Doctor in the House
Text Analysis
“Doctor in the House”
(Richard Gordon) 1. The author of the story is Richard Gordon. It is the pen name used by Gordon Ostlere (born Gordon Stanley Ostlere on 15 September 1921), an English surgeon and anesthetist. As Richard Gordon, Ostlere has written numerous novels, screenplays for film and television and accounts of popular history, mostly dealing with the practice of medicine. He is most famous for a long series of comic novels on a medical theme starting with Doctor in the House, and the subsequent film, television, radio and stage adaptations. His The Alarming History of Medicine was published in 1993, and he followed this with The Alarming History of Sex. 2. The literary piece under consideration is fiction, prose fiction, short story. 3. Setting of the story.
Geographical location – England, London ( the events take place in St, Swithin’s hospital which is historically located in England, London);
Time – the late 1940s
Social environment – middle class, students.
Atmosphere – tense, psychologically difficult.
4. Theme of the story – examination period as a driving force for a psychological and emotional students’ tension. 5. Point of view – the 1st person point of view (“I walked down the stairs feeling as if I had just finished an eight-round fight…” or “I stood before table four. I didn’t recognize the examiners.”) 6. The composition:
Character sketch 7.1. Richard Gordon is the main character of the story. He plays the central role in the story so we may call him a protagonist. I consider him to be a flat (simple) character, because Richard has only several personal traits. The author characterizes Richard both directly and indirectly. He is a static, because Gordon remains the same throughout the story.
Direct presentation:
Richard Gordon was born in 1921.
He has been an anesthetist at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, a ship’s surgeon and an assistant editor of the British Medical Journal.
He left
“Doctor in the House”
(Richard Gordon) 1. The author of the story is Richard Gordon. It is the pen name used by Gordon Ostlere (born Gordon Stanley Ostlere on 15 September 1921), an English surgeon and anesthetist. As Richard Gordon, Ostlere has written numerous novels, screenplays for film and television and accounts of popular history, mostly dealing with the practice of medicine. He is most famous for a long series of comic novels on a medical theme starting with Doctor in the House, and the subsequent film, television, radio and stage adaptations. His The Alarming History of Medicine was published in 1993, and he followed this with The Alarming History of Sex. 2. The literary piece under consideration is fiction, prose fiction, short story. 3. Setting of the story.
Geographical location – England, London ( the events take place in St, Swithin’s hospital which is historically located in England, London);
Time – the late 1940s
Social environment – middle class, students.
Atmosphere – tense, psychologically difficult.
4. Theme of the story – examination period as a driving force for a psychological and emotional students’ tension. 5. Point of view – the 1st person point of view (“I walked down the stairs feeling as if I had just finished an eight-round fight…” or “I stood before table four. I didn’t recognize the examiners.”) 6. The composition:
Character sketch 7.1. Richard Gordon is the main character of the story. He plays the central role in the story so we may call him a protagonist. I consider him to be a flat (simple) character, because Richard has only several personal traits. The author characterizes Richard both directly and indirectly. He is a static, because Gordon remains the same throughout the story.
Direct presentation:
Richard Gordon was born in 1921.
He has been an anesthetist at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, a ship’s surgeon and an assistant editor of the British Medical Journal.
He left