Lessons to Learn

Sociolinguistics

2010-08-12T10:17:00.001-07:00

I. Sociolinguists study the relationship between language and society, explaining why we speak differently in different social context and concerned with identifying the social functions of language and the way it is used to convey social meaning.

Sociolinguistics is a term including the aspects of linguistics applied toward the connections between language and society, and the way we use it in different social situations.

4 components which influence social factors:

· Participants, who is speaking and who are they speaking to?

· Setting or social context of the interaction, where are they speaking?

· Topic, what is being talking about?

· Function, why are they speaking?

5 different dimensions which contribute to the appropriate choice:

· A social distance scale, concerned with participants relationship, useful in emphasizing that how well we know someone

Intimate = high solidarity

Distant = low solidarity

· A status scale, concerned with participants relationship, points to the relevance of relative status in some linguistic choice

Superior = high status

Subordinate = low status

· A social role, importsnt and often a factor contributing to status differences between people. Typical role relationship are teacher – pupil, doctor – patient, soldier – civilian, official – citizen. The same person maybe spoken to in a different code depending on whether they are acting as teacher, as father or as a customer in the market place

· A formality scale relating to the setting or type of interaction, useful in assessing of the social setting or type interaction on language choice

Formal = high formality

Informal = low formality

· Two functional scales relating to the purposes or topic of interaction

II. Language Choice in Multilingual Communities

Domain: involves typical interactions between typical participants in typical setting

Domain / Addressee / Setting / Topic / Language

Family / Parent / Home / planning a family party /

Friendship / Friend / Classroom / planning to go to swim /

Domain	Addressee	Setting	Topic	Language
Family	Parent	Home	Planning a party	Guarani
Friendship	Friend	Cafe	Humorous ancedote	Guarani
Religion	Priest	Church	Choosing the Sunday liturgy	Spanish
Education	Teacher	Primary	Telling a story	Guarani
Education	Lecturer	University	Solving math problem	Spanish
Administration	Official	Office	Getting an important license	Spanish

Language Repertoire: bahasa yang dipakai sehari – hari atau perbendaharaan bahasa yg kita kuasai, contohnya: diluar pake bahasa Indonesia, di rumah pake bhasa jawa

Diglossia: In a bilingual community, in which two languages or dialects are used differently according to different social situations.

diglossia have three crucial features:

In the same language, used in the same community, there are two distinct varieties. One is regarded as high (H) and the other low (L).
Each is used for distinct functions.
No one uses the high (H) in everyday conversation.

Diglossia: a characteristic of speech communities rather than individuals. Individuals may be bilingual, societies or communities are diglossic. The term diglossia describes societal or institutionalized bilingualism where 2 varieties are required to cover all the community’s domain.

No one uses the H varieties in everyday conversation

Polyglosia: useful term for describing situation where more than 2 distinct codes or varieties are used for clearly distinct purposes or in clearly distinguishable situation

Polyglosia: use for situation where a community regularly uses more than 2 language

Code Switching or Code Mixing, when there is some important change in the situation, such as the arrival of a new person. Ex: John is Chinese, when he comes to the class when the other speak English, her friend switch their language to Chinese in orde to greet her

Switch motivate by the identity and relationship between participant often express a move along the solidarity or social distance dimension and also reflect a change in the other dimension, such as the status relation between people or the formality of their interaction

Change of topic can symbolize a change in the relationship between two participants. Ex: 2 person switch from their roles as neighbors to their roles as bureaucrat and member of public

Methaporical Switching: each of the codes represents a set of social meaning and the speaker draws on association of each, just as people use metaphors to represent complex meaning

III. Language Maintenance and Shift

Language Death, when all people who speak language die, then also language died with them. Ex: Aboriginal language when the Europeans arrived

Factors Contributing to Language Shift: Economic, social and political factors, people learn English to get good jobs, to increase their social status or grade etc

Demographic factor: resistance to language shift tends to last longer in rural than in urban areas, rural groups tend to be isolated from the centres of political power for longer

- shift tends to occur faster in some groups than in others, the size of groups sometimes a critical factors, Ex: In Australia, areas with the largest group of the maltese speakers had the lowest rates of shift toward English

Attitudes and Values: language shift tend to be slower among communities where the minority language is highly valued, when language be an important symbol of ethnic identity, it is generally maintained longer, pride in their ethnic identity and their language can be important factors which contribute to language maintenance

Factors a minority language can be maintained:

· Where language is considered an important symbol of minority groups identity

· If families from minority group live near each other and see each other frequently

· The degree and frequency of contact with homeland

Ethnolinguistic Vitality, three components which involved:

· The status of the languages as reflects in attitudes toward it

· The sizes of the group who uses the language and their distribution

· The extent to which the language enjoys institutional support

Language Revival:

· When language is rated as high in status by its users, and also regarded as a language of solidarity to be used between minority group member

· When it is regarded as appropriate for expressing referential as well as affective or social meaning

· When it is able to used in a wide range of context both formal and informal

IV. Linguistic Varieties and Multilingual Nations

Vernacular Language: used in number of ways, generally refer to language which has not been standardized and which does not have official status. Ex; in multilingual speech community, the many different ethnic or tribal language used by different groups are referred to as vernacular language (ragam bahasa yang tidak resmi/lambing solidaritas)

Vernacular language: uncodified or unstandardised variety, the way it is acquired- in the home as the first variety, used for relatively circumscribed function (fungsi terbatas)

Standard Language: generally one which is written and have some degree of regularization, recognized as a prestigious variety or code by a community

Lingua Franca: is a language used for communication between people whose first languages differ. In some countries the most useful and widely used lingua franca is an official language or the national language

A simplified language derived from two or more languages is called a pidgin. It is a contact language developed and used by people who do not share a common language in a given geographical area. It is used in a limited way and the structure is very simplistic. Since they serve a single simplistic purpose, they usually die out. However, if the pidgin is used long enough, it begins to evolve into a more rich language with a more complex structure and richer vocabulary. Once the pidgin has evolved and has acquired native speakers ( the children learn the pidgin as their first language), it is then called a Creole. An example of this is the Creole above from Papua New Guinea, Tok Pisin, which has become a National language.

Reasons for the development of Pidgins

In the nineteenth century, when slaves from Africa were brought over to North America to work on the plantations, they were separated from the people of their community and mixed with people of various other communities, therefore they were unable to communicate with each other. The strategy behind this was so they couldn't come up with a plot to escape back to their land. Therefore, in order to finally communicate with their peers on the plantations, and with their bosses, they needed to form a language in which they could communicate. Pidgins also arose because of colonization. Prominent languages such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, English, and Dutch were the languages of the coloni zers. They traveled, and set up ports in coastal towns where shipping and trading routes were accessible.

There is always a dominant language which contributes most of the vocabulary of the pidgin, this is called the superstrate language. The superstrate language from the Papua New Guinea Creole example above is English. The other minority languages that contribute to the pidgin are called the substrate languages.

V. National Languages and Language Planning

National language: language of a political, cultural, and social unit and developed and used as a symbol of national unity, the function is to identify the nation and unite its people

Official Language: simply language which may used for government business, the function is primarily utilitarian rather than symbolic

In multilingual countries, government often declares a particular language to be the national language for political reasons. The declaration may be a step in the process of asserting the nationhood of a newly independent or established nation. Ex: Swahili in Tanzania, Hebrew in Israel, Indonesian in Indonesia

Official Status and Minority Language: because of its colonial history, English is an official language in many countries throughout the world, such as Pakistan Fiji Jamaica and Bahamas, but English is not legally an official language in New Zealand

Price of National Language: “one nation, one language” has been a popular and effective slogan, in Indonesia the government did not select the language of political and social elite, the Javanese as the national language. Instead they developed and standardized a variety of malay which was widely used in Indonesia as a trade language

Javanese has a complex linguistically marked politeness system based on assessments of relative status

Planning For a National Official Language: 4 steps in developing language

· Selection: choosing the variety or code to be developed

· Codification: standardising its structural or linguistic features (corpus planning)

· Elaboration: extending its function for use in new domains. This involves developing the necessary linguistic resources for handling new concepts and contexts

· Securing its Acceptance; status of new variety is important and also people attitudes to the variety being developed must be considered. Steps may be needed to enhance its prestige, to encourage people to develop pride in the language or loyalty towards it

Editing Mid

2010-04-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

PENGERTIAN NASKAH

Menurut KBBI, Naskah : 1. Karangan yang masih di tulis dengan tangan, 2. Karangan seseorang yang belum di terbitkan, 3. Bahan bahan berita yang siap untuk di set, dan 4. Rancangan.

Sumber naskah bagi penerbit : 1). Naskah spontan, 2) Naskah pesanan , 3) naskah yang di cari editor, 4) naskah terjemahan, 5) naskah hasil sayembara, dan 6) naskah kerjasama.

TIGA MACAM TIPE PENULIS

Penulis Profesional (PP)

- Biasanya sudah berpengalaman menulis naskah sehingga naskahnya dapat dikatakan matang.

- Penyunting naskah sudah jarang menemukan kejanggalan atau kesalahan dalam naskah.

- Tingkat kesulitan dpt dikatakan ringan.

Penulis Semi – Profesional (PSP)

- Lebih sedikit pengalamannya dibandingkan PP

- Mungkin masih ditemukn kesalahan atau kekurangan dalam naskah sehingga di perlukan usaha penyuntingan naskah guna membenahi naskah.

- Tingkat kesulitan dapat dikatakan sedang

Penulis amatir (PA)

- Memiliki tingkat kemampuan paling rendah

- Ada kemungkinan PA baru pertama kali menulis naskah, jadi mirip penulis pemula. Akibatnya, terlihat banyak kelemahan dan kekurangan naskah.

- Tingkat kesulitan berat, diperlukan banyak campur tangan penyunting naskah. Penyunting layak dicantumkan namanya pada buku sebagai penulis juga (co- author).

SYARAT MENJADI PENYUNTING NASKAH

1. Menguasai Ejaan

- Seorang penyunting naskah harus menguasai kaidaah ejaanbhs Indonesia yang baku saat ini.

- Harus paham benar penggunaan huruf kecil & capital, pemenggalan kata, dan penggunaan tanda baca(titik, koma, dll)

2. Menguasai Tata Bahasa

- Seorang penyunting naskah harus mengerti susunan kalimat bahasa Indonesia yang baik, kata kata yang baku, bentuk bentuk yang salah kaprah, pilihan kata yang pas, dsb.

3. Bersahabat Dengan Kamus

- Seorang penyunting naskah perlu akrab dengan kamus, entah kamus 1 bahasa atau 2 bahasa, termasuk pula kamus istilah, leksikon dan ensiklopedia.

4. Memiliki Kepekaan Bahasa

- Karena selalu berhubungan dengan ejaan, tata bahasa dan kamus, seorang penyunting naskah dituntut mempunyai kepekaan bahasa.

- Untuk itu, seorang penyunting naskah perlu mengikuti

· Tulisan pakar bahasa di media cetak

· Kolom bahasa yang ada di sejumlah media cetak

· Perkembangan bahasa Indonesia dari hari ke hari

5. Memiliki Pengetahuan Luas

- Artinya harus banyak membaca buku, majalah, Koran dan menyerap informasi melalui media audiovisual. Penyuntingan naskah tidak ketinggalan info.

6. Memiliki Ketelitian dan Kesabaran

- Seorang penyunting naskah harus sabar dan teliti menghadapi naskah. Seorang penyunting naskah harus bolak balik memeriksa naskah.

- Seudah menjadi pruf(cetak coba) pun, seorang penyunting naskah masih berurusan dengaan kalimat kalimat dan kata kata. Penyunting naskah baru bisa lepas dari kalimat2 dan kata kata kalau naskah/pruf itu sudah di setujui untuk di cetak.

7. Memiliki Kepekaan Terhadap Sara dan Pornografi

- Sorang penyunting naskah harus mempunyai kepekaan terhadap hal hal yang berbau suku, agama, ras, dan antar golongan. Kalau tidak peka, penerbit bisa rugi di kemudian hari, karena buku yang di terbitkan bisa dilarang beredar oleh yang berwenang, atau penerbitnya di tuntut oleh pihak tertentu ke pengadilan.

- Seorang penyunting naskah harus peka terhadap hal hal yang berbau pornografi. Seorang penyunting naskah harus mempertimbangkan apakah kalimat tertentu layak cetak atau tidak, dan apakah gambar atau ilustrasi tertentu layak siar atau tidak.

8. Memiliki Keluwesan

- Penyunting naskah sering berhubungan dgn orang lain, minimal penulis naskah. Penyunting naskah bertindak sebagai duta /wakil penerbit. Oleh karena itu harus menjaga citra dan namabaik penerbit.

- Dalam hubungannya dengan penulis naskah, seorang penyunting naskah:

· Harus bersedia mendengarkan berbagai pertanyaan, saran dan keluhan.

· Tidak menggurui, apalagi kalau penulisnya seorang pakar atau berkedudukan tinggi.

9. Memiliki Kemampuan Menulis

- Seorang penyunting naskah pada suatu saat harus menulis surat atau email kepada penulis atau calon penulis naskah, menulis ringkasan isi buku atau menulis biodata penulis.

- Kemampuan menulis berguna dalam penyuntingan naskah. Kalau tidak tidak tahu menulis kalimat yang benar tentu tidak dapat membetulkan atau memperbaiki tulisan orang lain.

10. Menguasai Bidang Tertentu

- Alangkah baiknya kalau seorang penyunting naskah menguasai salah satu bidang keilmuan tertentu, misalnya ilmu bahasa, sastra, jurnalistik, dan teknologi. Hal ini tentu membantu penyunting naskah dalam tugasnya sehari hari.

11. Menguasai Bahasa Asing

- Seorang penyunting naskah perlu menguasai bahasa asing yang paling banyak di gunakan di dunia internasional, yakni bahasa inggris(minimal pasif). Alasannya:

· Penyunting naskah akan banyak berhadapan dengan istilah istilah bahasa inggris atau istilah istilah yang berasal dari bahasa inggris.

· Buku terjemahan yang paling banyak diterjemahkan di Indonesia adalah buku buku yang berasal dari bahasa inggris.

· Makin banyak bahasa asing yang di kuasai penyunting naskah makin baik.

12. Memahami Kode Etik Penyunting Naskah

- Penyunting naskah harus tahu mana yang boleh dan mana yang tidak boleh dilakukan dalam penyuntingan naskah.

- Jika penyunting naskah tidak memahami kode etik penyuntingan naskah, ada kemungkinan ia akan salah langkah atau salah sunting. Hal ini bisa berakibat buruk di kemudian hari.

KODE ETIK PENYUNTINGAN NASKAH

1. Penyunting naskah wajib mencari informasi mengenai penulis naskah sebelum mulai menyunting naskah.

2. Penyunting naskah bukanlah penulis naskah.

3. Penyunting naskah wajib menghormati gaya penulis naskah.

4. Penyunting naskah wajib merahasiakan informasi yang terdapat dalam naskah yang disuntingnya.

5. Penyunting naskah wajib mengkonsultasikan hal hal yang mungkin di ubahnya dalam naskah.

6. Penyunting naskah tidak boleh menghilangkan naskah yang akan, sedang atau telah disuntingnya.

TAHAPAN PRAPENYUNTINGAN NASKAH

- KELENGKAPAN NASKAH

· Sebelum menyuntng naskah penulis harus memeriksa lebih dahulu kelengkapan naskah. Tujuannya untuk mengetahui seluruh unsure naskah sudah lengkap atau belum.

· Kelengkapan naskah yang dimaksud meliputi halaman judul, daftar isi, prakata, kata pengantar, daftar gb/ilustrasi/table, gb/ilustrasi, keterangan gb/ilustrasi/table, judul bab, sub judul, sub sub judul bab, catatan kaki, kepustakaan, daftar istilah, lampiran, indeks, biografi singkat, no. halaman, foto penulis, disket, cd/electronic file.

- RAGAM NASKAH

· Sebelum menyunting naskah, penyunting naskah harus memastikan ragam naskah yang di hadapinya. Ada beberapa ragam naskah.

1. Fiksi X Nonfiksi

2. Populer X ilmiah

3. Anak – anak X Dewasa

4. Sekolah X Nonsekolah ( Umum)

5. Jenjang pendidikan

6. Bidang Keilmuan

- DAFTAR ISI

· Setelah memeriksa kelengkapan naskah dari depan hingga belakang dan dari belakang hingga kedepan(bila dianggap perlu), barulah penyunting memeriksa isi naskah. Dalam hal ini, ada sejumlah pertanyaan yang harus di jawab.

1. Apakah daftar isi sudah sesuai dengan naskah?

2. Bagaimana sistematika atau susunan naskah?

3. Apakah penulis menggunakan kata bab atau tidak?

4. Apakah sitematika pada daftar isi sesuai dengan sitematika pada naskah?

- SUBBAB DAN SUB SUBBAB

· Seorang penyunting naskah perlu memeriksa apakah dlam bab bab naskah digunakan subbab dan sub-subbab. Penyunting naskah pun harus memeriksa apakah subbab dan sub subbab dari bab yang satu sama dengan yang ada pada bab bab lain.

· Setelah itu, penyunting naskah perlu memeriksa apakah penomoran subbab dan sub subbab sudah seragam atau belum. Dalam hal ini, ada beberapa kemungkinan yang di terapkan penulis, misalnya

a. Angka Romawi (I,II,III,IV, dst),

b. Angka Arab (1,2,3,4, dst), dan

c. Huruf Latin(A,B,C, dst)

- ILUSTRASI/TABEL/GAMBAR.

· Seorang penunting naskah perlu memeriksa apakah naskah yang akan ditangani memuat table, ilustrasi, atau gb.sekiranya ada, pada naskah tentu perlu diberi tanda atau disiapkan ruangan untuk itu.

· Sekiranya sudah tersedia table/ilus/gb, perlu diperiksa apakah sudah ada teksnya (caption). Seandainya belum ada teksnya , hal ini perlu dicatat untuk dimintakan ke penulis nanti.

· Adakalanya table/ilus/gb naskah akan disusulkan kemudian, artinya ketika menawarkan atau memasukan naskah ke penerbit, penulis belum menyertakannya. Hal ini perlu perlu dicatat penyunting naskah dan tentunya perlu diberikan batas waktu kapan table/ilus/gb itu harus diserahkan ke penerbit.

- CATATAN KAKI

· Tidak setiap naskah memiliki catatan kaki

· Buku dari TK-SMA tidak ada footnote

· Bahan acuan biasanya ditempatkan di daftar pustaka.

· Buku buku referensi PT biasanya ada è perlu diperhatikan cara penempatannya(penyunting harus tahu)

- INFORMASI MENGENAI PENULIS

· Info mengenai pendidikan, latar belakang, & wataknya.

· Dalam berhubungan dengan penerbit dikenal 3 tipe penulis

1. Penulis yang gampang : tidak rewel, menyerahkan sepenuhnya cara penyuntingan kepada penerbit, yang penting bagaimana baiknya saja.

2. Penulis yang sulit : mirip kebalikan dari tipe 1, maunya menang sendiri dan enerbit harus mengikuti kemauannya. Penyunting naskah perlu ekstra hati hati, agar tidak terjadi hal hal yang tidak diinginkan sebaiknya penyunting naskah mengikuti semua kemauannya, tentu dengan catatan lain kali penerbit perlu berpikir 2x sebelum menyetujui naskah dari penulis yang sama.

3. Penulis yang sulit sulit gampang : berbeda dengan tipe 1 & 2. Tetap diperlukan kehati hatian. Jangan sampai penyunting naskah mengubah kata atau kalimat tanpa berkonsultsi dengan penulis.

- MEMBACA NASKAH SECARA KESELURUHAN

· Memperoleh gmbaran tentang apa dan bagaimana kira kira naskah yang akan disunting

· Akan terlihat apakah bahasa yang dipakai cukup baik/masih jelek

Sebaiknya penyuntng naskah menyiapkan pensil, karena jika ada hal hal yang janggal(kata, istilah, kalimat) bisa melingkarinya & pada saat menyunting naskah tinggal memperbaiki atau menanyakan kepada penulis. Manfaat membaca secara keseluruhan

1. Untuk mengetahui apakah naskah sudah sitematis atau belum.

2. Untuk mengetahui sistematika naskah.

3. Untuk mengetahui apakah ada kata2 atau istilah yang asing bagi penyunting naskah

4. Untuk mengetahui apakah istilah istilah yang digunakan konsisten atau tidak.

5. Untuk mengetahui apakah dalam naskah ada hal hal yang berbau SARA & pornografi

"Oliver Twist" Synopsis

2010-01-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

Plot summary

Oliver Twist is born into a life of poverty and misfortune in a workhouse in an unnamed town within 75 miles north of London. Orphaned almost from his first breath by his mother’s death in childbirth and his father’s unexplained absence, Oliver is meagerly provided for under the terms of the Poor Law, and spends the first eight years of his life at a "baby farm" in the 'care' of a woman named Mrs. Mann. Along with other juvenile offenders against the poor-laws, Oliver is brought up with little food and few comforts.

Around the time of the orphan’s ninth birthday, Mr Bumble, a parish beadle, removes Oliver from the baby farm and puts him to work picking oakum at the main branch-workhouse (the same one where his mother worked before she died). Oliver, who toils with very little food, remains in the workhouse for six months, until the desperately hungry boys decide to draw lots; the loser must ask for another portion of gruel. The task falls to Oliver, who at the next meal tremblingly comes forward, bowl in hand, and makes his famous request: "Please, sir, I want some more."

A great uproar ensues. The board of well-fed gentlemen who administer the workhouse, while eating a meal fit for a king, are outraged by Oliver's 'ingratitude'. Wanting to be rid of this troublemaker, they offer five pounds sterling to any person wishing to take on the boy as an apprentice. A brutal chimney sweep almost claims Oliver, but, when he begs despairingly not to be sent away with "that dreadful man" a kindly old magistrate refuses to sign the indentures. Later, Mr. Sowerberry, an undertaker employed by the parish, takes Oliver into his service. He treats Oliver better, and, because of the boy's sorrowful countenance, uses him as a mute, or mourner, at children's funerals. However, Mr. Sowerberry is in an unhappy marriage, and his wife takes an immediate dislike to Oliver – primarily because her husband seems to like him – and loses few opportunities to underfeed and mistreat him. He also suffers torment at the hands of Noah Claypole, an oafish but bullying fellow apprentice who is jealous of Oliver's promotion to mute, and Charlotte, the Sowerberry's maidservant, who is in love with Noah.

One day, in an attempt to bait Oliver, Noah insults the orphan’s late mother, calling her "a regular right-down bad 'un". Oliver flies into an unexpected passion, attacking and even besting the much bigger boy. Mrs. Sowerberry takes Noah's side, helps him subdue Oliver, punches and beats Oliver, and later compels her husband and Mr. Bumble, who has been sent for in the aftermath of the fight, into beating Oliver again. Once Oliver is sent to his room for the night, he does something that he hadn't done since babyhood - breaks down and weeps. Alone that night, Oliver finally decides to run away. He wanders aimlessly for a time, until a well-placed milestone sets his wandering feet towards London.

During his journey to London, Oliver encounters one Jack Dawkins, who is also affectionately known as the Artful Dodger, although young Oliver is oblivious to this hint that the boy may be dishonest. Dodger provides Oliver with a free meal and tells him of a gentleman in London who will "give him lodgings for nothing, and never ask for change". Grateful for the unexpected assistance, Oliver follows Dodger to the gentleman’s residence. In this way, Oliver unwittingly falls in with an infamous Jewish criminal known as Fagin, the "old gentleman" of whom the Artful Dodger spoke. Ensnared, Oliver lives with Fagin and his criminal associates in their lair at Saffron Hill for some time, naively unaware of their criminal occupations. He believes they make wallets and handkerchiefs.

Later, Oliver innocently goes out to "make handkerchiefs" because of no income coming in, with two of Fagin’s underlings: The Artful Dodger and a boy of a humorous nature named Charley Bates. Oliver realises too late that their real mission is to pick pockets. Dodger and Charlie steal the wallet of an old gentleman named Mr. Brownlow, and promptly flee. When he finds his wallet missing, Mr. Brownlow turns round, sees Oliver, and pursues him. Others join the chase and Oliver is caught and taken before the magistrate. Curiously, Mr. Brownlow has second thoughts about the boy- he seems reluctant to believe he is a pickpocket. To the judge's evident disappointment, a bookstall holder who saw Dodger commit the crime clears Oliver, who, by now actually ill, faints in the courtroom. Mr. Brownlow takes Oliver home and, along with his housekeeper Mrs. Bedwin, cares for him.

Oliver stays with Mr. Brownlow, recovers rapidly, and blossoms from the unaccustomed kindness. His bliss, however, is interrupted when Fagin, fearing Oliver might "peach" on his criminal gang, decides that Oliver must be brought back to his hideout. When Mr. Brownlow sends Oliver out to pay for some books, one of the gang, a young girl named Nancy – albeit reluctantly – accosts him with help from her abusive lover, a brutal robber named Bill Sikes, and Oliver is quickly bundled back to Fagin's lair. The thieves take the five pound note Mr. Brownlow had entrusted to him, and strip him of his fine new clothes. Oliver, dismayed, flees and attempts to call for police assistance, but is ruthlessly dragged back by the Dodger, Charlie and Fagin. Nancy, however, is sympathetic towards Oliver and saves him from beatings by Fagin and Sikes.

Meanwhile, a mysterious man named Monks has found Fagin and is plotting with him to destroy Oliver's reputation. Nancy, by this time ashamed of her role in Oliver's kidnapping, and fearful for the boy's safety, goes to Rose Maylie and Mr. Brownlow to warn them. She knows that Monks and Fagin are plotting to get their hands on the boy again. She manages to keep her meetings secret until Noah Claypole (who has fallen out with the undertaker Mr. Sowerberry, stolen money from him and moved to London together with his girlfriend Charlotte to seek his fortune), using the name "Morris Bolter", joins Fagin's gang for protection. During Noah's stay with Fagin, the Artful Dodger is caught with a stolen silver snuff box, convicted (in a very humorous courtroom scene) and transported to Australia. Later, Noah is sent by Fagin to "dodge" (spy on) Nancy, and discovers her secret. Fagin angrily passes the information on to Sikes, twisting the story just enough to make it sound as if Nancy had informed on him (in actuality, she had shielded Sikes, whom she loves despite his brutal character). Believing her to be a traitor, Sikes murders Nancy in a fit of rage, and is himself killed when he accidentally hangs himself while fleeing across a rooftop from an angry mob.

Fagin in his cell.

Monks is forced by Mr. Brownlow (an old friend of Oliver's father) to divulge his secrets: his real name is Edward Leeford, and he is Oliver's paternal half-brother and, although he is legitimate, he was born of a loveless marriage. Oliver's mother, Agnes, was their father's true love. Mr. Brownlow has a picture of her, and began making inquiries when he noticed a marked resemblance between her face, and the face of Oliver. Monks has spent many years searching for his father's child — not to befriend him, but to destroy him (see Henry Fielding's Tom Jones for similar circumstances). Brownlow asks Oliver to give half his inheritance (which proves to be meager) to Monks because he wants to give him a second chance; and Oliver, to please Brownlow, complies. Monks then moves to America, where he squanders his money, reverts to crime, and ultimately dies in prison. Fagin is arrested and condemned to the gallows; in an emotional scene, Oliver goes to Newgate Gaol to visit the old reprobate on the eve of his hanging.

On a happier note, Rose Maylie turns out to be the long-lost sister of Oliver's mother Agnes; she is therefore Oliver's aunt. She marries her long-time sweetheart Harry, and Oliver lives happily with his saviour, Mr. Brownlow. Noah becomes a paid informant and friend to Oliver; The Bumbles lose their jobs (under circumstances that cause him to utter the well-known line "The Law is a Ass") and are reduced to great poverty, eventually ending up in the same workhouse where they once lorded it over Oliver and the other boys; and Charley Bates, horrified by Sikes' murder of Nancy, becomes an honest citizen, moves to the country, and works his way up to prosperity. This novel is loved by people around the world, while the book itself is now translated into more than 25 languages.

Introduction

Dickens describe the effects of industrialism on 19th-century England, and to criticise the harsh new Poor Laws. Oliver, an innocent child, is trapped in a world where his only alternatives seem to be the workhouse. In the midst of corruption and degradation, the essentially passive Oliver remains pure-hearted; he refrains from evil when those around him succumb; and, in proper fairy-tale fashion, he eventually receives his reward – he leaves London for a peaceful life in the country, surrounded by kind friends. On the way to this happy ending, Dickens explores the kind of life an orphan, outcast boy could expect to lead in the London of the 1830s.

Poverty and social class

Poverty is a prominent concern in Oliver Twist. Throughout the novel, describing slums so decrepit that whole rows of houses are on the point of collapse, and people so downtrodden that they seem scarcely human. The deceased, a young mother, has died of starvation despite her husband's desperate efforts to beg for her on the streets. The surviving adults are horrible in their wretchedness: the husband frightens Oliver with his frenzied grief, while the dead woman's haglike mother chuckles at the irony of outliving her own child, then whines for a warm cloak to wear to the funeral.

Oliver, on the other hand, who has an air of refinement remarkable for a workhouse boy, proves to be of gentle birth. Although he has been abused and neglected all his life, he recoils, aghast, at the idea of victimizing anyone else.This apparently hereditary gentlemanliness makes Oliver Twist something of a changeling tale, not just an indictment of social injustice. Oliver, born for better things, struggles to survive in the savage world of the underclass before finally being rescued by his family and returned to his proper place—a commodious country house.

Symbolism

The many obstacles Oliver faces symbolises the concept of good versus evil, with the evil continually trying to corrupt and exploit the good, but the good winning out in the end. The "merry old gentleman" Fagin, for example, has satanic characteristics: he is a veteran corrupter of young boys who presides over his own corner of the underworld; he makes his first appearance standing over a fire holding a toasting-fork; and he refuses to pray on the night before his execution.

Food is another important symbol; "Oliver Twist has asked for more!" indicates that the "more" Oliver hungers for is not just gruel.

Nancy’s decision to meet Brownlow and Rose on London Bridge reveals the symbolic aspect of this bridge in Oliver Twist. Bridges exist to link two places that would otherwise be separated by an uncrossable chasm. The meeting on London Bridge represents the collision of two worlds unlikely ever to come into contact, when Rose gives Nancy her handkerchief, and when Nancy holds it up as she dies, it shows that by her acts, Nancy has gone over to the "good" side against the thieves.Her position on the ground is as if she is in prayer, and this shows her godly or good nature.

Setting

The story of Oliver Twist is a dark tale of corruption, degrading living conditions, and the terror of unanticipated violence. The novel takes place against a background that is by degrees appropriately sinister. Slime and filth seem inescapable. Even the elements conspire to accentuate the dismal atmosphere; the weather is often bitterly cold, and rain and fog are frequent.

Because criminals are thought to be creatures of the night, a large amount of significant action that takes place after dark. Sunlight rarely penetrates their gloomy world and even then perhaps only to mock—as on the morning that Nancy is killed. The only period of sustained brightness is during the summer months when Oliver stays with the Maylies at their rural cottage. Even then, black shadows are cast by Rose’s near-fatal illness and the chilling intrusion of Monks and Fagin.

The novel deals mainly with poverty and crime—the results of abandoning the rules and practices of social awareness and compassion. The criminal elements in the novel represent the outcasts of society who lurk inside crumbling ruins. These structures represent the tottering institutions that have helped to deform their lives. In Dickens’s descriptions, the words “neglect” and “decay” recur insistently. And it has been the neglect of human values that has fostered the spiritual decay that is so aptly reflected in the odious surroundings.

Theme

Oliver Twist is a novel teeming with many closely interrelated ideas. There is preoccupation with the miseries of poverty and the spread of its degrading effects through society. With poverty comes hunger, another theme that is raised throughout the book, along with Dickens’s notion that a misguided approach to the issues of poverty and homelessness brings many evils in its wake.

One of the worse consequences of poverty and being deprived of life’s essentials is crime, with all of its corrosive effects on human nature. Dickens gives a great deal of attention to the painful alienation from society suffered by the criminal, who may come to feel completely isolated as the fragile foundations of his own hostile world snap. Crime is bad enough in itself, Dickens seems to be saying. When crime is the result of poverty, it completely dehumanizes society.

On the positive side, Dickens places heavy value on the elevating influence of a wholesome environment. He emphasizes the power of benevolence to overcome depravity. And goodness—like criminal intent—may expect to earn its own suitable reward. Sound familiar? The Dickensian theme of virtue being its own reward has its roots in the novels and poems of chivalry and redemption, where the good prosper and the “wicked” are sent packing.

Style

Dickens’s style is marked by a kind of literary obesity that is displeasing to some modern tastes. But in this connection—as in all others—we need to look at Dickens from the standpoint of his contemporaries. This means judging his art in one instance as it was viewed by the audience he addressed, whose tastes and expectations were vastly different from our own. A tribute to the greatness of his work is that it can still be read with pleasure today in spite of some of its excesses.

In many ways, the pace of life was more unhurried and deliberate in the early-nineteenth century than it is now, so readers would have the time to savor Dickens’s rich use of language. In a period when people were thrown much on their own resources for diversion, without the intrusions of movies, radio, or television, they could enjoy a display of literary virtuosity for its own sake. The practice of reading aloud helped to bring out the novelist’s artistry. When Dickens read from his books, his audiences were entranced, so he must, at least unconsciously, have written with some thought for oral effect.

The conditions of publication undoubtedly were instrumental in shaping the writer’s technique. When he was faced with the challenge of holding his readers for over a year, he had to make his scenes unforgettable and his characters memorable. Only a vivid recollection could sustain interest for a month between chapters. Also, there was a need to cram each issue with abundant action to satisfy those who would re-read it while waiting impatiently for the next installment. What may seem excessively rich fare to those who can read the novel straight through without breaking may have only whetted the appetites of the original readers. The immediate popularity of Dickens’s works bears witness to the soundness of his literary judgment.

List of Characters

Oliver Twist—Son of Edwin Leeford and Agnes Fleming, an orphan boy born in a workhouse. He is a young boy who is very passionate and very kind hearted, but he is very naive. He does not yet know the dangers of the world.

Sally Thingummy—An old pauper woman who is an inmate of the workhouse and later dies there. She attends at Oliver’s birth, “rendered rather misty by an unwonted allowance of beer.”

Agnes Fleming—Oliver’s mother; the daughter of a retired naval officer. “She was found dying in the street . . . but where she came from, or where she was going to, nobody knows.”

Mrs. Mann—An elderly woman who conducts an infant farm (the then equivalent of a foster home). “A woman of wisdom and experience; she knew what was good for children,” so of the funds provided for their sustenance “she appropriated the greater part . . . to her own use.”

Mr. Bumble—The parish beadle (a minor church official); “a fat man, and a choleric (cranky show-off) [with] a great idea of his oratorical powers and his importance.” “He had a decided propensity for bullying: derived no inconsiderable pleasure from the exercise of petty cruelty; and, consequently, was (it is needless to say) a coward.”

Mr. Limbkins—Head of the parish board; “a particularly fat gentleman with a very round, red face.”

The Workhouse Master—”A fat, healthy man.”

Gamfield—A chimney sweep, “whose villainous countenance was a regular stamped receipt for cruelty.”

Mr. Sowerberry—An undertaker; “a tall, gaunt, large-jointed man,” in matrimonial disputes denominated “a brute, an unnatural husband, an insulting creature, a base imitation of a man.”

Mrs. Sowerberry—”A short, thin, squeezed-up woman, with a vixenish [literally, fox-like] countenance, [having] a good deal of taste in the undertaking way.”

Charlotte—The Sowerberry’s maidservant; a somewhat sloppy girl, she is “of a robust and hardy make.”

Noah Claypole—Charity boy employed by Sowerberry, he later joins Fagin’s gang under the name of Morris Bolter. “A large-headed, small-eyed youth of lumbering make and heavy countenance.”

Little Dick—Oliver’s companion on the infant farm, with whom he “had been beaten, and starved, and shut up.”

John (Jack) Dawkins—The Artful Dodger; Fagin’s most esteemed pupil. A pickpocket and thief, he is a dirty “snub-nosed, flat-browed, common-faced boy . . . short of his age; with rather bowlegs, and little, sharp, ugly eyes.”

Fagin—The master criminal; “a very old shriveled Jew, whose villainous-looking and repulsive face was obscured by a quantity of matted red hair.” Fagin, the mastermind among the criminals, is as ugly in appearance as he is repulsive in disposition

Charles Bates—One of Fagin’s gang; “a very sprightly” young boy given to uproarious laughter.

Betsy—Member of the Fagin gang. “Not exactly pretty, perhaps; but . . . looked quite stout and hearty.”

Nancy—Trusted and resourceful member of Fagin’s gang. Untidy and free in manner, but “there was something of the woman’s original nature left in her still.” When Nancy makes contact with the world of conventional behavior as represented by Rose and Brownlow, she judges that she has taken the path of error that must inevitably lead to destruction.

Mr. Brownlow—”A very respectable-looking personage” with a heart “large enough for any six ordinary old gentlemen of humane disposition.” Basically kind and generous, he has some common, questionable characteristics. He is often impatient and curt.

Mr. Fang—A notorious magistrate; a “lean, long-backed, stiff-necked, middle-sized man, with no great quantity of hair.”

The Bookseller—”An elderly man of decent but poor appearance.”

Mrs. Bedwin—Brownlow’s housekeeper; “a motherly old lady, very neatly and precisely dressed.”

Bill Sikes—A ruthless felon associated with Fagin; he is violent, and abusive, his anger likely to erupt at any moment. Bill Sikes represents the ultimate outcome of a brutalizing existence. He has almost completely lost any sign of human sensitivity or tenderness.

Bull’s-eye—Sikes’s dog; “a white-coated, red-eyed dog . . . having faults of temper in common with his owner.” Bull’s-eye eventually betrays his abusive master.

Mr. Grimwig—A retired lawyer and old friend of Brownlow’s. “A stout old gentleman, rather lame in one leg,” he has “a strong appetite for contradiction, [although] not by any means a bad-hearted man.”

Barney—Waiter at the Little Saffron Hill dive. “Another Jew; younger than Fagin, but nearly as vile and repulsive in appearance.

Tom Chitling—One of Fagin’s creatures; a simpleton of about eighteen, with “small twinkling eyes, and a pock-marked face.”

“Flash” Toby Crackit—Associate of Fagin’s and Sikes’; a rather flamboyant type, with “no great quantity of hair [and] a trifle above the middle size.”

Mrs. Corney—Matron of the workhouse where Oliver was born; she later marries Bumble.

Monks—Edward Leeford, Oliver Twist’s half-brother; son of Edwin Leeford and his legal wife. A tall, dark man, subject to fits of cowardice and epilepsy, he is interested in ruining Oliver’s reputation. Monks is a dark, sinister figure who lurks menacingly in the background during much of the novel, a disaster waiting to happen. He sometimes appears without warning or identification

Mr. Giles—Mrs. Maylie’s butler and steward. “One who labored under a very agreeable sense of his own merits and importance.”

Brittles—Man-of-all-work for Mrs. Maylie; “treated as a promising young boy still, though he was something past thirty.”

Rose Maylie—Rose Fleming; Agnes Fleming’s younger sister, thus Oliver’s aunt. Accepted as Mrs. Maylie’s niece; later becomes her daughter-in-law. Being a person of sterling worth, incorruptible by human complexity and inconsistency, she is correspondingly uninteresting, particularly in contrast with Nancy.

Mrs. Maylie—Rose’s adoptive aunt; a stately lady, “well advanced in years.”

Mr. Losberne—A surgeon of Chertsey who “had grown fat, more from good-humor than from good living.”

Harry Maylie—Mrs. Maylie’s son. “He seemed about five-and-twenty years of age, and was of middle height; his countenance was frank and handsome; and his demeanor easy and prepossessing.”

Kags—A career criminal, “a robber of fifty years, whose nose had been almost beaten in.

"Sense and Sensibility" Synopsis

2010-01-06T04:14:00.000-08:00

Plot summary

When Mr. Dashwood dies, his estate, Norland, passes to his only son, John. This leaves his second wife and three daughters, Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret, at the mercy of their stepson/half-brother and his selfish wife Fanny. Treated as unwelcome guests, the Dashwood women begin looking for another place to live. Meanwhile, Elinor grows attached to Fanny's brother Edward Ferrars, an unassuming, intelligent, and reserved young man. However, Mrs. Ferrars wants her son to marry a woman of high rank or great estate, if not both. Neither Elinor nor her mother cares about this. Nonetheless, due to Edwards Ferrar's odd, reserved behaviour, Elinor does not allow herself to hope for marriage. Eventually, one of Mrs. Dashwood's cousins, an opulent Sir John Middleton, offers them a cottage on his estate, Barton Park. Also staying there are Mrs. Jennings (Lady Middleton's mother) and Colonel Brandon, an old friend of Sir John. The gossipy Mrs. Jennings decides that Colonel Brandon must be in love with Marianne and teases them about it. Marianne is displeased. She considers Colonel Brandon, at age thirty-five, to be an old bachelor incapable of falling in love or inspiring love in anyone else.

Marianne, out for a stroll, gets caught in the rain, slips, and sprains her ankle. The dashing and handsome Mr. Willoughby rescues Marianne, carries her back home, and wins her admiration. He comes to visit her every day, and Elinor and Mrs. Dashwood begin to suspect that the couple has secretly become engaged. However, Mrs. Dashwood's sentimental nature prevents her from asking Marianne about her relationship with Willoughby. Marianne is devastated when Willoughby announces that he must go to London on business, not to return for perhaps even up to a year.

Edward Ferrars visits the Dashwoods at Barton Cottage, but seems unhappy and is distant towards Elinor. She fears that he no longer has feelings for her. However, unlike Marianne, she does not wallow in her sadness, feeling it her duty to be outwardly calm for the sake of her mother and sisters, who all dote on Edward and have firm faith in his love for Elinor.

Shortly afterward, Anne and Lucy Steele, cousins of Lady Middleton, come to stay at Barton Park. Sir John tells Lucy that Elinor is attached to Edward, prompting Lucy to inform Elinor that she (Lucy) has been secretly engaged to Edward for four years. Although Elinor initially blames Edward for engaging her affections when he was not free to do so, she realizes that he became engaged to Lucy while he was young and naïve. She understands that Edward does not love Lucy, but that he will not hurt or dishonour her by breaking their engagement. Elinor hides her disappointment and works to convince Lucy that she feels nothing for Edward. This is particularly hard as she sees that Lucy is not in love with Edward and that she will only make him unhappy.

Elinor and Marianne spend the winter at Mrs. Jennings' home in London. Marianne's letters to Willoughby go unanswered, and he treats her coldly when he sees her at a party. He later sends Marianne a letter, enclosing their former correspondence and love tokens, including a lock of her hair and informing her that he is engaged to a Miss Grey, a high-born, wealthy woman with fifty thousand pounds (equivalent to about five million pounds today). Marianne admits to Elinor that she and Willoughby were never engaged, but that she loved him and he led her to believe that he loved her.

Colonel Brandon tells Elinor that Willoughby had seduced Brandon's ward, Eliza Williams, and abandoned her when she became pregnant. Brandon was once in love with Miss Williams' mother, a woman who resembled Marianne and whose life was destroyed by an unhappy arranged marriage to the Colonel's brother.

Because Fanny Dashwood does not like her sister-in-laws, she declines her husband's offer to let them stay with her. Instead, she invites the Miss Steeles. Lucy Steele becomes very arrogant and brags to Elinor that the old dowager Mrs. Ferrars favors her. Indeed both Fanny and Mrs. Ferrars were fond of Lucy. Thus, Lucy's sister Anne decides that it would not be improper to tell the of Lucy's concealed engagement to Edward. When Mrs. Ferrars discovers Edward and Lucy's engagement, she is infuriated, and demands that he end the engagement instantaneously. However, he refuses to end it, so she disinherits him, in immediate favour of his brother Robert. Elinor and Marianne feel sorry for Edward, and think him honourable for remaining engaged to a woman with whom he will probably not be happy. Edward plans to take holy orders to earn his living, and Colonel Brandon, knowing how lives can be ruined when love is denied, offers Edward the living of the parish of Delaford. Elinor meets Edward's boorish brother Robert and is shocked that he has no qualms about claiming his brother's inheritance. Colonel Brandon expresses his commiseration to Edward for the deplorable circumstance and offers Edward a parsonage on Delaford, the Colonel's large estate, with about two hundred pounds a year. The Colonel did not intend the parsonage to be assistance for Edward to marry Lucy as would be insufficient to house a wife but intends that the parsonage will be able to provide Edward some sustenance.

The sisters end their winter stay in London and begin their return trip to Barton via Cleveland, the country estate of Mrs.Jennings' son-in-law, Mr Palmer. There, Marianne, miserable over Willoughby, allows her depression to take complete hold of her and soon becomes very ill with putrid fever. Mr Palmer and his family are advised to leave the house for the sake of their infant son, in case the fever is infectious. As Marianne worsens, Colonel Brandon goes to get Mrs. Dashwood. Willoughby arrives and tells Elinor that he was disinherited when his benefactress discovered his seduction of Miss Williams, so he decided to marry the wealthy Miss Grey. He says that he still loves Marianne and seeks forgiveness, but has poor excuses for his selfish actions. Meanwhile, Colonel Brandon tells Mrs.Dashwood that he loves Marianne.

Marianne recovers and the Dashwoods return to Barton Cottage. Elinor tells Marianne about Willoughby's visit. Marianne admits that, although she loved Willoughby, she could not have been happy with the libertine father of an illegitimate child even if he had stood by her. Marianne also realizes that her illness was brought on by her wallowing in her grief, by her excessive sensibility, and that, had she died, it would have been morally equivalent to suicide. She now resolves to model herself after Elinor's courage and good sense.

The family learns that Lucy has married Mr. Ferrars. When Mrs. Dashwood sees how upset Elinor is, she finally realizes how strong Elinor's feelings for Edward are and is sorry that she did not pay more attention to her unhappiness. However, the very next day Edward arrives and reveals that it was his brother, Robert Ferrars, who married Lucy. He says that he was trapped in his engagement with Lucy, "a woman he had long since ceased to love", and she broke the engagement to marry the now wealthy Robert. Edward asks Elinor to marry him, and she agrees. Edward eventually becomes reconciled with his mother. He also reconciles with his sister Fanny, who gives him ten thousand pounds. Edward and Elinor marry and move into the parsonage at Delaford. Still, Mrs. Ferrars tends to favour Robert and Lucy over Edward and Elinor.

Mr. Willoughby's patroness eventually gives him his inheritance, seeing that his marriage to a woman of good character has redeemed him. Willoughby realizes that marrying Marianne would have produced the same effect; had he behaved honourably, he could have had both love and money and thus "his punishment was complete".

Over the next two years, Mrs. Dashwood, Marianne, and Margaret spend most of their time at Delaford. Marianne matures and, at the age of nineteen, decides to marry the thirty-seven year old Colonel, even though she feels more respect than passion for him. However, after the marriage, she grows to truly love him. The Colonel's house is near the parsonage where Elinor and Edward live, so the sisters and their husbands can visit each other often, and thus concluding a novel of genius by Jane Austen.

Characters in Sense and Sensibility

Henry Dashwood — a wealthy gentleman who dies at the beginning of the story. The terms of his estate prevent him from leaving anything to his second wife and their children together. He asks John, his son by his first wife, to look after (meaning ensure the financial security of) his second wife and their three daughters.

Mrs. Dashwood — the second wife of Henry Dashwood, who is left in difficult financial straits by the death of her husband. She is 40 years old at the beginning of the book. Much like her daughter Marianne, she is also very emotive and often makes poor decisions based on emotion rather than reason.

Elinor Dashwood — the sensible and reserved eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood. She is 19 years old at the beginning of the book. She becomes attached to Edward Ferrars, the brother-in-law of her elder half-brother, John. Always feeling a keen sense of responsibility to her family and friends, she places their welfare and interests above her own, and suppresses her own strong emotions in a way that leads others to think she is indifferent or cold-hearted.

Marianne Dashwood — the romantically inclined and eagerly expressive second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood. She is 16 years old at the beginning of the book. She is the object of the attentions of Colonel Brandon and Mr. Willoughby. She is attracted to young, handsome, romantically spirited Willoughby and does not think much of the older, more reserved Colonel Brandon. Marianne does the most development within the book, learning her sensibilities have been selfish. She decides her conduct should be more like her elder sister's, Elinor.

Margaret Dashwood — the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood. She is thirteen at the beginning of the book. She is also romantic and well-tempered but not expected to be as clever as her sisters when she grows older.

John Dashwood — the son of Henry Dashwood by his first wife. He intends to do well by his step-sisters, but he has a keen sense of avarice, and is easily swayed by his wife.

Fanny Dashwood — the wife of John Dashwood, and sister to Edward and Robert Ferrars. She is vain, selfish, and snobbish. She spoils her son Henry. Very harsh to her husband's half-sisters and stepmother, especially since she fears her brother Edward is attached to Elinor.

Sir John Middleton — a distant relative of Mrs. Dashwood who, after the death of Henry Dashwood, invites her and her three daughters to live in a cottage on his property. Described as a wealthy, sporting man who served in the army with Colonel Brandon, he is very affable and keen to throw frequent parties, picnics, and other social gatherings to bring together the young people of their village. He and his mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings, make a jolly, teasing, and gossipy pair.

Lady Middleton — the genteel, but reserved wife of Sir John Middleton, she is quieter than her husband, and is primarily concerned with mothering her four spoiled children.

Mrs. Jennings — mother to Lady Middleton and Charlotte Palmer. A widow who has married off all of her children, she spends most of her time visiting her two daughters and their families, especially the Middletons. She and her son-in-law, Sir John Middleton, take an active interest in the romantic affairs of the young people around them and seek to encourage suitable matches, often to the particular chagrin of Elinor and Marianne.

Edward Ferrars — the elder of Fanny Dashwood's two brothers. He forms an attachment to Elinor Dashwood. Years before meeting the Dashwoods, Ferrars proposed to Lucy Steele, the niece of his tutor. The engagement has been kept secret owing to the expectation that Ferrars' family would object to his marrying Miss Steele. He is disowned by his mother on discovery of the engagement after refusing to give up the engagement.

Robert Ferrars — the younger brother of Edward Ferrars and Fanny Dashwood, he is most concerned about status, fashion, and his new barouche. He subsequently marries Miss Lucy Steele after Edward is disowned.

Mrs. Ferrars — Fanny Dashwood and Edward and Robert Ferrars' mother. A bad-tempered, unsympathetic woman who embodies all the foibles demonstrated in Fanny and Robert's characteristics. She is determined that her sons should marry well.

Colonel Brandon — a close friend of Sir John Middleton. In his youth, Brandon had fallen in love with his father's ward, but was prevented by his family from marrying her because his father was determined to marry her to his older brother. He was sent into the military abroad to be away from her, and while gone, the girl suffered numerous misfortunes partly as a consequence of her unhappy marriage, finally dying penniless and disgraced, and with a natural (i.e., illegitimate) daughter, who becomes the ward of the Colonel. He is 35 years old at the beginning of the book. He falls in love with Marianne at first sight as she reminds him of his father's ward. He is very honorable friend to the Dashwoods, particularly Elinor, and offers Edward Ferrars a living after being disowned by his mother.

John Willoughby — a philandering nephew of a neighbour of the Middletons, a dashing figure who charms Marianne and shares her artistic and cultural sensibilities. It is generally understood that his is engaged to be married to Marianne by many of their mutual acquaintances.

Charlotte Palmer — the daughter of Mrs. Jennings and the younger sister of Lady Middleton, Mrs. Palmer is jolly but empty-headed and laughs at inappropriate things, such as her husband's continual rudeness to her and to others.

Thomas Palmer — the husband of Charlotte Palmer who is running for a seat in Parliament, but is idle and often rude.

Lucy Steele — a young, distant relation of Mrs. Jennings, who has for some time been secretly engaged to Edward Ferrars. She assiduously cultivates the friendship with Elinor Dashwood and Mrs. John Dashwood. Limited in formal education and financial means, she is nonetheless attractive, clever, manipulative, cunning and scheming (in modern terms, a "gold digger").

Anne/Nancy Steele — Lucy Steele's elder, socially inept, and less clever sister.

Miss Sophia Grey — a wealthy but malicious heiress who Mr. Willoughby marries in order to retain his comfortable lifestyle after he is disinherited by his aunt.

Lord Morton — the father of Miss Morton.

Miss Morton — a wealthy woman whom Mrs. Ferrars wants her eldest son, Edward, and later Robert, to marry.

Mr. Pratt — an uncle of Lucy Steele and Edward's tutor.

Eliza Williams — the ward of Col. Brandon, she is about 15 years old and bore an illegitimate son to John Willoughby.

Mrs. Smith — the wealthy aunt of Mr. Willoughby who disowns him for not marrying Eliza Williams.

Introduction to Linguistic

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SEMANTICS

Is the study of meaning. Divided in lexical meaning and structural meaning.
Lexical meaning, refers to the meaning of words, which is an agreement of the community. Ex: bycycle, it’s not a human or animal, but it’s a thing and this is called semantic properties of word. Ex: Grandfather, the word related to human, adult, married, and the gender is a male. This is also called component analysis

Three concept the meaning of a word:

Form of expression, deal with how a word is pronounced or expressed
Concept, information on someone head or minds
Referent, related to the real world out of language to which a word refer to

This is called semantic triangle, the relation between (word) and (referent) is not direct cause there is no obligatory relation between a word and what it refers to and this is called Arbitrary Relation. Ex: (Amis) Javanese refers to something fishy, but Sundanese refers to something sweet. Lexical meaning also deal with 2 kinds of meaning/Jenis Makna:

Denotation, when the words is meant to be the real world as it refers to, Ex: Cat, refer to a 4 legged animal
Connotation, when the same word (cat) is meant to a person that he doesn’t like, other kinds of meaning/Relasi Makna are;

Homonym, when they have the same sound meaning, Ex: two n’ too, same sound but very different meaning
Synonym, when they have almost the same meaning, Ex: Father n’ daddy
Antonym, when 2 words have opposite meaning, Ex: Fat n’ Thin
Polisemi, kata yg have some makna yg b’hubungan, Ex: (sumber) makna 1^st yaitu t4 keluar air dan 2^ndberarti asal
Hiponimi, b’kaitan dg peliputan makna spesifik dlm makna generic, Ex: beo, jalak, n’ perkutut berhiponimi dgn burung
Meronimi, mirip dgn hiponimi cause relasi maknanya bersifat hierarkis, namun tidak menyiratkan pelibatan searah tetapi keseluruhan, Ex: atap bermeronimi dgn rumah

Makna Asosiatif, asosiasi yg muncul dalam benak seseorang jika mendengar kata tertentu, Ex:villa means rumah istirahat di luar kota
Makna Afektif, berkaitn dengan perasaan seseorang jika mendengar/membaca kata tertentu, Ex: jujur, sopan menimbulkan makna afektif yg positif
Makna Situatif, kata yg mempunyai fungsi deiktis, Ex: (disini,disana) means ket tempat sedangkan (lusa,minggu depan) means nomina ket waktu
Makna Etimologis, b’kaitan dgn asal usul kata n’ perubahan makna dari aspek sejarah kata, Ex:(sarjana) means cerdi,cakap now in bhsa ind. Maknanya menyempit mjadi gelar S1

PRAGMATICS
Deal with speaker meaning, in other words, pragmatic studies utterance meaning rather than sentence meaning. Personative may be uttered explicity or implicity, Ex:request for requesting n’ promise for promising. Constative may be defined as utterance used for stating the truth. Ex: “the sun- sets in the west” doesn’t imply another meaning

Utterance Meaning, 3 act interratedly in communication, they are: perform an act of saying something, something to commit by saying something n’ the effect of saying something, Ex: “it is cold” this is maybe a request to the listener to switch off the AC, depends on the perlocutionary act (effect of saying something)
Categories of Illocutionary act, 5 function are:

Assertive, commit the speaker to the truth of the expressed proposition, Ex: suggesting, complaining, stating
Directives, produce some effects trough action by the hearer, Ex: ordering, commanding, requesting
Commissives, commit the speaker to some future action, Ex: promising, offering
Expressive, have function of expressing or making known, Ex: thanking, congratulating, blaming
Declaration, illocutions whose successful performance, Ex: resigning, dismissing

Communication Principles, have 2 principles in communication:

Cooperative principle, have 4 maxims, quantity (anak gadis saya sekarang sudah punya pacar), quality (fakultas sastra ada di jl Hayam Wuruk), (setahu saya, kalo tidak salah dengar), relevan (kamu mau minum apa?yg hangat2 saja), n’ manner (mau minum kopi apa teh?), used to applied by speakers in conversation to make communication run well
Politeness Principle, have 6 maxims, tact, generosity, approbation, modesty, agreement, sympathy, make com. run well besides, the relationship keep smooth

Deixis, refers to a technical term used for pointing something by using language. The kinds are: person (tunggal:aku,saya), spatial (ruang Ex: disini,disitu), and temporal (waktu) deixis Ex:hari ini bayar besok gratis

4 maxim menurut grice:

kuantitas: penutur give kontribusi yg seckpnya kpda lawan penuturnya, hedge yaitu keterbatasan peutur dalam m'ungkapkan informasi
kualitas: penutur harus m'atakan yg sebenarnya
relevan: penutur give kontribusi yg relevan dgn situasi pembicaraan
cara: penutur harus berbicara lgsg dan lugas serta tidak berlebihan

lokusioner: dasar tindakan dlm suatu ajaran
ilokusioner: tindakan yg menyertai tindakan lokusioner
perlokusioner: pengaruh dari pertuturan ilokusioner dan lokusioner

"saya berjanji akan menjagamu selamanya" mrupakan pertuturan lokusioner, sdgkan ilokusioner adalah tujuan dari pertuturan tsb, dan perlokusioner adalah pengaruhnya. (NB:contoh bikin sendiri ya!!!)

referensi: hub antar unsur luar bahasa yg ditunjuk oleh unsur bahs dgn lambang yg dipakai
inferensi: pengetahuan + yg dipakai oleh mitra bicara u/ memahami apa yg tidak diungkapkan scr explisit dalam ujaran
ref tak tarif: tidak tentu (seseorang)
ref takrif: ref yg tentu (orang itu)
generik: mnekankan sesuatu yg umum (orang suka makan sate)

SOCIOLINGUISTIC
Studies language in relation with the factors, such as sex, social status, region, situation ,religion

Language Varieties, shows how the nonlinguistic factors can affect language, may reflect the speakers or users of the language and the goal of using language.

Dialects, regional and social dialects, regional used by people from different regions of the same language n’ social used by people from different social groups of the same language which also called standard n non standard dialects.

Regional dialect can be divided into different regional dialect. A dialects is a language variation which can be characterized in term of its vocab, pronounciation, n’ grammatical construction. Ex: Javanese: solo, yogya, kebumen dialect
Social dialect, Ex: in Java there are priyayi n’ nonpriyayi, they use different styles, they used karma inggil, madya n’ ngoko

Styles/Situation dialect, formal n’ informal style, this are associated with the situation when the language is used
Slangs, words that used by specific group of people which are not openly used by common people. Ex: doku means uang
Registers, refer to the language used for occupational purpose. News language is different from advertisement language. style n’ register are called situation dialects
Jargons, used by different fields of study. Ex: phonology n’ morphology are jargons in Linguistic
Code Switching, changing language to other language if speak with the person who are competence in the language different from their native language

PSYCHOLINGUISTIC
Studies language production, comprehension, n’ acquisition.

stu. lang. pro. In relation with the ability of human being in producing utterance or sentence to communicate to others. The speaker try to produce utterance conveying their concept which can be understood for the listener
comprehension, understanding what the other speak about in order to give response in communication, Ex: a Javanese speaks to balinese who has never been exposed to Javanese, is just a noise for the listener
Lang. Acquisition refers to how children acquire their first language they r exposed to. If exposed to javanese, they will be Javanese, there is possibility to be a bilingual child that they are exposed to 2 or more languages

Theories of Language Acquisition

Children Acquiring Lang. by Imitation, the problem is they never produces the utterance that are exactly the same as the utterance produce by adults around them. Ex: when speaks Papa, they will produce papa
Children Acquiring by reinforcement, they get reinforcement gorm the adults when they produce correct form, Ex: “Nobody don’t like me”, No, say “Nobody Likes me”, it’s shows that children try to formulate their own sentences or utterances
Children Acquiring Language by Analogy, children construct their own language as the result of contacting with the adults, the way they construct their language can be characterized systematically, Ex: “I painted a red box”, children will say: “I see a red box”

Stages in Language Acquisition, the three stages are:

one word stage, single negative word, Ex: ‘no”
first sentence stage, negative word added to beginning of sentence, Ex: “no want food”
later sentence stage, negative element inserted between subject n’ predicate, Ex: “she no bite you”

	Cooing Stage	Babbling Stage	One Word stage	Two Word Stage
Gesell (1940b n’ 1940c)	By 16 weeks	By 28 weeks	By 40 weeks	By 18 months
Bowley (1957;9ff)		By 5 months	Around 10 months	By 18 monts
Lenneberg (1966)	4 months	6-9 months	12-18 months	18-21 months
Illingworth (1967:166ff)		Around 4 months	Around 12 months	21-24 months
Menyuk (1975)	1-4 months	4-8 months	12- 18 months	18-24 months
Deich Hodges (1977:62ff)	By 6 months	Around 6 months	Around 12 months
Aitchinson (1983:89f)	Around 6 weeks	Around 6 months	Around 1 year	Around 18 months
Johnson (1984)	2-3 months	4-5 months	Around 12 months	18-20 months

There are 4 stages associated with ages, the last 2 age can be identified as linguistic stage since in those stage children can produce speech which can be characterized linguistically. They can produce one word like mama, apa, bye-bye etc

Language Learning and Language Acquisition, L.A refers to the subconscious process of acquiring language (proses yg tidak qta sadari), it is done in informal situation n’ they acquire language from their parent or ather adults through their contact or communication. Otherwise, L.L refers to the process of conscious process of learning language. It’s usually done in formal education with a certain curriculum n’ syllabus, materials, time n’ place with certain teachers n’ instructions

· It can be concluded that L.L is the process of learning a second or foreign language which children have acquired their first or native language. Besides, in learning second language children use their experience in acquiring their first language to learn the second language

· The factors that influence the success of learning secong language are:

1. age, children are more advantageous learning a second language than adults in pronunciation, but adult arer more successful in learning grammar

2. affective factors, Ex:

· motivation, will be successful in getting the second language if have very high motivation

· self confidence, more self confidence more successful

· anxiety (rasa cemas), important for both learning the second language and acquiring the first language, Ex: have low anxiety in learning in the classroom, they will be more successful

"SELAMAT MENGERJAKAN"

"The Pearl" Synopsis

2010-01-04T01:17:00.000-08:00

Kino, is a young Mexican-Indian pearl diver married to Juana; they have a baby named Coyotito. Their lives seem rather peaceful, but their tranquility is threatened when a scorpion bites Coyotito. Juana tells Kino to go to town and get the doctor, but Kino and their neighbors tell Juana that the doctor will never come to where they live, so Juana decides to take matters into her own hands and sets off with Coyotito to the doctor. Kino accompanies Juana, and many members of the village follow them to see what will happen. At the doctor’s house, the doctor’s servant tells Kino and Juana that the doctor is not at home—in truth, the doctor is home but will not help Coyotito because Kino cannot pay the doctor as much as the doctor wants, but also because the doctor is prejudiced against Kino’s race.

Kino goes to work diving in the Gulf for oysters from his canoe; Juana tends to Coyotito in the canoe by applying brown seaweed to his shoulder, which is swollen from the scorpion’s bite. As Kino is collecting oysters on the ocean bottom, he spots a larger-than-usual oyster, collects it, and returns to the canoe. Kino does not want to open the oyster immediately, but Juana prompts him to open the oyster; when he does, he finds a pearl the size of a sea gull’s egg. Juana gazes at the immense pearl; she then goes to check on Coyotito and discovers that Coyotito’s shoulder is no longer swollen. Kino is immensely happy about both the pearl and Coyotito and yells loudly enough that he attracts the attention of the other oyster divers, who race toward his canoe.

Before Kino reaches home with his great pearl, the news of his discovery has already reached his village and the town. Everyone fantasizes what he or she would do with the wealth that the pearl represents, including the doctor, who previously refused to help Coyotito but now says that the baby is a patient of his. The priest arrives at Kino and Juana’s hut and tells Kino that he needs to give thanks for finding the pearl. The doctor visits Kino and Juana and tricks them into allowing him to treat Coyotito even though Kino knows that Coyotito is already cured; in fact what the doctor has done is to make Coyotito sick so that the doctor can then cure the baby and get paid more. Coyotito indeed does get sick, and the doctor returns and gives the baby a different medicine that “cures” the baby. When the doctor asks Kino for payment, Kino says that his plan is to sell the pearl the next day. The doctor offers to keep the pearl for Kino, and Kino refuses the request, but the doctor tricks Kino into revealing where Kino has hidden the pearl. That night, Kino hears someone in the hut, draws his knife and strikes out at the figure and draws blood, but is hit over the head with a heavy object. Juana senses that the pearl is evil and begs Kino to throw the pearl back into the sea, but Kino refuses, believing still that the pearl will give them better lives than they have.

On the day that Kino is to sell the pearl, the other divers do not go diving. Kino and Juana begin the trip to the pearl buyers, followed by the entire village. The first pearl buyer to whom Kino offers to sell the pearl offers Kino a small amount of money for the pearl, saying that the pearl is too big and no one else will buy it. He sends word to the other pearl buyers in town to come to his office and appraise the pearl. When the three new pearl buyers arrive at the first’s office, the three of them have already planned together what each will offer Kino. Kino, realizing that the pearl buyers are working together to get the pearl for the least amount of money, says that he will go to the capital to sell his pearl. The first pearl buyer raises his offer to buy the pearl, but it is too late; Kino leaves. Back in the village, Kino’s neighbors discuss whether or not Kino should have accepted the main buyer’s last offer.

That night, Kino hears noises outside the hut and goes outside to check on what is making the noise. Juana listens inside the hut to Kino’s being attacked and rushes out with a brick to help him, but it is too late; Kino is bloodied and beaten, and the attackers have escaped without Kino being able to identify them. Again, like the previous night, Juana begs Kino to throw the pearl back into the sea, but Kino again refuses to because he envisions the pearl being sold and the money being used to fund Coyotito’s education. He resolves to sell the pearl in the capital.

Later, Juana rises in the dark, takes the pearl from the hut, and goes to the beach. Kino follows her and catches up with her at the beach just as she is ready to throw the pearl into the water. He hits her and saves the pearl from going into the water, but he is then attacked by some figures he cannot identify. The pearl is knocked from his hands, but he is able to stab one of his assailants before he is knocked unconscious. Juana regains consciousness and finds Kino lying unconscious, a dead stranger next to him. When Kino regain consciousness, Juana returns the pearl to him from where she found it lying behind a rock and tells him that they must flee the village because he has killed a man. Juana leaves to gather their belongings; Kino goes to check on their canoe and finds that a large hole has been smashed into its bottom. As they approach their hut, they see it burning in flames. Taking Coyotito, they go to Kino’s brother’s hut and spend the day hiding there. Kino’s brother, Juan Tomás, lets the other villagers think that Kino and his family have run away, all the while gathering provisions for when Kino and Juana will flee. Kino continues to believe that the pearl is not something evil but instead offers a more promising future for him and his family.

Kino, Juana, and Coyotito leave their village and head toward Loreto. Kino is careful to make sure that they leave no tracks but knows that they will be followed because of the pearl’s great value. Because they are traveling at night, the next dawn they conceal themselves and settle down for the day. Juana and Coyotito fall asleep, and soon Kino does too. He is suddenly awakened by noises, creeps out from where they are hiding, and sees trackers who are following them. Once the trackers pass by the hiding place, Kino and his family head toward high mountains. When they reach the first rise of the mountains, Kino tries to convince Juana to hide with Coyotito while he leads the trackers away, but she refuses so they head higher up the mountains to where Kino finds a stream. There, Kino hides Juana and Coyotito in a small cave and makes false tracks up the side of the mountain, hoping to mislead the trackers; he then hides in the cave with his family.

The trackers arrive at the spring and make camp for the night. Kino, realizing that the trackers will discover them in the morning, vows to attack the trackers before the trackers attack he and his family. As he moves more closely to the trackers’ campfire, one of the trackers who is keeping watch aims his gun toward where he has heard a cry in the night and fires his gun; Kino jumps on the tracker and kills him with his knife. Kino grabs the dead tracker’s gun and shoots a second tracker. The third tracker scrambles away from Kino, but Kino shoots and kills this tracker as well. He then notices how quiet the night is. This quiet is punctured by the sounds of Juana’s crying; Coyotito has been killed by the watcher’s gunfire.

Later that day late in the afternoon, Kino and Juana walk side by side into town, with Juana carrying a bundle that contains the dead Coyotito. People watch in silence as the two walk silently, as in a trance. Kino and Juana reach the beach, where Kino offers the pearl to Juana to throw it in the sea. She refuses, telling Kino that he should be the one. He cocks his arm and throws the pearl as far out into the sea as he can; it sinks to the sandy bottom among the water plants.

Plot Summary
Kino, a young pearl diver in La Paz, enjoys his simple life until the day his son, Coyotito, is stung by a scorpion. The wealthy town doctor will not treat the baby because Kino cannot pay the doctor's fee, so Kino and his wife, Juana, are left only to hope their child is saved. That day Kino goes diving, and finds a great pearl, the Pearl of the World, and knows he is suddenly a wealthy man. The word travels quickly about the pearl and many in the town begin to plot ways to steal it.

While the townspeople plot against Kino, he dreams of marrying Juana in a church, buying a rifle, and sending Coyotito to school so that he can learn to read. Kino believes that an education will free his son from the poverty and ignorance that have oppressed their people for more than four hundred years.

The doctor comes to treat Coyotito once he learns of Kino's pearl, and although the baby is healed by Juana's remedy, the doctor takes advantage of Kino's ignorance. He convinces Kino that the child is still ill and will die without the care of a doctor. The doctor then manipulates Kino into unwittingly revealing where he has hidden the great pearl. Kino moves the pearl when the doctor leaves. That night, an intruder comes into Kino's hut and roots around near the spot where Kino had first buried the pearl.

The next day, Kino tries to sell the pearl in town. The pearl buyers have already planned to convince Kino that the great pearl he has found is worth very little because it is too large. This way they can purchase the pearl for a low price. But when the buyers try to cheat Kino, he refuses to sell the pearl and plans to travel to another city to sell at a fair price. His brother, Tom Juan, feels Kino's plan is foolish because it defies his entire way of life and puts his family in danger. Kino is now on his own, although he doesn't know it yet.

Juana warns Kino that the pearl is evil and will destroy his family, but he refuses to throw it away because it is his one chance to provide a different life for his family. That night, Juana takes the pearl and tries to throw it into the sea, but Kino stops her and beats her. On his way back to their hut, Kino is attacked and he kills the man in self-defense. Juana goes to gather their things and escape and finds the floor of their hut completely dug up. While she's inside the hut getting the baby, someone lights it on fire.

Kino, Juana, and Coyotito hide with Kino's brother for a day before embarking on their journey to a new city under the cover of darkness. While they are resting during the day, Kino discovers that there are trackers following them. He knows that they will steal the pearl and kill his family if they catch them. To escape, Kino and Juana take the baby and run to the mountains where they hide in a cave at nightfall. The trackers camp just below the ridge where they are hiding. Kino sneaks down in the night to kill the trackers, but before he can attack them, Coyotito cries out. The trackers, thinking it's a coyote, shoot at the dark cave where Juana and Coyotito are hiding. As the shot is fired, Kino springs on the trackers and kills them all. Unfortunately, Coyotito was killed by the first gunshot, and Kino's journey with the pearl ends in tragedy.

Realizing that the pearl is cursed and has destroyed his family (as Juana forewarned), Kino and Juana return to La Paz and throw the cursed pearl into the sea.

Major Characters
Kino: Kino is a young pearl diver who feels his obligation to his family very strongly. He knows his place as the provider and works hard to supply for his family's needs. He finds The Pearl of the World and expects to use it to pay for his son, Coyotito's, education. He also dreams that with the pearl he can buy his family new clothes and a rifle for himself, but the pearl only brings him trouble. His neighbors turn on him and try to steal the pearl from him and he has to leave his home after killing an attacker. Although it was self-defense, he knows that his family is in danger. He and Juana run away with Coyotito, but trackers follow them. He knows that they are after the pearl and that they will catch his family, so he sneaks into their camp and kills them all. In the shooting that goes on in the camp, a stray bullet kills his son. He and Juana return to La Paz with their dead child and they throw the pearl into the sea.

Juana: Juana is Kino's strong, quiet wife who takes care of her family. The rhythm of her motions is the Song of Family for Kino. She obeys her husband in most instances, but when she realizes that the pearl is only bringing trouble to her family, she urges him to throw it away. He refuses, and while he sleeps, she takes the pearl to the beach and is about to throw it in, when Kino catches her and beats her for taking the pearl. She accompanies her husband out of La Paz and urges him again to get rid of the cursed pearl, but he won't until their son, Coyotito, is accidentally shot by a tracker's rifle. After the tragedy, Kino and Juana walk side by side back to La Paz and throw the pearl into the sea together.

Coyotito: Coyotito is Kino and Juana's first-born child who is stung by a scorpion and needs medical treatment. Unfortunately, the local doctor will not treat the baby because Kino has no money. When the doctor hears about Kino's pearl, he comes to treat Coyotito. Kino expects that the pearl will purchase great things for his family, the greatest being an education for his son so that they cannot be cheated by the merchants and the other upper class citizens of La Paz who have taken advantage of Kino's people for four hundred years. But that great dream is destroyed when Coyotito is killed by a gunshot while Kino is killing the trackers who are following them. Kino killed them to protect his family and the pearl and the dream of the future that the pearl provided, but his dream and his family are destroyed when Coyotito dies. Kino and Juana return to La Paz with Coyotito's small body and throw the pearl into the sea.

Minor Characters
Juan Tomas: Juan Tomas is Kino's older brother. Juan gives Kino advice about selling the pearl. He walks beside Kino when they travel to the pearl buyers. Later, he warns his brother that by refusing to sell his pearl to the buyers, Kino is defying their way of life and putting his family in danger. When Kino seeks refuge with Juan Tomas, he is granted it. Juan gathers supplies that Kino and Juana will need on their journey and protects his brother's family until they depart.

Apolonia: Apolonia is Juan Tomas' wife. She follows her husband as he escorts Kino into town to sell the pearl, and she raises a formal mourning when Kino's hut burns and no sign of them is found.

Doctor: The doctor is wealthier than the peasants of La Paz, and he scoffs at natives, like Kino and Juana, who seek his treatment without money. When Kino and Juana brought Coyotito to the doctor to heal the scorpion sting, he refused them. Later, when he heard that Kino had found the Pearl of the World, he came to their hut to treat the baby. He pretended not to know that Kino had found a great pearl, so that when Kino talked about it, he could watch to see if his eyes went to the spot where it was buried in the hut. Sure enough, Kino gave its location away and that night someone came to his hut to dig out the pearl, but Kino had since moved it. Kino stabbed at the intruder, but did not make a fatal swing and the intruder (possibly the doctor) hit him in the head and then escaped.

Trackers: Two trackers and a man with a rifle followed Kino and Juana out of La Paz. Kino saw them coming while Juana hid in the woods. When Kino realized that they were tracking him, he and Juana hurried up to the smooth rocks of the mountains so that they would be harder to follow. When night fell, the trackers were just below the cave in which Kino, Juana, and Coyotito were hiding. Kino sneaked down the sheer face of the mountain and into their camp and killed them all. In the chaos, Coyotito was shot and killed.

The Priest: The priest was the local religious authority, and when he learned of Kino's pearl, he hoped that he could convince Kino to use his wealth for the good of the church. He made a visit to Kino's hut that night to talk to Kino about his duty to give part of his wealth to God, who had ultimately created the pearl.

The Buyers: The pearl buyers of the town acted as if they worked for themselves, but they were actually all controlled by one man. The pretense of competition among the pearl buyers made it easier to cheat the Indians out of their pearls. By putting on a show of competing over the best price, the man in charge and the buyers were adept at ripping off the natives. When they told Kino that his great pearl was worth only a thousand pesos, he got angry and left to take the pearl to the capital. That night, Kino's family was attacked in their home, and he believed that the buyers were responsible for it.

The Scarlet Letter

2009-06-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Plot Overview

The Scarlet Letter opens with a long preamble about how the book came to be written. The nameless narrator was the surveyor of the customhouse in Salem, Massachusetts. In the customhouse's attic, he discovered a number of documents, among them a manuscript that was bundled with a scarlet, gold-embroidered patch of cloth in the shape of an “A.” The manuscript, the work of a past surveyor, detailed events that occurred some two hundred years before the narrator's time. When the narrator lost his customs post, he decided to write a fictional account of the events recorded in the manuscript. The Scarlet Letter is the final product.

The story begins in seventeenth-century Boston, then a Puritan settlement. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter “A” on her breast. A man in the crowd tells an elderly onlooker that Hester is being punished for adultery. Hester's husband, a scholar much older than she is, sent her ahead to America, but he never arrived in Boston. The consensus is that he has been lost at sea. While waiting for her husband, Hester has apparently had an affair, as she has given birth to a child. She will not reveal her lover's identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. On this day Hester is led to the town scaffold and harangued by the town fathers, but she again refuses to identify her child's father.

The elderly onlooker is Hester's missing husband, who is now practicing medicine and calling himself Roger Chillingworth. He settles in Boston, intent on revenge. He reveals his true identity to no one but Hester, whom he has sworn to secrecy. Several years pass. Hester supports herself by working as a seamstress, and Pearl grows into a willful, impish child. Shunned by the community, they live in a small cottage on the outskirts of Boston. Community officials attempt to take Pearl away from Hester, but, with the help of Arthur Dimmesdale, a young and eloquent minister, the mother and daughter manage to stay together. Dimmesdale, however, appears to be wasting away and suffers from mysterious heart trouble, seemingly caused by psychological distress. Chillingworth attaches himself to the ailing minister and eventually moves in with him so that he can provide his patient with round-the-clock care. Chillingworth also suspects that there may be a connection between the minister's torments and Hester's secret, and he begins to test Dimmesdale to see what he can learn. One afternoon, while the minister sleeps, Chillingworth discovers a mark on the man's breast (the details of which are kept from the reader), which convinces him that his suspicions are correct.

Dimmesdale's psychological anguish deepens, and he invents new tortures for himself. In the meantime, Hester's charitable deeds and quiet humility have earned her a reprieve from the scorn of the community. One night, when Pearl is about seven years old, she and her mother are returning home from a visit to a deathbed when they encounter Dimmesdale atop the town scaffold, trying to punish himself for his sins. Hester and Pearl join him, and the three link hands. Dimmesdale refuses Pearl's request that he acknowledge her publicly the next day, and a meteor marks a dull red “A” in the night sky. Hester can see that the minister's condition is worsening, and she resolves to intervene. She goes to Chillingworth and asks him to stop adding to Dimmesdale's self-torment. Chillingworth refuses.

Hester arranges an encounter with Dimmesdale in the forest because she is aware that Chillingworth has probably guessed that she plans to reveal his identity to Dimmesdale. The former lovers decide to flee to Europe, where they can live with Pearl as a family. They will take a ship sailing from Boston in four days. Both feel a sense of release, and Hester removes her scarlet letter and lets down her hair. Pearl, playing nearby, does not recognize her mother without the letter. The day before the ship is to sail, the townspeople gather for a holiday and Dimmesdale preaches his most eloquent sermon ever. Meanwhile, Hester has learned that Chillingworth knows of their plan and has booked passage on the same ship. Dimmesdale, leaving the church after his sermon, sees Hester and Pearl standing before the town scaffold. He impulsively mounts the scaffold with his lover and his daughter, and confesses publicly, exposing a scarlet letter seared into the flesh of his chest. He falls dead, as Pearl kisses him.

Frustrated in his revenge, Chillingworth dies a year later. Hester and Pearl leave Boston, and no one knows what has happened to them. Many years later, Hester returns alone, still wearing the scarlet letter, to live in her old cottage and resume her charitable work. She receives occasional letters from Pearl, who has married a European aristocrat and established a family of her own. When Hester dies, she is buried next to Dimmesdale. The two share a single tombstone, which bears a scarlet “A.”

Character List

Hester Prynne - Hester is the book's protagonist and the wearer of the scarlet letter that gives the book its title. The letter, a patch of fabric in the shape of an “A,” signifies that Hester is an “adulterer.” As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live but never followed her. While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl. Hester is passionate but also strong—she endures years of shame and scorn. She equals both her husband and her lover in her intelligence and thoughtfulness. Her alienation puts her in the position to make acute observations about her community, particularly about its treatment of women.

Pearl - Hester's illegitimate daughter Pearl is a young girl with a moody, mischievous spirit and an ability to perceive things that others do not. For example, she quickly discerns the truth about her mother and Dimmesdale. The townspeople say that she barely seems human and spread rumors that her unknown father is actually the Devil. She is wise far beyond her years, frequently engaging in ironic play having to do with her mother's scarlet letter.

Roger Chillingworth - “Roger Chillingworth” is actually Hester's husband in disguise. He is much older than she is and had sent her to America while he settled his affairs in Europe. Because he is captured by Native Americans, he arrives in Boston belatedly and finds Hester and her illegitimate child being displayed on the scaffold. He lusts for revenge, and thus decides to stay in Boston despite his wife's betrayal and disgrace. He is a scholar and uses his knowledge to disguise himself as a doctor, intent on discovering and tormenting Hester's anonymous lover. Chillingworth is self-absorbed and both physically and psychologically monstrous. His single-minded pursuit of retribution reveals him to be the most malevolent character in the novel.

Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale - Dimmesdale is a young man who achieved fame in England as a theologian and then emigrated to America. In a moment of weakness, he and Hester became lovers. Although he will not confess it publicly, he is the father of her child. He deals with his guilt by tormenting himself physically and psychologically, developing a heart condition as a result. Dimmesdale is an intelligent and emotional man, and his sermons are thus masterpieces of eloquence and persuasiveness. His commitments to his congregation are in constant conflict with his feelings of sinfulness and need to confess.

Governor Bellingham - Governor Bellingham is a wealthy, elderly gentleman who spends much of his time consulting with the other town fathers. Despite his role as governor of a fledgling American society, he very much resembles a traditional English aristocrat. Bellingham tends to strictly adhere to the rules, but he is easily swayed by Dimmesdale's eloquence. He remains blind to the misbehaviors taking place in his own house: his sister, Mistress Hibbins, is a witch.

Mistress Hibbins - Mistress Hibbins is a widow who lives with her brother, Governor Bellingham, in a luxurious mansion. She is commonly known to be a witch who ventures into the forest at night to ride with the “Black Man.” Her appearances at public occasions remind the reader of the hypocrisy and hidden evil in Puritan society.

Reverend Mr. John Wilson - Boston's elder clergyman, Reverend Wilson is scholarly yet grandfatherly. He is a stereotypical Puritan father, a literary version of the stiff, starkly painted portraits of American patriarchs. Like Governor Bellingham, Wilson follows the community's rules strictly but can be swayed by Dimmesdale's eloquence. Unlike Dimmesdale, his junior colleague, Wilson preaches hellfire and damnation and advocates harsh punishment of sinners.

Narrator - The unnamed narrator works as the surveyor of the Salem Custom House some two hundred years after the novel's events take place. He discovers an old manuscript in the building's attic that tells the story of Hester Prynne; when he loses his job, he decides to write a fictional treatment of the narrative. The narrator is a rather high-strung man, whose Puritan ancestry makes him feel guilty about his writing career. He writes because he is interested in American history and because he believes that America needs to better understand its religious and moral heritage.

Analysis of Major Characters

Hester Prynne

Although The Scarlet Letter is about Hester Prynne, the book is not so much a consideration of her innate character as it is an examination of the forces that shape her and the transformations those forces effect. We know very little about Hester prior to her affair with Dimmesdale and her resultant public shaming. We read that she married Chillingworth although she did not love him, but we never fully understand why. The early chapters of the book suggest that, prior to her marriage, Hester was a strong-willed and impetuous young woman—she remembers her parents as loving guides who frequently had to restrain her incautious behavior. The fact that she has an affair also suggests that she once had a passionate nature.

But it is what happens after Hester's affair that makes her into the woman with whom the reader is familiar. Shamed and alienated from the rest of the community, Hester becomes contemplative. She speculates on human nature, social organization, and larger moral questions. Hester's tribulations also lead her to be stoic and a freethinker. Although the narrator pretends to disapprove of Hester's independent philosophizing, his tone indicates that he secretly admires her independence and her ideas.

Hester also becomes a kind of compassionate maternal figure as a result of her experiences. Hester moderates her tendency to be rash, for she knows that such behavior could cause her to lose her daughter, Pearl. Hester is also maternal with respect to society: she cares for the poor and brings them food and clothing. By the novel's end, Hester has become a protofeminist mother figure to the women of the community. The shame attached to her scarlet letter is long gone. Women recognize that her punishment stemmed in part from the town fathers' sexism, and they come to Hester seeking shelter from the sexist forces under which they themselves suffer. Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable, but not necessarily extraordinary woman. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.

Roger Chillingworth

As his name suggests, Roger Chillingworth is a man deficient in human warmth. His twisted, stooped, deformed shoulders mirror his distorted soul. From what the reader is told of his early years with Hester, he was a difficult husband. He ignored his wife for much of the time, yet expected her to nourish his soul with affection when he did condescend to spend time with her. Chillingworth's decision to assume the identity of a “leech,” or doctor, is fitting. Unable to engage in equitable relationships with those around him, he feeds on the vitality of others as a way of energizing his own projects. Chillingworth's death is a result of the nature of his character. After Dimmesdale dies, Chillingworth no longer has a victim. Similarly, Dimmesdale's revelation that he is Pearl's father removes Hester from the old man's clutches. Having lost the objects of his revenge, the leech has no choice but to die.

Ultimately, Chillingworth represents true evil. He is associated with secular and sometimes illicit forms of knowledge, as his chemical experiments and medical practices occasionally verge on witchcraft and murder. He is interested in revenge, not justice, and he seeks the deliberate destruction of others rather than a redress of wrongs. His desire to hurt others stands in contrast to Hester and Dimmesdale's sin, which had love, not hate, as its intent. Any harm that may have come from the young lovers' deed was unanticipated and inadvertent, whereas Chillingworth reaps deliberate harm.

Arthur Dimmesdale

Arthur Dimmesdale, like Hester Prynne, is an individual whose identity owes more to external circumstances than to his innate nature. The reader is told that Dimmesdale was a scholar of some renown at Oxford University. His past suggests that he is probably somewhat aloof, the kind of man who would not have much natural sympathy for ordinary men and women. However, Dimmesdale has an unusually active conscience. The fact that Hester takes all of the blame for their shared sin goads his conscience, and his resultant mental anguish and physical weakness open up his mind and allow him to empathize with others. Consequently, he becomes an eloquent and emotionally powerful speaker and a compassionate leader, and his congregation is able to receive meaningful spiritual guidance from him.

Ironically, the townspeople do not believe Dimmesdale's protestations of sinfulness. Given his background and his penchant for rhetorical speech, Dimmesdale's congregation generally interprets his sermons allegorically rather than as expressions of any personal guilt. This drives Dimmesdale to further internalize his guilt and self-punishment and leads to still more deterioration in his physical and spiritual condition. The town's idolization of him reaches new heights after his Election Day sermon, which is his last. In his death, Dimmesdale becomes even more of an icon than he was in life. Many believe his confession was a symbolic act, while others believe Dimmesdale's fate was an example of divine judgment.

Pearl

Hester's daughter, Pearl, functions primarily as a symbol. She is quite young during most of the events of this novel—when Dimmesdale dies she is only seven years old—and her real importance lies in her ability to provoke the adult characters in the book. She asks them pointed questions and draws their attention, and the reader's, to the denied or overlooked truths of the adult world. In general, children in The Scarlet Letter are portrayed as more perceptive and more honest than adults, and Pearl is the most perceptive of them all.

Pearl makes us constantly aware of her mother's scarlet letter and of the society that produced it. From an early age, she fixates on the emblem. Pearl's innocent, or perhaps intuitive, comments about the letter raise crucial questions about its meaning. Similarly, she inquires about the relationships between those around her—most important, the relationship between Hester and Dimmesdale—and offers perceptive critiques of them. Pearl provides the text's harshest, and most penetrating, judgment of Dimmesdale's failure to admit to his adultery. Once her father's identity is revealed, Pearl is no longer needed in this symbolic capacity; at Dimmesdale's death she becomes fully “human,” leaving behind her otherworldliness and her preternatural vision.

Themes, Motifs & Symbols

Themes

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

Sin, Knowledge, and the Human Condition

Sin and knowledge are linked in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The Bible begins with the story of Adam and Eve, who were expelled from the Garden of Eden for eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a result of their knowledge, Adam and Eve are made aware of their humanness, that which separates them from the divine and from other creatures. Once expelled from the Garden of Eden, they are forced to toil and to procreate—two “labors” that seem to define the human condition. The experience of Hester and Dimmesdale recalls the story of Adam and Eve because, in both cases, sin results in expulsion and suffering. But it also results in knowledge—specifically, in knowledge of what it means to be human. For Hester, the scarlet letter functions as “her passport into regions where other women dared not tread,” leading her to “speculate” about her society and herself more “boldly” than anyone else in New England. As for Dimmesdale, the “burden” of his sin gives him “sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind, so that his heart vibrate[s] in unison with theirs.” His eloquent and powerful sermons derive from this sense of empathy. Hester and Dimmesdale contemplate their own sinfulness on a daily basis and try to reconcile it with their lived experiences. The Puritan elders, on the other hand, insist on seeing earthly experience as merely an obstacle on the path to heaven. Thus, they view sin as a threat to the community that should be punished and suppressed. Their answer to Hester's sin is to ostracize her. Yet, Puritan society is stagnant, while Hester and Dimmesdale's experience shows that a state of sinfulness can lead to personal growth, sympathy, and understanding of others. Paradoxically, these qualities are shown to be incompatible with a state of purity.

The Nature of Evil

The characters in the novel frequently debate the identity of the “Black Man,” the embodiment of evil. Over the course of the novel, the “Black Man” is associated with Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Mistress Hibbins, and little Pearl is thought by some to be the Devil's child. The characters also try to root out the causes of evil: did Chillingworth's selfishness in marrying Hester force her to the “evil” she committed in Dimmesdale's arms? Is Hester and Dimmesdale's deed responsible for Chillingworth's transformation into a malevolent being? This confusion over the nature and causes of evil reveals the problems with the Puritan conception of sin. The book argues that true evil arises from the close relationship between hate and love. As the narrator points out in the novel's concluding chapter, both emotions depend upon “a high degree of intimacy and heart-knowledge; each renders one individual dependent . . . upon another.” Evil is not found in Hester and Dimmesdale's lovemaking, nor even in the cruel ignorance of the Puritan fathers. Evil, in its most poisonous form, is found in the carefully plotted and precisely aimed revenge of Chillingworth, whose love has been perverted. Perhaps Pearl is not entirely wrong when she thinks Dimmesdale is the “Black Man,” because her father, too, has perverted his love. Dimmesdale, who should love Pearl, will not even publicly acknowledge her. His cruel denial of love to his own child may be seen as further perpetrating evil.

Identity and Society

After Hester is publicly shamed and forced by the people of Boston to wear a badge of humiliation, her unwillingness to leave the town may seem puzzling. She is not physically imprisoned, and leaving the Massachusetts Bay Colony would allow her to remove the scarlet letter and resume a normal life. Surprisingly, Hester reacts with dismay when Chillingworth tells her that the town fathers are considering letting her remove the letter. Hester's behavior is premised on her desire to determine her own identity rather than to allow others to determine it for her. To her, running away or removing the letter would be an acknowledgment of society's power over her: she would be admitting that the letter is a mark of shame and something from which she desires to escape. Instead, Hester stays, refiguring the scarlet letter as a symbol of her own experiences and character. Her past sin is a part of who she is; to pretend that it never happened would mean denying a part of herself. Thus, Hester very determinedly integrates her sin into her life.

Dimmesdale also struggles against a socially determined identity. As the community's minister, he is more symbol than human being. Except for Chillingworth, those around the minister willfully ignore his obvious anguish, misinterpreting it as holiness. Unfortunately, Dimmesdale never fully recognizes the truth of what Hester has learned: that individuality and strength are gained by quiet self-assertion and by a reconfiguration, not a rejection, of one's assigned identity.

Motifs

Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text's major themes.

Civilization versus the Wilderness

In The Scarlet Letter, the town and the surrounding forest represent opposing behavioral systems. The town represents civilization, a rule-bound space where everything one does is on display and where transgressions are quickly punished. The forest, on the other hand, is a space of natural rather than human authority. In the forest, society's rules do not apply, and alternate identities can be assumed. While this allows for misbehavior— Mistress Hibbins's midnight rides, for example—it also permits greater honesty and an escape from the repression of Boston. When Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the woods, for a few moments, they become happy young lovers once again. Hester's cottage, which, significantly, is located on the outskirts of town and at the edge of the forest, embodies both orders. It is her place of exile, which ties it to the authoritarian town, but because it lies apart from the settlement, it is a place where she can create for herself a life of relative peace.

Night versus Day

By emphasizing the alternation between sunlight and darkness, the novel organizes the plot's events into two categories: those which are socially acceptable, and those which must take place covertly. Daylight exposes an individual's activities and makes him or her vulnerable to punishment. Night, on the other hand, conceals and enables activities that would not be possible or tolerated during the day—for instance, Dimmesdale's encounter with Hester and Pearl on the scaffold. These notions of visibility versus concealment are linked to two of the book's larger themes—the themes of inner versus socially assigned identity and of outer appearances versus internal states. Night is the time when inner natures can manifest themselves. During the day, interiority is once again hidden from public view, and secrets remain secrets.

Evocative Names

The names in this novel often seem to beg to be interpreted allegorically. Chillingworth is cold and inhuman and thus brings a “chill” to Hester's and Dimmesdale's lives. “Prynne” rhymes with “sin,” while “Dimmesdale” suggests “dimness”—weakness, indeterminacy, lack of insight, and lack of will, all of which characterize the young minister. The name “Pearl” evokes a biblical allegorical device—the “pearl of great price” that is salvation. This system of naming lends a profundity to the story, linking it to other allegorical works of literature such as Pilgrim's Progress and to portions of the Bible. It also aligns the novel with popular forms of narrative such as fairy tales.

Symbols

Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

The Scarlet Letter

The scarlet letter is meant to be a symbol of shame, but instead it becomes a powerful symbol of identity to Hester. The letter's meaning shifts as time passes. Originally intended to mark Hester as an adulterer, the “A” eventually comes to stand for “Able.” Finally, it becomes indeterminate: the Native Americans who come to watch the Election Day pageant think it marks her as a person of importance and status. Like Pearl, the letter functions as a physical reminder of Hester's affair with Dimmesdale. But, compared with a human child, the letter seems insignificant, and thus helps to point out the ultimate meaninglessness of the community's system of judgment and punishment. The child has been sent from God, or at least from nature, but the letter is merely a human contrivance. Additionally, the instability of the letter's apparent meaning calls into question society's ability to use symbols for ideological reinforcement. More often than not, a symbol becomes a focal point for critical analysis and debate.

The Meteor

As Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl in Chapter XII, a meteor traces out an “A” in the night sky. To Dimmesdale, the meteor implies that he should wear a mark of shame just as Hester does. The meteor is interpreted differently by the rest of the community, which thinks that it stands for “Angel” and marks Governor Winthrop's entry into heaven. But “Angel” is an awkward reading of the symbol. The Puritans commonly looked to symbols to confirm divine sentiments. In this narrative, however, symbols are taken to mean what the beholder wants them to mean. The incident with the meteor obviously highlights and exemplifies two different uses of symbols: Puritan and literary.

Pearl

Although Pearl is a complex character, her primary function within the novel is as a symbol. Pearl is a sort of living version of her mother's scarlet letter. She is the physical consequence of sexual sin and the indicator of a transgression. Yet, even as a reminder of Hester's “sin,” Pearl is more than a mere punishment to her mother: she is also a blessing. She represents not only “sin” but also the vital spirit and passion that engendered that sin. Thus, Pearl's existence gives her mother reason to live, bolstering her spirits when she is tempted to give up. It is only after Dimmesdale is revealed to be Pearl's father that Pearl can become fully “human.” Until then, she functions in a symbolic capacity as the reminder of an unsolved mystery.

The Rosebush Next to the Prison Door

The narrator chooses to begin his story with the image of the rosebush beside the prison door. The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities. Yet, paradoxically, it also symbolizes the futility of symbolic interpretation: the narrator mentions various significances that the rosebush might have, never affirming or denying them, never privileging one over the others.

Important Quotations Explained

1. “A writer of story-books! What kind of a business in life,—what mode of glorifying God, or being serviceable to mankind in his day and generation,—may that be? Why, the degenerate fellow might as well have been a fiddler!” Such are the compliments bandied between my great-grandsires and myself, across the gulf of time! And yet, let them scorn me as they will, strong traits of their nature have intertwined themselves with mine.

2. “Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. . . . It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!”
“Nor ever will, my child, I hope,” said Hester.
“And why not, mother?” asked Pearl, stopping short. . . . “Will it not come of its own accord, when I am a woman grown?”

3. But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed, from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation as was altogether foreign to the clergyman. She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness. . . . The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers,—stern and wild ones,—and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.

4. “Mother,” said [Pearl], “was that the same minister that kissed me by the brook?”
“Hold thy peace, dear little Pearl!” whispered her mother. “We must not always talk in the market-place of what happens to us in the forest.”

5. But there was a more real life for Hester Prynne here, in New England, than in that unknown region where Pearl had found a home. Here had been her sin; here, her sorrow; and here was yet to be her penitence. She had returned, therefore, and resumed,—of her own free will, for not the sternest magistrate of that iron period would have imposed it,—resumed the symbol of which we have related so dark a tale. Never afterwards did it quit her bosom. But . . . the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world's scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, and yet with reverence, too.

This passage, which appears in the novel's final chapter, concludes the book's examination of the theme of individual identity in the face of social judgments. After many years' absence, Hester has just returned to her former home. She resumes wearing the scarlet letter because her past is an important part of her identity; it is not something that should be erased or denied because someone else has decided it is shameful. What Hester undergoes is more akin to reconciliation than penitence. She creates a life in which the scarlet letter is a symbol of adversity overcome and of knowledge gained rather than a sign of failure or condemnation. She assumes control of her own identity, and in so doing she becomes an example for others. She is not, however, the example of sin that she was once intended to be. Rather, she is an example of redemption and self-empowerment.

Key Facts

full title · The Scarlet Letter

author · Nathaniel Hawthorne

type of work · Novel

genre · Symbolic; semi-allegorical; historical fiction; romance (in the sense that it rejects realism in favor of symbols and ideas)

language · English

time and place written · Salem and Concord, Massachusetts; late 1840s

date of first publication · 1850

publisher · Ticknor, Reed, and Fields

narrator · The narrator is an unnamed customhouse surveyor who writes some two hundred years after the events he describes took place. He has much in common with Hawthorne but should not be taken as a direct mouthpiece for the author's opinions.

point of view · The narrator is omniscient, because he analyzes the characters and tells the story in a way that shows that he knows more about the characters than they know about themselves. Yet, he is also a subjective narrator, because he voices his own interpretations and opinions of things. He is clearly sympathetic to Hester and Dimmesdale.

tone · Varies—contemplative and somewhat bitter in the introduction; thoughtful, fairly straightforward, yet occasionally tinged with irony in the body of the narrative

tense · The narrator employs the past tense to recount events that happened some two hundred years before his time, but he occasionally uses the present tense when he addresses his audience.

setting (time) · Middle of the seventeenth century

setting (place) · Boston, Massachusetts

protagonist · Hester Prynne

major conflict · Her husband having inexplicably failed to join her in Boston following their emigration from Europe, Hester Prynne engages in an extramarital affair with Arthur Dimmesdale. When she gives birth to a child, Hester invokes the condemnation of her community—a condemnation they manifest by forcing her to wear a letter “A” for “adulteror”—as well as the vengeful wrath of her husband, who has appeared just in time to witness her public shaming.

rising action · Dimmesdale stands by in silence as Hester suffers for the “sin” he helped to commit, though his conscience plagues him and affects his health. Hester's husband, Chillingworth, hides his true identity and, posing as a doctor to the ailing minister, tests his suspicions that Dimmesdale is the father of his wife's child, effectively exacerbating Dimmesdale's feelings of shame and thus reaping revenge.

climax · There are at least two points in The Scarlet Letter that could be identified as the book's “climax.” The first is in Chapter XII, at the exact center of the book. As Dimmesdale watches a meteor trace a letter “A” in the sky, he confronts his role in Hester's sin and realizes that he can no longer deny his deed and its consequences. The key characters confront one another when Hester and Pearl join Dimmesdale in an “electric chain” as he holds his vigil on the marketplace scaffold, the location of Hester's original public shaming. Chillingworth appears in this scene as well. The other climactic scene occurs in Chapter XXIII, at the end of the book. Here, the characters' secrets are publicly exposed and their fates sealed. Dimmesdale, Hester, and Chillingworth not only acknowledge their secrets to themselves and to each other; they push these revelations to such extremes that they all must leave the community in one way or another.

falling action · Depending on one's interpretation of which scene constitutes the book's “climax,” the falling action is either the course of events that follow Chapter XII or the final reports on Hester's and Pearl's lives after the deaths of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth.

themes · Sin, experience, and the human condition; the nature of evil; identity and society

motifs · Civilization versus the wilderness; night versus day; evocative names

symbols · The scarlet letter; the town scaffold; the meteor; Pearl; the rosebush next to the prison door

foreshadowing · Foreshadowing is minimal, because the symbols tend to coincide temporally with events, enriching their meaning rather than anticipating their occurrence.

Phonology Post Test

2009-06-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

Functional: changing the meaning, the are voicing, phonemically difference, contrast in the same environment, can substitute, they are phonemes

Non Functional: not change, aspirated sound, phonetically difference, doesn’t contrast, can’t substitute, allophone (variation of sounds)

Functional differences: the differences between sounds which are capable of changing the meaning of an utterances
P’ and b’ is a functional difference because capable in changing the meaning
The difference between t’ and t is the presence or absence of aspiration
T’ip and tip doesn’t change the meaning if only pronounce
Tip would sound odd, because we aspirated initial voiceless stops, but no difference in meaning results
Presence or absence of aspiration doesn’t change the meaning of an utterance
Presence or absence of aspiration is not a functional difference in English
A non functional difference is not sufficient to change the meaning of an utterance
Non functional difference is a difference between speech sounds which doesn’t change the meaning of an utterance
P’ and b’ differ between the presence or absence of voicing
P’in with a voiceless bilabial stops, b’in with a voice bilabial stop, the meaning is changing
The presence or absence of voicing is a functional difference in English
A substitution of one for the other in the same environment result in a change of meaning is functional, ex: time and dine
Contrast in the same environment is functional difference
P and b is in the same environment, pin and bin, in initial
P and b is in the same environment, tap and tab, in final position
Aspirated stops occur in word - initial position
Functional difference = contrast = result in a change of meaning
Phonemics: the study of contrasting speech sounds
Phonemics: the study and classification of the phonemes of a language
Phonemics considers only the functional differences among speech sounds
Phonetics considers all perceptible (perceive) differences among speech sounds
Phonetics symbol [p] and [p’] are phonetically different because not capable of changing meaning and not two different phonemes because they don’t contrast in the same environment
Phonemics symbol is enclosed within slanted lines /p/
/p/ and /b/ are two difference phonemes or phonemically difference in voicing
Phonemes: the sounds which contrast in the same environment and the smallest or minimal, unit of sound capable of making a difference in meaning

Minimal pairs: pairs of utterances which differ fro each other by only one phoneme
Phonetic inventory: the inventory of all perceptible different sounds of a language
Phonemic inventory: the inventory of all contrasting sounds of a language
/p/ /b/ bilabial plosive
/t/ /d/ apico alveolar plosive
/k/ /g/ dorso velar plosive
/f/ /v/ labio dental fricative
/o/ /x/ dental fricative
/s/ /z/ apico alveolar fricative

English Poetry Mid

2009-06-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

1. Mature of Poetry
• Sense
• Feeling and tone: nada yg dihasilkan dari perasaan pengarang, perasaan yg dihasilkan pembaca karena membaca puisi

2. Method of Poetry
a) Diction

b) Imagery, selalu menjurus, mengundang perasaan org lain u/ menggambarkan sesuatu berdasarkan perasaan kita

c) Figurative language

1. gaya bahasa menurut struktur kalimatnya
• klimaks
• antiklimaks
• parallelism, 2 kalimat yg artinya sama tpi sometimes kata2 tidak sama
• antitesis, berlawanan tpi tidak mempertentangkan
• repitisi

2. gaya bahasa retoris
• Alliteration: mengulang konsonan yg sama dalam 1 baris

• Asonansi: mengulang bunyi vocal yg sama

• Inverse
• Emphasized
3. gaya bahasa kias

• Euphuism: memakai kata2 dgn arti baik dgn tujuan baik, berupa ungkapan2 yg tidak menyinggung siapapun coz bahasa nya halus

• Litotes: pikiran yg dinyatakan dgn lawan katanya atau merendahkan diri

• Hyperbola: mengandung pernyataan yg berlebihan

• Paradoks: mengandung pertentangan dgn fakta2 yg ada

• Sinekdok: menggunakan sebagian dari sesuatu u/ menyatakan keseluruhan

• Apostrophe: cara u/ menyapa someone dalam puisi, ex: Shakespeare You are…

• Simile: membandingkan sesuatu hal, ciri2: “like a thunderbolt”

• Metaphor: pembanding tanpa media, ex: “mountain walls”

d) Denotation and connotation
e) Rhythm and rhyme
f) Subject Matter: hal2 yg dibicarakan, biasanya ditulis berulang2

The Sick Rose
By William Blake

O Rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

Analysis: Thou, archaic word yg digunakan u/ menghormati, g.b apostrophe, invisible means tidak bisa dilihat dgn mata bugil = virus or disease, storm means problem, thy bed = your bed, crimson = merah ungu/sukacita/hyperbola, dark secret love = saling menyakiti/ g.b emphasized, symbolized: bad women/ mawar yg hampir mati ato rontok/tidak ada harapan

Selfisness: rose and the virus, storm and life destroy
Possesiveness: the invisible worm that flies in the night
Jealousy: the writer ‘bout sick rose, “O rose thou art sick”
Klimaks: line 1 to 4, the tone
Paralel: crimson joy and dark secret love
Antitesis: “in the howling storm” and “has found thy bed”
Personification: sick, thou, thy, his, life
Subject Matter: rose, thou, thy

Theme: prostitution = flies in the night, adultery = dark secret love, invisible

A White Rose
By John Boyle

The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
Oh, the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.

But I send you a cream-white rose bud
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.

Analysis: g.b antitesis = passion n love
Red rose whispers: describe a symbol of passion, strong willingness
White rose breathes: same voice, kadarnya smooth hampir soundless
Passion n love: the different: love stronger n stronger become passion
Kontradiktif: red rose n white rose
Parallelism: whispers n breathes, whispers of passion n has a kiss of desire on the lips, the white rose is a dove with purest n sweetest
Metaphor: “the red rose is…” n “the white rose is…”
Antithesis: falcon n dove (strenght)
Rose bud = awet, berkualitas
Flush: feeling, whether shy or love
• The white rose can be a symbol of passion because love when stronger n stronger become passion
• The speaker send rose bud because have more quality n long lasting love

A Red, Red Rose
By Robert Burns

O, my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June.
O, my Luve's like a melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair as thou, my bonnie lass, = anak gadis yg cantik
So deep in luve am I;
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun:
I will love thess till, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run: = hourglass

And fare thee well, my only luve! = pergi
And fare thee weel, a while!
And I will come again, my luve,
Tho' it ware ten thousand mile. = jarak

Terdiri dari 4 bait dan masing2 bait ada 4 baris which consisting of alternating (berganti - ganti) tetrameter and trimeter lines. Yg berarti baris pertama dan ketiga pada masing2 bait mempunyai 4 penekanan suku kata sedangkan baris kedua dan keempat mempunyai 3 penekanan suku kata, cara penulisan ini disebut ballad stanza

The dominant meter of the ballad stanza is iambic, yg berarti baris di susun dalam 2 bagian suku kata yg disebut iambs, yg suku kata pertama tidak diberi penekanan dan suku kata kedua diberi penekanan Ex: That's sweet / ly play'd / in tune.

Bait pertama, baris pertama dan ketiga merupakan simile (like), Burns membandingkan cintanya dgn bunga mawar saat musim semi dan dengan melodi yg indah. Cinta akan selalu ada tidak masalah jauh atau dekatnya org itu berasal

Bait kedua dan ketiga cintanya menjadi meningkat, diakhiri dengan gaya bahasa metaphor “sands of life” atau hourglass. Burns menggambarkan kisah cinta abadinya sampai “laut2 menjadi kering” dan “batu2 mencair bersama matahari” merupakan syair2 yg indah. Pada sisi yg lain Burns mengingatkan kita pada alur waktu dan perubahan yg dihasilkan yg terdapat di bait pertama dan gambaran dari red rose, “newly spring in june”
Yang kita tahu dari pengalaman akan berubah dan runtuh/luntur/busuk bersama waktu

Bait terakhir menjelaskan kompleksitas sajak dengan perpisahan dan janji untuk kembali

HOW ROSES CAME RED
by Robert Herrick

ROSES at first were white
Till they could not agree,
Whether my Sappho's breast = permata atau kuat
Or they more white should be.

But, being vanquish'd quite, = menang or menaklukkan
A blush their cheeks bespread ; = menjadi kemerah2an/ mengembangkan
Since which, believe the rest,
The roses first came red.

TO THE VIRGINS, TO MAKE MUCH OF TIME
by Robert Herrick

GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying :
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer ;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time, = malu, sopan
And while ye may go marry :
For having lost but once your prime = terpenting
You may for ever tarry. = menunggu, menanti

Analysis: in this poem the idea of marriage while love and flesh are still young should be heeded or one may suffer in their later years alone and loveless. Herrick believes this gift of virginity to be a great waste if not given while it is still desirable. Virginity is a gift for the simple reason that it can only be given once to the taker of the prize, which he believes should be the husband. Therefore, he says to go out and find husbands, for youth is not perpetual and will eventually succumb to old age and loneliness. Through Herrick's use of colorful imagery and personification, the reader detects a sense of urgency and duty for the virgins to go forth and marry while time is still at hand and love is bountiful, thus creating the overall idea of carpe diem.

The first stanza of the poem opens to the personification of the flowers as the virgins:

The Deserted House = sunyi
By Mary Coleridge

There's no smoke in the chimney, = cerobong
And the rain beats on the floor;
There's no glass in the window,
There's no wood in the door;
The heather grows behind the house,
And the sand lies before.
No hand hath trained the ivy, = pintu bawah / daun pasang2
The walls are grey and bare; = kosong
The boats upon the sea sail by,
Nor ever tarry there. = menunggu
No beast of the field comes nigh, = dekat
Nor any bird of the air.

The Old House
By Walter De La Mare

A very, very old house I know-
And ever so many people go,
Past the small lodge, forlorn and still, = penginapan, menyedihkan
Under the heavy branches, till
Comes the blank wall, and there's the door.
Go in they do; come out no more.
No voice says aught; no spark of light =
Across that threshold cheers the sight; = ambang pintu, penglihatan
Only the evening star on high
Less lonely makes a lonely sky,
As, one by one, the people go
Into that very old house I know.

Syntax

2009-04-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

Is the study of the arrangement of words into phrase n sentences or syntactical construction (menempatkan) secara bersama2 beberapa kata/kel.kata menjadi kalimat.

u/ memperoleh konstruksi bahasa tertentu
u/ merekonstruksi bahasa dari kaidah pembentkan kalimat
u/ menguji dan m’identifikasi kata sesuai dgn konteksnya

Word: minimal free form which bears a particular stress pattern of its own, and appears in writing as a separate and independent unit

Konstituen: unsur pembentuk construction

Key words: N V ADJ ADV

V: can, may, must, will

Det: the , a, this, that, many, several

Prep: on, in, at, above, with, behind

Qualifiers: very, somewhat, quiet

Interogators: when, how, who, which

Negator: not, never

Subordinate: if, as, although, after

Coordinator: and, or, but, yet

IC: unsur bahasa yg lgsg ada di bawah konstruksi

Form Classes and Function Words: Meaning (clear lexical meaning) found in dictionary, Occurance (low freq) not always found or used in a dialogue, Numbers (very great), Marker (have marker), Dictionary (open) every time there are new creation of nouns, verb; helicopter, tractor, Pronunciation (emphasized)

Syntactical Const: when words as minimal free forms are put together into a construction

Endocentric: const. in which at least one of the IC’s belong to the same form class as the whole construction

Attributive: only one IC belong to the same form class as the whole construction; ‘strong boys, the boys’ boys is Head n strong is Modifier
Coordinative: consist of noun or noun phrase to which another N or NP is added, usually a comma between them; ‘John, my friend’
Appositive: when the two IC’s of an End. Const. belong to the same form class as the whole const.; boys and girls play basketball

Exocentric: one in which none of the IC’s belongs to the same form class as the whole const

Directive: the IC’s of d.c are called director and axis or object; ‘shoot/the tiger (axis)’

V+Obj: look at |the girl, give me |money

Prep+Obj: above |the earth, under | the chair

Conj+clause: before | it is too dark, until | I come down

Complementive: consisit of two IC’s, the first being a copula (V cop) and the second being any word or other linguistic form that complement the copulative verb (comp)

Vcop+complement: be | diligent (adj as comp, I am | a teacher (noun as comp

Predicative: consist of a subject and a predicate as its two IC’s

“John, the class leader, sits on the front row”

Part of Speech

Nouns: can take the plural suffix (s), can be proceed by articles, qualifiers, possessive (the boy), can occur after adjectives (smart students)
Verbs: can take the past tense suffix (wanted, walked), can take the – s suffix showing present tense and 3^rd person singular subject (she walks home), can take the – ing suffix (walking, crying)
Adj: Adj, comparative (adj+er), superlative (adj+est)
Phrase: a word or a group of words without subjects and predicate and predicate, and it functions as a part of speech

S: NP | VP

NP: Det | Adj | N | PP, some smart students in the class

PP: P | N, P | NP, on the table, with the sister

VP: V | NP | PP | PP, hit the child with a stick

ADJ P: ADV | ADJ, very comfortable, so interesting, so emotional

ADV P: ADV | ADV, so quickly, very hard, very hard

Phonology Mid

2009-04-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Phonology is the study of the sound system of languages

Phonology deals with the systems and the patterns of sound that occur in certain types of languages. Phonology is the study of the abstract side of the sounds of the language, Phonetics studies the actual realizations

Phonetics is the scientific study of the sounds of human language, includes three main branches: Articulatory Phonetics, Acoustic Phonetics, Auditory Phonetics. Phonology deals with the systems and the patterns of sound that occur in certain types of languages.

Articulatory Phonetics studies how speech sounds are produced by speech organs. Acoustic Phonetics is interested in the study of the physics of speech sound. Auditory Phonetics deals with the study of how sounds are perceived by the ear and the brain.

Phonemics is the study speech sound to finding out the significant units of sounds. While the significant or (basic) units of sounds distinguish utterances is called Phonemes. A phoneme is a speech sound that helps us construct meaning

Vowel is a voiced sound (resonant) and Vowel sounds are principally produced by the vibration of the vocal chords

Three variables of consonant:
• voicing – the activity of causing the vocal cords to vibrate or not
• where the place of obstruction or point of articulation happens,
• how the air is obstructed by the articulators or how the articulation happens - how the airflow is controlled

The speech organs that are used to obstruct the out-going air in the production of speech sounds are called articulators. Distinguished by movable which include the lips, the tongue, the uvula, the vocal cords and unmovable include the teeth, the teeth ridge, and the hard palate.

The speech organs that are situated along the upper margin of the mouth are the upper lip, the upper teeth, the teeth ridge the hard palate, the soft palate and the uvula. The teeth ridge is the part of the roof of the mouth exactly behind the upper teeth, and is convex (cembung) in shape facing the tongue. The hard palate is the bony (tulang) part of the roof of the mouth behind the teeth ridge, and is concave (cekung) in shape facing the tongue. The soft palate is the remaining fleshy part of the roof of the mouth behind the hard, whose called the uvula.

The speech organs along the lower margin of the mouth include the lower lip, the lower teeth, and the tongue. The tongue is divided into: the tip or apex (ujung), the blade, the front and the back of the tongue, the central part of the tongue includes a small part of the front and the back of the tongue

“HEADACHE ATTACKS”

For Further Information About This Fucking Phonetics, Please Visit:

http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/phonology.htm

Critical Analysis of Poetry

2009-04-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

The process of analyzing a poem

The elements of analysis discussed below are designed to help you identify the ways in which poetry makes its meaning, especially its 'parts'; they do not give a sense of how one goes about analyzing a poem. It is difficult to give a prescription, as different poems call on different aspects of poetry, different ways of reading, different relationships between feeling, i mages and meanings, and so forth. My general advice, however, is this:

1. look at the title

2. read the poem for the major indicators of its meaning -- what aspects of setting, of topic, of voice (the person who is speaking) seem to dominate, to direct your reading?

3. read the ending of the poem -- decide where it 'gets to'

4. divide the poem into parts: try to understand what the organization is, how the poem proceeds, and what elements or principles guide this organization (is there a reversal, a climax, a sequence of some kind, sets of oppositions?)

5. pay attention to the tone of the poem -- in brief, its attitude to its subject, as that is revealed in intonation, nuance, the kind of words used, and so forth.

6. now that you've looked at the title, the major indicators of 'topic', the ending, the organization, the tone, read the poem out loud, trying to project its meaning in your reading. As you gradually get a sense of how this poem is going, what its point and drift is, start noticing more about how the various elements of the poetry work to create its meaning. This may be as different as the kind of imagery used, or the way it uses oppositions, or the level of realism or symbolism of its use of the natural world.

Reading poetry well is a balance among and conjunction of qualities: experience, attention, engagement with the qualities which make the poem resonant or compelling, close reading of structure and relationships. It's an acquired talent, you have to learn it. When you do, however, more and more meaning, power and beauty start leaping out at you.

Elements of analysis

Here then are some questions to apply to your analysis in order to see how the poem is making its meaning: they cover
genre, the speaker, the subject, the structure, setting, imagery, key statements,
the sound of the poetry, language use, intertextuality,
the way the reader is formed by the poem, the poem's historical placement, and
ideology or 'world-view'

1. What is the genre, or form, of the poem?

Is it a sonnet, an elegy, a lyric, a narrative, a dramatic monologue, an epistle, an epic (there are many more). Different forms or genres have different subjects, aims, conventions and attributes. A love sonnet, for instance, is going to talk about different aspects of human experience in different ways with different emphases than is a political satire, and our recognition of these attributes of form or genre is part of the meaning of the poem.

2. Who is speaking in the poem?
Please remember that if the voice of the poem says "I", that doesn't mean it is the author who is speaking: it is a voice in the poem which speaks. The voice can be undramatized (it's just a voice, it doesn't identify itself), or dramatized (the voice says "I", or the voice is clearly that of a particular persona, a dramatized character).

Identify the voice. What does the voice have to do with what is happening in the poem, what is its attitude, what is the tone of the voice (tone can be viewed as an expression of attitude). How involved in the action or reflection of the poem is the voice? What is the perspective or 'point of view' of the speaker? The perspective can be social, intellectual, political, even physical -- there are many different perspectives, but they all contribute to the voice's point of view, which point of view affects how the world of the poem is seen, and how we respond.

3. What is the argument, thesis, or subject of the poem

What, that is to say, is it apparently 'about'? Start with the basic situation, and move to consider any key statements; any obvious or less obvious conflicts, tensions, ambiguities; key relationships, especially conflicts, parallels, contrasts; any climaxes or problems posed or solved (or not solved); the poem's tone; the historical, social, and emotional setting.

4. What is the structure of the poem?

There are two basic kinds of structure, formal and thematic.
Formal structure is the way the poem goes together in terms of its component parts: if there are parts -- stanza's, paragraphs or such -- then there will be a relation between the parts (for instance the first stanza may give the past, the second the present, the third the future).
Thematic structure, known in respect to fiction as 'plot', is the way the argument or presentation of the material of the poem is developed. For instance a poem might state a problem in eight lines, an answer to the problem in the next six; of the eight lines stating the problem, four might provide a concrete example, four a reflection on what the example implies. There may well be very close relations between formal and thematic structure. When looking at thematic structure, you might look for conflicts, ambiguities and uncertainties, the tensions in the poem, as these give clear guides to the direction of meanings in the poem, the poem's 'in-tensions'.

5. How does the poem make use of setting?

There is the setting in terms of time and place, and there is the setting in terms of the physical world described in the poem.
In terms of the physical world of the poem, setting can be used for a variety of purposes. A tree might be described in specific detail, a concrete, specific, tree; or it might be used in a more tonal way, to create mood or associations, with say the wind blowing mournfully through the willows; or it might be used as a motif, the tree that reminds me of Kathryn, or of my youthful dreams; or it might be used symbolically, as for instance an image of organic life; or it might be used allegorically, as a representation of the cross of Christ (allegory ties an image or event to a specific interpretation, a doctrine or idea; symbols refer to broader, more generalized meanings).
Consider this a spectrum, from specific, concrete, to abstract, allegorical:
concrete --- tonal -- connotative -- symbolic --- allegorical

6. How does the poem use imagery?

"Imagery" refers to any sort of image, and there are two basic kinds. One is the images of the physical setting, described above. The other kind is images as figures of speech, such as metaphors. These figures of speech extend the imaginative range, the complexity and comprehensibility of the subject. They can be very brief, a word or two, a glistening fragment of insight, a chance connection sparked into a blaze (warming or destroying) of understanding; or they can be extended analogies, such as Donne's 'conceits'or Milton's epic similes.

7. Are there key statements or conflicts in the poem that appear to be central to its meaning?

Is the poem direct or indirect in making its meanings? If there are no key statements, are there key or central symbol, repetitions, actions, motifs (recurring images), or the like?

8. How does the sound of the poetry contribute to its meaning?

Pope remarked that "the sound must seem an echo to the sense": both the rhythm and the sound of the words themselves (individually and as they fit together) contribute to the meaning.

9. Examine the use of language.

What kinds of words are used? How much and to what ends does the poet rely on connotation, or the associations that words have (as "stallion" connotes a certain kind of horse with certain sorts of uses)? Does the poem use puns, double meanings, ambiguities of meaning?

10. Can you see any ways in which the poem refers to, uses or relies on previous writing?

This is known as allusion or intertextuality. When U-2's Bono writes "I was thirsty and you kissed my lips" in "Trip Through Your Wires," the meaning of the line is vastly extended if you know that this is a reference to Matthew 25:35 in the Bible, where Jesus says to the saved in explanation of what they did right, "I was thirsty and you wet my lips."

11. What qualities does the poem evoke in the reader?

What sorts of learning, experience, taste and interest would the 'ideal' or 'good' reader of this poem have? What can this tell you about what the poem 'means' or is about? The idea is that any work of art calls forth certain qualities of response, taste, experience, value, from the reader, and in a sense 'forms' the reader of that particular work. This happens through the subject matter, the style, the way the story is told or the scene set, the language, the images, the allusions, all the ways in which we are called by the text to construct meaning. The theorist Wayne Booth calls the reader as evoked or formed by the text the "implied reader."

12. What is your historical and cultural distance from the poem?

What can you say about the difference between your culture's (and sub-culture's) views of the world, your own experiences, on the one hand, and those of the voice, characters, and world of the poem on the other? What is it that you might have to understand better in order to experience the poem the way someone of the same time, class, gender and race might have understood it? Is it possible that your reading might be different from theirs because of your particular social (race, gender, class, etc.) and historical context? What about your world governs the way you see the world of the text? What might this work tell us about the world of its making?

13. What is the world-view and the ideology of the poem?

What are the basic ideas about the world that are expressed? What areas of human experience are seen as important, and what is valuable about them? What areas of human experience or classes of person are ignored or denigrated? A poem about love, for instance, might implicitly or explicitly suggest that individual happiness is the most important thing in the world, and that it can be gained principally through one intimate sexually-based relationship -- to the exclusion, say, of problems of social or political injustice, human brokenness and pain, or other demands on us as humans. It might also suggest that the world is a dangerous, uncertain place in which the only sure ground of meaningfulness is to be found in human relationships, or it might suggest on the other hand that human love is grounded in divine love, and in the orderliness and the value of the natural world with all its beauties. What aspects of the human condition are foregrounded, what are suppressed, in the claims that the poem makes by virtue of its inclusions and exclusions, certainties and uncertainties, and depictions of the way the natural and the human world is and works? For a brief elaboration of the concept of ideology, see my page on the subject.

“Keajaiban di Pasar Senen Review ”

2009-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

Emmy Fitri
The Jakarta Post, December, 14 2008

How hard is it to write a book of events and ideas for readers whose ages are 50 years younger than the author? It doesn’t appear to be difficult for veteran director/script writer Misbach Yusa Biran, 75, but perhaps that’s because he never intended to write such a book. An Anthology of essays that were published in various newspapers an magazines back in the 1971, Misbach’s Keajaiban di Pasar Senen is not a true story because some of its characters and events were created and developed by the author.

But somehow it is true, as journalist cum writer Seno Gumira Ajidarma writes in the book introduction, that Keajaiban di Pasar Senen is a social documentary, a rare gem in the country’s literary scene. Set in the 1950s in Pasar Senen, Central Jakarta, which used to be one of Jakarta’s prominent shopping centers and business districts, Keajaiban di Pasar Senen tells how artists – both real and self – styled ones – interact with one another in the gray area between the lower class and the middle class.

The book chronicles how life as an artist in those early years was a tough choice as it was a rough life in a society which in general had poor appreciation for the arts. The irony is that in those years the young nation of Indonesia was led by a charismatic leader, Sukarno, who himself was an art aficionado. Further discussion on that irony would require an entirely different story, however.

Misbach doesn’t present the miserable lives as how they really are. Instead, the miseries of being cash – strapped and jobless (if a job means a role to play or something other than a nine-to-five day), are twisted into humor – oftentimes with an ensuing bitter aftertaste. The story is told through first-person narration of an “I” who introduces himself as one of those working a nine-to-five job with a meager income (but still better off than the artists) and has no knowledge or sense of art at all. He drops by Pasar Senen where the artists socialize to observe and because it is a community where he can quench his thirst for “smart” social and political comments from his “artist friends”.

These comments, however, are the gems that are collected throughout the stories because they genuinely reflect what Misbach thought was happening in his surroundings – its political upheavals and social dynamics. The artists’ eccentricities which are brought to the surface reveal how Misbach sees the world in his heart. Some are truly funny but others are just deplorable – to the point of embarrassing.

But artists’ lives are nevertheless always exciting subjects for laymen – especially in times when galleries are few and stages too expensive for mediocre artist. Everywhere in the world it seems, the more tragic an artist’s life, the more the worshipping fans. And so the miserable lives on artists in the 1950s are preserved. Interestingly, on the internet some bloggers – who must be in their late 20s – have put Keajaiban on very high pedestal. Some say it reminds them of their childhoods and even remember a book of the same title belonging to their fathers, uncles or elder brothers.

A blogger said he was a primary school student when he first read the book in the late 1980s. “I found this among my uncle’s book collection. The book cover didn’t attract me at first. But poring over the book later proved otherwise. It’s hilariously funny,” he blogged. “’What’s so miraculous about Pasar Senen?’ I thought before I finally decided to read it.” And he enjoyed the book. Several other bloggers agreed. One blogger raised the question: ”If he’s a filmmaker why have I never heard of Misbach’s name before? It doesn’t matter, his book gives me a good laugh.”

Music To Cure Your Troubles

2009-01-22T10:14:00.001-08:00

By Hfp

If you have a problem, I suggest you to turn on your music first. Don’t do something stupid, for example; crash your handphone on the ground, like my friend did or maybe even worst “suicide”. I believe of the fact that there is a song to fit every occasion; be falling in love, falling out of love or totally sick and desperate of love. Listening to music maybe can reduce your problems. Some of them are:

Benyamin Sueb: “Hujan Gerimis”

When you are losing your love just try to find this. Easy listening song with happy tempo, I guaranteed it will makes you smile again and this song suggest you to find someone else

Gombloh: “Kugadaikan Cintaku”

Also well known as Gombloh masterpiece, just listen when your love is cheating on you or having someone else maybe this song can describe the thing that should you do

Sondre Lerche: “Is It Ok If I Call U Mine”

The mellow rhythm and lyrics inside, hear this song when you reminded of your love or maybe you want to your couple to know your truth feeling

“Is it ok if I call you mine?

just for a time

and I will be just fine

if I know that you know that I,

wanting, needing your love…”

Foo Fighter: “Everlong”

When you are waiting for someone, just follow the lyric and soon this song will makes you feel better than before

“Hello, I've waited here for you, everlong

Tonight, I throw myself into and out of the red, out of her head she sang…”

Incubus: “I Miss You”

If you miss your love so much, exactly this song can reduce your pain about missing someone

“You do something to me that I can't explain.

So would I be out of line if I said

I miss you…”

Jamie Cullum: “Mind Trick”

When you are losing the opportunity to get your babe to be your girl/boyfriend, no doubt it will break your heart, so this is the first aid kid to make you feel better again with it jazzy and happy rhythm

“It’s not just me who feels it

Music plays a mind trick

Watch me forget about missing you…”

The Cure: “Just Like Heaven”

When you feel your love really meant to you and the best you ever had, this is the right song you must dedicated to. Don’t forget there is also for girl version, sing by the pretty and only Katie Melua

“You

Soft and only

You

Lost and lonely

You

Just like heaven…”

Weezer: “Across The sea”

When your love is far away from your country and very difficult to meet and you really desperate with this damned thing

“Why are you so far away from me?

I need help and you're way across the sea

I could never touch you…”

Kaiser Chiefs: “Everyday I love You Less and Less”

When you are boring with your love, come out quickly and sing this song. Let she/he knows that you don’t need her/his love again

“Everyday I love you less and less

It's clear to see that you've become obsessed…”

The Verve: “The Drugs Don’t Work”

It is a very good song, shows that the drugs can’t cure your problems even you take it in a lot of pills

“Now the drugs don't work

They just make you worse

But I know I'll see your face again…”

"August Rush" Review

2009-01-15T09:33:00.000-08:00

Twelve years ago, on a moonlit rooftop above Washington Square, Lyla Novacek, a sheltered young cellist, and Louis Connelly, a charismatic Irish singer-songwriter, were drawn together by a street musician's rendition of "Moondance" and fell in love. After the most romantic night of her life, Lyla promised to meet Louis again but, despite her protests, her father rushed her to her next concert--leaving Louis to believe that she didn't care. Disheartened, he found it impossible to continue playing and eventually abandoned his music while Lyla, her own hopes for love lost, was led to believe months later that she had also lost their unborn child in a car accident.

Years passed with neither of them knowing the truth. Now, the infant secretly given away by Lyla's father has grown into an unusually gifted child who hears music all around him and can turn the rustling of wind through a wheat field into a beautiful symphony with himself at its center, the composer and conductor. He holds an unwavering belief that his parents are alive and want him as much as he wants them. Determined to search for them, he makes his way to New York City.

There, lost and alone, he is beckoned by the guitar music of a street kid playing for change and follows him back to a makeshift shelter in the abandoned Fillmore East Theater, where dozens of children like him live under the protection of the enigmatic Wizard. He picks up a guitar for the first time and unleashes an impromptu performance in his own unique style. Wizard names him August Rush, introduces him to the soul-stirring power of music and begins to draw out his extraordinary talent. Wizard has big plans for the young prodigy but, for August, his music has a more important purpose. He believes that if his parents can hear his music, they will find him. Unbeknownst to August, they have already begun that journey.

"Apocalypto" Review

2009-01-15T08:59:00.000-08:00

A Pre-History of Violence Mel Gibson's bloody, bewildering Apocalypto.

By Dana Stevens

Rudy Youngblood in Apocalypto Here is a partial list of the indignities to which the human body is subjected in Mel Gibson's Mayan epic Apocalypto (Buena Vista): being impaled on a trap made of animal bones. Being forced to ingest tapir testicles. Being tricked into rubbing a caustic agent on one's own genitals while the whole village watches and laughs. Seeing one's father have his throat slit. Getting one's heart cut out in a sacrificial ritual. Having one's head subsequently chopped off and thrown down the stairs of a pyramid. Having one's face chewed off by a panther.

The above catalog of harm only begins to hint at the dulling and eventually comic frequency of physical violence in Apocalypto, which progresses as a series of static set pieces that are little more than narrative pretexts for graphically imagined anguish. Here's the story: Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is a handsome young hunter who lives in a remote jungle village with his young son and pregnant wife (Dalia Hernandez). One fine day, the bewildered remnants of a neighboring tribe straggle in, warning that the village's bucolic way of life is in danger. Sure enough, the next day brings a raid by fierce warriors, who kidnap the tribe's able-bodied men and take them on a long forced march to the city, where they will be painted blue and lined up for human sacrifice. Jaguar Paw manages to hide his family in an abandoned well, but will he manage to get back to them before they starve or, worse, fall into the hands of the sadistic captors?

For a good hour, I tried to pretend that I had never heard of Mel Gibson: the maker of fanatical blockbusters, the spewer of hateful rants. I tried—really tried—to experience Apocalypto as an ethnographic thriller about an ancient culture. But though it may have been researched to within an inch of its life, this film is not, by any reasonable standard, ethnography. It teaches us nothing about Mayan civilization, religion, or cultural innovations. (Calendars? Hieroglyphic writing? Some of the largest pyramids on Earth?) Rather, Gibson's fascination with the Mayans seems to spring entirely from the fact (or fantasy) that they were exotic badasses who knew how to whomp the hell out of one another, old-school. You don't leave Apocalypto thinking of the decline of civilizations or the power of myth or anything much except, wow, that is one sick son of a bitch.

Though it never gains forward momentum until the final chase, when the hero races against time to save his family from the rapidly filling well, Apocalypto does have a weird and undeniable power. Watching human bodies narrowly escape a terrible fate—or, as in most cases, undergo it—is inherently compelling. The Mexico locations are breathtaking: A chase scene at a roaring waterfall is so spectacular, it makes Last of the Mohicans look like an Esther Williams musical. The film was shot by Dances With Wolves' Dean Semler on the best-looking digital video I've ever seen. And the final plot twist is a cleverly timed deus ex machina that opens the film out onto world history (while possibly presaging an even gorier sequel).

I could go on about the beautifully detailed production design, the fresh performances from unknown and often nonprofessional actors, blabbety blah. But praising the movie's craftsmanship seems less urgent than communicating the overwhelming experience of watching it: the clammy, claustrophobic dread of being trapped in a torture chamber. Even the movie's rare moments of humor are pain-based—see the above-mentioned scenes of tapir-ball ingestion and caustic crotch-burning, both visited on the tribe's comic foil, Blunted (Jonathan Brewer). The sadomasochism gets more unintended laughs in other bits, including an arterial head wound that spurts blood at intervals, Monty Python and the Holy Grail-style. Myself, I had to stifle a giggle when the bad guys got out a large leather kit full of torture tools—spears, hatchets, and the like. It looked like something you might purchase at a sex-goods shop in San Francisco.

Apocalypto opens with a quote from Will Durant that seems to make a connection between the decline of Mayan civilization and the ills of the present day: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself." Sounds deep, but what are the parallels Gibson is suggesting between the decadence of the Mayan empire and our own? The film's moral universe is too Manichean and self-contained to suggest any real allegory with current events. I think the movie's real epigraph comes in another scene. As the kidnapped villagers slog along a narrow mountain path, manacled together, the last man in line slips over the cliff edge, nearly dragging his fellow captives with him. Instructed by chief Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo) to cut the dangler loose from the pack, the cruelest of the captors, Snake Ink (Rodolfo Palacios), puts him off for a moment: "Let's see what happens." Snake Ink, it seems, is perversely fascinated with the physics of suffering: If the guy falls, how many men will he take with him? What kind of splat will they make when they hit the ground? If he could just scrape together $80 million, Snake Ink might have a movie on his hands.

"Into The Wild" Review

2009-01-15T08:55:00.000-08:00

By Dana Stevens

Emile Hirsch in Into the WildSean Penn's Into the Wild (Paramount) is a bit like the trackless Alaskan forest where its hero meets his grim demise. It's seductively beautiful but tough to hack your way through, and it's all too easy to get lost in. After more than two and a half hours in the company of the idealistic, self-dramatizing, but resourceful and ultimately appealing Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), it's hard not to feel at least a chin-chucking affection for this deluded youth. But it's also hard not to feel that Penn is stacking the deck heavily in his favor and losing out on the chance for a more sober meditation on the ambiguity of McCandless' quest.

Jon Krakauer's nonfiction account of the events leading up to the real Chris McCandless' death of starvation in 1992 was a triumph of gumshoe reporting. He followed Chris' tracks from the Arizona desert (where the boy abandoned his car in a gulch, burned all his cash, and took to the open road) through California, South Dakota, and finally Alaska. Krakauer's presence as an investigator is an important part of the book—there's a significant narrative detour in which he compares the rigidly ideological McCandless to his younger self. Penn drops that frame story entirely, probably to allow the viewer more direct access to the boy's experience—he's interested in telling the story of a spiritual journey, not a fact-finding mission. This wasn't a terrible choice—the movie has no shortage of story lines as it is—except that Penn displaces Krakauer's poetic speculation onto various voice-over narrators, chiefly Chris' sister, Carine (Jena Malone). We don't learn much about Carine as a character, but she could apply for an MFA program with the reams of lyrical prose she spouts about her brother.

But Penn performs one bit of sleight-of-hand on the book that's borderline unforgivable. In an attempt, perhaps, to justify Chris' decision not to communicate with his parents for more than two years (he failed to notify them before he hit the road, and they never saw him alive again), Penn inserts a flashback back story that shows the McCandless' relationship as abusive and violent. In grainy Super 8-style scenes, the parents (William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden) drink and push each other around as the young Chris and Carine look on. It's a Lifetime TV rule that this movie should have risen above: Every questionable moral action must be explained by an equal and opposite childhood trauma. In Krakauer's account, McCandless's father, Walt, was something of a remote perfectionist but certainly no wife-beater. As for Billie McCandless, she sewed the sleeping bag in which her son would eventually meet his end (a heartbreaking detail that, had Penn left it in, might have cast his proudly self-sufficient hero in a less idealizing light). If I were a member of the McCandless family, I'd be furious at this insertion, but Penn waited years for the parents' permission—presumably, they allowed him the license to fictionalize as he saw fit.

The real McCandless was a maddeningly opaque figure whose contradictions make the book a great read: both a radical anti-materialist and a fan of Ronald Reagan, an ascetic who shrank from human contact but charmed everyone he met. The movie, aided by Eddie Vedder's earnest keening on the soundtrack, leans more toward the straightforwardly hagiographic. It doesn't hurt that losing 40 pounds while growing long hair and a beard would make any actor look like Christ.

There are some scenes that poke fun at Chris' adolescent self-seriousness: In a bar, he rants to Wayne (Vince Vaughn), the boss of a threshing plant where he's found temporary employment, about the evils of "society" until Vaughn picks up the chant, yelling, "Society! Society!" in a drunken crescendo. Catherine Keener (who's fast becoming the most welcome supporting-actor face this side of Harry Dean Stanton) plays a hippie tramp who takes Chris in for a while and chides him for neglecting his family: "You look like a loved kid." But a long section in which a widowed old man, Ron (Hal Holbrook), befriends the wandering boy made me cringe. By way of proving his spiritual mettle, or sense of adventure, or something, the octogenarian is repeatedly exhorted to scale a steep, rocky hill overlooking the Salton Sea. When he finally makes it to the top, faltering and heaving for breath, Chris—and the movie—would have us believe that Ron's ascent is a moment of unalloyed triumph. But isn't the boy's insistence that an old man clamber up a cliff in street shoes also inconsiderate, not to mention dangerous? It wouldn't have been impossible to pay tribute to Chris' expansive spirit while recognizing his arrogance and intransigence (which were, in the end, what killed him—if he'd deigned to bring a map with him on his final trek, he'd have known he was just a few miles from safety).

I guess it's a sign of middle age when you identify with the tottering oldster or the bereaved parent as much as the Thoreau-reading, angry young man. Still, Emile Hirsch brings a gentle, loveable quality to McCandless, and Penn's project has moments of ecstatic beauty. The soaring helicopter shots of snowy expanses may be more indebted to the Imax documentary than the road picture, but Eric Gautier's camera makes Mt. McKinley look spectacular (and slaughtering a moose look really gross). This paean to youth, stupidity, and the wilderness may inspire more than a few impromptu camping trips. But please, kids, take a map.

"Pan's labyrinth" Review

2009-01-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

When fantasy meets horror the results are incredible.

by Filip Vukcevic

It is easy to forget the power of fairy tales. In today's society the genre is more or less strictly confined to stories directed at children. That is a tremendous shame, because if Pan's Labyrinth is a testament to what is possible when fairy tales are taken into the realm of the adult world, the results can be profound, beautiful, and awe-inspiring. The film, which screened at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, is all three of these things, and many more

Art gothic fantasy, part political statement, Guillermo del Toro's masterwork is clearly a labor of love, marrying his interest in the Spanish Civil War with his fascination with fantasy and horror. Del Toro should be very proud of himself; instead of taking this film to a studio, which would have desensitized (and thus gutted) the film, he set out on his own, filming the movie in Spanish and shooting it out of America. The result is one of this year’s must see film.

Pan's Labyrinth tells the story of young Ofelia (played by eleven-year-old Ivana Baquero), a child who is forced to move, along with her pregnant mother, into a massive old millhouse cottage which is nestled deep within a dense forest. This building also happens to house the militaristic Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez), Ofelia's "father." From the outset it is clear that war is in the air, but none of this concerns Ofelia. She is fascinated with books and the amazing stories that fill them. No sooner has she arrived at the barracks/cottage than she encounters a "fairy" – a stick-like insect that is part dragonfly, part praying mantis, and is as fascinating as it is menacing.

Ofelia's insectoid friend soon reveals that it has shape-changing abilities and takes the shape of a svelte fairy, leading Ofelia on a moon-lit chase deep into the heart of the mysterious garden labyrinth found behind the cottage. Ofelia comes across a sunken grotto in the center of the maze. Within the hole, the little girl encounters Pan (played by longtime monster-man, Doug Jones), a mysterious and magical character who informs her that she is actually the princess of the underworld.

"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad Synopsis

2009-01-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

Heart of Darkness begins on the deck of the Nellie, a British ship anchored on the coast of the Thames. The anonymous narrator, the Director of Companies, the Accountant, and Marlow sit in silence. Marlow begins telling the three men about a time he journeyed in a steamboat up the Congo River. For the rest of the novel (with only minor interruptions), Marlow narrates his tale.

As a young man, Marlow desires to visit Africa and pilot a steamboat on the Congo River. After learning of the Company—a large ivory-trading firm working out of the Congo—Marlow applies for and received a post. He left Europe in a French steamer.

At the Company’s Outer Station in the Congo, Marlow witnesses scenes of brutality, chaos, and waste. Marlow speaks with an Accountant, whose spotless dress and uptight demeanor fascinate him. Marlow first learns from the Accountant of Kurtz—a “remarkable” agent working in the interior. Marlow leaves the Outer Station on a 200-mile trek across Africa, and eventually reaches the Company’s Central Station, where he learns that the steamboat he is supposed to pilot up the Congo was wrecked at the bottom of the river. Frustrated, Marlow learns that he has to wait at the Central Station until his boat is repaired.

Marlow then meets the Company’s Manager, who told him more about Kurtz. According to the Manager, Kurtz is supposedly ill, and the Manager feigns great concern over Kurtz’s health—although Marlow later suspects that the Manager wrecked his steamboat on purpose to keep supplies from getting to Kurtz. Marlow also meets the Brickmaker, a man whose position seems unnecessary, because he doesn’t have all the materials for making bricks. After three weeks, a band of traders called The Eldorado Exploring Expedition—led by the Manager’s uncle—arrives.

One night, as Marlow is lying on the deck of his salvaged steamboat, he overhears the Manager and his uncle talk about Kurtz. Marlow concludes that the Manager fears that Kurtz is trying to steal his job. His uncle, however, told him to have faith in the power of the jungle to “do away” with Kurtz.

Marlow’s boat is finally repaired, and he leaves the Central Station (accompanied by the Manager, some agents, and a crew of cannibals) to bring relief to Kurtz. Approximately fifty miles below Kurtz’s Inner Station, they find a hut of reeds, a woodpile and an English book titled An Inquiry into some Points of Seamanship.

As it crept toward Kurtz, Marlow’s steamboat is attacked by a shower of arrows. The Whites fire rifles into the jungle while Marlow tries to navigate the boat. A native helmsman is killed by a large spear and thrown overboard. Assuming that the same natives who are attacking them have already attacked the Inner Station, Marlow feels disappointed now that he will never get the chance to speak to Kurtz.

Marlow reaches the Inner Station and notices Kurtz’s building through his telescope—there is no fence, but a series of posts ornamented with “balls” that Marlow later learns were natives’ heads. A Russian trader and disciple of Kurtz, called “The Harlequin” by Marlow, approaches the steamboat and tells Marlow that Kurtz is still alive. Marlow learns that the hut they previously saw is the Harlequin’s. The Harlequin speaks enthusiastically of Kurtz’s wisdom, saying, “This man has enlarged my mind.”

Marlow learns from him that the steamboat was attacked because the natives did not want Kurtz to be taken away. Suddenly, Marlow sees a group of native men coming toward him, carrying Kurtz on a stretcher; Kurtz is taken inside a hut, where Marlow approaches him and gives him some letters. Marlow notices that Kurtz is frail, sick, and bald. After leaving the hut, Marlow sees a “wild and gorgeous” native woman approach the steamer; the Harlequin hints to Marlow that the woman is Kurtz’s mistress. Marlow then hears Kurtz chiding the Manager from behind a curtain: “Save me!—save the ivory, you mean.” The Harlequin, fearing what might happen when Kurtz is taken on board the steamboat, asks Marlow for some tobacco and rifle cartridges; he then leaves in a canoe.

At midnight that same night, Marlow awakens to the sound of a big drum. He inspects Kurtz’s cabin, only to discover that he is not there. Marlow runs outside and finds a trail running through the grass—and realizes that Kurtz is escaping by crawling away on all fours. When he comes upon Kurtz, Kurtz warns him to run, but Marlow helped Kurtz to his feet and carried him back to the cabin.

The next day, Marlow, his crew, and Kurtz leave the Inner Station. As they move farther away from the Inner Station, Kurtz’s health deteriorates; at one point, the steamboat breaks down and Kurtz gives Marlow a packet of letters and a photograph for safe-keeping, fearing that the Manager will take them. Marlow complies.

One night after the breakdown, Marlow approaches Kurtz, who is lying in the pilothouse on his stretcher “waiting for death.” After trying to reassure Kurtz that he is not going to die, Marlow hears Kurtz whisper his final words: “The horror! The horror!” The next day, Kurtz is buried offshore in a muddy hole.

After returning to Europe, Marlow again visits Brussels and finds himself unable to relate to the sheltered Europeans around him. A Company official approaches Marlow and asks for the packet of papers to which Kurtz had entrusted him. Marlow refuses, but he does give the official a copy of Kurtz’s report to The Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs with Kurtz’s chilling postscript (“Exterminate all the brutes!”) torn off. He learns that Kurtz’s mother had died after being nursed by Kurtz’s “Intended,” or fiancée.

Marlow’s final duty to Kurtz is to visit his Intended and deliver Kurtz’s letters (and her portrait) to her. When he meets her, at her house, she is dressed in mourning and still greatly upset by Kurtz’s death. Marlow lets slip that he was with Kurtz when he died, and the Intended asks him to repeat Kurtz’s last words Marlow lies to her and says, “The last word he pronounced was—your name.” The Intended states that she “knew” Kurtz would have said such a thing, and Marlow leaves, disgusted by his lie yet unable to prevent himself from telling it.

The anonymous narrator on board the Nellie then resumes his narrative. The Director of Companies makes an innocuous remark about the tide, and the narrator looks out at the overcast sky and the Thames—which seems to him to lead “into the heart of an immense darkness.”