Friday, October 16, 2009
Re: Chapter One
I mentioned to Ms. Crofts in an e-mail that students (you) would have a hard time with two language issues: first, Bronte's syntax; and the second, Joseph's dialect. Perhaps I'm not confident in your intellectual capabilities. Perhaps, as I've mentioned in class, I'm the stupid one, limited by my own intellectual limitations which I then hoist upon your young shoulders. I understand Bronte's language, rarely shifting to find a dictionary, and I get her syntax (the way she arranges words in a sentence), but then I've been doing this for a while. Joseph's language I have to read aloud, so that if you see me sitting at my desk and talking to myself in a cockney accent, it's just me being him. (That's a hint: when you read Joseph, or next year when you encounter Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, read his voice aloud, and listen, and you'll understand.) I've spieled enough. What do you think about these two language issues. Is Joseph's dialect a limitation to understanding? Do you find yourself reaching for a dictionary again and again? Do you often find yourself in a maze of Bronte's language, asking, by the end of the sentence, where is this going? Please respond to us or to others as comments are generated. Also, as a side note, this is a violent book: in the first chapter I've met a pack of angry pointers, a bunch of dead rabbits, and a surly, surly Heathcliff.
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In this book, I think that there is an upside and a downside to having to constantly be using the dictionary. The upside is that it will enhance our vocab but the downside might be that it will disrupt the flow of what we are reading and we won't be able comprehend it as well as we could.
ReplyDeleteThis book is hard because i dont know a lot of the vocabulary
ReplyDeleteI think that some of Bronte's sentences are a little confusing, but I'm still looking forward to reading 'Wuthering Heights'. Since I have just completed chapter one, I havent encountered Joseph's dialect yet, but from the descriptions that I've heard, I am eager to find it. I cant wait to find out more about Heathcliff, becasue he tends to talk in a more subtle and depressed way.
ReplyDeleteHere's an example of one of the more confusing sentences:
ReplyDelete"...he soliloquized in an undertone of peevish displeasure, while relieving me of my horse: looking, meantime, in my face so sourly that I charitably conjectured he must have need of divine aid to digest his dinner, and his pious ejaculation had no reference to my unexpected advent."
this basically means:
"he sounded pissed off when he took my horse, and he gave me such a dirty look that I decided he is always grumpy and his excalmation had nothing to do with my arrival at Wuthering Heights."
I like that the sentences are more challenging, but also think that it will slow down the reading in the book.
ReplyDeleteBronte's syntax and use of run on sentences will be extremely hard to comprehend. But I love the characters of Heathcliff and his servant, Joseph. (They are pretty awesome) I can't wait for the creepy violence!
ReplyDeleteI think that in a sense, the dialect can be a barrier to understanding, but at the same time, it makes the storyline more realistic. In the end, it makes the story more relatable and thus more understandable by the reader. Had Joseph's character been portrayed without his unique dialect, it would be easier to read, but the understanding wouldn't necessarily be affected.
ReplyDeleteA confusing sentence - "...but his attitude at the door appeared to demand my speedy enterance, or complete my departure, and I had no desire to aggravated his impatience, previous to inspecting the penetralium"
ReplyDeleteThis sentence is bascially saying that Lockwood needed to either go into Heathcliff's house or leave.
There is also some complicated vocabulary "penetralium"
Even though we have only read the first eight pages, I can already tell that I will be using a dictionary a lot. There is a lot of new vocab. This is hard, because it makes it difficult to understand, but it also builds our vocab. I think it will be both challenging to read Joseph's dialect, as Bronte writes it the way it sounds. It will definitely take some reading aloud!
ReplyDeleteI think that the dialect, although hard to read and understand, adds to the character's personality.
ReplyDeleteI think that the book will be hard to understand because of the vocabulary. This will be good because it can expand my vocabulary and it will be bad because it will get in the way of reading.
ReplyDeleteKO
I think it will be hard to understand some of the dialect Bronte uses, but it will be interesting trying to figure it out.
ReplyDeleteI think that this book is going to be challenging because I don't know a lot of the vocab and I don't really understand what is going on so far.
ReplyDeleteBecause the book uses such a difficult range of vocabulary, I think that as we begin to read the book, we will feel very attached to a dictionary. As we go on in the reading, I think we will be able to understand Bronte's language by making inferences from what we already know.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the first chapter of this book I already know that it is going to be very challenging. There is a lot of new vocab and confusing sentences. Although it will be difficult to read, I know that it will get easier as the book goes on and it will build my vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteBronte's syntax, although complicated and filled with challenging words, will enhance the story by making it more realistic. "Wuthering Heights" takes place in England during the 1800's where people used a more proper speech as well as regional terms. "A capital fellow" (Bronte 1) shows an example of both an unfamiliar word and a term commonly used in England at that time.
ReplyDeleteEmily Bonte's syntax and linguistics beacon an earlier day of the
ReplyDeleteEnglish language. "I do myself the honour..." (Bonte 2) shows us old
reflexive verbs, little used in today's English. The use of relative
clauses also demonstrates a piece of English grammar, slowly falling
into disuse. As proper grammar mandated, and as was used more
frequently back then, Bonte places the preposition first in the
clause, such as in "...the gate over which he leant..." (Bonte 3)
Bronte's vocabulary makes the book difficult to understand, and slows down the reading.
ReplyDeleteI like that he writes in Joseph's dialect because it makes you feel as though you are actually listening to him. It is also helpful to become accustomed to reading in different dialects.
Alright. I have 4 minutes to do this.
ReplyDeleteSo far, what I've interpreted out of Chapter 1 is that the writing style is descriptive and full of big words that I am not going to want to look up. "Soliloquized." She couldn't have just written, "said." That's okay though, it makes it more interesting. The syntax is a little more mixed up than most contemporary literature in my opinion, but I could be wrong.
4 minutes is up.
YOOOO..Whatever happened to spelling, careful thought, analysis? And grammar--it's great to soliloquize (there Toolan) about grammar, Connor, but not when you spell Bronte as Bonte. (I usually give you a mistake or two; after all, we are human. Most of us.) To quote Elmer Fudd, "Who dat?" Give examples people. I am the greatest teacher in the world. Fine. But how about some examples to prove it. Write originally, not "I think." Go back and count how many began their writing, "I think." I think originality has gone the way of the platypus. I think repetition stinks. I think that you need to think. That's not good, I just like the word platypus. Now: is it really the vocab tripping you up or the syntax? I'll bet you know most of those words, but often the syntax twists our brains. Riddle me that...
ReplyDeleteThe syntax is diffucult at first but once I start reading and get into the book it is easier to make sense of what is being said.
ReplyDeleteIt’s more syntax then vocab. Even though she uses complex words you can usually get the jest of the meaning. But with her syntax, she has long sentences that are weirdly broken up. In some paragraphs, I can usually figure out what she’s writing but with most I have to reread them and read spark notes afterwards to find out what had happened. For example, in the dialogue where Heathcliff tries to get Hindley to trade horses with him, it was easy to understand that Hindley hates Heathcliff and beats him and Heathcliff was holding that over his head to get his horse.
ReplyDeleteNow that I've read further into the book, the syntax has confused me more than the vocabulary. I have noticed that Bronte puts punctuation in awkward positions which breaks up the sentences and makes them more difficult to read. “I obeyed, so far as to quit the chamber; when, ignorant where the narrow lobbies led, I stood still, and was witness, involuntarily, to a piece of superstition on the part of my landlord, which belied, oddly, his apparent sense,” (Bronte, 33). I often find myself rereading a sentence multiple times, trying to make sense of it. The sentences aren’t usually run on sentences; they just don’t always make sense.
ReplyDeleteKO
This story is much more engaging than Frankenstein because the mysteries make me want to keep reading. My understanding of the weird syntax has improved as I have gotten farther into the book. I find it very ironic that Joseph was very religious. Overall, I am beginning to enjoy reading this story.
ReplyDeleteI like Wuthering Heights because it reads much faster than Frankenstein. In Frankenstein the book moved very slowly because there was more text on the pages. But, in Wuthering Heights, I can read it faster, because of less words.
ReplyDeleteI am now going to give an example of how syntax is used. "The endurance made old Mr. Earnshaw furious when he discovered his son persecuting the poor, fatherless, child, as he called him." Once I start reading the book I can summerize the "confusing" sentence to mean Mr. Earnshaw hated when Hindley was mean to Heathcliff.
ReplyDeleteAn example of Bronte's syntax is: "She returned presently, bringing a smoking basin, and a basket of work; and, having placed the former on the hob, drew in her seat, evidently pleased to find me so companionable" (Bronte 41). She uses commas and other punctuation a lot, different vocabulary, and her sentences are usually very long and complex.
ReplyDeleteAn example from chapter that demonstrates Bronte's syntax reads:
ReplyDelete"I had lighted on a spot where it was next to impracticable I, weak wretch, after maintaining till dusk a struggled with low spirits, and solitude, was finally compelled to strike my colours; and, under pretence of gaining information concerning the necessities of my establishment, I desired Mrs Dean, when she brought in supper... she would prove a regular gossip, and either rouse me to animation, or lull me to sleep by her talk." (Bronte 38).
Bronte's syntax tends to be complex, with the use of punctuation (commas, semi-colons)as well as a wide range of vocabulary.
"Synatax" is the new buzz word.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think it's pretty easy to understand after a while. You grow accustomed to the style, and learn to take the sentence in once you've finished reading it as opposed to understanding as you go along. If she starts off with a weird clause that could be much more easily understood at the end of the sentence, you eventually know to keep it from puzzling you and just continue. I might be repeating what others have said, but THAT'S HOW I FEEL.
But seriously, guys... this is getting boring. Let's make this a little bit more interesting.
New topic time!
Unfortunately, I have no suggestions.
ReplyDelete..Opinions on Cathy, perhaps? Heathcliff? Predictions? I don't know.