  Ŀ
ĳ!Attach This Header To Top of All Paper Submissions!       [TIA]
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sSubject/Class Paper was submitted for  [english                ]
SSubject/Topic of paper (Please Be As Descriptive As Possible)   
a[AP english Question 3 essay: Re: M. de l'Etang                ]3 Letter
YYear of AP Exam unknown                                       Abbrev.
 [                                                              ]for
S       Grade Level (For High School Students):      9 [ ] 11 [ ]Major
u                                                   10 [ ] 12 [X]Education
B                                       (for Ont., Canada) 13 [ ]Areas,
m       Year (For University/College Students)       1 [ ]  3 [ ]MARK one:
I                                                    2 [ ]  4 [ ]
s                                                           5 [ ]English
SSchool/University/College/Institution [St. Joseph's Collegiate ][ENG] [X]
iCity & State (Province) of Inst.      [Buffalo, NY             ]History
OName of Teacher/Prof. submitted to    [Mr. Zabawa              ][HST] [ ]
nGrade Received (If Received Yet)                           [85 ]Science
 Date Paper was submitted (mm/dd/yy)   [  10/16/92              ][SCI] [ ]
FName of Author (Real or Alias)        [The Saint               ]Health &
oHigh School Avg./College GPA of Author                 [95.6   ]Sports
RIf used, Textbook/Novel/Classic Translator/Editor and Version/  [HTH] [ ]
m Edition Info [                                                ] -
 Additional Comments [                                          ]The
 [                                                              ]Information
 Allies
   
Paper 5: M. de l'Etang                     Due date: 10/16/92

     The passage appears to be an expression of the author's

affection for the family of M. de l'Etang and his daughter

Adeline. The author has used elements such as diction,

detail, and tone to attain the desired effect of impressing

his sentiments upon the reader.

     The tone in the passage plays a key role in

communicating to the reader what the author is feeling at

each point throughout the passage. One such tone is created

right at the beginning of the passage where the author states

that he "must now attempt to say something." The

juxtaposition of the words 'must,' 'now,' and 'attempt'

create a tone of reluctance. The word 'must' tells the reader

that this is something the author is obligated to do. The

word 'now' tells the reader that this obligation must be

fulfilled without any further delay and the word 'attempt'

tells the reader that the author is not completely

comfortable in saying the "something." Moreover, the word

'something,' when juxtaposed next to this statement of

reluctance, creates an atmosphere of anticipation and the

tone becomes slightly ominous. The picture is thus drawn, the

author is about to recount an unhappy "something" in the

history of this family, one which is emotionally painful for








him to tell.

     Another tone which is created at several different

points in the passage is a tone of doubtfulness about the

facts of the story. It seems that the author tries to
reassure himself at different points during the recounting of

the tale that the facts of the scandals and the amount of

pain caused to the family may not have been completely true.

This is done by phrases such as "a good deal of uncertainty,"

a sentence in the first paragraph. It seems that this

sentence attempts to neutralize the pain of telling the story

(expressed in the first sentence, first paragraph) by

reassuring the author that the legends and scandals in the

story may not be completely accurate, and thus allows the

author to proceed with the story. Other such examples used in

the passage are the phrases, "according to," "it is said,"

"we are told," and "he was known." Another important example

can be found at the beginning of the fourth paragraph where

the author states, "The story has been told many times. Some

parts of it may be true." It appears that the author again

reminds himself and the reader that this story may not be

completely true, in fact the author tells the reader that

only "some parts" may be true, i.e. most parts are probably

not true. It is notable that immediately following this

statement the author states, "It is certainly true that..."








and goes on to briefly talk of Mrs. Pattle and her daughters.

This signals to the reader that this is a part of the story

which is true, as opposed to the others which are probably

not true. It is also notable that after this identification

of the truth, the remainder of the passage is free of any

doubt-creating phrases and is in fact written in quite a

different and definite tone.

     The fact that no other doubt-creating phrases are used

is an important one because it signals the part of the

passage in which the author is comfortable. This may be

because the part in which the doubt-creating phrases are used

is the part in which the author recounts the many tragedies

that struck the particular family. Furthermore, the part

which is free of the doubt-creating phrases is the part in

which the author praises the daughters of Mrs. Pattle and

passionately, and sarcastically attacks the "ethos" and

"system of morality" of the Victorian era which hurt a

particular daughter. It can clearly be seen how the tone has

changed when the author, at one point in the fifth paragraph

says, "I believe..." This phrase is important because it is

the first time in the passage that the author takes personal

responsibility for the credibility of the information.

Slightly before this he says that Virginia Pattle "was" a









generally lively, stylish woman. The word 'was' also

signifies that the author did not want to express any doubt

in the authenticity of the information he was stating.

     Even though the content of the passage does not change

drastically at any point, there is a major change in the way

the content is presented on each side of the boundary between

the part containing the doubt-creating phrases and the part

free of them. The diction used in the part containing the

doubt-creating phrases tends to be sudden and intense, either

in its glorification of the family members, or in its brief

yet biting attacks on the parties which caused the family

pain. An example of such glorification is when the author

states, "his person was pleasing, his manners courtly, his

tastes extravagant, and his horsemanship admirable." In this

phrase we can see the diction and arrangement which allows

such glorification to be effective quickly. Each glorifying

quality is stated in a short unit (i.e. "his manners

courtly") and separated as in a list.  The admirable

qualities are thus 'shot off' at the reader in rapid

succession and the glorifying effect is intensified for a

moment. Another example of this is where the author says M.

de l'Etang "entered and died in the service of..." This

phrase praises M. de l'Etang's loyalty and goodness just by









saying that he entered and died serving the same person,

another short yet highly meaningful statement of praise. An

example of a brief biting attack can be found at the end of

the second paragraph where the author says, "-too much

attached it is said, and for this he was exiled..." The

phrase "and for this" indicates that the author does not

appreciate the fact that someone such as M.  de l'Etang was

exiled for being "too much attached." It appears that this is

not only a statement of sympathy but an attack on the persons

who exiled him.  Another example of this type of attack is

the phrase "an extravagantly wicked man." A man who is

extravagant, or generous, with his wickedness is no doubt a

foul creature and this was the purpose of this phrase, to

attack Pattle in a concise manner and to quickly represent

him as a foul creature.

     The part which is free of doubt-creating phrases is

written in a more relaxed style where the author praises and

preserves the family's honor using smooth diction and attacks

using sarcasm, both biting and mild. An example of the smooth

diction used is where the author uses many terms usually

considered negative such as a "worldly woman" to describe

Virginia Pattle, but he makes it positive by adding the words

"in great style" at the end of the sentence. These words 'in









great style' legitimize being a 'worldly woman' because it is

all in the name of 'style.' The author has thus presented

some normally negative information, yet using such diction

that the negative effect is transformed into a positive

effect.  A phrase which preserves the family's honor is when

Lady Henry confides in her mother and her mother "allowing

her indignation to master her prudence" made a scandal out of

it.  The phrase 'allowing her indignation to master her

prudence' is an interesting one because it can easily be

replaced by 'she went crazy,' yet the author used the former

because it is a collection of smooth diction which causes the

true meaning of the phrase to dilute and thus preserves the

honor of the family. One example of the kind of sarcasm used

in this part is when the author states that Lady Henry was

guilty of an "unformulated," but "heinous crime," she was

"connected with a scandal." A great deal of sarcasm is used

here to make the reader see the absurd seriousness allotted

to just being 'connected with a scandal.' Immediately

following, the author says that "good society" wouldn't

accept her because of her 'heinous' crime. It is quite clear

that the author's feelings about the society of that age were

quite unfavorable particularly because they had treated this

family so badly for seemingly absurd reasons. This sentiment









is also expressed in the last sentence of the fifth paragraph

where the author states that the "sequel is interesting in as

much as it gives a notion of the ethos of the Victorian age,

and its system of morality." The sarcasm in this statement

becomes clear to the reader once he goes on to read of the

seemingly absurd reasons for which Lady Henry was shunned

from society.

     Although the author's affection for the family is never

clearly stated, it can be seen that throughout the passage

the author praises and compliments the abilities of the

family of M. de l'Etang. The author's affection for the

family can also be seen in the fact that he has great

sympathy for them because of the great deal of pain they have

endured due to tragedies.
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