  Ŀ
ĳ!Attach This Header To Top of All Paper Submissions!       [TIA]
Eĳ
sSubject/Class Paper was submitted for  [AP English lit and comp]
SSubject/Topic of paper (Please Be As Descriptive As Possible)   
a[AP English Section II Question 1 essay: Re: Dombey            ]3 Letter
YYear of exam: 1986                                            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)                           [100]Science
 Date Paper was submitted (mm/dd/yy)   [        12/4/92         ][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 4: Dombey                             Due date: 12/4/92

     The author, in the passage, characterizes Mr.  Dombey as

a pompous, naive, and narrow-minded man, a man living in his

own little world and considering his actions and thoughts to

be the only ones correct. Son is characterized as a very cute

and cuddly infant whereas the mother or Mrs. Dombey is

characterized as a physically sick and feeble woman as well

as a woman quite fatigued by her co-existence with Dombey.

These characterizations are performed using the elements of

imagery, diction, and choice of detail.

     The imagery in the passage is used to create a

particular atmosphere around each character. For example an

atmosphere of charm and adorableness is created around Son.

This atmosphere is created by descriptions such as the one

given in this phrase, "Son lay tucked up warm in a little

basket bedstead." The words 'lay tucked up warm' connote a

great deal of warmth in description as well as attribute

cuteness to a picture of an infant "tucked" into a "little

basket." The image is thus effective in drawing Son as a

charming infant. Another piece of imagery used to attain the

same effect in describing Son is when the author compares Son

to a muffin and goes further to say that "it was essential to

toast him brown while he was very new." This is quite a








delicious analogy due to the fact that Son has just been

established as a cute and adorable character and is now being

compared to a muffin, a food item which also connotes

adorableness, softness and dearness. The image of Son being

toasted brown is not an evil or cruel image, rather it is an

image which connotes cuteness. This effect is attained

because the image the reader sees is of an infant being

toasted, as a muffin, gradually and slowly and the image

again connotes warmth and adorableness. An image of Dombey

which is portrayed in the passage occurs at the beginning of

the third paragraph. The author says, "Dombey, exulting in

the long-looked-for event jingled and jingled the heavy gold

watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat..."

In the paragraph before this, Dombey has been established as

pompous and now the reader is made to see an image of a

pompous man "exulting" and "jingling a heavy gold watch-

chain" which hangs from "his trim blue coat." This image is

slightly unpleasant and also seems to characterize Dombey as

an inane person, one who is not elated or happy about the

birth of his child but is exulting in the fact that he can

now substantiate the name of his business and is jingling a

gold watch-chain as if this is just another "event." The

image of Dombey that is seen by the reader fits a man whose

horse is winning in a tournament, not a man who has just had







a child and this effect is what characterizes Dombey as a

naive, narrow-minded and unemotional person or a person whose

'emotions' are wrongly placed.

     The diction in the passage is also uniquely applied to

each character as the imagery is. For example, the name

'Dombey' itself has a significant effect on characterizing

Dombey. The pronunciation of 'Dombey' is similar to that of

'donkey' or, to extend the analogy, 'dummy.' Both of the

similarly pronounced words are or connote inanity and thus

inanity is attached to the character of Dombey. Also, the

first syllable in 'Dombey,' 'dom,' is nearly exact in

pronunciation to the first syllable of 'pompous,' 'pom,' and

thus the quality of pomposity is also attached to the

character of Dombey. Although this analogy may seem slightly

farfetched, it is notable that the word 'pompous' appears in

the second paragraph to ensure the effect. The pompous

quality of the name is also enhanced and then again attached

to Dombey when he pronounces it clearly and in two separate

syllables as 'Dom-bey' when he exclaims "Dom-bey and Son!"

Furthermore, the effect of this exclamation is significant as

well since the loudness and repetition of the exclamation

portray the pomposity of Dombey (i.e. he likes to hear the

sound of his own name) and his existence in his own little

world of "Dombey and Son." The portrayal of this self-







centered existence is brought about by the emphasis,

throughout the passage, on Dombey's ability to relate all

events taking place as relative only to his existence (or to

his company's existence). In addition to this, the reference

to the newborn infant by the author as "Son" also enhances

the effect of portraying Dombey as a self-centered and

unemotional person. This is done by referring to the infant

as 'Son,' a term firstly, a part of the term 'Dombey and Son'

and secondly, a term having the effect of referring to the

infant in a highly objective and almost detached manner.

Another word which is significant in the passage is the word

'little,' used in relation to the infant. There are three

instances of the word 'little' in relation to the infant,

i.e. 'a little basket,' 'a thousand little creases,' and 'his

little fists.' The word 'little' has the effect of

attributing cuteness and adorableness to the child. This is

because of the connotive properties of the word 'little'

which when applied to an infant are cuteness, daintiness, and

adorableness. Another word of significance is the word

'raised' when used in describing how Mrs. Dombey looked at

Mr. Dombey. The phrase used is "she raised her eyes towards

him." Consistent with the weak and sickly condition of Mrs.

Dombey the word 'raised' causes the reader to feel that it

took Mrs. Dombey some effort to move her eyes to view Mr.







Dombey. Instead of saying she "looked at him" the author

points out that "she raised her eyes" to look at him and

effectively points out Mrs. Dombey's weak condition. Another

quality raising one's eyes may be connotive of is skepticism

about what the other person is saying and this action may

reflect Mrs. Dombey's skepticism or fatigue with Mr. Dombey's

talk.

     The choice of detail in the passage is also particular

to the character the detail is related to. For example the

author chooses to quote both occasions upon which Dombey

exclaimed, "Dom-bey and Son!" to emphasize Dombey' self-

centeredness. Another detail the author notes, this time in

relation to Mrs. Dombey is that she "feebly echoed, 'Of

course,'" and then closed her eyes. The fact that she closed

her eyes is noted leads one to believe that the author wants

to show the reader that firstly, Mrs. Dombey is sick and

fatigued, and secondly, that she is exasperated with this

self-centered man. This quality of exasperation is brought

out by the fact that a connotation of the action of closing

one's eyes after something has just been said is

exasperation. Also, The detail which is given in relation to

Dombey's hesitation in referring to his wife in a term of

endearment portrays clearly Dombey's normally unemotional

responses and the difficulty he experiences when he attempts







to express emotion. Furthermore, the formality of the phrase,

"he appended a term of endearment" causes the emotional term

"dear" itself to lose some emotional value because of the

detached and objective way in which it is referred to, this

further emphasizes the unemotional nature of Dombey by

attaching the loss of emotional value to his character.

     In conclusion, it should be said that the author applies

imagery, diction, and choice of detail in an individualistic

manner in relation to each character and ultimately

characterizes each one quite effectively. The character of

Dombey is effectively characterized as unemotional, pompous,

and self-centered, Son is characterized as a charming and

adorable infant, and Mrs. Dombey is characterized as a sickly

woman, fatigued and exasperated with her husband.
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