Assignment 18 (the final discussion)

I. Exercises

1. Translate the sentences from the novel.

1. They spoke in whispers now. She was quaking. It occurred to him that in an emergency she would lose her head and on a sudden he felt angry with her. (p.4)

2. They moved from one part of you to another, to other persons in the criticizing you, summing you up, watchful meanwhile of all that went on around her, and that the words she spoke had no connexion with her thoughts. (p. 16)

3. If Walter was taking her to Mei-tan-fu as a punishment he was making fool of himself, for what did she care now what became of her? She had nothing to live for any more. It was rather hard to be finished with life at twenty-seven. (p. 92)

4. He was clad in faded and shapeless rags that looked as though their rents you his skin hard and rough and tanned like the hide of a goat; his bare legs were emaciated, and his head, with its shock of coarse grey heir (the cheeks hollow, the eyes wild) was the head of a madman. (p. 144)

5. She seemed more like an idol than a woman. Her movements were slow and assured. Kitty had the impression that she was slightly shy but very curious. She nodded her head two or three times, looking at Kitty, while Waddington spoke of her. Kitty noticed her hands; they were preternaturally long, very slender, of the colour of ivory; and the exquisite nails were painted. Kitty thought she had never seen anything so lovely as those languid and elegant hands. They suggested the breeding of uncounted centuries. (p. 185)

2. Repeat the whole vocabulary from the assignment book. Fill in the blanks with suitable words. Translate the sentences.

1. Doris gave no sign of good looks, her nose was too long and her figure was ____. (ch. VIII)

2. Her lips trembled so that she could hardly frame the words. She was terrified. She was afraid she would ____. (ch. XVIII)

3. “What are you laughing at? I see nothing to laugh at.” “I beg your pardon. I daresay my sense of humour is ____.” (ch. XXIII)

4. “They [Chinese infants] seem very lovely. Sometimes they are brought in only to die. Of course we ____ them the moment they come.” (ch. XLIII)

5. “Mei-tan-fu? It’s on a ____ of the Western River. We should go up the Western River and then by chair.” (ch. XXII)

II. Write the final dictation on the active vocabulary now.

III. Discussing, preferably after the second reading

1. Name all the characters of the novel. Specify their role in the story. Enumerate the main and the minor, the dynamic and the static characters. Prove your choice.

2. What characters can be called the author’s mouthpiece? Can Kitty be called the protagonist?

3. Describe Kitty’s life and spiritual evolution. What was her social background? Is she only the creation of her mother? Is she a child of her time? Is her morality different from what we call the common morality of the time? What is the author’s viewpoint?

4. What is the Way in Tao philosophy? Describe the Way of all the main characters. Look upon the novel as on the Kitty’s search of the Way. What patterns does Walter, Charlie, Waddington, Mother Superior offer to Kitty? Why did she deny them all? What is her choice? What can be called Kitty’s Way? Give your personal view on every pattern.

5. Can Kitty be regarded as the modern woman? What are the similarities and the differences with the modern way of life? What do you call the modern lifestyle? Is there something new in Kitty even for our generation? Can we call her ‘a worthless philistine’?

6. What is the main idea / message / main conflict / theme of the novel? (Choose the most suitable term.) What has the novel revealed personally for you?

7. Write text analysis dwelling on the items above. Prove your ideas with the quotations from the text.

IV. Extra writing task.

‘Reveal’ (Write your own story using the words from the novel, or simply your viewpoint on the novel.)