The Cranfordians
The purpose of this passage was to portray the Cranfordians’ facade of not being poor. The means that the author goes about communicating this is by having a very own Cranfordian uncover these truths, by using wordplay/playful language, and by creating an overall sarcastic tone.
The point of view of the narrator impacted the experience of the reader with this passage extremely because it made the truths that she was uncovering that much more personal and significant. This was strategically done by the author in order to make for a different reading experience. It was discovered that the narrator was a Cranfordian when it was said, “ We none of us spoke of money, because that subject savoured of commerce and trade, and though some might be …show more content…
poor, we were all aristocratic.” This quote was the key to understanding the passage. Not only does the narrator reveal the overall subject and issue of poverty to us but we can see her include herself in the audience she is referring to. We can also see the Cranfordian acknowledge poverty subtly, and then quickly deprive it of it’s significance in society. Therefore, the narrator’s delusion is evident; not only is she acknowledging herself as a Cranfordian, but she is also acknowledging that some of her people are poor. She then proceeds to contradict herself by adding that although poor, they are all aristocratic. This delusion is the key to determining the facade behind the passage.
Another tactic that the author uses is that he has the narrator speak playfully. Not only does she use wordplay where she refers to the fact that everybody knew of the universal truth that they were all poor, but the author also decided to end the passage with it. It was said,” Wafer bread-and-butter and sponge-biscuits were all that the late Honourable Mrs.Jamison gave, and she was sister-in-law to the late Earl of Glenmire, although she did practise such “elegant economy”. In adding the phrase “elegant economy” we see the author use playful words in order to envelop the entire facade into the concept behind these two words: that their wealth is merely for show. The phrase was significant in communicating this to the reader because it assures us of her tone of sarcasm; the reader can rest assured that the Cranfordians are poor and in denial.
Although the author subtly portrays the Cranfordian’s sly ways through sly techniques such as word play and sarcasm, she legitimizes it all and lets the reader determine what is truth and what is not.
In the second paragraph of the passage it was said,” For instance, the inhabitants of Cranford kept early hours, and clattered home in their pattens, under the guidance of lantern-bearer, about nine o'clock at night; and the whole town was abed and asleep by half-past ten.” By revealing this fact to the reader the author gives us the opportunity to determine the fact that if these people were so aristocratic then why would they have a curfew. In context, why was this a consequence of “general but unacknowledged poverty”? The reader can then proceed to reveal that as a consequence to being poor, the Cranfordians have a curfew in order so they wouldn’t spend. This revealment fed to the overall purpose of the text by uncovering the delusion that the Cranfordians are not, infact, aristocratic, but merely poor.
Great authors enact great messages and themes through significant techniques that create a unique and riveting reading experience. Elizabeth Gaskell does this in her 1853 novel, Cranford. The novel manipulates the use of perspective by creating a narrator who is also part of the large group she is narrating; a narrator with the same humanely defects as the people she is describing. Gaskell uses wordplay, sarcasm, and truth in order to convey the theme of this novel: Societies
function as one, whether or not they are aware of it, one bad apple spoils the entire barrel.
The point of view of the narrator impacted the experience of the reader with this passage extremely because it made the truths that she was uncovering that much more personal and significant. This was strategically done by the author in order to make for a different reading experience. It was discovered that the narrator was a Cranfordian when it was said, “ We none of us spoke of money, because that subject savoured of commerce and trade, and though some might be …show more content…
poor, we were all aristocratic.” This quote was the key to understanding the passage. Not only does the narrator reveal the overall subject and issue of poverty to us but we can see her include herself in the audience she is referring to. We can also see the Cranfordian acknowledge poverty subtly, and then quickly deprive it of it’s significance in society. Therefore, the narrator’s delusion is evident; not only is she acknowledging herself as a Cranfordian, but she is also acknowledging that some of her people are poor. She then proceeds to contradict herself by adding that although poor, they are all aristocratic. This delusion is the key to determining the facade behind the passage.
Another tactic that the author uses is that he has the narrator speak playfully. Not only does she use wordplay where she refers to the fact that everybody knew of the universal truth that they were all poor, but the author also decided to end the passage with it. It was said,” Wafer bread-and-butter and sponge-biscuits were all that the late Honourable Mrs.Jamison gave, and she was sister-in-law to the late Earl of Glenmire, although she did practise such “elegant economy”. In adding the phrase “elegant economy” we see the author use playful words in order to envelop the entire facade into the concept behind these two words: that their wealth is merely for show. The phrase was significant in communicating this to the reader because it assures us of her tone of sarcasm; the reader can rest assured that the Cranfordians are poor and in denial.
Although the author subtly portrays the Cranfordian’s sly ways through sly techniques such as word play and sarcasm, she legitimizes it all and lets the reader determine what is truth and what is not.
In the second paragraph of the passage it was said,” For instance, the inhabitants of Cranford kept early hours, and clattered home in their pattens, under the guidance of lantern-bearer, about nine o'clock at night; and the whole town was abed and asleep by half-past ten.” By revealing this fact to the reader the author gives us the opportunity to determine the fact that if these people were so aristocratic then why would they have a curfew. In context, why was this a consequence of “general but unacknowledged poverty”? The reader can then proceed to reveal that as a consequence to being poor, the Cranfordians have a curfew in order so they wouldn’t spend. This revealment fed to the overall purpose of the text by uncovering the delusion that the Cranfordians are not, infact, aristocratic, but merely poor.
Great authors enact great messages and themes through significant techniques that create a unique and riveting reading experience. Elizabeth Gaskell does this in her 1853 novel, Cranford. The novel manipulates the use of perspective by creating a narrator who is also part of the large group she is narrating; a narrator with the same humanely defects as the people she is describing. Gaskell uses wordplay, sarcasm, and truth in order to convey the theme of this novel: Societies
function as one, whether or not they are aware of it, one bad apple spoils the entire barrel.