Rhetorical Analysis of The Furnished Room 《帶出租家具的房間》的修辭分析

RhetoricalAnalysisofTheFurnishedRoom《帶出租家具的房間》的修辭分析RhetoricalAnalysisofTheFurnishedRoom《帶出租家具的房間》的修辭分析/NUMPAGES22PAGE22RhetoricalAnalysisofTheFurnishedRoom《帶出租家具的房間》的修辭分析RhetoricalAnalysisofTheFurnishedRoom《帶出租家具的房間》的修辭分析Contents1.Introduction41.1BriefIntroductionofO.Henry41.2BriefIntroductionofTheFurnishedRoom41.3BriefIntroductionofRhetoric52.RhetoricalAnalysesSimile53.RhetoricalAnalysesPersonification74.RhetoricalAnalysesOxymoron,Metaphor,AllusionandSurrealism84.1Oxymoron84.2Metaphor94.3Allusion94.4Surrealism95.Conclusion9Bibliography11AbstractThisarticlemainlyanalyzestheuseoftherhetoricinO.Henry'sshortstoryTheFurnishedRoom.Fromtheaspectofrhetoric,thisarticleanalyzestheartcharacteristicsintheshortstory,andthroughthemethodofgivingexamples,thisarticleexpoundsthesimile,personification,oxymoron,metaphorandallusionusedintheshortstory.Thisarticlefirsttogiveanbriefintroductionoftheauthorandcontentoftheshortstoryandalsotheintroductionrhetoricandthentoexpoundstherhetoricusedintheshortstorydetailedly.Atlast,thisarticleconcludesthatTheFurnishedRoomisaworthyofsavoring.Keywords:O.Henry;Simile;Personification;Rhetoric中文摘要這篇文章主要是分析歐亨利的短篇小說(shuō)《帶出租家具的房間》的修辭手法的運(yùn)用。本文從修辭方面分析了這篇短篇小說(shuō)的藝術(shù)特色，并通過(guò)舉例說(shuō)明的方法，闡述了這篇短篇小說(shuō)所運(yùn)用的明喻，擬人，矛盾修辭法，暗喻以及用典等修辭方法。本文先對(duì)《帶出租家具的房間》的作者，內(nèi)容和修辭方法作了簡(jiǎn)要的介紹，然后對(duì)該片短篇小說(shuō)所運(yùn)用的修辭方法一一地詳細(xì)地進(jìn)行了闡述。本文最后得出結(jié)論，《帶出租家具的房間》是一篇值得細(xì)細(xì)品味的美文。關(guān)鍵詞：歐亨利；明喻；擬人；修辭RhetoricalAnalysisaboutTheFurnishedRoom1.Introduction1.1BriefIntroductionofO.HenryO.HenrywasthepennameofAmericanwriterWilliamSydneyPorter(September11,1862–June5,1910),whosecleveruseoftwistendingsinhisstoriespopularizedtheterm"O.HenryEnding".O.HenrywasborninGreensboro,NorthCarolina,andhediedinNewYorkonJune5th1910.Hisstoriesarefamousfortheirsurpriseendings.HewascalledtheAmericanGuyDeMaupassant.Bothauthorswrotetwistendings,butO.Henrystoriesweremuchmoreplayfulandoptimistic.MostofO.Henry'sstoriesaresetinhisowntime,theearlyyearsofthe20thcentury.ManytakeplaceinNewYorkCity,anddealforthemostpartwithordinarypeople:clerks,policemen,waitresses.Hisstoriesarealsowellknownforwittynarration.Fundamentallyaproductofhistime,O.Henry'sworkprovidesoneofthebestEnglishexamplesofcatchingtheentireflavorofanage.Whetherroamingthecattle-landsofTexas,exploringtheartofthe"gentlegrifter",orinvestigatingthetensionsofclassandwealthinturnofthecenturyNewYork,O.Henryhadaninimitablehandforisolatingsomeelementofsocietyanddescribingitwithanincredibleeconomyandgraceoflanguage.Someofhisbestandleast-knownworkresidesinthecollection"CabbagesandKings",aseriesofstorieswhicheachexploresomeindividualaspectoflifeinaparalyticallysleepySouthAmericantownwhileeachadvancingsomeaspectofthelargerplotandrelatingbackonetoanotherinacomplexstructurewhichslowlyexplicatesitsownbackgroundevenasitpainstakinglyerectsatownwhichisoneofthemostdetailedliterarycreationsoftheperiod.1.2BriefIntroductionofTheFurnishedRoomTheFurnishedRoomisperhapsthebleakestofO.Henry’sbest-knownstories.Althoughthebasicironicplotcanbesummarizedinasentence—ayoungmancommitssuicideinthesameroomwhereayoungwomanforwhomhehasvainlysearchedkilledherself—itisthemustyatmosphereoftheroomandthesuggestionthateveryplacebearsthetracesofthelivesthathaveinhabiteditthatmakesthestorysocompelling.Itisastoryoftransience,oflivesthatmovethroughableak,indifferentworld,leavingonlybitsofthemselves,whichtheyoungmanuncoversashesearchesthroughdrawersandpokesintoeverycornerandcreviceoftheroomlookingforsomethingthatremainsofthewomanheseeks.However,allthatisleftisanillusorysweetfamiliarsmell,whichmelodramaticallybecomesthesweetsmellofthegasheturnsonindespair,asshedidonlyoneweekpreviously.AlthoughthefactthattheyoungmanendsupintheverysameroominwhichhislostsweethearttookherlifeisoneofthemostextremecoincidencesinallofO.Henry’sfiction,thepoweroftheatmosphereofthestoryissostrongthatreadersarewillingtoacceptit.1.3BriefIntroductionofRhetoricRhetoricistheskillofusinglanguageinspeechorwritinginaspecialwaythatinfluencesorentertainspeople.Itcanbedividedintothreekinds,includinglexicalrhetoric,syntacticalrhetoricandphoneticrhetoric.Thelexicalrhetoricincludessimile,metaphor,metonymy,synecdoche,personification,transferredepithethypallage,euphemism,hyperbole,understatement,irony,oxymoron,pun,syllepsis,allusion,andsoon.Thesyntacticalrhetoricincludesantithesis,parallelism,climax,anticlimax,rhetoricalrepetition,rhetoricquestion,periodicsentence,loosesentence,andsoon.2.RhetoricalAnalysisSimile2.1SimileSimileisafigureofspeech,involvingthecomparisonofonethingwithanotherthingofadifferentkindbyusingthewords:like,as,etc..Simileisthemostsignificantartisticfeatureinthisshortstory.Readerswillneverforgetthehousekeeper'simage,"anunwholesome,surfeitedwormthathadeatenitsnuttoahollowshellandnowsoughttofillthevacancywithediblelodgers."Then,aferocious,damnedcapitalistimageincisivelyandvividlyspreadbeforeus.Whatmoreimpressiveisthedescriptionofthehousekeeper'svoice,"herthroatseemedlinedwithfur."Notonlylookinglikeaworm,evenherthroatisalsocoveredwithfur.Throughthissimile,OHenryshowedthegreed,selfishness,ruthlessnessofthesmallcapitalist,andthistoxinhasreacheddeeplyintothebodyofthelandlady,whichhasbeentotheextentofhopelessness.Thepeopleatthetimehadbeencompletelycorrodedbytheegothoughtofcapitalism,whichisnodoubttomakeamockeryofthelandlady,andalsoapowerfulironytothesocialcapitalism.Exactly,itisbecausetheinvasionoftheselfishnessandgreedthatleadtothelandlady'scheating,justtorentouttheroomtosatisfyherdesireofenjoyment.Evenso,OHenry's"villain"doesn'tarisethereaders'hate.Onthecontrary,throughthesehumorouscomedyclownfigure,wejustappreciatethemisfortunesandbitternessofthenobodies.Therefore,itcanbecalledthehumorofthecomedyandthebitternessofthetragedy.Thestorywastoldinanatmosphereofgothicandfullofobvioussurrealismcolor,eventhesimilesarecoveredwiththesurrealismcolor.Whentheyoungmanfollowedthelandladytocomeintotheroom,hesteppedonasuchacarpet,"Itseemedtohavebecomevegetable;tohavedegeneratedinthatrank,sunlessairtolushlichenorspreadingmossthatgrewinpatchestothestaircaseandwasviscidunderthefootlikeorganicmatter."Theyoungman'sfeelingofwalkingonthecarpetwasgraduallydeepened,andthecarpetwascomparedtothevegetable,lushlichen,spreadingmoss,andorganicmatter,moreandmoreexaggeratedandweird,asiftheyoungmanwaswalkingonalargeworm,whichwasdisgustingandtiresome.Inaddition,eachturnofthestairswerevacantnichesinthewall."Perhapsplantshadoncebeensetwithinthem.Ifsotheyhaddiedinthatfoulandtaintedair.Itmaybethatstatuesofthesaintshadstoodthere,butitwasnotdifficulttoconceivethatimpsanddevilshaddraggedthemforthinthedarknessanddowntotheunholydepthsofsomefurnishedpitbelow."Dark,decayed,ghostly,andterrible,suchcorridormadepeoplethinkofthelocationofthedisastersthathappened.Throughthesedescriptions,O.Henrychangedthiskindof"furnishedroom"intothehell,andshowingusadirty,dark,dilapidatedandeerieroom.Andthen,aseriesofsurrealenvironmentdescriptionbeganfromhere."Thefurnishedroomreceiveditslatestguestwithafirstglowofpseudo-hospitality,ahectic,haggard,perfunctorywelcomelikethespecioussmileofademirep."Thisispersonification,andalsoisasimile,hidingthecolorofeerie.Thedescriptionoftheenvironmentgraduallywentdeep,andthedecorationoftheinternalroomlikesomesortofpasswords,whichwererevealingwhathadhappenedinthisroom,"Apolychromaticruglikesomebrilliant-floweredrectangular,tropicalisletlaysurroundedbyabillowyseaofsoiledmatting.""Themantel'schastelysevereoutlinewasingloriouslyveiledbehindsomepertdraperydrawnrakishlyaskewlikethesashesoftheAmazonianballet.""Uponitwassomedesolateflotsamcastasidebytheroom'smaroonedwhenaluckysailhadbornethemtoafreshport--atriflingvaseortwo,picturesofactresses,amedicinebottle,somestraycardsoutofadeck.""Thefurniturewaschippedandbruised;thecouch,distortedbyburstingsprings,seemedahorriblemonsterthathadbeenslainduringthestressofsomegrotesqueconvulsion.""Hebreathedthebreathofthehouse--adanksavorratherthanasmell--acold,mustyeffluviumasfromundergroundvaultsmingledwiththereekingexhalationsoflinoleumandmildewedandrottenwoodwork."Then,suddenly,"theroomwasfilledwiththestrong,sweetodorofmignonette.Itcameasuponasinglebuffetofwindwithsuchsurenessandfragranceandemphasisthatitalmostseemedalivingvisitant."Convulsion,horrible,monster,thesewordsplayanobviousroleinthedescriptionofthesurrealenvironment.3.RhetoricalAnalysisPersonification3.1PersonificationPersonificationisafigureofspeechinwhichinanimateobjectsorabstractionsareprovidedwithhumanqualitiesorarerepresentedaspossessinghumanforms.Inotherwords:givingsomethingahuman-likequalityorabilitytosomethingthatisnothuman.Itisafigureofspeechinwhichhumancharacteristicsareattributedtoanabstractquality,animal,orinanimateobjectandisusuallyemployedtoaddvividnesstoexpression.Anexampleis"TheMoondothwithdelight/Lookroundherwhentheheavensarebare"(WilliamWordsworth,"Ode:IntimationsofImmortalityfromRecollectionsofEarlyChildhood,"1807).Anotheris"Deathlayshisicyhandonkings"(JamesShirley,"TheGloriesofOurBloodandState,"1659).PersonificationhasbeenusedinEuropeanpoetrysinceHomerandisparticularlycommoninallegory;forexample,themedievalmoralityplayEveryman(c.1500)andtheChristianproseallegoryPilgrim'sProgress(1678)byJohnBunyancontaincharacterssuchasDeath,Fellowship,Knowledge,GiantDespair,Sloth,Hypocrisy,andPiety.Inthisshortstory,therearemanyplacesusingpersonification."Heheardinoneroomatitteringandincontinent,slacklaughter;inothersthemonologueofascold,therattlingofdice,alullaby,andonecryingdully;abovehimabanjotinkledwithspirit.Doorsbangedsomewhere;theelevatedtrainsroaredintermittently;acatyowledmiserablyuponabackfence."Inthissentence,heheardabanjotinklewithspiritandacatyowledmiserably.Thebanjoandthecatweregiventothehumanfeatures,creatinganatmosphereofsadness,sorrowandmiserable."Therichodorclungtohimandwrappedhimaround."Theyoungwassofamiliarwiththatodorthattheauthorgaveherlifetobringhappinessandhopetotheyoungman."Hesatstaringattheyellow,singinggaslight."Inthissentence,thegaslightwassinging.asifitwaslaughingattheyoungmanwholosthopeandconfidenceofseekingforhisgirlfriend.Allinall,thepersonificationiscompletelyusedinthisparagraphtocreatedifferentfeelingsoftheyoungmanandthechangesinhismind.4.RhetoricalAnalysisOxymoron,MetaphorandAllusion4.1OxymoronOxymoronisarhetoricalfigurebywhichcontradictoryorincongruoustermsareconjoinedsoastogivepointtothestatementorexpression.Anotherdefinitionofoxymoronisthatitisanexpression,initssuperficialorliteralmeaningself-contradictoryorabsurd,butinvolvingapoint.Agoodoxymoron,withitsconflictingimagesorideas,canbringoutthehiddentruthorsubtlesignificanceinamostimpressive,emphaticandconciseway.Itisusefulwhenthingshavegonecontrarytoexpectation,belief,desireorassertion,orwhenourpositionisoppositetoanother.Thefigureusedoncertainoccasionmayproduceanironiccontrastwhichshowshowsomethinghasbeenmisunderstoodormislabeled.Inthisparagraph,thereisanoxymoron:"Homeless,theyhaveahundredhomes."Thiskindofpeopledidn'thaverealhomes,andtheyjustflitfromfurnishedroomtofurnishedroom.Therefore,theauthorsaidthattheywerehomelessandhadahundredhomes.4.2MetaphorMetaphorisafigureofspeechcontaininganimpliedcomparisoninwhichawordofphraseordinarilyandprimarilyusedofonethingisappliedtoanother.Inthisparagraph,theauthormentionedthe"furredthroat"ofthelandladythreetimes.Aswecansee,theyoungmanhatedthelandlady,butwhathecandowasjusttoendureitandkeepseekingforhisgirlfriend.4.3AllusionAnallusionisafigureofspeechthatmakesareferenceto,orrepresentationof,people,places,events,literarywork,myths,orworksofart,eitherdirectlyorbyimplication.M.H.Abramsdefinedallusionas"abriefreference,explicitorindirect,toaperson,placeorevent,ortoanotherliteraryworkorpassage".Thereisanallusionwhendescribedthesubterraneanretreat,"inoneofthosesubterraneanretreatswherehouse-keepersforegatherandthewormdiethseldom."Here,theplacewherethewormdiethseldomisthehell,whichwastakenfromtheBible.4.4SurrealismSurrealismisa20thcenturystyleandmovementinartandliterature,inwhichimagesandeventsthatarenotconnectedareputtogetherinastrangeorimpossibleway,likeadream,totrytoexpresswhatishappeningdeepinmind.Whentheyoungmanandthelandladycameintothehouse,hesteppedonacarpet"Theytrodnoiselesslyuponastaircarpetthatitsownloomwouldhaveforsworn.Itseemedtohavebecomevegetable;tohavedegeneratedinthatrank,sunlessairtolushlichenorspreadingmossthatgrewinpatchestothestaircaseandwasviscidunderthefootlikeorganicmatter."Accordingtothefeelingoftheyoungmanonthecarpet,thecarpetwascomparedtovegetables,lichens,mossandorganism,whichwasmoreandmoreexaggeratedandabsurd,asiftheyoungmanwassteppedonalargegreenworm,disgustingandtiresome.“Ateachturnofthestairswerevacantnichesinthewall.Perhapsplantshadoncebeensetwithinthem.Ifsotheyhaddiedinthatfoulandtaintedair.Itmaybethatstatuesofthesaintshadstoodthere,butitwasnotdifficulttoconceivethatimpsanddevilshaddraggedthemforthinthedarknessanddowntotheunholydepthsofsomefurnishedpitbelow.”Dark,gloomy,horribleandfoul,thiskindofcorridorwasjustliketheplacewheremysteriousthingoccurred.Throughthisdescription,O.Henrymadethefurnishedroomintoahell,showingadark,dirty,strangeanddilapidatedroomscenetous.5.ConclusionThestoryendswithtwooldDickensianlandladiesprattlingovertheirbeeraboutthedeathofayoungwomanintheroomthepreviousweek,whichthelandladyhaskeptsecretbecauseshedidnotwanttolosetheyoungman’srent.Astheyoungmanliesdeadupstairs,theendingofthestory,withitsfocusonthemendacityoftheoldwomen,reinforcesthesqualoroftheroom,furthersuggestingtheunfeelingcitythathasnoroomfortheromanticismofthetwolovers.Processingnovelending,isOHenry’smostcreativecontribution,alsocauseshimenjoysthegreatreputationinAmericanandintheworldhistoryofliterature.Heisgoodatdesigningplottheatrically,laysdowntheforeshadowing,finallyappearsabeyondexpectationresultintheendingwhichmakesthereadertofeels