How to analise the text

EASY READING

Читаем, понимаем и обсуждаем

Минск 2010

ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ

Оглавление 2

Предисловие 3

How to analyze the text 6

Means of communicating ideas 12

Unit 1 The Story of an Hour (by Katherine Chopin) 15

Unit 2 The Hero of Drummond Street (by Lilian Jackson Braun) 21

Unit 3 Mabel (by William Somerset Maugham) 30

Unit 4 Three is a Lucky Number (by Margery Allingham) 38

Unit 5 A Shocking Accident (by Graham Greene) 49

Unit 6 Tipsy and the Board of Health (by Lilian Jackson Braun) 59

Unit 7 Hills Like White Elephants (by Ernest Hemingway) 70

Unit 8 The Absence of Emily (by Jack Ritchie) 81

Unit 9 Ten Indians (by Ernest Hemingway) 91

Unit 10 Campbell’s Crossing (by Alan Maley) 103

Unit 11 The Garden Party (by Maeve Binchy ) 113

Unit 12 Miracles Do Happen (by Alan Maley) 122

Unit 13 The Metro (the first part) (by Josef Essberger) 132

Unit 14 The Metro (the second part) (by Josef Essberger) 144

ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ

Данное пособие предназначено, прежде всего, для студентов вузов, но благодаря разнообразию представленных в нем текстов, которые различаются как по сложности, так и по темам, может быть использовано широким кругом читателей.

Пособие ставит своей целью отработку и совершенствование навыков чтения и понимания оригинальных художественных текстов современного английского языка, а также навыков говорения и письма. В пособии представлены тексты современных английских и американских писателей, работающих в разных жанрах: детектив, приключения, любовная проза, что одновременно с отработкой языковых умений и навыков, не только способствует более глубокому и тонкому пониманию иностранного языка, но и позволяет расширить кругозор читателя. Обсуждение ключевых идей текста способствует развитию и закреплению навыков ведения дискуссий, письменные задания помогают в формировании умений связного, грамотного, логически стройного изложения своих взглядов.

Целевая направленность пособия учитывалась авторами при разработке комплекса упражнений. В каждом разделе уделяется внимание работе с лексическим материалом. Комплекс упражнений включает как традиционные способы введения новой лексики, требующие работы со словарем, так и упражнения, где представление новой лексики ведется через синонимы и дефиниции. Конкретная работа с лексическим материалом предполагает поиск синонимов и дефиниций изученных слов, размещение по тематическим группам, работу с предлогами, ключевыми словами и выражениями в предложениях, взятых непосредственно из текста или подготовленных на основании содержания текста, перевод, как отдельных выражений, так и целых предложений. Проверка понимания осуществляется при помощи заданий, в которых студентам предлагается найти подтверждение фактам, ответить на вопросы по тексту и т.д. Дальнейшая работа с текстом направлена на развитие и совершенствование навыков говорения и письма; проводится обсуждение тем, связанных с содержанием прочитанного материала, предлагаются задания, предполагающие рассуждение и самостоятельные выводы студента на основе материала текста, написание некоторых выводов по тексту, реконструкцию по ключевым словам и воссоздание «недостающих» частей текста.

Выполнение всех заданий к тексту не носит обязательный характер, хотя при разработке комплекса упражнений авторы предполагали выполнение студентами всего комплекса в течение 2-х академических часов, то есть одного занятия. Выбор заданий определяется преподавателем, в зависимости от уровня подготовки группы и количеством часов, отводимых на аспект «домашнее чтение». Тексты в пособии расположены по принципу от простого к сложному, преподаватель, следовательно, может работать с текстами выборочно, в зависимости от реализуемых целей и задач. Составители, однако, рекомендуют рассматривать последовательно разделы №9 и 10, посвященные одной теме и содержащие упражнения на сравнительные характеристики героев двух текстов, а также разделы №13 и 14, в которых рассматриваются две части одного рассказа. По мнению составителей, следует особое внимание уделять упражнениям серии “Writing Activities”, которые направлены на формирование у студентов навыков написания эссе. Эти упражнения представляются крайне важными, поскольку навык связного изложения своих мыслей на заданную тему требуется, в том числе и на экзамене, при пересказе и комментировании прочитанного текста, а традиционно, им уделяется мало времени. Первые два раздела пособия содержат краткую справочную информацию об анализе художественного текста, а также список выражений, которые могут оказаться полезными при пересказе и комментировании.

Пособие состоит из 14 разделов, включающих 14 разных по объему (от 1500 до 4000 п. зн.) и тематике рассказов, а также комплекс упражнений к ним. Составители: Койрович М.В. (разделы 3, 5, 11), Кузарь Д.Г. (разделы 4, 8, 13, 14), Кузьминова И.В. (разделы 1, 2, 6) и Плетюхова О.В. (разделы 7, 9, 10, 12).

HOW TO ANALISE THE TEXT

Analyzing the text and retelling it are different types of activity. While retelling your main task is to render the information in a logical way not omitting the essential details. Analyzing means quite a different type of activity; here your main task is to present the author’s main idea and comment on the techniques he/she employed to express it vividly and impressively. Analyzing and retelling coincide only in one part, which is summarizing the text, all the rest is different.

As well as any other text your analysis of the text must be structured. You think of introduction, the main part and conclusion. Below you will find steps of a good text analysis.

I. Introduction: briefly define the text type (the functional style and the genre), the topic, the problems raised, the main idea.

· Does the text represent fiction or non-fiction?

• Is it a whole text or an extract?

If it is fiction what genre does the text represent? It should be noted that many texts have features of more than one genre (social, psychological, biographical, autobiographical, humorous, satirical, historical, detective, love, science, fiction, fantasy, fairy tale, parable, allegory etc.). Such texts can be classified as the texts of a complex or mixed nature. The next step would be defining the topic, the subject and the problems.

• What is the text about?
• What is the focus of the author’s attention?
• What aspects of the topic are touched upon in the text?

II. The main part of your analysis starts with presenting the text summary. Summarizing the text must be done in accordance with certain rules. First of all, you should select all important facts and events omitting unnecessary details, then order them chronologically (or logically, depending on the type and genre of the text) using appropriate connectors and linking expressions. You will find some of them below.

to start with… otherwise at any rate

first of all in case in any case

as far as I know nevertheless I mean that…

to tell the truth according to

in fact consequently

as a matter of fact obviously

on the one hand as a rule

on the other hand as far as I understand

moreover anyway

besides

If necessary you can use a different sentence structure: first you present your conclusion and then give grounds. For instance, instead of saying “Tom worked the whole day without a break and then…” you say “Tom was a hard-working boy eager to help his parents because …”.

It should be remembered that no matter what register and style the original text belongs to, the summary should be presented in a neutral style.

III. The next point could be commenting on the composition of the plot and the verbal composition of the text. The classical structure comprises three main parts in a story – the exposition, the plot and the epilogue.

The exposition usually contains the setting of the scene (i.e. the time and place of the action) and some preliminary information about the topic and subject of the story, its main characters, etc. By nature it is a static part of the story and contains no action.

The plot consists of a series of episodes related to the development of the central conflict of the story. It usually starts with the so-called narrative hook, which introduces the conflict and begins the dynamic (sometimes, dramatic, and in that case we may call it suspense) action aiming at the ultimate resolution of the conflict. The highest point in the development of the plot is called the climax. The series of events preceding the climax is usually termed, rising action, whereas post-climax events are falling action coming to a resolution (or dé nouement). When all the action is over, the author may supply some extra information about the following events, the after-life of the story characters etc. Similarly to the exposition, this part of the story is static rather than dynamic, and is called the epilogue.

It should be noted, that the above-described three-part structure is by no means the universal type, which can be applied to all existing fiction texts. The composition of a story is a matter of the personal choice of the author, who may decide to end the story just at the point of its climax, or, start it in the middle of the action, or introduce chronological steps back in the action.

A special feature of the story composition is a framed story, or a story-within a story. In such stories, the theme and the main conflict are developed within the 'inner story', related by one of the characters of the 'outer story' (or a frame).The verbal composition concerns the modes of presenting the story.

Narration moves the plot and can be presented from different points of view: the first person, the third person, a limited third person (the story is presented through the limited perspective of one of the characters), a shifting point of view; there can also be the author-observer (observing the characters' actions but not penetrating in their thoughts and feelings), as opposed to the omniscient author (knowing all about the characters' inner life, their past and sometimes even the future).

Description usually has emotional-evaluative implications depending on the choice of vocabulary and imagery. Characters’ speech exists in emotive prose in the form of a monologue/inner monologue, dialogue. Besides there can be digressions (the author's remarks breaking the narration and containing some personal reflections concerning the story, its theme, problems, setting or characters)

IV. Another aspect of a story is represented by characters. Since all fiction stories include some action (which makes it different from other types of texts, e.g. essays), they necessarily have a character, or, more frequently, several characters to perform this action. Traditionally, all characters are divided into principal (or main) and secondary ones. Those, who form the focus of the author's (and, hence, the reader's) attention, and take an active part in the central conflict of the story are the main characters; others serve as the background for the portrayal of the main characters and their conflict. If there is only one main character in the story, he is sometimes called the protagonist; his main opponent in the conflict would be then the antagonist. Also, in literary criticism there are further terms to describe different types of characters: static vs. dynamic (the former stay virtually the same as regards their traits of character, values, attitudes etc, whereas the latter undergo some serious changes in the course of the story events) and also round vs. flat (the former are drawn in detail, including the characteristic of their inner selves, the latter are more or less schematic). The analysis of the characters should include (if the text supplies the necessary details, or, at least implies them) their physical description, social background, some distinctive traits of their character, their typical ideas, attitudes, manner of speech (which can be very characteristic and suggestive), actions, relations with other characters and their role in the central conflict, and, finally, the author’s attitude towards them (whether it is directly revealed or implied implicitly).

V. Conclusion. The final step of the text analysis includes your personal impressions and attitudes towards the story, its subject, problems, stylistic features and the message. In conclusion you present your own point of view about the events of the story no matter whether you agree or disagree or you may describe the possible future development of the situation. It is often useful to think of what you already know about the topic or the subject of the reading. You may not think that you know much, but even general information that you know can help you.

HERE ARE THE STEPS IN BRIEF

1. Introduction: briefly define the text type (the functional style and the genre), the topic, the problems raised, the cultural and historical background of the author and his text. The next part of the analysis deals with the stylistic features of the text.

2. What messages does the system of images convey? Stylistic devices.

3. If it is non-fiction, what is the genre? (a public speech, an advertisement, an academic text, a letter, a feature article, a polemic article etc.)

4. What is the structure of the prosaic text? (narration, description, characters’ speech)

5. What compositional elements can we see there? (exposition, the narrative hook, development of action, climax, disentanglement)

6. What mood or atmosphere is created by the author with the help of stylistic devices and the choice of verbs, nouns and adjectives?

7. What are the attitude and the tone of the text under analysis? (positive negative, ironical, lyrical, sad, and joyful)

8. How do the actions and the speech of personages characterize them?

9. What are the relations between characters’ speech and the author’s remarks in drama?

10. What is the structure of the text? Can you see any specific patterns used?

11. What is the purpose of the text? (to inform, to persuade, to influence, to urge, to warn)

12. What lingua-stylistic means are used by the author to achieve the purpose?

13. What are the attitude of the author and the tone of the text under analysis? What prevails in the text logics or emotions?

14. Are there any allusions or cultural realia in the text? Explain them.

15. What is the author’s message?

16. Conclusion. Your point of view!