neither here nor there LIT Flashcards
What’s the genre?
chapter of a travel memoir, comedic
What’s the register?
informal, absurd, flippant
context of production
Bill Bryson, American author
Who’s the audience?
people thinking of going to Paris, fans of bill (american and british)
What’s the mode?
written/anecdotal
What’s the purpose?
written, to entertain and inform
What’s the subject?
it’s about his time and experiences in Paris, reality of Paris - its culture
representation of Paris
- saying Paris is overrated
- conforms to negative stereotypes
- challenging how Paris is presented in media
metonym (refers to one part)
‘pairs of hurrying legs’
reflects the collective, public chaos of Paris
simile & syndetic listing
‘like flocks of startled birds…’
simile reflects how Paris is quick moving, dynamic, ‘frantic’, syndetic listing creates a chaotic feel
superlative adverb
‘most pathologically’
implies that it’s in thier natured, engrained in DNA
hyperbole
‘most pathologically’
‘lunatic drivers’
‘foolishly tried to cross’
‘people of Paris want me dead’
comedic tone, opinionated, reflects underlying frustration/anger, presenting danger levels (enough to get you killed)
second person narrative ‘you’
immerses reader in the action, places the reader in Paris
adjective phrase ‘killer automobiles’
implies the cars are dangerous because of the ‘lunatic drivers’
intertextual reference
‘Batman’
‘Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’
- Jack Nicholson plays ‘the jooker’, sinister, ominous, threatening, implies drivers are insane and unhinged
- reference to painting, high-brow
simile
‘like an abandoned garden hose’
‘the ‘Mona Lisa’ was like a postage stamp’
‘like a department store on the first day of a big sale’
- use of simile is effective as it makes it clear that there’s no structure/order in the queue, implies French are bad at queueing (playing on Parisian stereotypes)
- unimpressive tourists expereince, not being celebrated (tucked away), tourist experience underwhelming
- humour, relatable comparison - hectic
USA stereotype
‘bullet holes in their trench coats’
flippant tone, sensitive topics
gets away with it as he’s American
British stereotype
‘I say, kindly take your place…’
stereotype that the British are good at queueing and polite, positive representation
high register vocab vs low brow vocab
‘well-travelled’ ‘shit’
humorous due to contrast, unexpected
direct speech
‘why?’ ‘it just is, believe me.’
makes the story more immersive and captivating
dysphemism
‘when a bird shit on his head.’
‘dog shit’
contradicts ‘pristine’ idea of Paris, absurd humour
flippant tone
‘spanish gigolo’
crude reference, reinforces a flippant tone
scatological humour
‘pot of yoghurt upended’
vulgar, Bryson being humorous, shocking audience, keeping them involved
irony
‘but I guess that’s what you get when you build with plastic’
being ironic to create humour
