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Control work IV-II
Part 1 1.3. Point out the student’s views on marriage. Put them down into the following table:
1.6. Express your opinion, contradict, suggest solutions and give advice to somebody who tells you that: 1. Young people don’t marry for convenience nowadays. This is a standard point of view on marriages of convenience for the prospering society. There is no barest necessity of marriages of convenience because everybody has some kind of financial independence and can choose partners nearly freely. But it must be said that in societies like that a marriage of convenience is an ordinary phenomenon. On the other hand, for poverty-stricken societies marriages of convenience are often necessary to advance social status and achieve material well-being. Marriage is a very complex phenomenon and I can’t give any advice to anybody. People marry for many reasons: to promote a career, to have children, to come into money, to be with loved person. Everybody makes his own choice. 2. It is impossible for two people of opposite temperaments to be happy together. It’s true, but not for everybody. Sometimes it is possible to be happy being a couple of opposite temperaments. It depends on relationships between partners; it depends on their tolerance of other people's views and such like. Sometimes extremes meet. So, I can’t insist that it is impossible for two people of opposite temperaments to be happy together. If you find someone you want to spend the rest of your life with – you can keep your temperament in check and be more lenient towards your partner. 3. The longer the period of acquaintance before marriage is, the better the chances of marital success are. Often this statement is right. But human relationships are various and combinations of human characters are sudden, so there are no formulas of marital success and family happiness. And the period of acquaintance before marriage doesn’t guarantee family happiness. New conditions and new relationships between partners appear after marriage. So, engagement can’t show and predict all nuances of living together. Unlike engagement, cohabitation before marriage can show much more.
Part 22.1. Choose the right answer and prove your point of view: 1) What was Harry’s attitude to Southerners?
Harry considered that Southerners “is some sort of degenerates”. He thought that they’d lived so long down there with all the coloured people that they’d gotten lazy and shiftless. 2) How did the Bellamies treat Sally Carrol?
I am inclined to think that the Bellamies did their best to produce a favourable impression on Sally Carrol because there isn’t any mention in the text that the Bellamies were inhospitable or treated her with animosity. I think that it was Sally Carrol who didn’t like the Bellamies. She felt a definite hostility toward the women of that family; I consider it might be unmerited. For example, Mrs. Bellamy called Sally Carrol “Sally” but I suppose it might be only for a definite reason: not to make Sally Carrol feel at home (“Sally” offended her because of some traditions). As to Mrs. Bellamy’s attitude to strangers, it didn’t apply to Sally Carrol – there isn’t any direct proof of it in the text (except Sally Carrol’s opinion). 3) Why did Sally Carrol fail to feel at home at her fiance’s?
I am inclined to this answer because there are several phrases in the text that may prove it. For example: “Where you are is home for me, Harry.” – And as she said this she had the feeling for almost the first time in her life that she was acting a part.” “… even Harry’s presence on her left failed to make her feel at home.” Moreover, Sally Carrol felt a definite hostility toward the women of that family and it testifies that she felt as an alien among these people. 4) What do you think about the young people’s quarrel?
I am inclined to the answer B because as I see that situation, it wasn’t a common quarrel – it was a conflict of ideologies. Sally Carrol and Harry had two different views on Southerners: Sally Carrol was one of them, she loved them and considered them to be “the finest men in the world”, but Harry despised them and considered them to be lazy and shiftless. Their quarrel is a glaring contradiction, not a light spat. Actually, that quarrel might be smoothed out, but it definitely put a deep creak into their relations because of Sally Carrol’s Southern parentage.
2.13. Paraphrase the following sentences using the words from the text: 1) Now he was firm in his suspicion that Mary had let him down. Now he was certain that Mary had let him down Now his suspicions that Mary had let him down were confirmed. 2) Her arrogant manner got on his nerves. Her haughty manner got on his nerves. 3) She admitted that she had done wrong.
4) Paul strongly hated himself for being a failure. Paul loathed himself for being a failure. Paul despised himself for being a failure. 5) I’ve mixed up all the new words.
6) They lose their freshness when you look at them.
7) She is always untidy and careless in her appearance. She is always ill-dressed. 8) For some reason or other, she felt contempt for his (? may be “this”?) people. For some reason or other, she despised his people. 9) His unfriendly words made her feel sick at heart.
10) Your father dislikes the idea of your marrying the fellow.
2.35. Interpret the text: 1. Of what significance, if any, is the description of Harry’s home? I suppose that the author described Harry’s home to show us how vastly Northern family backgrounds differed from Southern ones. We see Harry’s home through the eyes of Sally Carrol and we can feel her attitude towards Harry’s home. For example, she considered Harry’s home to be “a rambling frame house” unlike neat buildings of her native land. The author’s passing remark about the books in the library - ”the books looked as if they had been read – some” - lets us feel Sally Carrol’s attitude towards domestic surroundings in Harry’s home. In that way, the author’s descriptions give us an opportunity to understand the relationships between Sally Carrol and Harry. 2. Dwell on the scene in the library. What was Harry’s dominant emotion? Why did Sally Carol feel as though she had been spanked? When the young people were in the library, Harry was very interested to know what impression his town produced on Sally Carrol. He wanted her to be glad in that town, he wanted her to like that town, and bombarded her with questions. But Harry’s dominant emotion was anxiety, anxiety about Sally Carrol’s behaviour in the society of the Northern city, her potential misunderstanding of the town’s social model. Harry was afraid of her remarks about people and wanted to notify in advance about saying unfortunate things. I think that Harry didn’t trust her, couldn’t rely on Sally Carrol’s tactful behaviour. And it offended her. She was puzzled by Harry’s distrust and felt indignant as though she had been unjustly spanked because she didn’t intend to do or say anything tactless about whoever it might be. The scene in the library lets us see some sides of the young people’s relationships. We can see Harry’s distrust and Sally Carrol’s reaction to his insinuations. 3. What traits of the personages’ characters has the scene of the quarrel brought out? The scene of the quarrel brought out the young people’s reciprocal intolerance towards views and feelings of each other. We can see Harry’s attitude towards Southerners – “They’re sort of – sort of degenerates” – and Sally Carrol’s protection of them – “they’re my best friends”. The young people didn’t feel shy of using rude expressions like “Hush your mouth!”, “Hangdog” and such. In that scene, we can see Harry’s deep disrespect for Southerners. Harry appeared as an intolerant, irascible, could say stupid person; Sally Carrol appeared as a hot-tempered but thawed out person. 4. What impression have you got about the relations between the young people? Do you think they are suited to each other? My impression is that these young people have a little chance to be happy together. They have too different family backgrounds and haven’t enough tolerance to each other to surmount their variances. The key problem of their relations is Harry’s lack of respect for Southerners though Sally Carrol is one of them. If he were wiser, he would hold his opinion inside. [1] It’s very difficult to subdivide the discussion into parts because there isn’t any marker in the text to identify the participants’ parts correctly.
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