Difference between revisions of "Talk:2008-09 BM1 Assignment 3: Fiction"

Revision as of 13:12, 2 February 2009

Student Questions

• How am I supposed to quote? There are no numbers for lines given. Am I allowed to give them numbers or do I have to write down the passage to that I refer? It would be a huge problem, when I have to wrote down the sentences, because 3 pages offer not that much space. Regards, Sören

Just give first and last words of passages you want to refer to, and [...] in between. Or quote entire passages if they are shorter than a sentence. You will not need to set footnotes on these quotes - we assume you quote the same text (Penguin edition etc.) as stated in our question. --Olaf Simons 16:00, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

• I have a question regarding exercise 1 and 2. Should we also include other passages than the given one? Shall we characterize Marlow and the aunt really only based on what we know from the passage? According to number 3. Shall we only analyze the narration and focalization in this passage or also describe possible changes throughout the whole story, apart from the passage?

Questions 1-3 (4) aim at your ability to analyze a short passage based on 'close reading'. They provide a basis for question 5, where your knowledge of the entire text is needed. Thus, as regards your question, stick to the passage first and foremost. Then, and only if your findings require this (and you do not exceed the three pages), may you reflect on how they substantiate/contrast your knowledge of the text. Best, Anna Auguscik 09:23, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

• Is the fifth question restricted to one particular passage or can we refer to several examples? For instance, in case of "the darkness", there are lots of pages with good examples. Do we have to decide on one? I'm just wondering because I have in mind that we need to consider the whole story...

Try to stick to the instructions as far as possible in order to avoid superficial answers. However, it is always a good idea to keep the whole novel in mind and let your reader know about it (if the reflections on the entire texts shed light on your findings). Best, Anna Auguscik 09:35, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

• Working on the assignment I got somehow "stuck" with the 4th question concerning the critical distance. Is it referring to the reader's critical distance towards the narrator or does the question refer to Marlow's critical distance from the Company, his aunt etc.? I'm somehow not quite sure about that.

The analysis of "critical distance" refers to a wide spectrum of possibilities which is comparable to the spectrum of characterization and narration/focalization. Best, Anna Auguscik 13:33, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

• If a story is written in the simple past, would that automatically mean that the narrator is external? When we have a story containing two levels of narration how can we distinguish between a story composed of an extra-diagesis + diagesis and a story composed of a diagesis and a hypo-diagesis. I don't understand how to distinguish between these?

It seems worthwhile to visit the library and browse through Rimmon-Kenan's Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics (Handapparat BM 1/Kirchhofer). The chapter on "Narration: Levels and Voices" explains the diegetic level as "the events themselves" and the extradiegetic level as "immediately superior to the first narrative and concerned with its narration". Additionally, Rimmon-Kenan offers examples which may be of interest. The topic of tenses is to be found - among other passages - in the sub-chapter on "Temporal Relations". Best, Anna Auguscik 09:42, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

• Is the quotation "I found her triumphant" a case of direct definition or indirect presentation? It directly names a trait of the aunt, but it is a transient trait -- if Marlow were to visit her two hours later, he might find her tired and irritable.

Same advice here: visit the library and browse through Rimmon-Kenan's Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics (Handapparat BM 1/Kirchhofer). Chapter 5 on "Text: Characterization" offers insight into the differences between indirect presentation and direct definition, as well as a wide range of further examples. If the passage remains problematic, discuss. Best, Anna Auguscik 09:42, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

If I understand Rimmon-Kenan correctly, direct definition is "by definition" explicit and supratemporal, describing a quality not so susceptible to the passage of time...

Good point. But how supra-temporal is a description of, say, beauty? And if so, would the contested example (the triumphant aunt) be indirect presentation by actions (commission / omission / contemplated action), characteristics of speech, external appearance, environment?

Student Samples

Sample One

• 1.) First of all Marlow defines his aunt directly as “excellent” and as “the excellent woman, living right in the rush of all that humbug,“ who “got carried off her feet” which describes her as an upper-class lady who is influenced by her wealthy environment. Moreover one can find several indirect presentations as for example the description of the aunt’s physical environment: her room “that most soothingly looked just as you would expect a lady’s drawing-room to look” and “the fireside”. But also the content of her speech characterizes her indirectly saying “‘weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid ways’“ or “’You forget […] worthy of his hire.‘”which reveals her bourgeois attitude and even a racist notion. A reinforcement of characterization by analogy is shown by the similarity of her to women in general and in the contrast to Marlow. This describes her additionally as a naive and narrow-minded woman with a restricted point of view. The commission of action when she embraces Marlow and gives him instructions before he departs, shows that she is nevertheless a caring and loving aunt, but also very proud as she praises him as a great person.
• 2.) Marlow is firstly directly defined “as an exceptional and gifted creature – a piece of good fortune for the company – a man you don’t get hold of every day” by his aunt to characterise him as a great person. Furthermore he is directly defined by himself as an impostor, which contradicts to the findings before. An indirect presentation is given by the characteristic of his speeches like his sarcastic statement of taking just a cheap steamboat in contrast to all the glorifications by his aunt, revealing his combatant attitude towards the Company’s principles and towards the fuss being made of this trip. Also when he describes his opinion of the distinction of women and men in the world, which shows his hierarchic point of view and contradicts to the open-minded and non-racist notion he mentioned before. Admitting that his aunt’s statement made him feel quite uncomfortable and his daring hint on the Company’s run for profit, contrast himself additionally to his aunt’s character which is a reinforcement of characterization by analogy to emphasize Marlow’s rather non-racial attitude. All these findings reveal a contradiction in his character.
• 3.) In the present passage the focalizer and the narrator are combined in the first-person narrator Marlow, who can be defined as an intra-homodiegetic narrator as he is involved in the story (he tells) and subordinated to the extra-diegetic narrator at the beginning of the whole story. This is also signaled by the quotation marks used at the beginning. Furthermore, Marlow is also an ulterior narrator, presenting the events in past tense, but also giving foreshadowing statements (“the last decent cup of tea for many, many days”). One could easily define Marlow as an internal character-focalizer as he is a character of the story. However, there are some passages which indicate a shift in focalization from internal to external focalization. This is for example shown by the sentence “One thing […] aunt.”, but also when saying “In the course […] got carried off her feet.” “It’s queer […] the whole thing over.”, where he seems to address his listeners or the reader directly and shifts from an experiencing focalizer to a narrating one. Indicators for this are “and goodness knows”, “you know”, “upon my word” and “I don’t know why”. The insertions seem to be stated from a narrating Marlow later on the boat and not from the experiencing Marlow during the encounter. Knowing about his last cup of tea for a longer time or about the “talk just about that time”, shows a variation in time (telling in the past, but giving hints for the future) which argues for an external focalizer. He sees the events from a more distant point of view and thereby achieves more knowledge. Whenever Marlow experiences his aunt’s meeting directly, his perspective turns to an internal focalizer (character-focalizer) who is inside the represented events. Objects are observed from his position within the story, which makes him a limited observer, thus, having a limited knowledge. Marlow focalizes on himself from within, which is to be seen in stating his feelings (“she made me quite uncomfortable.”). At the same time he focalizes on his aunt and others from without, that is to say that he cannot express their thoughts and feelings, but only states his external observations he makes. The aunt in this section is the character-focalized who remains non-transparent. There are different means to show the degree of perceptibility to make the narrator Marlow become evident for the reader. For once, he describes the setting, by naming the room, the fireside and the street. Secondly he identifies and defines other characters, like his aunt (“my excellent aunt” “I found her triumphant”, etc.) and is able to give a temporal summary, as he uses the past and tells the story from another temporal point in the story. Finally he comments on his aunt, judges her statements and thereby emphasizes on his own existence as a narrator. Concerning the narrator’s degree of unreliability in this passage, one can state, that Marlow is restricted in his knowledge, as he does not reveal his aunt’s conscience and feelings. His personal involvement is evident as he is character of the story, however this level of involvement changes within the change of focalizer. But he surely represents a problematic value-scheme, as he shows contradictions in his character (cf. 2.)).
• 4.) There are different means in this passage which establish a sense of critical distance from Marlow to his aunt and the Company, and also effect the reader’s perception of the narrator and the story. First of all, Marlow exaggerates to establish sarcasm, which can be seen in the passage “… and I was […] sort of apostle.”, to ridicule for once his aunt’s glorification, but also the Company’s fuss being made of a conventional, ordinary steamboat. “Rot” and “humbug” additionally criticize his aunt’s environment. His exclamations “Good heavens” and his addressing inputs like “you know” seem like a request to the reader to affirm his statements and thoughts. Moreover his judgment on women in general and therefore also on his aunt, shows his direct discontent of her attitude and of the Company’s principles and contrasts himself to them both. This also affects the reader’s notion and may distance him as well from the aunt and from the Company, as being shown as negative, but may also distance the reader from Marlow as a character and narrator. Thus, Marlow’s criticism and his contradictions of his character (working for company, but criticizing it; gaining help from his aunt, but ridiculing her; criticizing racism, but being dismissive towards women) make the reader become suspicious of his reliability.
• 5.) Analyzing Marlow’s notion of women and his behaviour towards them, one can compare the present passage to a passage in the end where he meets Kurtz's intended. The extract from p. 92 “She came forward,…” to p. 94 “… unhappy for life – for life.’” shows similarities between the intended and Marlow’s aunt. The intended is characterized as a rather weak and naïve woman, living in mourning of Kurtz's death, as she apparently entirely devoted herself and her life to him and still admires him a year after his death. Like the aunt she seems to be restricted in her point of view, blinded by Kurtz's evident greatness (“’It was impossible to know him and not to admire him.’” p. 93). She seems indifferent and “unhappy for life – for life.” (p. 94), because of the great loss. For the aunt, the correct environment is the one of the rich western people like the Company. The intended's “beautiful world” is represented by Kurtz. Both somehow seem to live in these fatuous worlds as Marlow stated about women in general. And to sustain this illusion, he does not argue with his aunt, even though he has a different opinion and as a result feels like an impostor. Likewise, he does not argue with the intended, repeats her instead, although he did not always accompany with Kurtz's methods and opinions. He lies to her to make her contented and to affirm her. So, both women are represented as naïve, narrow-minded and influenceable. Accusing Marlow as a chauvinist is now arguable.