its almost nice, this
Glastonbury thing”. This implies that the festival is enjoyed despite the disastrous conditions,
people are comfortable “bare feet” and relaxed. The verb “twirling” highlights the
nonchalance, comfort and almost dreamlike state people are in. The bad conditions of
Glastonbury juxtapose the good mood and “broad smiles” that are found, this suggests that
Glastonbury is a very consuming event because people are able to forget about their struggles
and simply have entertaining time. It is also indicated that though the atmosphere of
Glastonbury is quite unusual and “wacky” everyone is having fun have “broad grins, The
event is mostly suited for middle aged adults and would not usually be attended by younger
children. Contrastingly, in source B, Dickens insinuates that Greenwich is a family event and
is more formal and structured: “the road to Greenwich during the whole of Easter Monday is
in a state of perpetual bustle and noise […] the principle amusement is to drag young ladies
up the steep hill…”. This connotes that the Fair is immensely popular and caters to people of
all ages, The adjective “perpetual” illustrates that people are constantly arriving at the Fair
and there is an unending amount of participants in the festivities. This also portrays that
people have to travel there meaning that it is more organised than Glastonbury were people
were camping everywhere. Dickens uses the adjective “principle” to exemplify that games
are the main event and all participate in them. Greenwich fair is structure because it has a
number of fun activities but does not have the random/ bizarre features that are featured in
Glastonbury.