Assignment № 7

pp.164-187

I. Vocabulary:

1. to feel all thumbs (p. 166)

2. to have an inking something (p. 166)

3. inscrutable (adj.) (p. 166)

4. it give somebody piece of mind (p. 170)

5. profound (adj.) (p. 171)

6. wicked (adj.) (p. 176)

7. vulnerable (adj.) (p. 177)

8. self-control (n.) (p. 181)

9. to control oneself (p. 185)

II. Paraphrase or Explain:

1. “Men are incalculable, I thought you were like everybody else and now I feel that I don't know the first thing about you.” (p. 167)

2. She had an idea that he would welcome an up rush of emotion which would liberate him from his "nightmare of resentment, but that, in his pathetic folly he would fight when it came with all his might against it. (p. 171).

3. Pay special attention to the author's peculiar manner of unfolding the narration: a detail cursorily mentioned in a chapter becomes the subject matter in a succeeding one. What effect is thus achieved? Discuss Chapter LX from that point of view. In which chapter was the Mother Superior family first mentioned?

4. Kitty’s state of mind after her new experience and meeting. How did she regard her infidelity now? Why did she not regard it as wicked? Do you share her opinion? Speak about the change in her attitude to Townsend and Walter. Do you think the change very profound?

5. Walter is taken ill. Kitty comes to sec the last of him. Comment upon Kitty's attempts to give him piece of mind and their effect. What was the meaning of Walter's last words? Why could Kitty not interpret them? Had Kitty anything to do with the cause of his death?

6. Gather all information about Colonel Yu and give your opinion of the person. What made his stay for hours at Walter's deathbed?

Assignment № 8.

pp. 187-213

I. Vocabulary:

1. to make arrangements (p. 188)

2. to die a martyr (to) (p. 193)

3. to yield (p. 196)

4. to be reluctant to do something (p. 196)

5. despicable (p.203)

6. admirable (p..203)

7. to keep out of somebody's way (p. 203)

8. to take somebody by surprise (p. 206)

9. to make amends to somebody (p. 206)

10. to misjudge somebody (p.207)

11. to do the right thing (p. 208)

12. to make much of somebody (p. 208)

13. to pull somebody's leg (p.213)

II. Paraphrase or Explain:

1. “... at the memorial arch he said good-bye to her and looking at it for the last time she left that she could reply to the enigmatic irony of its appearance with an equal irony of her own.” (p.200)

2. "I know I can do nothing to make for your terrible loss, but I want you to know deeply, how sincerely I feel for you." (p.207)

III. Questions and Topics to Discuss:

1. Walter's burial. Comment on Kitty's manner during the burial and after it. What strikes you as unusual in it?

2. Kitty's talk with Waddington after the burial. How did Kitty regard the nuns, their work and the life they lead? What weak point did she find in their outlook? Comment upon Waddington's words concerning the meaning of human life.

3. Discuss the news Waddington broke to Kitty about the cause of Walter's death. What new light does it throw on the whole matter? How did Kitty react to it? Compare what she said about the cause of Walter's death with Waddington's conclusion. Which of the two was closer to truth?

4. The Mother Superior insists on Kitty's leaving Mei-tan-fu. Explain why she could not understand Kitty's reluctance to go. Imagine what would have happened if Kitty had stayed there. Prove that the Mother Superior liked and respected Kitty.

5. Dwell on Kitty's thoughts, feelings and plans on the way to Hong Kong. What quality did she appreciate most of all in her newly acquired freedom? Why did she find it despicable to lie to her?

6. Find the place in Chapter LXIX which comes close to explaining the title of the novel and its subject-matter.

7. Dorothy takes Kitty by surprise in Hong-Kong. What motives promoted Dorothy to offer Kitty hospitality? Prove Dorothy's sincerely. Why was Kitty reluctant to take the offer? Did Dorothy know about her husband's former relations with Kitty?

8. Why did Townsend not in the least look as Kitty had pictured him? Comment on the way he behaved during Kitty's stay. What episodes show that he did not quite share his wife's respect for Kitty?

9. Speak about Kitty's life at the Townsends’. Discuss the change. in her position in Hong-Kong. Under what circumstances had she recall Mei-tan-fu? What change had she actually undergone?