Indledning
Consequences are where our thoughts and actions meet reality; all actions have consequences, not only for ourselves but for those around us as well.
Roddy Doyle’s short story ‘’Smile’’ (2016) deals with the theme of bullying, innocence and homosexuality. In this story the protagonist
Victor Ford, is bullied by his peers when his male teacher shows interest in him – after a long period avoiding school, he falls victim to peer pressure and teases the teacher in the end, which ultimately leads to the teacher’s death (presumably suicide).
By employing literary devices such as narrative technique, character development and symbolism the author conveys the important message that our actions are not without consequences and that they might hurt others.
Moreover, the story sheds light on the issue of homosexuality and religion within the Catholic Church, and thus the story touches on a current issue in society today.
Indholdsfortegnelse
A
Ret fejlene i følgende sætninger, og forklar dine rettelser på dansk. Brug relevant grammatisk/faglig terminologi. Der er kun én fejl i hver sætning. Skriv den korrekte sætning på linjerne nedenunder.
- Fejl i dannelse af førdatid (verbalfrasefejl?):
- Fejl i tillægsord (ordklasse fejl?):
- Verbalfrase-fejl:
- Fejl I relativt pronomen:
- Kongruensfejl:
- Fejl i dannelse af førnutid (verbalfrasefejl):
- Adjektiv/adverbium fejl:
B
Besvar både opgave 1 og 2. 1. Find alle relative pronominer (henførende stedord) i nedenstående tekst. 2. Forklar kort, hvad hvert relativt pronomen viser tilbage til.
C
Nedenstående tekst er en seeranmeldelse af tv-serien The Affair. Beskriv kort tekstens sproglige stil, fx med hensyn til ordvalg og sætningsopbygning. Underbyg dit svar med eksempler. Skriv dit svar på dansk.
D
Oversæt følgende tekst til engelsk.
Optimer dit sprog - Læs vores guide og scor topkarakter
Uddrag
The author also makes use of foreshadowing as a narrative technique, which in a way misleads the reader into thinking that Victor might be sexually abused by Brother Murphy later in the story
which is hinted when Victor mentions that no one had warned him about Murphy and that you should ‘’never smile back at him.
Never get ten out of ten. Never get below five – don’t give him any excuse to keep you back after the bell’’ (p.2, l. 64-66).
Furthermore, the possibility that sexual abuse may come to pass is suggested when Victor knew he was doomed, after Brother Murphy had told Victor in front of the entire class that he never could resist his smile (p.1, l. 18).
However, this never happens and instead the reader is in for a surprise (plot twist) when it’s uncovered that Murphy had killed himself over the course of the Easter holiday.
Although it wasn’t explicitly announced that he committed suicide, this is nonetheless what could be interpreted.
Seeing how much an interest he took in Victor, we get the impression that he might be homosexual, and this is frequently hinted throughout the story (herein the theme of homosexuality is expressed)
– when Victor after having avoided Murphy for a long time due to the bullying (his peers calls him queer because of Murphy’s comment on his smile), he falls victim to peer pressure and acts the role everyone expect him to: the queer.
He tries to persuade Murphy into letting them off homework by talking about spring (apparently a ‘’queer-subject’’), then he ‘’smiled at the Brother;
I grinned’’ (p.5, l.164). Murphy’s reaction to this is unexpected; ‘’He looked at me, then away. He stared at nothing – at the wall beside the broken statue of the Blessed Virgin’’ (p.5, l.165)
then he denies the request, which all in all gives the impression that this somehow must have been the last straw – thus, it’s hinted that he indeed committed suicide;
perhaps he couldn’t bear it anymore, and may even have had an inner conflict struggling with his attraction towards his pupils.
On the other hand, there’s no real indication that he had ever abused any of the school boys – and as a result of the story being told through a first-person narrative
we cannot be sure whether Murphy had these desires because for all we know the protagonist could have misinterpreted the Brother’s gestures and remarks, thus we would be dealing with an unreliable narrator.
Skriv et svar