The public clock

Source A: an original contemporary non-fiction-style account.

“The clock above our station stopped at 2:17 and remained there for six weeks. I noticed because I pass it on the way to work, even though I check the time on my phone. The council eventually covered the face with a notice explaining that a replacement part had been ordered. While it was covered, I missed it more than I had expected. It had been a landmark as much as an instrument.

We can all carry the time and still value a clock in common. Looking up at the same face makes a small shared gesture out of a private need. But affection should not become an excuse for neglect: a broken clock does not become useful merely because it is old. Nor does usefulness require pretending it is our only source of time. Repair can preserve a point of recognition, something by which a street remembers itself. I would rather pay for an honest repair than for a decorative replacement that looks historic but is expected never to work.”

Source B: an original nineteenth-century-style letter or account, written for practice; this is not an archival document.

“The town clock has lately lost seven minutes, a deficiency which has produced more argument than several larger failures of public administration. Shopkeepers compare it with their watches; travellers blame it for departures they would perhaps have missed in any case. Yet the dispute proves that the clock performs a service beyond displaying numbers. It gives the town a common reference by which private claims may be tested.

Some propose abandoning the mechanism while preserving the handsome face. This would be a peculiar economy: retaining the promise and dismissing the performance. If we wish to keep a clock, let us maintain it as one. Its age deserves respect, but not exemption from telling the time. A public object acquires dignity through continued service as well as survival, and the person who oils an unseen wheel may do more for that dignity than the speaker who praises the tower.”

Refer to both sources. Infer the differences in the faults and proposed treatment of the clocks. Write a summary supported by details from both sources.