Vyacheslav Syssoyev Page 3 6/21/2019

In your analysis you may use this division (giving each part your own contextual name, of course) or invent your own one if the discourse (context) allows.

2. 5. Are the parts of the narration strictly organized in one time and space sequence? Is the plot presentation loose (episodic, sporadic, not linear)? Does the plot presentation present a sample of the “stream of consciousness”?

2. 6. What does the first / introductory / opening part tell us about? What is the second / following part devoted to? What does the third / fourth part of __ describe? What does the last / final part of __ deal with?

2. 7. How are some supra-linear (supra-segmental) relations between different parts realized?

3. Describing the personages

The relationship between plot and character is a vital and necessary one. Without a character, there would be no plot and, hence, no fiction. When one speaks of characters in terms of analysis, one is concerned primarily with three interconnected activities. One is concerned, first of all, with being able to establish the personalities of the characters themselves and to identify their intellectual, emotional and moral qualities. Secondly, one is concerned with the techniques an author uses to create, develop and present characters to the reader (both philological and purely linguistic). Thirdly, one is concerned with whether the characters so presented are credible and convincing.

Questions to answer:

3. 1. Who is / are the main character(s) of ___? (Who is the hero / heroine of __)?

Note: if an external conflict (e. g. between a person and the society, or two people) is presented in the text, we usually distinguish between a protagonist (a main character we sympathize with) and an antagonist (opponent). Mind, that a protagonist is not necessarily a positive hero and an antagonist may be not a villain.

3. 2. Is / are he (she) / they dynamic (showing an ability to change) or static (not showing any ability to change throughout the whole book)? (Give the evidence from the text!)

3. 3. Are the major personages flat (characterized only by one leading feature) or round (with a polyphony of personal traits displayed)? (Give the evidence from the text!)

3. 4. Who are the secondary characters / personages of ___?

3. 5. What is in your opinion the author’s attitude towards the character(s) / personage(s)? (Positive / sympathetic / friendly / negative / critical / ironical / sarcastic / neutral / indifferent). Prove your point presenting the words / situations / original stylistic devices / traditional expressive means used by the author to describe the characters. Describe the type of the implicit author (author’s image) realized in the text (an eye-witness, an impartial observer, a judge, an ardent critic, a confidant, etc.). Analyse the narration type of the text. Pay some special attention to the instances of represented speech (uttered represented speech and inner represented speech) inner dialogue, auto dialogue, inner reaction, stream of consciousness, etc.

3. 6. What is your personal attitude to ___?

3. 7. Why do you (dis)like ___? Why do you sympathize (empathize) with ___? Why are you critical about ___?

Useful language: ____ because in my opinion ___ is a very kind / intelligent / courageous / shrewd / downright atrocious / modest / meek / selfish / cruel / wicked person. You can see the evidence of it when ___/ in the scene of ___…