narrative language structures. toni morrison. a mercy mf’s ......past, futures in the past) to...

NarrativeLanguageStructures.ToniMorrison.AMercyMF’sC1courseathttp://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/ra/c1/

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NarrativeLanguageStructures:WritingWorkshopfromReadingWork:ByMF(2019)

DedicatedtoToniMorrisonActivitybasedonquotes&passagesfromToniMorrison'sAMercy(2008).

Teacher'scopy(Vintage2009)

AboutToniMorrison&C1sIdonotthinkC1learnerscanreadToniMorrison'snovelsoressays,really,notyet,butsheisanextraordinarywriterineverysense,andIhopesomedaysomeofyouwill.Inanycase,allofyou,forhuman,languageandsocioculturalreasons,canenjoyhervideointerviewsontheNetandevenplungeintoreadingherchildren'sstories(whicharehardenoughtoread,fornon-natives),whichsheco-wrotewithhersonSlade,e.g.TheBigBox.

NarrativeLanguageStructuresBeginningofchapter2,p.7

[SomeoneDIDsomething,doINGsomethingINSOMEWAY]

1. ThemanMOVEDthroughthesurf,steppINGcarefulLYoverpebblesandsandtoshore.

Meaningof"grammar"• Pastsimpleforsomethingdoneinapointinthepast• -ingforahowthatisdone• adverbformoredetailonthathowMeaningoftextualmatters• Cohesion/Coherence:Thisistheopeninglineinachapter.Beginningsarevery

informative/descriptive,generallyestablishingthetopicoftheparagraph.Theyhelpusunderstandthesetting,whereweare.Webeginwithafullnounphrase,notwithapronoun.Thisis(general)goodadviceforbeginningparagraphs(exceptwith"it"asin"Itwasanunrewardinglife.p.48)

Vocabulary,Etymology&Culture• TheSurfhere,anoun,means'thetopsofthewavesontheseawhentheyareneartothe

coastorhitagainstrocks'(CambridgeDictionary),sowecansayitmeans,'crashingwaves.'• Surfisalsoaverbmeaning'toridewaveswithasurfboard'.Whenyousurf,youstand

uprightonaboardandrideoverbreakingwavesintotheshore.• Amorefigurativemeaningofsurfis'searchcasually,'asin"channelsurf,"clickidly

betweenTVstations,or"surftheNet,"ornavigatetheInternet.• Theoriginofthewordisamystery,thoughit'sthoughttohavefirstbeenusedinthe1680s,

whenToniMorrison'snovelisset,atimewhenracismwasnotinstitutionalizedassuch.(Sources:vocabulary.com&etymonline.com,adapted&expandedbyMF)

Let'scontinue...Imagine.Novelsincludedescriptions,notonlynarratives.Descriptionsportraypeople,things,landscapes,events...Narrativesdescribeactions,events,too!See?Theymingle![SomethingWASandeffectoncharactersforcohesion--descriptions]

2. Fog,Atlanticandreekingofplantlife,BLANKETEDthebayandSLOWEDhim.

[SomeoneCOULD...BUTNOT...NOR...]

3. HeCOULDseehisbootssloshingBUTNOThissatchelNORhishands.

NarrativeLanguageStructures.ToniMorrison.AMercyMF’sC1courseathttp://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/ra/c1/

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[WHENsthHAPPENED,sbDIDsth+BUTBECAUSE*sthHADHAPPENED,sbCOULDNOT...]>WHEN+PAST+BUTBECAUSE+PASTPERFECT+COULD(NOT)Note:Makingourverbalrangericher!Includingdifferenttensesandmodals!

4. WHENthesurfWASbehindhimandhissolesSANKinmud,heTURNEDtowavetothesloopmen,BUTBECAUSEthemastHADDISAPPEAREDinthefogheCOULDNOTtellwhethertheyremainedanchoredorriskedsailingon--huggingtheshoreandapproximatingthelocationofwharvesanddocks.

Noteonalternativestructure:wecouldalsohave"BUTBECAUSEOFthewind,"forinstance(withanoun,insteadofaS+V.Findyourexamples!

Noticehownarrativesusethepast(pastsimple,pastcontinuous,pastperfect,modalsinthepast,futuresinthepast)tolearntocheckyourtenseswhenyoufinishwritinganarrativeforclass,workorexams!Sometimesyourmistakeisyouswitchtousingthepresent!Thisispossible,butforareason,likeinSpanish.Soyouneedtomonitorthisduringthecourse.

Syntax&Meaning.Readallthesentencesagainandtrytosimplifystructureusingboxessoyouknowwhicharethemainstructuresorboxes.Letmeshowyou.I'musingboldforkeywordsanditalicsforkeylinkingdevices.Thisexerciseisaboutsyntax,andsyntaxiscrucialfororderingourthoughtsandgrammar,aswellasforunderstandingifit'sproblematicwhetherweknowordon'tknowwhatthemeaningofthisorthatwordis.1. Themanmovedthroughthesurf,steppingcarefullyoverpebblesandsandtoshore.

2. Fog,Atlanticandreekingofplantlife,blanketedthebayandslowedhim.

3. Hecouldseehisbootssloshingbutnothissatchelnorhishands.

4. Whenthesurfwasbehindhimandhissolessankinmud,heturnedtowavetothesloopmen,

butbecausethemasthaddisappearedinthefoghecouldnottellwhethertheyremainedanchoredorriskedsailingon--huggingtheshoreandapproximatingthelocationofwharvesanddocks.

Now,ifyouunderstandthis,doesitreallymatteryouunderstandsomeofthewordsthatarenothighlighted?,likereeking,sloshing,satchel,sloopmen,orwharves?Doyouthinkbasingyourcomprehensiononsyntaxyoucouldworkoutwhatthesesentencesdescribeinspiteofnotknowingallthewords?Youneedtopracticethisonceinawhilewithyourreadingathome.Usingsyntaxtounderstandmeaningisveryhelpful,notonlyforclozetests.Anditiswhatnativesdowhentheyreadbooksandfindwordstheydon'tunderstand.Youknowitasanativespeaker,too!ReadingAloud&Punctuation.Tohelpyoulearnsyntax,remembertoreadaloud.Ithelpsalot.Intonationandpunctuationhelpalot.Soyouwillalsobeimprovinginspeaking(stressandintonation)andwriting(punctuation)!Wecanhavesmallerboxesinsidelargerboxes,yes!

NarrativeLanguageStructures.ToniMorrison.AMercyMF’sC1courseathttp://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/ra/c1/

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HOWTOACHIEVEVARIEDSENTENCESTRUCTURE(Richlanguagerange)Connectorsandtransitions(understoodherearepartsofasentence,notwholesentences)canhelpyoudothat,whilecaringforcohesion&coherence!❤Sonoticethisissueaswemoveon.NounphrasesasAppositives5. Aquickthinker,heflushedwithpleasurewhenacrisis,largeorsmall,neededinventionandfastaction(p.10)Prepositionalphrases6. Onthewayhesawamanbeatingahorsetoitsknees(p.26)7. BymoonlightIamhappytofindahollowlog,butitiswavywithants(p.65)-alsoTimephrase8. Withinminutestheywerebackinthewagonsteepedinanticipationofafreshbountifullife(p.84)Timeclausesassentenceinitiatorsandtypicaltransitionsopeningparagraphs,too,becauseoftheirpowertoofferasettingwecanpartfrom!9. WhenIarrivehereIbelieveitistheplacehewarnsagainst(p.6)+endingprepositions10. Oncebeyondthewarmgoldofthebay,hesawforestsuntouchedsinceNoah,shorelines

beautifulenoughtobringtears,wildfoodforthetaking(p.10)11. Uponlandingtheymadenopretenseofmeetingagain(p.83)12. Beforehecouldknock,thedoorwasopenedbyasmall,contradictoryman(p.13)13. Afteraleisurelymealofoysters,veal,pigeon,parsnipsandsuetpuddingrestoredhis

tastebuds,hereservedbedspacewithjustonemaninitand,strollingoutside,thoughtaboutthedisappointingdayandthehumiliationofhavingacceptedthegirlaspartpayment.(p.30)

14. Sinceyourleaving*withnogoodbye,summerpasses,thenautumn,andwiththewaningofwinterthesicknesscomesback(p.34)

15. Asthesonsdiedandtheyearspassed,Jacobbecameconvincedthefarmwassustainablebutnotprofitable(p.85)

Participleclauses(pastparticiple&presentparticiple)tostartdescriptivesentencesTypicalinnarrativesandreviews!Please,findexamplesinyourReadingathome&bringtoclass!Participleclausesareaformofadverbialclausewhichenablesustosayinformationinamoreeconomicalway.Wecanusethemwhentheverbwecanuseintheparticipleandtheverbinthemainclausehavethesamesubject.

16. Seatedatatableclutteredwiththeremainsofearliermeals,helistenedtothetalkaroundhim,whichwasmostlysugar,whichwastosay,rum(p.27)

17. Reassured,shewentbackintothesickroomwheresheheardMistressmumbling.(p.64)18. Comparedtothat,deathbyshipwreckortomahawkpaled.(p.74)

19. PickINGhiswaywithgrowingconfidence,hearrivedintheramshacklevillagesleepingbetweentwohugeriversideplantations(p.8)

• Mainsentence:Hearrivedin....Hepickedhisway...=S+V.S+V• Transformation:Wemergethetwosentencesintoone(oneS+V)!turningoneoftheS+VintoanING

verb!ThenewsentencewillbeaHow?phrase(sintagmaadverbialdecómo)intheglobalsyntaxofthemainsentenceHE=SubjectARRIVED=Verb+alltherestasitsaccompanyingpredicate.

20. WalkINGinthewarmnightair,hewentasfaraspossible(p.32)+placingadjectives&comparisons21. GallopINGalong,hewassweatingsoheavilyhiseyessaltedandhishairmattedonhisshoulders(p.9)• [-ing...,S+Vinpast:washappening+SO+adv+(that)+S+Vinpast:happened]• Rephrasing:Ashewasgalloping,hewassweating...=S+V,S+V22. BarelylisteningtoD'Ortega'spatter,sly,indirect,insteadofstraightandmanly,Jacobneared

thecookhouseandsawawomanstandinginthedoorwaywithtwochildren.(p.21)

NarrativeLanguageStructures.ToniMorrison.AMercyMF’sC1courseathttp://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/ra/c1/

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Rephrase...

23. WatchINGthecouple,Jacobnoticedthathusbandandwifeneverlookedateachother,exceptforastolenglancewhentheotherlookedelsewhere.(p.17)

24. RockINGinthepoorlymadesaddle,hefacedforwardwhilehiseyessweptthesurroundings(p.10)

INGNOUNSareNOTthesamecase...

25. PenetratING[thefog]waslikestrugglingthroughadream

ThisisanINGnounoperatingasthesubject!Nowmyownexamples...26. Litteringisnotallowed27. Lookingatphotosforhoursonendistoomuch!28. Waitingforpeople,whentheweatherisbad,particularlyifit'swindy,issomethingIhate.

Question.Nowanalyze...What'sthis?

29. Seededresentmentnowbloomed.(p.15)30. Breathingtheairofaworldsonew,almostalarminginrawnessandtemptation,neverfailed

toinvigoratehim(p.10)31. Seatedatasmalltablesurroundedbygravenidols,thewindowsclosedtotheboilingair,he

dranksassafrasbeeradagreedwithhishostabouttheweather(p.14)32. Farawaytotheright,beyondtheironfencesenclosingthepropertyandsoftenedbymist,

hesawrowsofquarters,quiet,empty.(p.12)33. Turningprofitintouselessbaubles,unembarrassedbysumptuary,silkstockingsandan

overdressedwife,wastingcandlesinmidday,hewouldalwaysbeunabletorideoutanysetback,whetheritbelostshiporruinedcrop.(p.17)

SomeotherC1languageitemsyoumightwanttohuntexamplesof!(UsefulLanguage)34. UNLIKEtheEnglishfoghehadknownsincehecouldwalk,orthosewaynorthwherehelived

now,thisonewassunfired,turningtheworldintothick,hotgold.(p.7)Thisstructureisgreatforcomparisons!Tryadrillingexercisetolearntousethestructurelikethis:35. Unlikemymother,Iwasshy.36. Unlikelifeinthecity,rurallifeisslow-pacedandeasy-going.37. Inspiteofhisdirtyhandsandsweat-limphair,Jacobpresseddownhisannoyanceandchose

tofocusonthefood(p.15)cf.Despite38. Yethecontinuedtofeeladisturbingpulseofpityfororphansandstrays,rememberingwelltheirand

hisownsadteeminginthemarkets,lanes,alleywaysandportsofeveryregionhetraveled(p.31)39. Still,atthishost'sinsistence,hetrailedhimtothelittleshedswhereD'Ortegainterrupted

theirhalfday'srestandorderedsometwodozenormoretoassembleinastraightline,includingtheboywhohadwateredRegina(p.20)

40. Probablybecausehisdreamswereofagrandhouseofmanyroomsrisingonahillabovethefog(p.33)41. Whateveritwas,hecouldn'tstaytheresurroundedbyapasselofslaveswhosesilencemade

himimagineanavalancheseenfromagreatdistance(p.20)

InversionQuestions42. Nowherehewas,arattyorphanbecomelandowner,makingaplaceoutofnoplace,a

temperatelivingfromrawlife(p.10)43. Notonlybecauseonehadtoholdtheheadwhiletheothertiedthetrotters.Mostlybecause

neitherknewpreciselywhattheyweredoingorhow.(p.51)-??