- •Unit III language focus sailing down the chesapeake1
- •Vocabulary
- •Exercises
- •Read and translate the text and the introduction using a dictionary if necessary.
- •Answer the following questions based on the text:
- •Find in the text the English for:
- •Translate using vocabulary items:
- •VI. Interpret the following sentences from the text.
- •VII. Read the following sentences:
- •VIII. Choose and insert the correct word. Remember the difference between:
- •IX. Read and translate into Russian. Use the italicized structures in sentences of your own.
- •X. Read the following passages from the text and analyze the use of tenses.
- •XI. Practise in using correct tenses.
- •XII. Practise in using degrees of comparison.
- •XIII. Complete the following sentences developing the idea given in the text.
- •XIV. Translate into English.
- •XV. Give an oral or written summary of the story and the introduction using Present and Past Tenses.
- •XVI. Retell the story: a) in the name of the boy; b) in the name of the nurse.
- •XVII. Compose flashes of conversation according to the models. Work in pair.
- •XVIII. Compose short dialogues. Use the suggested words and word combinations and develop the situations. Work in pair.
- •XIX. Topical questions for discussion.
- •XX. Speak on the following topics using correct tenses, degrees of comparison and some of the suggested words and word combinations:
- •Literary focus key literary notion: plot
- •Conflict
- •Suspense
- •Subplot
- •Helpful questions to ask when analysing the plot
- •Sample analysis
- •The invisible japanese gentleman by Graham Greene
- •Exercises
- •Key literary notions: narrators and point of view
- •First-person narrators
- •Third-person narrators: Omniscient point of view
- •Third-person narrators: Limited omniscient point of view
- •Third-person narrators: Dramatic or objective point of view
- •Third-person narrators: Stream of consciousness, Interior monologue
- •Helpful questions to ask when analysing the narrative technique
Exercises
Comprehension:
Where does the story take place?
What are the girl and her companion discussing?
What is the profession of both the girl and the narrator?
What profession is the young man thinking of entering? What would the girl like him to do instead?
According to the girl, what aspect of her writing does the publisher most admire?
What opinion does the narrator have of writing as a profession?
Where does the girl wish to set her next novel? What is the title of her next book?
What does the narrator hope for the young woman and her fiance?
Had the young woman noticed the party of Japanese gentlemen at the next table?
Analysis – Plot:
1. The author chooses as the focal point of his plot the conversation between the young girl and her fiance in Bentley's restaurant. Find references to events which took place before and which may occur after this point.
The author does not present the story chronologically. He focuses on one specific moment, the conversation in the restaurant, and uses dialogue to provide important information about the past and to speculate about the future. How does this manipulation of plot influence the impact of the story?
It makes it more difficult to follow.
It heightens the tension.
It allows the writer to focus on the personality of the characters.
It maintains the reader's interest by presenting the story as a jigsaw puzzle that must be pieced together.
It keeps the reader guessing.
2. Conflict is an important element in this story.
a. What kind of conflict is the young man experiencing? Is it internal, external or both?
b. What kind of conflict is the young girl experiencing?
с. Does the scene he witnesses provoke conflict in the narrator?
Suspense is often created by denying the reader information that is essential to his understanding of a story. At what point does the reader understand the significance of the adjective 'invisible' in the title of the story?
In a sense, the story of the Japanese gentlemen forms a subplot to the main story. Consider the last comment made by the young girl and explain how the subplot throws a revealing light on the main story.
Personal Literary Touch:
Conflict, both internal and external, is often an important element in plot. Consider these general situations:
A. dissatifaction with the status quo → fear of change
B. opinion of parents → aspirations of son or daughter
C. peer pressure from friends → personal values and beliefs
Briefly outline a simple plot which would illustrate these conflictual situations. Case A has been done as an example:
Roger lives in a rural community in Scotland. He comes from a modest farming family and his parents expect him to leave school and work on the farm. Roger, however, wants more from life. He wishes to complete his education and get a degree in Veterinary Science. When he has finished his secondary education he is offered a place at university in Glasgow. His parents accept his decision to leave, so Roger moves to Glasgow. He finds it hard to settle into this new environment. Life in the city overwhelms him and he finds it difficult to form friendships and relate to people. After his first year of study, he decides to return home and work on the farm.