Read the following extract that might help you make a smooth transition from narrative to drama. Decide why you would or wouldn't call it dramatic but not drama:
Mr. Carter permitted himself a wintry smile. "His grudge, therefore," he said, "is perfectly understandable."
"It was him or me, Mr. Carter."
"Of course. Is Mrs. Parker still with you?"
"No, sir. We broke up about three months ago. I heard he killed her yesterday."
"Killed her? Do you suppose he found out first where to find you?"
"She didn't know, Mr. Carter."
"You're sure of that?"
"Yes, sir."
Questions:
1. What are the implied meanings of 'wintry smile' and 'grudge' in the first sentence? What do they say about Mr. Carter’s personality?
2. What syntactical variations of the interrogative sentence do you notice in the extract? Discuss their implications.
3. By ‘Of course’ Mr. Carter implies that he is talking to the killer. True, false or difficult to tell. Give reason for your answer.
4. What was the relationship between the woman and the person being interrogated?
5. Who does Mr. Carter refer to as ‘he’ in line 5?
6. Why do you think the man has come to Mr. Carter?
7. Can you tell the name of the person Mr. Carter is talking to?
8. In line 5 we get “find” in two senses. What are they? How are the two senses constructed?
9. List all the expressions in the extract that help develop suspense and tension in the extract.
10. What is the syntactical peculiarity of the interrogative sentence in line 5? Why is this pattern of sentence particularly effective in conveying shock, surprise and other emotional outbursts?
11. Which other interrogative is mixed with surprise?
12. The speaker sounds confident in the last line. How can the syntax of the line firmly express his self-confidence?
3 comments:
The dialogue is obviously dramatic.the statements are so dramatic that we get a transparent idea of what's going on. The word 'wintry' gives us the image of the situation.It tells us that Mr.Carter is angry with the man .The reason behind his bitter feeling and blaming the man becomes clear to us with the question "Is Mrs.Parker with you?".This question indicates that there is an illegal relationship between the man and Mrs.Parker.'killed her?' this question changes the mood and it adds suspense and tension in the extract.
"she didn't know,Mr.Carter" this statement is not clear to me,sir.
'Wintry' does not imply anger. It rather says of Mr. Carter's deepening suspicion about the man. It also could sum up the suspicious nature of the professional detective who smells a rat in everything. How is it obvious what is going on? It's safe to take nothing too much for granted. You must give proof of everything you say. A statement without adequate justification is bigotry. Beware of that. I don't think Mr. Carter is after finding out the illegal relationship. He is more interested to know if the man is concealing facts.
Questions:
1. What are the implied meanings of 'wintry smile' and 'grudge' in the first sentence? What do they say about Mr. Carter’s personality?
Ans: The use of the word ‘wintry’ is metaphorical. A ‘wintry smile’ implies a smile just for the sake of smiling and it goes with the suspicious cold look of a detective. If we consider the verb of the sentence (permit), we can understand very well that the smile is not spontaneous at all. A detective has to tame his expressions so that emotion doesn’t affect his enquiry. The word ‘grudge’ is perhaps a tamed expression of violent enmity (I’m not sure).
2. What syntactical variations of the interrogative sentence do you notice in the extract? Discuss their implications.
Ans: There are four interrogatives in this conversation. The first one (Is Mrs. Parker still with you?) is a regular one; the second (Killed her?) is asked to reconfirm what has been said in the previous dialogue and it doesn’t have a subject; the third is a complex sentence (Do you suppose he found out first where to find you?) which goes very well with the formality of an interrogation (‘Do you suppose…’ is a formal expression.); the fourth one (You're sure of that?) is the most interesting. It’s an interrogative sentence with an assertive structure which sounds like an assertive sentence with a falling intonation, yet still asks a question. It’s also asked to reconfirm the thing already been said.
3. By ‘Of course’ Mr. Carter implies that he is talking to the killer. True, false or difficult to tell. Give reason for your answer.
Ans: Difficult to tell. I think the man whom the detective was talking to tried to suggest that, ‘look, I’ve said it’s either him or me ’cause I know perfectly we’re the only two to be suspected; I wouldn’t say that if I were the criminal. So, it’s him. Got it?’ The detective is not to be persuaded so easily; by ‘Of course’ he’s probably meaning, ‘of course you’re in my suspect-list. Don’t you forget that.’ This assurance rather creates a feeling of discomfort for the man.
4. What was the relationship between the woman and the person being interrogated?
Ans: Most probably the person being interrogated was the paramour of Mrs. Parker. The detective wants to know if she is ‘still’ with him. ‘Still’ implies that their relation wasn’t permanent. And it would be a strange thing if she didn’t know his whereabouts after they ‘broke up.’ There are some post-separation judicial formalities, after all!
5. Who does Mr. Carter refer to as ‘he’ in line 5?
Ans: I’m not sure; perhaps the husband of Mrs. Parker.
6. Why do you think the man has come to Mr. Carter?
Ans: One reason behind his coming might be he knows that he’s one of the suspects and doesn’t want to be convicted. Another reason is perhaps he’s got some threat on his own life (that’s why the detective might be asking if the man who killed Mrs. Parker knows his whereabouts now).
7. Can you tell the name of the person Mr. Carter is talking to?
Ans: No. I don’t think it’s Mr. Parker; I think it’s the man who had a secret affair with Mrs. Parker.
8. In line 5 we get “find” in two senses. What are they? How are the two senses constructed?
Ans: The first ‘find’ is used as a part of the phrasal verb ‘find out’ which means ‘to get some information about sth/sb’ and the second ‘find’ means ‘to look for’; the first one is a state verb while the second is an action verb and this creates an implication that a ‘state’ of finding out may push the man to the ‘action’ of finding.
9. List all the expressions in the extract that help develop suspense and tension in the extract.
a. It was him or me
b. Of course.
c. I heard he killed her yesterday.
d. Killed her? Do you suppose he found out first where to find you?"
10. What is the syntactical peculiarity of the interrogative sentence in line 5? Why is this pattern of sentence particularly effective in conveying shock, surprise and other emotional outbursts?
Ans: The question, ‘killed her?’ is the response to a previously said dialogue, ‘I heard he killed her yesterday.’ The detective repeated the verb ‘kill’ to reconfirm if he’s heard is true. This pattern of sentence particularly effective in conveying shock, surprise and other emotional outbursts because it starts with a verb and puts emphasis on the action.
11. Which other interrogative is mixed with surprise?
Ans: It’s ‘You're sure of that?’
12. The speaker sounds confident in the last line. How can the syntax of the line firmly express his self-confidence?
Ans: The plainness and simplicity of the affirmation helps express the self-confidence; ‘Yes’ means never ‘no’. The addition of ‘sir’ gives a sense that what he’s saying has some formal gravity.
Shourabh Pothobashi
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