Lesson 12

The Loons

Margaret Laurence

Teaching Contents

1. Background Knowledge

2. Important Language points

3. Text Analysis 3. Text Analysis

4. Language Appreciation

5. Check on Understanding

1. Background information

� 1. Loon and Canada

� 2. Margaret Laurence

� 3. Manawaka

� 4. The Loons� 4. The Loons

� 5. the Governor General's Award 总督奖?

� 6. study about The Loons ?

�1. loon: distinctive Canadian bird, the

bird of the lakes

�one-dollar coin with a loon engraved

on it. So, one dollar is slangily called

a loony. a loony.

A. A kind of fish-eating, diving bird in North American

B. One who is crazy or deranged.

loony: (from lunatic) (person who is) crazy or eccentric; lunatic

He does have some pretty loony �He does have some pretty loony ideas.

�Thinking

�why the author chooses such a title for her novel?for her novel?

�What kind of article it is?

2. Margaret Laurence

Margaret Laurence (1926Margaret Laurence (1926Margaret Laurence (1926Margaret Laurence (1926----1987)1987)1987)1987)

� One of the great Canadian fiction writers, best known for her Manawaka novels---The Stone Angel; A Jest of God; The Fire Dwellers; The diviners---all are considered classics of Canadian literature.

� Born in Neepawa, Manitoba in 1926, Educated at the University of Manitoba, died

� Born in Neepawa, Manitoba in 1926, Educated at the University of Manitoba, died at Lakefield, Ontario in 1987, raised by her aunt

� moved with her husband to Africa where he worked as a civil engineer

� her early work deals with her travels in Africa while later works are often set in the Canadian West

� 3. ManawakaManawakaManawakaManawaka is a fictional town in the Canadianprovince of Manitoba, 马尼托巴省：加拿大中南部的一个省frequently used as a setting in novels and short storiesby Margaret Laurence. The town was based on Laurence's real-life hometown of Neepawa,尼帕瓦 and should not be confused with the real-life town of Maniwaki, Quebec.

� 玛格丽特�劳伦斯的“马纳瓦卡”长短篇小说系列对这� 玛格丽特�劳伦斯的“马纳瓦卡”长短篇小说系列对这一主题的审美切入和艺术展示尤为突出。这一系列包括四部长篇小说和一本短篇小说集，有《石头天使》、《上帝的玩笑》、《生活在火里的人》、《占卜者》和《房中鸟》。这五部作品奠定了玛格丽特�劳伦斯在加拿大现代文学中的崇高地位，并为她赢得了世界性声誉。作为一位小说家，劳伦斯主要关心人物的刻画，并且在每一部小说中塑造了一位强有力的、为争取女性独立而进行坚决斗争又不断改变着社会舆论标准的妇女形象。

Novels:

This Side of Jordan (1960) 《约旦河此岸》

�The Stone Angel (1964) 《石头天使》

�A Jest of God (1966) won the Governor

General's Award (总督奖), filmed as Rachel,

Rachel (1968) 《上帝的玩笑》Rachel (1968) 《上帝的玩笑》

�The Fire Dwellers (1969) 《火中人》

�A Bird in the House (1970) 《屋中的小鸟》

�Jason's Quest (1970)

�The Diviners (1974) won the Governor

General's Award (总督奖), filmed in 1993

《占卜者》。

� Short Stories: The Tomorrow-Tamer (1963)

�《驯服明天者》

� Essays: Heart of a Stranger (1976)

� Travel: The Prophet's Camel Bell《先知的驮铃》 (1963) 驮铃》 (1963)

� Biographies：

�Margaret Laurence (1981) by Patricia Morley,

�Margaret Laurence (1969) by Clara Thomas,

�The Manawaka World of Margaret Laurence

(1975) by Clara Thomas

The Loons (1970)

� First published in 1970 as one story in a book called A Bird in the House

� 1. The Sound of the Singing;

� 2. To Set Our House in Order;

� 3. The Mask of the Bear;

� 4. A Bird in the House; � 4. A Bird in the House;

� 5. The Loons;

� 6. Horses of the Night;

� 7. The Half-Husky;

� 8. Jericho's Brick Battlements

(narrator: Vanessa MacLeod )

� The loons is included in the Norton Anthology of Short Fiction

(1980).

� 社会评价社会评价社会评价社会评价

� 玛格丽特�劳伦斯是加拿大当代最负盛名的女作家之一。她创作的长篇小说"玛纳瓦卡"系列为她赢得了世界性声誉。她在每一部小说中都塑造了一位具有勇气和韧性,为争取独立价值而坚决斗争的女性形像,她们执著探索存在的意义,不断地以自己的行为改变着社会舆论标准,表现了作者对生存与女性独立主体的关注。玛

,,

纳瓦卡系列女性形像所蕴涵的人性的辉煌,无疑对传统文学作品中对女性的模式化刻画提出了挑战。

� 写作特点写作特点写作特点写作特点

� 玛格丽特�劳伦斯在马那瓦卡系列小说中 ,运用独特的女性写作方式 ,刻画出一群执著探求存在意义及自我价值的女性形象 ,并以此来挑战以男性视角为中心的文学传统。凸现了劳伦斯为阐述女性在父权制的话语中“言说生命真相”而作出的抗争所采取的写作策略

� Metis: 梅蒂族是加拿大的古老的土著民族，梅蒂人世代生活在西部地区（现在的马尼托巴省的红河流域）。自治领建立之后，加拿大在迅速向西部扩张领土时，梅蒂人揭竿而起，淤1869年和1885年两次发动武装起义，反对联邦政府的扩张政策，结果均遭到残酷镇压。梅蒂人热爱生活，热爱大自然，他们应该是热情、勇敢、无畏的民族。他们可以放弃生命，但不能放弃土地和自由。地和自由。梅蒂人起义失败后，沦为社会的下层。他们丧失了土地和家园，在白人的主流社会中找不到恰当的位置。“他们彼此间用一种土语交谈，既不像印第安语，也不像法语。他们说起英语来结结巴巴，还尽是些俗语粗话。”丧失了自己的沐浴，如同失去了自己的家园，皮格特一家就是在这种没有归属感的环境下艰难度日。

2. Important Language points� Effective Writing Skills:

� 1. making effective use of specific

words (adjectives and verbs).

� 2. using many elliptical and short � 2. using many elliptical and short

sentences to achieve certain effect

� 3. Scenery description as a transitional

device

� 4. Rhetorical Devices (students’ job)

3. Text Analysis

� Ways of developing a piece of objective

description:

� ---to begin with a brief general picture, � ---to begin with a brief general picture,

divide the object into parts and organize the

detailed description in order of space

Organization of the text:

� Part I ( Para. 1-2): An introduction to Piquette’s family

� Part II (Para. 3-48 2ndpara.on p.214): Piqette at school and days on Diamond Lake with the MacLeod’s days on Diamond Lake with the MacLeod’s

� Part III (Para.49-the end): Piquette’s adult life and her suffering / miserable life

1. Vanessa’s meeting with Piquette again at the age of 17 ( Para.49-63 2nd para.on page 217)

2. The death of Piquette (Para.63-71 on page 218)

3. Vanessa’s coming to the Diamond Lake again and seeing the great changes and disappearance of loons brought by the modern civilization made her really understand Piquette.

Life experience

� At school, Piquette felt out of place

and ill at ease with the white children.

�When she had grown up she didn't �When she had grown up she didn't

have any chance to improve her life.

� In fact her situation became more and

more messed up. In the end she was

killed in a fire.

Can you find any change of Vanessa’s

feeling for Piquette from the very beginning

to the end of the story?

(At school, the days at Diamond Lake, their meeting four years later, the time she their meeting four years later, the time she heard of Piquette’s death from her mother

and she came to the lake again )

indifferent �pitiful / curious /mysterious �tiresome / disliking� sympathetic �understanding

3. Text Analysis

Para. 1…ran brown and noisy over…

adj. used as adverbials, e.g.

a. Young in years, he is old in experience.

b. He, sad and tired, slept all day.

basis: the basis of sth. is the starting point or an basis: the basis of sth. is the starting point or an important part of it from which it can be further developed.

Chink: n. a very narrow crack or opening in the surface of sth.

v. when objects chink, or you chink them, they touch each other.

text: close the narrow openings with mud.

Riel: Canadian insurrectionist (起义者; 造反者) who organized the métis settlers in a rebellion over their land rights (1869). After rebellion over their land rights (1869). After leading the second uprising in Saskatchewan (1884-1885), he was captured and executed by Canadian authorities.

Lean-to

�

�

lean-tos

Lean-to

Lean-to

lean-to� 1. a simple outdoor building or shelter

that uses the side of another building as

one of its walls and has a sloping roof:

� a lean-to hut� a lean-to greenhouse � a lean-to greenhouse

�

2. a simple outdoor shelter that stands alone

and has a sloping roof.

� They keep hens in a lean-to at the end of the

garden.

� strand: a single piece or thread

�Many strands are twisted together to

form a rope.

� barb: the sharp point of a fish hook,

arrow, etc, with a curved shape arrow, etc, with a curved shape

which prevents it from being easily

pulled out

barbed wire

�Her hair got

�all tangled up

�in the barbed �in the barbed

�wire fence.

� tangle: (cause

� sth to) become

� twisted into a confused mass

� As the Tonnerre had increased,Krusty tin cans.

� 坦纳瑞家人丁兴旺，他们的木屋慢慢地扩建，越来越大，到后来，那片林中空地上小披屋林立，到处越大，到后来，那片林中空地上小披屋林立，到处乱七八糟地堆放着木版包装箱、晒翘了的木材、废弃的汽车轮胎、摇摇欲坠的鸡笼子、一卷一卷的带刺的铁丝和锈迹斑斑的洋铁罐。

Para. 2 belong among …

� to feel happy and comfortable in a place or

situation, because you have the same

interests and ideas as other people （合得来，interests and ideas as other people （合得来，成为集体的一分子）

我感到同这些人格格不入。

eg. I felt I did not belong among these

people.

Belong to / belong among�这笔款子不是他的，是他向朋友借的。

� The money does not belong to him．He

borrowed it from a friend．

�这些移民第二代仍感到处于主流文化的边缘，�这些移民第二代仍感到处于主流文化的边缘，无论是在白人社会还是华人社会中他们都找不到恰当的位置。

� The second generation of immigrants are stiIl

marginalized，belonging neither among the

white society，nor among the Chinese

American community．

section hand/gang

� Section: a portion of railroad track

maintained by a single crew.maintained by a single crew.

� A crew of persons who do the maintenance

work in a railroad section.

1. …with a face…unfamiliar with laughter.

� …who looked deadly serious, never laughed.

� bruise: to injure the surface or the outside of sth so that there is spoilage, abrasion, denting. E.g. bruised peaches.

Get mixed up: mix it (up) with: to argue or Get mixed up: mix it (up) with: to argue or threaten to fight with someone.

Do not mix it with him; he is mad.

Hit out: hit out at/against: to express strong disapproval of sth/sb （抨击）； to try to hit sb （猛打）, e.g.

He hit out at the government’s policy on the poor.

2. Sometimes old Jules,…in a

Saturday-night brawl.

� Sometimes old Jules, or his son Lazarus

would get involved in a rough, noisy quarrel

or fight on a Saturday night after much or fight on a Saturday night after much

drinking of liquor.

put/take sb up for the night�这一对美国夫妇让他在客厅的沙发上睡了一夜。

� The American couple put him up on the

sofa in the living room for the night．

fail several grades

fail my father p.214: to disappoint the hopes or

trust of

His friends failed him when he needed them most.

fail several grades

fail my father p.214: to disappoint the hopes or

trust of

His friends failed him when he needed them most.

relief � You’re safe. What a relief!

� 你平安无事，这样大家就放心了。

� a drug for the relief of pain

� Relief supplies were rushed into the flooded area.

� （救济物质）

� He receives tax relief because he supports his old mother.� He receives tax relief because he supports his old mother.

� （减税）

� In the picture, dark green trees stand out in bold relief against

the white snow.

在白云的映衬下，深绿色树的轮廓极为明显。

� relief map （地势图）

� relief valve = safety valve （安全阀、减压阀、溢流阀）

Para. 3.

3. Her attendance …schoolwork negligible.

� She often missed her classes and had

little interest in schoolwork.

4. She existed for 4. She existed for

me…embarrassing presence.me…embarrassing presence.

I only knew her as a person who would make other people feel ill at

ease.

As far as I am concerned, her presence would only make other

people feel ill at ease / uncomfortable.

Otherwise…miles too long.

�除此之外，我就知道她是一个让人一见就觉得不舒服的人：说话时声音沙哑，走起路来踉踉跄跄，身上穿着的棉衣裙总是脏兮兮的，踉踉跄跄，身上穿着的棉衣裙总是脏兮兮的，而且总是长得极不合体。

5. She dwelt …within my scope

of vision.

� She lived and moved somewhere within my

range of sight (Although I saw her, I paid

little attention to her.) little attention to her.)

peculiar�peculiar: odd or strange, eccentric,

strange in a troubling or displeasing way

�unusual and strange, sometimes in an unpleasant way:unpleasant way:

�a peculiar taste, smell, noise, etc

�a peculiar feeling that one has been here before.

�My keys have disappeared; it's most peculiar!

�He's a bit peculiar!

Para. 4 flare upflare up: burn suddenly more intensely

The fire flared up as I put more logs on it.

to suddenly become worse, very angry, or violent:

• Violence has flared up again in the region� • Violence has flared up again in the region

� 我的背疼又发作了。

� My back trouble has flared up again.

� Fighting flared up after a two-week lull (暂停).

战斗在平静了两个星期后又突然爆发。

like the dickens

� like the dickens

� like the devil 猛烈地

� like the deuce 猛然� like the deuce 猛然

� 究竟；到底

� 它究竟在哪儿？

� Where the dickens is it?

� 这家伙到底是谁呢?

� Who the dickens is this guy?

Para. 6 She took off a few years

back…

To suddenly start being successful.

I hear the business is really taking off. I hear the business is really taking off.

To leave somewhere suddenly without

telling anyone. He just took off with

saying goodbye.

Para. 8 What about

�我们骑车去香山好吗?

� What about cycling to the Fragrant Hills?

� cross� cross

� Adj. angry or annoyed.

�She gave me a cross look.

� Get cross: The teacher will get cross if you

fail again.

� I was cross with him for being late.

Para. 11 For Pete’s sake� A mild exclamation of surprise, annoyance, also for heaven’s

sake, for god’s sake.

� for Peter’s sake: for God's / goodness' / Heaven's / gosh’s /

pity's, etc. sake: used as an interjection before or after a

command or request, or to express irritation

�For God's sake, stop that whining!�For God's sake, stop that whining!

�For goodness' sake! How can you be so stupid?

� For Christ’s sake is rather a strong expression and should be

used with care.

Para. 12. Rigid� rigid: stiff; not bending or yielding; strict;

firm; unchanging

�Her face was rigid with terror.

�He is a man of very rigid principles

�practise rigid economy 厉行节约厉行节约厉行节约厉行节约�practise rigid economy 厉行节约厉行节约厉行节约厉行节约

�麦克里奥祖母那清秀的

�脸上此时显得像玉石雕像般

�的冷峻，KK

� vein（静脉）,

� artery（动脉）,

� blood capillary（毛细血管）� blood capillary（毛细血管）

Para. 14. Win hands down

�win (sth) hands down (ALSO beat sb

hands down)

� to win something/beat someone very � to win something/beat someone very

easily:

�She won the debate hands down.

�The last time we played squash he

beat me hands down.

If it comes to…nits or not.

� If my mother had to make a choice between

Grandmother Macleod and Piquette, she

would certainly choose the latter without would certainly choose the latter without

hesitation, no matter whether the latter had

nits or not.

Para. 15. …at that

� ... at that INFORMAL

� in addition to that:

� It was quite an expensive hotel, and not � It was quite an expensive hotel, and not

particularly comfortable at that.

那家旅馆收费很高，而且不怎么舒服。

� We might have done still better at that.

然而我们本来还可做得更好些。

� It's too expensive, and probably out-of-date at that.

Para. 16. practice � work of a doctor or lawyer （医生或律师的）工作:

� * a doctor working in general practice, ie as a family doctor 全科医生（如家庭医生）

� * She has retired from practice/is no longer in practice. 她已退休[已不再执业].

� (b) [C] (place of) business of a doctor or lawyer （医生或律师的）业务; 诊所; 律师事务所:

* a medical/legal practice 诊所[法律事务所]� * a medical/legal practice 诊所[法律事务所]

� * a group practice, ie a partnership of several doctors 联合诊所（由几位医生联合执业）

� * His practice is in the centre of the city. 他的事务所位於市中心.

� * She has just bought (into) a very profitable practice. 她刚买下一个赢利很高的事务所（的股票）.

bear

� bear our name

� bear fruit � bear fruit

� bear no expression

� bear the streak of amber

Para. 17. You could look out the window…

the sun caught it.

� 从别墅的窗外往外看，透过一层云杉树叶织成的丝帘，可以看见碧绿的湖面在太阳的映照下波光粼粼。照下波光粼粼。

� meticulously : overcarefully, pay too much attention to details

� finicky:

� a meticulous worker, researcher, etcmeticulous painting and free sketch painting 工笔 / 写意画painting 工笔 / 写意画

� Only after a meticulous examination did he finally conclude the relic was a genuine.

� carefully

� Your paper should be based on careful readings of the original sources.

� Para. 22. Unlikely as it may seem:

� although it may seem not likely to

happen,...

� as near as makes no difference

�没有多少差别

� the wilds: areas that are very far from

towns and cities, where very few people

live（荒野）

� • the wilds of Tibet� • the wilds of Tibet

� in the wild: in an area outside a farm or

a ZOO, where animals can live freely

and naturally:

� animals that live in the wild (在自然环境下，在野外）

whippoorwill

coyote

Para. 37. give

� give: used in the idiom:

� sb. doesn't/couldn't give a damn, a hoot (cry of an owl), etc (about sb/sth) (infml):

� sb does not care at all (about sb/sth)� sb does not care at all (about sb/sth)He couldn't give a damn whether he passes the exam or not.

�她做什么我一点也不在乎。

� I don't give a damn what she does.

Para. 39. Amber with male winged

ant

At night the lake…and flew out onto the dark still

surface of the water.

�

�夜间的湖面看起来像一块黑色玻璃，只有一线水面因映照着月光才呈现出琥珀色，湖的周围到处密密丛丛地生长着高色，湖的周围到处密密丛丛地生长着高大的云杉树，在寒光闪烁的星空映衬下，云杉树的枝桠呈现出清晰的黑色剪影。过了一会儿，潜水鸟开始鸣叫。它们像幽灵般地从岸边的窝巢中腾起，飞往平静幽暗的湖面上。

Para. 47. If you are ill at ease, you feel rather

uncomfortable, worried or anxious.

� be ill at ease局促不安, 心神不宁, 感到拘束� to be anxious and not relaxed:

� He seemed ill at ease and not his usual self.

� He appeared embarrassed and ill at ease with the sustained applause that greeted him.

我在陌生环境总觉不自在。� 我在陌生环境总觉不自在。� I always feel ill at ease in a strange environment.

� at (your) ease

� relaxed:

� He felt completely at ease.

� She soon put/set me at ease (= made me relaxed) .

� at ease (ALSO standing at ease)

� If someone, especially a soldier is at ease, they are standing with their feet apart and their hands behind their back.

� stand at ease [军](口令)稍息

Reach

� to understand and communicate with

someone:

� He's a strange child and his teachers find it � He's a strange child and his teachers find it

difficult to reach him.

Para. 48. be immersed in …� 1. to put something completely in a liquid

� The shells should be immersed in boiling water for two minutes.

� 2. be immersed in/immerse yourself in : to be completely involved in something:completely involved in something:

� • Grant is completely immersed in his work.

The whole city was immersed in a festival atmosphere.

全城沉浸在节日的气氛中。陷入困境

be immersed in difficulties

� immersion noun [U]

jukebox

jukebox

rainbow glass

Her face was made lively and spirited by a

kind of gaiety that was extremely intense

and almost uncontrollable.

Her face…was animated now with a gaiety that was

almost violent.

and almost uncontrollable.

carmine, scarlet, cardinal, crimson

to advantage: so as to result in a good

effect; so as to produce a favorable

impression or effect; in a way that shows its

good points or merits以便产生好的效果;

（用比较衬托等）使优点突出; in a flattering

way; favorably(有利于); wishing to be seen to advantage

the dress brought out her figure to advantage.

The painting is seen to better advantage from a

distance.

这幅画从远处看格外好。

� 玫瑰插在蓝色的花瓶中，产生了良好的效果。

� The roses were displayed to advantage in a blue

feature[C usually plural] one of the parts of someone's face that you notice when you look at them:

� He has wonderful strong features.

� regular (= even and attractive) features

Her eyes are her best feature.� Her eyes are her best feature.

� 粗眉大眼的人a man with heavy features 讨人喜欢的相貌

pleasing features 她的五官中鼻子最难看。

Her nose is her worst feature.

heavy � (especially of something unpleasant) of very or unusually great force, amount or degree:

� a heavy blow to the head

� heavy fighting

� heavy traffic� heavy traffic

� heavy rain/snow

� a heavy smoker/drinker

� a heavy sleeper

� with a heavy heart feeling very sad

� heavy day/schedule/timetable (one that is very busy and full of activities)

� heavy seas sea which is rough with large waves

7. Her defiant face,…terrifying

hope.

� Normally, she was a defensive person, and

her face was guarded as if it was wearing a

mask. But when she was saying this, there mask. But when she was saying this, there

was an expression of challenge on her face,

which, for a brief moment, became

unguarded and unmasked. And in her eyes

there was a kind of hope which was so

intense that it filled people with terror.

Topics

� a. What was her terrifying hope?

� b. What were the very things she had been � b. What were the very things she had been

forced to seek?

any old how :� anyhow (WITHOUT CARE) adverb (INFORMAL any old

how)

� without care or interest; in an untidy way:

� He looked a complete mess - dressed anyhow with hair sticking up on end.

� 为表示强调，在anyhow一词中插入old而成（俚）

1. 乱糟糟(in no particular order); 随随便便的, 马马虎虎1. 乱糟糟(in no particular order); 随随便便的, 马马虎虎的2. 无论如何（in any way）

e.g.

� They have dropped things just any old how. 乱丢东西

� feel any old how 感到不舒坦

� 随便打包/装起来

� Just pack them any old how.

8. she looked like a mess…any

old how.

� She looked a mess, to tell you the truth; she

was a dirty, untidy woman, dressed in a very

careless way.careless way.

Disorderly

� 1 untidy:

� clothes left in a disorderly heap

� 2 noisy or violent, especially in a public place:� 2 noisy or violent, especially in a public place:

� (Law) Disturbing the public peace or decorum.

� 【法律】妨害治安或礼仪的

� Jerry was charged with being drunk and disorderly.

� disorderliness noun [U]

9. She was up…of course.

� She was brought in court several times,

because she was drunk and disturbing the

public peace , as one could expect.public peace , as one could expect.

Die out

� die away

� if a sound, wind, or light dies away, it becomes weaker and stops:

� • The footsteps died away.

� die down� die down

� to become less strong or violent:

� • The wind finally died down this morning.

� die out

� to disappear completely or no longer exist:

� • The last wolves in this area died out 100 years ago.

loons Piquette

Live in Diamond Lake Lives in a clearing at the

centre of the thicket

Sound at night Seldom speak Rarely

respond or went outrespond or went out

Ululating & plaintive

sound with a touch of

chilling mockery

Try to change her

situation by marrying a

white man

Cannot escape the

human invaders

Cannot escape the white

invaders

Disappeared died

Perhaps they had been unable to find

such a place ...having ceased to care

any longer whether they lived or not.

This obviously is an analogy (类比), in which � This obviously is an analogy (类比), in which

the loons are compared to Piquette, who

had been unable to find a place to live, and

had simply died out, having ceased to care

any longer whether SHE lived or not.

� Analogy: The comparison of two things,

which are alike in several respects, for the

purpose of explaining or clarifying some purpose of explaining or clarifying some

unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by

showing how the idea or object is similar to

some familiar one.

4. Rhetorical Devices

� HyperboleKdresses that were always miles too long.Kthose voices belonged to a world separated byaeons from our neat world

A.Exaggeration by using numerals:1. Thanks a million.2. The middle eastern bazaar takes you backhundreds even thousands of years.3. I see the ten thousand villages of Russia where themeans of existence is wrung so hardly from the soil.

B. Exaggeration by using comparative and superlative

degrees of adjectives

1. Sherlock Holmes is considered by many people as

the greatest detective in fictional literature.

2. There was never a child who loved her father more

than I do.

3. I never saw a prettier sight.

4. You write ten times better than any man in the class.4. You write ten times better than any man in the class.

C. Exaggeration by using extravagant adjectives:

1. K where goods of every conceivable kind are sold.

2. The burnished copper containers catches the light

of innumerable lamps and braziers.

3. The apprentices were incredibly young.

D. Exaggeration by using noun or verb phrases:1. It is a vast cavern of a room, so thick with the dust of centuries that the mud-brick walls and vaulted roof are only dimly visible.2. I am already in debt again, and moving heaven and earth to save myself from exposure and destruction. 我又负了许多债，于是就得想尽一切办法，不露出马脚，不把自己毁掉。(马克。土温，《傻瓜威尔逊》3. The sister cried her eyes out at the loss of the 3. The sister cried her eyes out at the loss of the necklace.4. They beat him into all the colors of rainbow.打得五颜六色浑身挂彩5. Her dress was always miles too long.6. I was scared to death.7. I sat there for a while, frozen with horror.8. She was so beautiful--- her beauty made the bright world dim.

� 1. Analogy

� …dresses that were always miles too

long.

…those voices belonged to a world …those voices belonged to a world

separated by aeons from our neat world

� 2. Hyperbole

…the filigree of the spruce trees

daughter of the forest

I tried another line

3. Metaphor

�

The two grey squirrels were still there, gossiping…The news that somehow had not found its way into letters.

� 4. PersonificationAll around, the spruce trees grew tall and close-set, branches blackly sharp against the sky which was lightened by a cold flickering of stars.I was ashamed, ashamed of my own timidity, the frightened tendency to look the other way.My brother, Roderick, who had not been born when we were here last summer, sat on the car rug in the sunshine and here last summer, sat on the car rug in the sunshine and examined a brown spruce core, meticulously turning it round and round in his small and curious hands.

� …and in here eyes there was a terrifying hope.

� 5. Transferred epithet

� Those voices belonged to a world separated by aeons from our neat world of summer cottages and the lighted lamps of home. (our modern civilization)

� 6. Metonymy

� the damn bone’s flared up again

� 7. Synecdoche

� TEXT APPRECIATION

� A. Cultural stereotypes:

� 1.Piquette's speech, mannerisms, where she lives, how she dies; changing of name of lake -- ethnic other/loss of identity;

� 2. Vanessa imposes her own on Piquette, a "noble savage" in touch with nature; but Piquette "a dead loss" as an Indian;

� 3. mother's motivation for Piquette coming that � 3. mother's motivation for Piquette coming that summer is false; grandmother: stubborn, close-minded, opposite of father

� 4. town sees Piquette and family as half breeds; satisfies expectations when she dies; her family: outcasts, outsiders, "half-breeds"; drunk, get into brawls;

� 5. Piquette's change: chooses another stereotype by marrying

� B. Cultural conflict:

� 1. issues of belonging: Tonnerres were neither Cree nor French;

� 2. Vannessa's discomfort with Piquette; shows how Piquette cannot belong in this world;

� 3. symbolism: Piquette/loon metaphor, i.e., parallel of loons and Piquette; inability to change themselves and their environment; loons unable to adapt to modern their environment; loons unable to adapt to modern human invasion; Piquette unable to escape the cultural stereotypes imposed on her;

� 4. note race and gender issues, here a deadly combination: i.e., how Piquette can define her life only in terms of gender and racial stereotypes laid out for her; long shadow of colonialism here (as in other work by Laurence)

� C. Parallelism between the loons and Piquette

� 1. deprived of their habitat/home

� 2. no sense of belonging

� 3. neglect and silence

Topics for discussion and reflection

� Is the loon a symbol? What does it symbolize, something or someone?

� How is the disappearance of the loons related to the theme of the story?

� What are the different attitudes of Vanessa’s family (the white people) towards Piquette (the native (the white people) towards Piquette (the native Indians) respectively?

� Can you find any change of Vanessa’s feeling for Piquette from the very beginning to the end?

� There are many natural scenery descriptions in the text. Why?

� Is there prejudice in our society today? What’s your opinion upon prejudice?

� Writing style:

� This short story is a realistic depiction which renders an objective rather than an idealized view of the marginalized ethnics. Lyricism of language is employed when it comes to the description of the setting; and colloquialism and idioms are employed in the dialogues between characters in an attempt to invite readers to become involved in the inner lives of the characters

� The most prominent feature of this novel is its symbolism, namely the parallel of the loons and Piquette. Like the loons, which sing only at night, so does Piquette who hides her which sing only at night, so does Piquette who hides her feelings and wishes for from others. And the human’s destroying the loons’ natural habitat symbolizes the invasion the white people made on the Indians territory. As the birds become familiar with a new environment near their invaders and have the chance to adapt to it, Piquette marries a white man and has the chance to start a new life. Both the birds’ chance and Piquette’s attempt fail. Their old way has been destroyede by the new comers. The loons disappear as nature is ruined by civilization and Oiquette can not succeeded in finding her position in this white-dominating society and dies.

5. Check on Understanding� 1. who is the author of the text “The loons”:

� A. Margaret Laurence B. John F. Kennedy

� C. George Orwell D. William James

� 2. which of the following is the typical rhetorical devices adopted in the text “The loons”:

� A. exaggeration B. antithsis

� C. symbolism D. parallelism

� 3. What is the meaning fo the phrase “the dickens” in the sentence “but I hate like the dickens to send her home again”:hate like the dickens to send her home again”:

� A. devil B. the Dicken’s family

� C. a group of people D. the transport

� 4. Which of the following rhetorical devices is applied in the sentence “meticulously turning it round and round in his small and curious hands”:

� A. simile B. transferred epithet

� C. personification D. hyperbole

� 5 Which of the following is NOT Americal slang:

� A. by Jesus B. You nuts

� C. crossly D. biddy

� 6. What is the meaning of the phrase “some handle” in the sentence “Alvin Gerald Cummings--- some handle, eh?”:

� A. some people can call B. some special

� C. a proper name D. a nickname

� 7. Which of the following statements is not TRUE according to the text “The loons”:

� A. Piquette might have been the only one who had heard the crying of the loons; B. The author made an anology between the loons and Piquette;

C. The loons are symbolic of the indians, driven away or to � C. The loons are symbolic of the indians, driven away or to death by the Europeans; D. Unlike Piquette, I had never heard the crying of the loons.

� 8. Which of the following is not the character of Piquette:

� A. French halfbreed B. once suffered from the bone tuberculosis

� C. well-educated D. marginalized