Assignments to the analysis of style

I. Explain who tells the story.

What do you think is gained by the author's choice of this point of view? Does it make the story more vivid, convincing, more real and emotional? What would be the difference if the story were told from the point of view of Atticus or the author?

Read the parts of the text told by Jean Louise and summarize your observations.

II. Discuss the effect the author achieves by making Atticus speak
himself. Would anything be lost if Atticus's words were rendered in
indirect speech? Give reasons for your answers.

III. Point out which method of characterization is employed in
the story. What are its advantages?

i

IV. Indicate the climax of the text. Motivate your answer.

V. a) Account for the choice of long composite sentences used by
Atticus in his speech. What is their use motivated by?

b) Explain why the conjunction "and" in the example given above is emphatic. (See Syntactical expressive means, item a).

c) Express in one sentence the main idea of each of the two para­graphs logically joined by "and so". Explain the logical connection between them trying to put it into one sentence.

d) Express in one sentence the idea of each of the paragraphs log­ically joined by "but" and prove that the second paragraph is the de­velopment of the assertion stated in one preceding paragraph (try to use one sentence only).

Express the idea of both paragraphs in one sentence. Note that the above mentioned devices are often employed in oratorical style for the sake of emphasis.

VI. Point out all the cases of syntactical parallelism and reitera­
tion in the text. Render the idea of each of them in the fewest possible
words without using parallel structures and reiteration. Compare your
sentences with those from the text. What is the difference?

What is the stylistic value of this device? Why does the speaker use it? Comment on each case. Pay special attention to the paragraph beginning with "And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro..." and the one immediately following it.

Try to express the idea of the two paragraphs, in which this device is used, in the fewest possible words without resorting to the expres­sive means used by the speaker. Discuss the result.

What is the point of this stylistic device in Atticus's speech?

VII. Explain what other stylistic devices mentioned above con­
tribute to the expressiveness of the paragraph beginning with the
words "And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro...". Find another
case of gradation in the paragraph beginning with "I say guilt, gen­
tlemen, because...". Render both examples in a few words in neutral
(unemotional) style. Compare and discuss the result. Do you agree
that the sentences become hopelessly flat and devoid of any emo­
tional force?

What do you think caused the speaker to use gradation in this case?

VIII. Point out all cases of emphasis in the text and discuss the
purpose for which it is used.

IX. Note an interesting case of the ordinal numeral "first" used as

a noun in the sentence: "Then he took off his glasses and wiped them and we saw another 'first'".

Explain what is meant by this "first" and why it is used in inverted commas. Does it enable the writer to spare a good deal of descrip­tion?

X. Account for the use of every epithet in the given examples. (See
Lexical stylistic devices, item a). In what way do they reveal the
speaker's attitude towards the things he describes? Explain why the
attributes in "corroborative evidence", "capital punishment", "com­
plicated facts", "medical evidence", "a strong, young Negro man" can­
not be regarded as epithets.

XI. Find two more cases of a simile in the text (the last one is to be
found in the paragraph beginning with "I shut my eyes..."). Do you
find any resemblance between the stylistic function of an epithet and
a simile in bringing out the author's attitude towards what he de­
scribes?

What is the stylistic value of a simile? Comment on each case.

XII. Find one more case of a metaphor expressed by a noun in the
paragraph beginning with "But there is one way in this country...".

Analyse each example from the point of view of the relation be­tween the direct logical meaning of the word and its contextual mean­ing (see p. 34, item c, the first example).

Paraphrase the above examples without using the metaphors.

Explain in what way the use of metaphors helps the writer to ex­press his ideas more vividly.

XIII.Account for the use of the irony in Atticus's speech.

XIV. Summarize your observations and prepare a talk on the sub­ject-matter (or content) and form (that is the expressive means em­ployed by the author) of the text.

XV. Discuss the style of Text One in pairs.

19. Read the summary. Point out all typical features of a summary.

In the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, the scene is laid in a small American town in Alabama. The given extract depicts a trial of Tom Robinson, a Negro, who is in the criminal dock on a capital charge of assaulting a white girl. His defending counsel Atti­cus Finch is an experienced lawyer and a progressive-minded man known for his humane views. His taking up the case was an act of courage in the American world of prejudice.

The story is told by Jean Louise, Atticus's daughter who watches the progress of the trial and being a lawyer's daughter doesn't fail to feel the atmosphere in the court-room and sees the futility of her fa­ther's efforts to win the case.

It is Atticus's speech to the jury that takes up the best part of the text. Moved by his sympathy for the Negro and desire to stand for his rights Atticus speaks most convincingly and with a great emotional force. He points it out to the jury that the case is simple enough. Having thoroughly considered every piece of the evidence submitted Atticus exposes the false testimony of the witnesses and proves that the defendant is innocent while the guilt lies with the white girl, the chief witness for the state. It is she who has tempt­ed the Negro thus breaking the code of the society she lives in. Next she throws the blame on Tom Robinson thus putting his life at stake. Atticus condemns Tom Robinson's accusers for their hy­pocrisy in that they count on the prejudiced attitude towards the Negroes. He characterizes the assumption that the Negroes are basically immoral as a groundless and deliberate lie and claims there is no such thing as moral superiority of one race over anoth­er. Then he refers to the notorious statement of Thomas Jefferson about all men being created equal. He cautions against using the statement out of the context and underlines that no matter how very different people might be considering their inborn qualities, their education or their station in life they ought to be equal be­fore the law. In conclusion Atticus emphasizes the great moral re­sponsibility of the jury.

20. Retell the text a) close to the text; b) as if you were one of the characters present in the court-room.

21. Make up and act out dialogues between:

1. Atticus Finch and Judge Taylor before the trial.

2. Atticus Finch and Judge Taylor after the trial.

3. Scout and Jem discussing the trial.