HOME READINGharry

HOME READING.

William Saroyan. Harry.

The tasks given in the plan will help you to understand how the author’s tone is determined by his purpose, the techniques he uses, and by the methods of characterization he employs. –

INRTODUCTION. Read the passage attentively and get ready to reproduce the given information in class and use it in your own speech if necessary:

“Harry” is a story that is in some way or other different from the stories we have read. In it the humorous prevails over the tragic, though a great deal of social and personal tragedy is implied. We see America, where money plays a decisive part in shaping human personalities. “Jump at the opportunity. Get rich. Start from the bottom and work your way up.” - These are the slogans that `penetrate all the spheres of American life. One can’t change the system of American values. But one may laugh at it, and arrive at certain conclusions.

Now read the first paragraph of the story in the manner of close-reading (ask questions, make predictions, draw conclusions if your hypotheses are verified or proved to be wrong). –

1. VOCABULARY STUDY. Match the phrases with their Russian equivalents and arrange them in the order they appear in the story.

To chisel	Быть в затруднительном положении
To fool around with smb.	Заработать состояние
To be down in the mouth	Зря болтаться с кем-либо
To be in a fix	Покупать оптом
To earn a fortune	Извлекать выгоду из чего-либо (кого-л.)
Take it or leave it	Как хотите = либо да, либо нет
To be on one’s toes	Отлично сидеть (об одежде)
To be on the go	Надувать, обманывать
To be a perfect (good, bad) fit	Платить наличными
To make things pop	Быть в унынии (в плохом настроении)
To get smth. wholesale	Быть жизнерадостным (деятельным, решительным)
To give spot cash	Быть в движении, в работе
To make a profit on smth. (smb.)	Заставлять все бурлить

2. Divide the story into meaningful parts and define the main object of each part. Remember that the main object is what the part is chiefly about. You are to define what exactly the writer wants you to notice (or understand) about the character and what quality of the character is being discussed explicitly (or implicitly) in each part. Put down the “key sentences” of each part. As you remember, the “key sentence” usually reflects the writer’s purpose. The “skeleton” of your utterance might be as follows (feel free to introduce some changes if necessary):

The story may be divided into ……… parts. Part I starts with the first sentence and ends up with ……… . The “key sentence” of this part is …………. , because it shows what quality of the character is being discussed, that is …………………………….. , and reflects the writer’s purpose that is (to show, to describe, to prove, to explain)……. .

3. Prove that the last paragraph of the story serves as its summary. (! Summary is a brief enumeration of the important facts, features, ideas, etc. mentioned before).

4. Explain how Harry influenced the life of the town.

5. Which facts show that Harry had a crippled system of values?

6. Give a character-study of Harry. Make use of the following plan:

Harry was a true American go-getter. He………..

Everything he touched turned to money. ………………….

He was unscrupulous in his business deals. ………………….

It was sickening to listen to the things Harry talked about when he was dying. …….

Harry was the town’s private joke because……………..

7. In this story, as in many others, W. Saroyan makes use of repetition to create the atmosphere of nonsensical activity.

a) Read out loud the cases of repetition. Explain what each of them shows. (You can speak of effect the author achieves by repeating words, phrases, and sentences.)

b) Read the story part by part and find other techniques the writer uses to achieve his purpose. Explain what each of them is aimed at. (Does the writer resort to enumeration? Textual irony? Specification? Contrast? Comparison? Etc.)

8. What is your impression of the story? Is it similar to or different from the impression you had after having read the stories “The Filipino and the Drunkard”, “Laughter”, “Oranges”, …?