detail when Grace Winslow later tells her about the aforementioned curtains. If the purpose of the press is to educate and inform, then one might argue that Miss Barnes's indifference to the substance of the Winslow case is indeed irresponsible. She has no intention of educating or informing.

Later in the play, the media does begin to appreciate the wider significance of the Winslow case, and when they do, they begin also to bombard the Winslow family with attention to an extent that can certainly be described as intrusive. In the fourth act, for example, Dickie Winslow tells Grace that he has had to "fight (his) way in through an army of reporters," and Grace tells him that the telephone rings "All blessed day" and complains that for the last four days, "it simply hasn't stopped." Also in the fourth act, Arthur complains that he feels "as though (he) were an animal at the zoo." This simile implies that the intense media scrutiny is at once oppressive and dehumanizing. Indeed, Arthur's physical health suffers as a consequence of this media scrutiny. He becomes confined to a wheelchair, "forced," as he puts it, "to adopt this ludicrous form of propulsion."

Although the media's attention is so intense and intrusive, they are arguably not particularly interested in what becomes of Ronnie, despite this being their ostensible concern. They pretend to be interested in what happens to Ronnie, but it is an unconvincing pretense. In this way, the media is portrayed as disingenuous. They seem far more interested in the superficial spectacle of the case. The media's preoccupation with spectacle, rather than substance, has a direct impact on how Sir Robert Morton, the barrister hired by Arthur, conducts himself. For example, Catherine reports that Sir Robert's behavior when protesting the First Lord's refusal to allow the case to go to trial, was at once "spectacular and dramatic." Indeed, he threw his notes to the floor, she says, and altogether "made a magnificent impact." Catherine understands that Sir Robert's dramatic protest is motivated first and foremost by a desire for publicity, and she acknowledges too that his actions achieved the desired effect. "A few more thousand people," she says, "will say to each other tomorrow: 'That boy ought to be allowed a fair trial.'" Thus, although the media is disingenuous and encourages disingenuous behavior, it does, almost certainly unintentionally, provide more exposure to a story because of that disingenuous approach.

In the writing method mentioned, PEEL is an acronym used to remind writers of the importance of paragraph organization within an essay. The initial letters stand for Point, Evidence/Examples, Explain, and Link. The Point refers to the topic sentence, which will be the first sentence and will state the point of each paragraph. Evidence/Examples means that the next part of the paragraphs provides direct evidence from the text being analyzed or examples from real life, as appropriate. In addition, the writer should Explain how that material connects to the point being made. In the Link, the writer will conclude the paragraph and offer a connection to the next paragraph.

Using this method will help the writer provide an analysis of the topic in which their own ideas are well-supported. It will also help to prevent just summarizing the content or listing the evidence in the order it appears in the text.

In The Winslow Boy, written in 1946, “the media” refers entirely to the newspapers. The author includes mentions of both letters to the editor and articles, as well as one reporter’s interview with Ronnie’s father, Arthur Winslow. The author’s attitude seems balanced between positive and negative impressions of the papers’ coverage of the case. He suggests that letters to the editor helped keep interest in the case alive, but also that the newspapers showed relatively little interest in the story until it had reached national debate in Parliament.

There are several possible approaches to take in an essay. One possibility would be to analyze the differences between the letters and the front-page article that are mentioned. Another avenue to pursue would approach the relationship between gender and the type of coverage, as the “lady reporter” is assigned to cover the story for the women’s pages.

The media reaction to the case is first reported beginning in act 2, when Catherine reads two letters to the editor in the evening paper, The Star. Both letters apparently respond to one that had been previously published there. The writers have different opinions. One agrees with the earlier letter that pursuing a case against Cadet Winslow represents “despotism” on the part of the Admiralty, while the other downplays the importance of the case and states the belief that Ronald was already proved guilty. When Catherine's father, Arthur, reads the letters, he jokingly suggests suing the second letter writer.

Journalism also figures in the play later in act 2, when Daisy Barnes, a reporter for The Daily News, comes to the house to interview Arthur. She comments on her gender, suggesting that he is “surprised to see a lady reporter.” She indicates that she has been assigned to the story because of the “special appeal to women . . . [of] a father’s fight for his little boy’s honour.” Arthur seems insulted that the paper is trivializing the story. She adopts a challenging position, wondering that Sir Robert Morton, an attorney the family is consulting, would take on a “little case,” which infuriates the father.

Much of the rest of this scene uses the interview as a way for Arthur to provide the information to the audience about what had occurred in the nine months following the act 1 events. Those occurrences include the newspapers’ publication of numerous letters to the editor. Miss Barnes’s lack of interest in the legal aspects is emphasized by her distracted attention to the window curtains. Ronnie arrives, and the paper’s photographer takes a picture of him and his father.

In Act III, Arthur reads aloud from a front-page newspaper story, which clearly supports the Admiralty. The story indicates that the case is being debated in the House of Commons, which provides a reason that the case is now garnering much more publicity. The family housekeeper next appears, telling Arthur that three reporters have arrived asking for him; he refuses to see them, having issued a statement the previous day.

The following day, after the verdict is returned in Ronnie’s favor, more reporters arrive at the house (act 4). This time Arthur agrees to make a statement. When he asks Sir Robert what to say, the lawyer answers that it does not really matter: “Whatever you say will have little bearing on what they write.”