A Multi-Genre Research Paper
English 2200
By: Frankie Petts
English 2200
By: Frankie Petts
Dear Readers,
This multi-genre research project is about homelessness in London during the Victorian Era (1837–1901). I chose this topic because it is something close to home and affects multiple individuals and families still today. Before I began research on this topic I knew very little about homelessness in the Victorian era and how many children it effected. It has come to my attention that it is a very prevalent issue that needs to be addressed. Still today, there is abundance of homelessness in England, "compared with the same period in 2011-12, the total number of people sleeping rough in the capital had risen by 8%, new rough sleepers by 12%, and intermittent rough sleepers had increased by 11%." (Henley, J. 2014). With homelessness still being a prevalent issue today i thought it would be interesting to research what it was like in the Victorian era.
Throughout my website you will find different genres that I have chosen to include in my research to give you insight on homelessness. The genres I chose to include are a journal entry from Elizabeth Thompson, a poem, an editorial from a newspaper, an ad from the Salvation Army, and a collage. The idea behind this research project is to give you information about being homeless and what it was like in the Victorian era in a creative way using these genres. These genres are all composed from my own understanding of the subject after extensive research. I chose these genres because I felt it was a creative way to give the reader awareness on what it is like to be homeless rather than just reading about it in a paper. The character I created writes the journal entry, it is a page out of her journal which talks about her life as a homeless girl. I chose to write the journal entry because of the emotional tug it should achieve, it is based on real accounts of what people have said it was like to be homeless. The next genre was a poem, i wrote a poem to describe what it was like the be homeless and have people stare at you and not help. I thought a poem was also a way to show the readers how hard it was through descriptive imagery. My next genre was a collage, I decided to make a collage to help the reader better picture and visualize what being homeless looked like in the Victorian era. I then decided to write a newspaper editorial, the idea behind the newspaper editorial was to let readers see what other people thought about homelessness and whether they were willing to help. It gives you insight on some shelters available and ways to help feed and clothe the homeless. The last genre i decided to do was an ad from the Salvation Army, the Salvation Army was founded during the Victorian Era and was there to help aid those who needed it. I thought all of these genres would accurately show and describe the feeling of being homeless, while presenting facts.
All the genres relate to each other because the are all describing homelessness in the Victorian era but in different ways. Two of the five genres are from a persons account of what it is like. The reader can understand what being homeless felt like from someone who actually is. The other two genres are about others perspectives of the homeless and programs to help. The last genre is the collage. The collage just helps the reader visualize what it looked like. All five of these genres are then put together to get a feel of the Victorian era and what it is like to be homeless.
To help get into the mindset of being homeless I created a character named Elizabeth Thompson. Two of the genres are told through Elizabeth’s experiences. Elizabeth is a 14-year-old girl who has been homeless since the age of 10. She lives in London but with no actual home. She was once a very happy little girl but during the industrial revolution in the 19th century her father was out of work and couldn’t afford to live where they did. The industrial revolution left a lot of people out of work, the large numbers of skilled and unskilled people looking for work kept wages down to a barely subsistence level. Available housing was scarce and expensive, resulting in overcrowding. The Thompson Family fled to find a new place to start a life, leaving Elizabeth behind. She was left to fend for herself. Alone, scared, and over come by fear she learns to live on the street.
I hope this project gives you insight on the rising issue of homelessness and helps give you a little more insight on what it was like to be homeless during the Victorian era.
Sincerely,
Frankie Petts
This multi-genre research project is about homelessness in London during the Victorian Era (1837–1901). I chose this topic because it is something close to home and affects multiple individuals and families still today. Before I began research on this topic I knew very little about homelessness in the Victorian era and how many children it effected. It has come to my attention that it is a very prevalent issue that needs to be addressed. Still today, there is abundance of homelessness in England, "compared with the same period in 2011-12, the total number of people sleeping rough in the capital had risen by 8%, new rough sleepers by 12%, and intermittent rough sleepers had increased by 11%." (Henley, J. 2014). With homelessness still being a prevalent issue today i thought it would be interesting to research what it was like in the Victorian era.
Throughout my website you will find different genres that I have chosen to include in my research to give you insight on homelessness. The genres I chose to include are a journal entry from Elizabeth Thompson, a poem, an editorial from a newspaper, an ad from the Salvation Army, and a collage. The idea behind this research project is to give you information about being homeless and what it was like in the Victorian era in a creative way using these genres. These genres are all composed from my own understanding of the subject after extensive research. I chose these genres because I felt it was a creative way to give the reader awareness on what it is like to be homeless rather than just reading about it in a paper. The character I created writes the journal entry, it is a page out of her journal which talks about her life as a homeless girl. I chose to write the journal entry because of the emotional tug it should achieve, it is based on real accounts of what people have said it was like to be homeless. The next genre was a poem, i wrote a poem to describe what it was like the be homeless and have people stare at you and not help. I thought a poem was also a way to show the readers how hard it was through descriptive imagery. My next genre was a collage, I decided to make a collage to help the reader better picture and visualize what being homeless looked like in the Victorian era. I then decided to write a newspaper editorial, the idea behind the newspaper editorial was to let readers see what other people thought about homelessness and whether they were willing to help. It gives you insight on some shelters available and ways to help feed and clothe the homeless. The last genre i decided to do was an ad from the Salvation Army, the Salvation Army was founded during the Victorian Era and was there to help aid those who needed it. I thought all of these genres would accurately show and describe the feeling of being homeless, while presenting facts.
All the genres relate to each other because the are all describing homelessness in the Victorian era but in different ways. Two of the five genres are from a persons account of what it is like. The reader can understand what being homeless felt like from someone who actually is. The other two genres are about others perspectives of the homeless and programs to help. The last genre is the collage. The collage just helps the reader visualize what it looked like. All five of these genres are then put together to get a feel of the Victorian era and what it is like to be homeless.
To help get into the mindset of being homeless I created a character named Elizabeth Thompson. Two of the genres are told through Elizabeth’s experiences. Elizabeth is a 14-year-old girl who has been homeless since the age of 10. She lives in London but with no actual home. She was once a very happy little girl but during the industrial revolution in the 19th century her father was out of work and couldn’t afford to live where they did. The industrial revolution left a lot of people out of work, the large numbers of skilled and unskilled people looking for work kept wages down to a barely subsistence level. Available housing was scarce and expensive, resulting in overcrowding. The Thompson Family fled to find a new place to start a life, leaving Elizabeth behind. She was left to fend for herself. Alone, scared, and over come by fear she learns to live on the street.
I hope this project gives you insight on the rising issue of homelessness and helps give you a little more insight on what it was like to be homeless during the Victorian era.
Sincerely,
Frankie Petts