西洋小說賞析 :

1. 西洋小說賞析: 中興大學外文系 副教授周淑娟 Spring 2014

2. A Supplementary Note for “The Prodigal Son” • What does the elder brother stand for: ---Pharisees; people who stick formalistically to God’s laws without realizing God’s mercy and without the virtue of forgiveness ---The grace the faithful follower get from God will not be reduced just because God gives His mercy to the repentant sinner.

3. Week 5： “The Chaser”

4. “The Chaser” as an Illustration of the Characteristic of Short Story • We don’t know who Alan is. • We don’t know who the old man is, either. • However, through a presentation of a dramatic conversation, the reader has a glimpse of Alan’s plight in love and the different perceptions of love between the two men.

5. Ambiguity (意義的曖昧與多樣性) Pun (雙關語) • Ex.: “chink in the armor” (ABC news anchor on Jeremy Lin) (The whole phrase is also a metaphor at the same time. ) • Ex. “the chaser”: 1) 追求者; 2) 飲完烈酒後加飲的 清淡飲料

6. Figurative language—comparisons比喻性語言 1 • 1﹒metaphor 隱喻 -----「他雖對她呵護倍至，無奈落花有意，流 水無情。」 -----「娉娉嫋嫋十三餘，荳蔻梢頭二月初。」(杜牧) -----「我有神珠ㄧ顆，久被牢塵關所，他朝塵 盡進光生，照破山河萬朵。」(王維)

7. Figurative language—comparisons比喻性語言 1 • 1﹒metaphor 隱喻 Chorus leader: “You are caught in the nets of doom—obey if you can obey . . .” (Agamemnon by Aeschylus) Clytaemnestra: “. . . Our never-ending, all embracing net, I cast it wide for the royal haul, I coil him round and round.” (Agamemnon by Aeschylus)

8. Figurative language—comparisons比喻性語言 2 • 2﹒simile 明喻 --「問君能有幾多愁， 恰似一江春水向東流」(李煜) --「人生到處知何似，應似飛鴻踏雪泥。泥上偶 然留指爪，鴻飛那復計東西…。」 （蘇軾) --「落花猶似墜樓人 」(杜牧)

9. Figurative language—comparisons比喻性語言 2 • 2﹒simile 明喻 -----“O my Love's like a red, red rose That’s newly sprung in June; O my Love's like the melody That’s sweetly play'd in tune...” (Robert Burns)

10. Figurative language—comparisons比喻性語言 2 • 2﹒simile 明喻 Clytaemnestra: “Unless she’s like a swallow, possessed of her own barbaric song, strange, dark . . .” (Agamemnon by Aeschylus) (cf. 南蠻鴃舌之人)

11. Associations • Can you find any other example of metaphor/simile in the poems you’ve read before?

12. Dark Humor (Black Humor)黑色幽默 • Humor that is viewed as dark, morbid (可怕), cruel, offensive to some, and or graphic (真切的) in nature and is yet, still found funny. • Ex. ---The old man’s tricky attitude in implying the effect of “life cleaner” ---The film《父後七日》 (black comedy--黑色喜劇) ---The “Collecting All Five” contest in Friends

13. Associations (相關聯結) • Allusion(典故) of the Love Potion: “Love-in-idleness” in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream(仲夏夜之夢) • 羅大佑: “戀曲1980”

14. 文本閱讀 1 • “. . . and peered about for a long time on thedim landing”(1) • “. . . as he had been told to do…”(2) • “. . . went up certain dark and creaky stairs”(1) • “ On one of the dirty buff-colored walls”(2) • “Young people who need a love potion very seldom have five thousand dollars. Otherwise they would not need a love potion.”(14)

15. Questions for Exploration • Why does the old man say “au revoir” (French, which means “see you again”) instead of “good-bye”? (再見 vs. 珍重) • What will Alan buy when he comes next time?

16. Ambiguity of “Chaser” • ---追求者 (the one who chases love”) • ---喝完烈酒後喝的清淡飲料 (ex. whisky bear)

17. Questions • Is “the chaser” a metaphor or simile in this story? • As a drink, what does “the chaser” refer to in the old man’s goods? • As a drink, what is the stuff in the old man’s goods that comes before the chaser?

18. Questions for Exploration • In a sense, “glove-cleaner” (39) is also a metaphor. What behavior of love might “glove” indicate? • As a metaphor, what development of love might “the chaser” refer to?

19. Questions for Exploration • The old man reveals a cynical (兼具嘲諷與辛辣) but somehow true message about love. What does he imply about poor young men’s desperate need of love potion and their desperate need of life cleaner years after when they are better off and have used love potion?

20. Questions for Exploration • After hearing the old man explain the effects of the love potion, Alan cries out, “That is love.” Is his a proper understanding of love?

21. What is the essence of love? • Love, in its truest sense, must be something borne out of deep, mutual feelings between two people. It is something shared. • Artificial love is indeed a tragedy. • Love should come naturally, and, probably, when it disappears, we should also see it as natural.

22. Reading Comprehension • “It is only when one is in a position to oblige that one can afford to be so confidential.”(18) • “For indifference, they substitute devotion. For scorn, adoration”(24) • “That will never happen.”(36) • “It is not as dear as the glove cleaner…”(39)

23. Understanding Vocabulary in Context • “Alan Austen . . . went up certain dark and creaky stairs . . . and peered about for a long time on thedimlandingbefore he found the name he wanted . . . ”(1) • On one of the dirty buff-colored walls were a couple of shelves, ”(2)

24. Understanding Vocabulary in Context • “Here, for example," interrupted the old man, reaching for a bottle from the shelf. "Here is a liquid as colourless as water, almost tasteless, quite imperceptible in coffee, wine, or any other beverage. It is also quite imperceptible to any known method of autopsy.”（8） • "I hope all your mixtures are not as expensive," said Alan apprehensively.”（13）

25. Understanding Vocabulary in Context • “I look at it like this,” said the old man. “Please a customer with one article, and he will come back when he needs another. Even if it is more costly. He will save up for it, if necessary.”（16）

26. Understanding Vocabulary in Context • “Oh, no,” said the old man. “Their effects are permanent, and extend far beyond the mere casual impulse. But they include it. Oh, yes they include it. Bountifully, insistently. Everlastingly.” • （20）

27. Understanding Vocabulary in Context • "Yes, she will want to be everything to you." “She is, already. Only she doesn't care about it." （27-28）

28. Understanding Vocabulary in Context • “And, by the way, since there are always sirens, if by any chance you should, later on, slip a little, you need not worry. She will forgive you, in the end. She will be terribly hurt, of course, but she will forgive you-in the end.”（35） • “That will not happen,” said Alan fervently. （36）

29. Vocabulary in Context (From Previous Texts)

30. Pre-reading Introduction for Week 6

31. Some Names that You May Know • Stephen King • Freddy Krueger • La Llorona • Bram Stoker • The Addams Family • Yuki Onna • Mary Shelley

32. Who Are These People? 1 • Stephen King: writer of horror novels ---ex. Misery (戰慄遊戲) • Freddy Kruger: character in Nightmare on Elm Street (半夜鬼上床) • La Llorona: Mexican folklore (weeping woman)

33. Who Are These People? 2 • Bram Stoker: author of Dracula (德古拉) • The Addams Family 阿達一族 • Mary Shelley: author of Frankenstein • Yuki Onna: 雪女Japanese folklore

34. What is “thriller”? • Thrillers (驚悚作品) tend to be fast-moving, psychological, threatening, mysterious and at times involve larger-scale villainy such as espionage, terrorism and conspiracy • the primary mood that they elicit: fearful excitement

35. The Twilight

36. Sub-Genres (次文類) of Thrillers • Crime thrillers: ransoms, captivities, heist(攔劫), revenge, kidnappings • Mystery (神秘案件) thrillers: investigations and the whodunit technique • Psychological thrillers: stalking(盯梢 ), confinement/death-traps, horror-of- personality, and obsession

37. Questions to Explore • Why are horror movies (thrillers) so popular? • Do you believe in or will you influenced by the scenes described in the thrillers?

38. Possible Answers • Function 1: to distract your mind from your real life pressure? • Function 2: to enjoy the excitement/surprise invoked by the imagination of the weird or gruesome?

39. Reason(理性) vs. Instinct (本能) • The unconscious in human psychology (Freud) vs. the Enlightenment exaltation of reason

40. Freud (佛洛依德) • 3 parts of human psychology: ---ego (自我:對現實的理性妥協) ---superego (超我: 社會與道德規範) ---id (本我; 原始衝動):.

41. Freud (佛洛依德) ---ego (自我): The ego is that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world ---superego (超我): The super-ego controls our sense of right and wrong and guilt. It helps us fit into society by getting us to act in socially acceptable ways ---id (本我): the unorganized part of the personality structure that contains a human's basic, instinctual drives.

43. Thank You