ENG2602
Summary Guide
, lOMoARcPSD|73065728
Conclusion
Language is not neutral or free of certain beliefs, interests, biases, and positions. In
the passage we have just analysed, the group of teenagers is portrayed as a threat to
the more serious activities of adults. Whether the field is politics, wars, entertainment
or domestic matters, the writer attempts to place more importance on adults. Young
people are depicted as people who are interested in trivial matters. This is a common
theme termed ‘the generation gap’.
Think of similar movies, novels, and short stories that you have read with a similar
ideology. The critical reading of the text is not an end in itself but it is to reveal the
obscure ideology that we would have missed had we not been paying attention to
language devices that have been used by the writer.
We have explored several language features above. You have probably noticed that we
did not take much note of such matters as lexis and syntax, tone and style. However,
those we did discuss aided us to arrive quite easily at observations about context
(pragmatics) and implications (semantics).
You will come across more such features in your textbook, the Reader, in the rest of the
study guide and on myUnisa. The critical reading of the text helps us to find answers to
questions like the further questions above which do not have one correct answer. The
ultimate objective is not only to critique texts but ultimately to learn how to analyse
language use and to become a skilled critical writer.
References
Fairclough, N. (1992) Discourse and social change. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Fairclough, N. (2003) Analysing discourse: textual analysis for social research. London:
Routledge.
Goatly, A. (2000) Critical reading and writing. London and New York: Routledge.
Janks, H. (1997) Critical Discourse Analysis as a research tool. Discourse: Studies in the
Cultural Politics of Education, 18(3):329–342.
Janks, H. (2010). Literacy and power. London: Routledge.
6
, lOMoARcPSD|73065728
UNIT 2
Prose
Eileen Donaldson
A loose definition of prose is writing which takes the form of sentences combined
into paragraphs. This section of the guide explores the two dominant modes of prose:
fiction and non-fiction. Like other kinds of writing, the author of prose is trying to
achieve something, to communicate some meaning to his or her reader using various
linguistic and literary techniques. As an English scholar, you need to study any piece
of writing objectively. These three questions appear in the two previous study units but
it is worth repeating them here:
● What is the author communicating?
● Why is the author communicating in this way – what is the purpose of the text?
And
● How does the author achieve this purpose?
The difference between fiction and non-fiction is that the author of non-fiction
generally communicates fact, whereas the author of fiction communicates truths
drawn from reality in an imaginative way. Of course, one could argue that the author
of non-fiction also writes subjectively because his or her opinions may colour the ‘facts’
that they report.
The Purpose of Fiction
“It is man’s job to be curious; it is man’s job to try to find out the truth about the world
about us.” (Burgess: 2)
Literature enables us to explore what it means to be human, challenging the reader’s
assumptions about their world and asking them to re-evaluate their understanding
of people and situations. Literature may provoke this reaction through humour and
satire, through realism, through fantasy or any number of strategies used by the author.
Literature always asks us to grow as human beings, to open ourselves to experiences
outside our own. It is also true that every book has value, whether you agree with what
the author says or not. As a scholar of literature, you may argue against the ideologies
an author espouses, but you cannot refuse him or her the right to express the truth
as he or she understands it. An author is often influenced by his or her historical and
cultural context and so, before judging that a book expresses closed-minded, out-dated
ideologies, you need to understand the situation of the author and consider the world
as he or she experienced/experiences it. Reading books from various historical eras
ENG2602/1 7
, lOMoARcPSD|73065728
and authors from diverse cultures asks us to re-evaluate values that we assume to be
universal: things like ‘beauty’, ‘truth’, ‘freedom’, ‘independence’, key concepts such
as ‘society’, ‘justice’, ‘family’, ‘love’, ‘sexuality’ and ‘spirituality’. Our understanding
of these terms depends on our culture, our historical era and, sometimes, on our
individual experiences. Literature forces us to acknowledge that there is no ‘one truth’
– human experiences are as diverse as the number of people on our planet and, as a
scholar of literature, your task is to discover (and hopefully relish) this rich diversity.
Forms of Fiction
Fictional prose takes many forms: novels, novellas, short stories and flash fiction.
Broadly put: fiction is anything written or printed that tells an invented story. The
purpose of this section is twofold:
● it should equip you to recognise fictional prose and understand its features; and
● it should prepare you for the task of analysing the narrative and linguistic tech-
niques used by authors to communicate meaning through their prose.
Novels and novellas are both longer forms of prose; the only difference between the
two is that novels can be a long as the author wishes, while novellas tend to be shorter:
consider the difference between John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath (usually
over 600 pages) and his novella Of Mice and Men (about 100 pages). Short stories
and flash fiction are, as the names suggest, pieces of short fiction. In fact, flash fiction
can be a story of only 100 words. You will use the same techniques to analyse novels,
novellas and short stories, but bear in mind that the short story frequently condenses
meaning.
Features of fictional prose
1. Plot
Novels and Novellas
● Usually there is a main plot that develops the dominant action of the story, sup-
ported by a number of sub-plots that explore issues tangential to the main action.
Authors use sub-plots to develop thematic aspects of the main plot, or to introduce
character-specific information. When you analyse a novel you need to be aware of
the various threads of story that the author has interwoven, because they all add
to the complexity of the overall pattern – adding psychological depth to the main
story. Joseph Campbell suggests that there is a ‘hero’s journey’ that many protago-
nists follow as they grow. While this pattern may not be reflected in every book
you read, it might help to consider some of these ‘moments’ as you analyse the plot
structure of the novels you read. In a novel the hero: is often called to adventure
(i.e. something happens that changes the protagonist’s situation and marks the
beginning of a new challenge); has companions that help him or her (consider the
relationships that the protagonist has); descends into the dark (this could mean a
trial or challenge that forces the protagonist to face aspects of themselves that are
hidden or painful); has to undergo various trials (consider each of the conflicts that
the protagonist faces and what these mean in terms of themes that the author is
exploring); experiences apotheosis (the protagonist learns something that results
8
Summary Guide
, lOMoARcPSD|73065728
Conclusion
Language is not neutral or free of certain beliefs, interests, biases, and positions. In
the passage we have just analysed, the group of teenagers is portrayed as a threat to
the more serious activities of adults. Whether the field is politics, wars, entertainment
or domestic matters, the writer attempts to place more importance on adults. Young
people are depicted as people who are interested in trivial matters. This is a common
theme termed ‘the generation gap’.
Think of similar movies, novels, and short stories that you have read with a similar
ideology. The critical reading of the text is not an end in itself but it is to reveal the
obscure ideology that we would have missed had we not been paying attention to
language devices that have been used by the writer.
We have explored several language features above. You have probably noticed that we
did not take much note of such matters as lexis and syntax, tone and style. However,
those we did discuss aided us to arrive quite easily at observations about context
(pragmatics) and implications (semantics).
You will come across more such features in your textbook, the Reader, in the rest of the
study guide and on myUnisa. The critical reading of the text helps us to find answers to
questions like the further questions above which do not have one correct answer. The
ultimate objective is not only to critique texts but ultimately to learn how to analyse
language use and to become a skilled critical writer.
References
Fairclough, N. (1992) Discourse and social change. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Fairclough, N. (2003) Analysing discourse: textual analysis for social research. London:
Routledge.
Goatly, A. (2000) Critical reading and writing. London and New York: Routledge.
Janks, H. (1997) Critical Discourse Analysis as a research tool. Discourse: Studies in the
Cultural Politics of Education, 18(3):329–342.
Janks, H. (2010). Literacy and power. London: Routledge.
6
, lOMoARcPSD|73065728
UNIT 2
Prose
Eileen Donaldson
A loose definition of prose is writing which takes the form of sentences combined
into paragraphs. This section of the guide explores the two dominant modes of prose:
fiction and non-fiction. Like other kinds of writing, the author of prose is trying to
achieve something, to communicate some meaning to his or her reader using various
linguistic and literary techniques. As an English scholar, you need to study any piece
of writing objectively. These three questions appear in the two previous study units but
it is worth repeating them here:
● What is the author communicating?
● Why is the author communicating in this way – what is the purpose of the text?
And
● How does the author achieve this purpose?
The difference between fiction and non-fiction is that the author of non-fiction
generally communicates fact, whereas the author of fiction communicates truths
drawn from reality in an imaginative way. Of course, one could argue that the author
of non-fiction also writes subjectively because his or her opinions may colour the ‘facts’
that they report.
The Purpose of Fiction
“It is man’s job to be curious; it is man’s job to try to find out the truth about the world
about us.” (Burgess: 2)
Literature enables us to explore what it means to be human, challenging the reader’s
assumptions about their world and asking them to re-evaluate their understanding
of people and situations. Literature may provoke this reaction through humour and
satire, through realism, through fantasy or any number of strategies used by the author.
Literature always asks us to grow as human beings, to open ourselves to experiences
outside our own. It is also true that every book has value, whether you agree with what
the author says or not. As a scholar of literature, you may argue against the ideologies
an author espouses, but you cannot refuse him or her the right to express the truth
as he or she understands it. An author is often influenced by his or her historical and
cultural context and so, before judging that a book expresses closed-minded, out-dated
ideologies, you need to understand the situation of the author and consider the world
as he or she experienced/experiences it. Reading books from various historical eras
ENG2602/1 7
, lOMoARcPSD|73065728
and authors from diverse cultures asks us to re-evaluate values that we assume to be
universal: things like ‘beauty’, ‘truth’, ‘freedom’, ‘independence’, key concepts such
as ‘society’, ‘justice’, ‘family’, ‘love’, ‘sexuality’ and ‘spirituality’. Our understanding
of these terms depends on our culture, our historical era and, sometimes, on our
individual experiences. Literature forces us to acknowledge that there is no ‘one truth’
– human experiences are as diverse as the number of people on our planet and, as a
scholar of literature, your task is to discover (and hopefully relish) this rich diversity.
Forms of Fiction
Fictional prose takes many forms: novels, novellas, short stories and flash fiction.
Broadly put: fiction is anything written or printed that tells an invented story. The
purpose of this section is twofold:
● it should equip you to recognise fictional prose and understand its features; and
● it should prepare you for the task of analysing the narrative and linguistic tech-
niques used by authors to communicate meaning through their prose.
Novels and novellas are both longer forms of prose; the only difference between the
two is that novels can be a long as the author wishes, while novellas tend to be shorter:
consider the difference between John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath (usually
over 600 pages) and his novella Of Mice and Men (about 100 pages). Short stories
and flash fiction are, as the names suggest, pieces of short fiction. In fact, flash fiction
can be a story of only 100 words. You will use the same techniques to analyse novels,
novellas and short stories, but bear in mind that the short story frequently condenses
meaning.
Features of fictional prose
1. Plot
Novels and Novellas
● Usually there is a main plot that develops the dominant action of the story, sup-
ported by a number of sub-plots that explore issues tangential to the main action.
Authors use sub-plots to develop thematic aspects of the main plot, or to introduce
character-specific information. When you analyse a novel you need to be aware of
the various threads of story that the author has interwoven, because they all add
to the complexity of the overall pattern – adding psychological depth to the main
story. Joseph Campbell suggests that there is a ‘hero’s journey’ that many protago-
nists follow as they grow. While this pattern may not be reflected in every book
you read, it might help to consider some of these ‘moments’ as you analyse the plot
structure of the novels you read. In a novel the hero: is often called to adventure
(i.e. something happens that changes the protagonist’s situation and marks the
beginning of a new challenge); has companions that help him or her (consider the
relationships that the protagonist has); descends into the dark (this could mean a
trial or challenge that forces the protagonist to face aspects of themselves that are
hidden or painful); has to undergo various trials (consider each of the conflicts that
the protagonist faces and what these mean in terms of themes that the author is
exploring); experiences apotheosis (the protagonist learns something that results
8
