stuck in English

[Peridot]

If you want more beautiful language JaneEyre, can I recommend "A Tale of Two Cities", which I've just re-read. I don't always like Dickens but this one is such a good story and so well-written. And contains some of the most famous opening and closing lines in all English literature of course.

[Sally-Anne]

thank you for the beautiful picture, Sally Anne.
That reminds me of a praising talk one of my French teacher did to us about carrot carving in a Chinese restaurant. She was amazed by the meticulous, intricate and fine carving Some people are amazingly gifted and patient!!

My pleasure, and we have had many joyful hours in Chinese restaurants admiring fish, dolphins, chickens and other assorted carvings all constructed out of carrot!

I think another point to be made about ivory is that it is, of course, bone. That adds a darker dimension to some carvings.

Thank you all for your help! I can return to the novel now...

Rather you than me. I never made it beyond page 3!

[loobylou]

If you want more beautiful language JaneEyre, can I recommend "A Tale of Two Cities", which I've just re-read. I don't always like Dickens but this one is such a good story and so well-written. And contains some of the most famous opening and closing lines in all English literature of course.

+1. I did this for O'level and I still love it.

[doodles]

+1 for Tale of Two Cities. I did Our Mutual Friend for A level and that was a fantastic read.

[Tolstoy]

I enjoyed reading many of CDs books when I was quite young but didn't read Tale of two Cities until my 40s. Absolutely loved it and surprisingly different from the others I had read.

[Stroller]

I know the meaning of ‘a tower of ivory’ as we have exactly the same idiom in French.
However, I fail to find the meaning of ‘a portrait in ivory’ though I have the feeling it means something very intricate and exquisite.
Please, would it be possible to anyone to explain to me the meaning?

Here is the sentence the phrase comes from:
Of Mice and Men is a ‘portrait in ivory’ of a highly representative working class enclave, where the labourers’ own powerlessness results in social instability.

. Is the image referring to
- miniatures which, in the 18th century, were painted with watercolour on ivory?
- some very delicate carving of ivory, like it is so beautifully done in the Far East?
- something else?

Thank you in advance for helping me out...

Let me offer an alternative perspective, albeit not necessarily more accurate. My first thought is "cameo", because each cameo is a miniature, yet very detailed portrait and Steinbeck's writing style is renowned for careful honing and clarity. Taking it further, perhaps ivory, as well as being a material people carve, may reference Steinbeck's white ethnicity and/or the fact that the story, which includes racial tension, is told from a white lens.

[JaneEyre]

If you want more beautiful language JaneEyre, can I recommend "A Tale of Two Cities", which I've just re-read. I don't always like Dickens but this one is such a good story and so well-written. And contains some of the most famous opening and closing lines in all English literature of course.

Thank you for your advice, Peridot! I love pieces of advice! Yes, I do have to read it, thank you for reminding me… I have already watched the film many moons ago and it struck a chord with me as it is about the French revolution!

I have read a few Dicken’s novels already (Oliver twist; Great expectations; David Copperfield; A Christmas Carol, Nicholas Nickleby). Though having sometimes some bizarre feelings while reading them ( sense of infinite sadness and/or melancholia), I enjoyed them due the exuberance and humour of some of his characters, who are really memorable…. and the style is magnificent! This year, I read The Pickwick papers and they are so funny and humorous! Do try the latter if you need to have a good laugh!

For those whose children have read several novels by Dickens, there is this attraction which might be very agreeable during the summer holidays:
http://www.dickensworld.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Please, I need some feedbacks as I wish to go there one day! My idea is not to take DS there as long as he has not yet read many works by this author, but maybe I am mistaken? Maybe one can go there without having read so many books written by Dickens?

[JaneEyre]

I never made it beyond page 3!

I totally understand what you are saying. I have read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury this year and found it hard, due to the terrible atmosphere the author has managed to create through his carefully crafted writing…

However, reading some beautiful verities was a resounding reward for my efforts and perseverance! Here are two examples:

"There must be something in books, things we can't imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there."

"Books are dangerous. They make you think . . . feel . . . wonder...
They make you ask questions."


On a funny note, when my DS was studying Romeo and Juliet at school this year, I thought I would study it at the same time as him. Therefore, one evening, I went to bed, armed with my copy of the Shakespeare’s play…. and got stuck, being far too tired at the end of a busy day to manage to understand properly the text without a dictionary and some aids.
If one day I study one of Shakespeare’s plays, this will not be in my bed, but at my desk and with dictionaries on my laptop and some study guides. No way I can go far reading Shakespeare as a bedtime story. I will doze off rapidly for not understanding… However, I can manage Dickens as a bedtime story, even though there are many words that I do not understand!

[JaneEyre]

Concerning Of men ad men, I notice that the beginning is used in several in KS 3 books and even (if my memory does not betray me) in a comprehension in a dear 11+ Bond book.

This example of simile is - I think- really widespread in books or educational documents:
On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones. (page 4)

Please, try to ‘savour’ this beautiful descriptive writing:

The flame of the sunset lifted from the mountaintops and dusk came into the valley, and a half darkness came in among the willows and sycamores. A big carp rose to the surface of the pool, gulped air and then sank mysteriously into the dark water again, leaving widening rings on the water. Overhead the leaves whisked again and little puffs of willow cotton blew down and landed on the pool’s surface. (page 12)

Isn’t this writing beautiful? Can you picture the scene?
I know that there will be some dark moments in the novel, but I hope I will manage to get ‘transformed’ by this piece of literature.

[JaneEyre]

Let me offer an alternative perspective, albeit not necessarily more accurate. My first thought is "cameo", because each cameo is a miniature, yet very detailed portrait and Steinbeck's writing style is renowned for careful honing and clarity. Taking it further, perhaps ivory, as well as being a material people carve, may reference Steinbeck's white ethnicity and/or the fact that the story, which includes racial tension, is told from a white lens.

Thank you for your input, Stroller. I also like your interpretation. Cameos are such beautiful pieces of art! Thank you for the link!

Before reading you, I had not yet realised that the theme of racial tensions is dealt with in this novel but thanks to your interpretation, I will look out for them. (I have just seen the film a decade ago and I forgot rather a lot about it… except for the scene when Curley’s wife dies… which put me off the film and the book ).