Towards the end of the extract further abstract nouns on lines 37 ‘Voluptuous’ and freedom carry positive connotations as they imply that the protagonist has gained significant power through language.
Schema
The unnamed protagonist breaks the schematic assumption when he reveals his intentions ‘I want you to play a game of scrabble with me’. Up until this point the main narrator implied that his intentions would be more sinister ‘what does he want’. The fact that the unnamed narrator fails to reveal his intentions reiterates his authority and control. This is imparted onto the audience creating anticipation. When his intentions are revealed the main narrator shows great relief. That’s what’s in the forbidden room, Scrabble! This also highlights the suppression of the main narrator. In normal circumstances she may have felt obliged to ask about certain intentions that may affect one self.
Phonology
The repetition of the pronoun ‘I’ and ‘my’ suggests the obedience of a child ‘I sit straight in the chair, my hands folded in my lap’. The connotations of a child impart a sense of vulnerability onto the audience. The linguistic device alliteration used to ‘link the important words together’ (Short, 1996, page 6) ‘I feel as if my feet in their flat red shoes aren’t quite touching the floor’ contribute significantly. Further alliteration reiterates vulnerability ‘ squeeze me and I’d turn into a small sicky damp wad of weeping – pinky- red. This indicates that the protagonist feels like the encounter is reducing her to nothing and imparts a sense of vulnerability onto the audience. Again the adjective red is used to impart a feeling of uncertainty.
Foregrounding
Line 2 is evident to a minor sentence which lacks the two necessary elements a main verb and a subject. ‘But of course they are’. This reiterates the situation of the main protagonist by reminding the audience that the main narrator is not a child which was previously suggested. i.e ‘I feel as if my feet in their flat red shoes aren’t touching the floor’.
The extract is foregrounded by lexical repetition on line 10. ‘Yes? Yes? Yes?’ and furthermore on line 4 ‘uses’, ‘used’ Therefore ‘the audience is likely to conclude that the speaker has strong feelings about it’ (Short, 1996, p14) In the case of the main protagonist it implies a strong desire to know what is expected. This builds suspense and creates curiosity as the audience is intrigued with regards to the situation. In the second example of lexical repetition it could be argued that it foregrounds the main protagonist’s feelings of being ‘used’ within the dominant situation imposed.
The line ? is syntactically deviant ‘I keep my face unmoving’. The verb is at the end of the sentence. This emphasises the action of the verb imparting anxiousness onto the audience.
The lines 25 – 26 are foregrounded by grammatical paralism. They consist of a set of parallels beginning with the linking word ‘now’ (Short, 1996, page 22.) ‘Now of course it’s something different’. In addition to this they are syntactically deviant as the adjective is placed at the end of the sentence. These adverbial phrases produce negative connotations and are inclusive to juxtaposition. A game of scrabble from the main narrator point of view was once considered infantile but now in adulthood it is considered dangerous. This imparts onto the audience a feeling that the main protagonist is not in control of the situation thus indicating a lack of power.
Grammar
The lines of the Handmaid’s tail are not equal in length. This is a result of the long and short sentences that are quite sporadic throughout and change significantly depending on direct speech and internal thought. The punctuation inclusive to commas indicates pauses within the text which allow the audience to consider certain aspects.
Average Length of Sentence
The average sentence length is 7.5. This figure is significantly low compared to the ellegard norm of 17.8. The reason why this number is low lies within the style of the text. The text is evident to minor sentences i.e but of course they are. In addition to this some sentences only contain one word i.e ‘zygote’, ‘valance’ that contribute producing a much lower number. Direct speech within the extract is also very short contributing again to the average length of the sentences. The long sentences represent internal thought although these are relatively low compared to the combination of short sentences.
Word Class
Syntax
(H) VP+PP
Subject (I) Predicate (sit straight) Object (chair) Compliment (in the). This does not follow the normal structure of a sentence although it contains all of the elements.
Effect
- Agency is given to ‘I’ and indicates that this is the protagonist.
- The prepositional phrase and the verb phrase show the anxiousness of the main character.
- This identifies with the subordinate role of the main protagonist.
Overall this relates to the dominant situation to which she is imposed on by the unnamed protagonist.
Discourse Architecture
Point of View
The pronouns ‘I’ and ‘my’ indicate 1st person narrative and that the scene is being presented to us from the main narrator’s point of view. The addressee does not see any other viewpoint other than what the unnamed protagonist says to the main narrator. This means that the audience is likely to sympathise with the main narrator. (Short, 1996, p371.) This is because there is no indication of the man’s point of view with the exception of his direct speech.
The verb on line 3 ‘says’’ indicates movement away from the main narrator as deictic centre as he initiates conversation (Short, 1996, page 371.) this is only brief and the focus shifts back to the main narrator with action indicated with the adjective ‘simply and the verb ‘look’.. This is followed by a shift in tense from the present to the past on line 4. ‘My Mother ‘uses’ then ‘used’ shifting the audience back and forth within the viewpoint which is successfully in juxtaposing innocence and highlighting the inappropriateness of the situation.
Speech Presentation.
On line 3 the unnamed protagonist indicates his dominance by directly addressing the main protagonist on several occasions. Line 3, “You must find this strange”. This is an example of a reported clause as he conveys his message to the main protagonist. It could be argued that this is an example of indirect speech implied by the main narrator ‘he says’. The audience is fully aware of what he has said. It could be argued that indirect speech is used to not defer attention and focus away from the main protagonist. Direct speech allows emotion and this could be imparted onto the audience and this is not the speaker’s intention. on Line 34 the unnamed protagonist asks a question ‘you know how to play’ which suggests that he is asking a child further asserting his authority which reiterates the situation the main narrator is opposed to. By leaving out the noun ‘scrabble’ indicates that this is quite an ambiguous question as more than one interpretation could be produced from the audience.
The main protagonist speaks once throughout the encounter on line 28 “all right” which demonstrates her subordinate position. This is also an example of a reported clause as she conveys her message to him.
It could be argued that the speech acts represented in the extract mean that the unnamed protagonist is the dominant party. This is because he speaks on more occasions.
Thought Presentation.
The longer sentences represent the main protagonist’s internal thought and is inclusive of strong adjectives that identify with the situation. The narrator’s internal thoughts mean that to some extent we see inside her mind. (Short, 1996, page 371.) This commences on line one. ‘I sit straight in the chair’ suggesting obedience. Direct though continues on line 8 ‘I think I should have a hat on with a bow tied under my chin’. This is Followed by indirect thought ‘Yes.Yes. Yes. What does he want which indicates the suppression of the main protagonist.
Conclusion
To conclude my stylistic analysis supports my initial macro interpretation. The use of the personal pronoun ‘I’ and ‘my’ suggest a woman in a powerless situation. The voice of authority presented by the unnamed protagonist ‘I want’ ‘I would like’ further support my claims as even though he is not interrogative implies an instruction to obey and please. In addition to this the adjectives ‘cotton candy’ ‘sugar and ‘air suggests subversion and have childlike connotations attached to them which also reiterates control and lack of power.
Bibliography
Attwood.M, (1986) The Handmaid’s Tail, Boston
Short.M, (2013), Learning about Language, Exploring the Language of Poems, Plays and Prose, New York, Routledge.