The author’s tools for creating a full-fledged atmosphere are diverse and consist of the selection of words and rhetorical style. The authors try to include as many emotions as possible in the narrative so that readers can identify with the characters, agree with them and empathize with them. Examples of involving readers through rhetorical forms are the works A & P and Dead Man’s Path, where the authors draw opposite contexts and characters of characters using the same methods.
The Dead Man’s Path is a story about an African teacher who comes to a run-down village where animalism and civilization meet. The teacher is trying to oppose education to the ancient culture and traditions that the residents adhere to and sincerely believe. The author describes the surrounding nature to create an atmosphere: “Beautiful hibiscus and allamanda hedges in brilliant red and yellow marked out the carefully tended school compound from the rank neighborhood bushes” (Achebe 4). Through such descriptions of nature, the author conveys the mystery and non-civilization of this place. Nature is rampant, and people cohabit with it, sometimes obeying but never subjugating it. In A & P, the reader constantly sees descriptions of the woman’s appearance, filled with comparisons and vivid epithets, but descriptions of places are present. The author writes: “…under the fluorescent lights, against all those stacked packages, with her feet paddling along naked over our checkerboard green and cream rubber-tile floor” (Updike 11). However, even descriptions of places are only a background for the main character’s appearance, a beauty.
Chinua Achebe uses mostly words of Greek origin, which sounds serious in context. Examples are ‘skeptical’ (Greek: skepsis) and ‘physical’ (Latin: related to nature or living; and Greek: physis). John Updike uses words of Latin origin in a wide variety: policy (polītīa), juvenile (juvenīlis), and prima. Both examples show the integration of Latin and Greek into modern literary and conversational English through their linguistic harmony.
The Dead Man’s Path raises the complex issue of ancient religions and education in the village, and the context of African life is presented entirely in the main characters’ lines. The person accompanying the teacher says: “But I remember there was a big row some time ago when we attempted to close it” (Achebe 5). This man, a sincere pagan, will develop this topic in more detail, and the teacher will enter into an argument with him. A & P are written in the first person, and the placement in context occurs against the backdrop of the author’s thought flow. The context of other people and their lives is embedded in phrases such as “I forgot to say he thinks he’s going to be manager some sunny day, maybe in 1990 when it’s called the Great Alexandrov and Petrooshki Tea Company or something” (Updike 13). The author addresses the reader directly, entering into an unequal dialogue with him, which introduces the reader to the context and makes him an integral part of the narrative.
The Dead Man’s Path demonstrates the extensive use of formal language, as it is about the teacher. He says in the argument: “The whole purpose of our school is to eradicate just such beliefs as that” (Achebe 3). A & P are filled with abbreviations and informal language. However, “Now her hands are empty, not a ring or a bracelet, bare as God made them” in the description of the beauty can be considered a manifestation of formal language (Updike 10). Here the author’s tone becomes calm, despite the sublime romantic comparison.
The teacher’s light informalism is found only in communication with Nancy’s wife. The author writes: “We shall make a good job of it, shan’t we?” putting the teacher’s aspirations into this uncomplicated phrase (Achebe 1). A&P has a variety of informalism, such as the short, playful line “Oh Daddy” (Updike 13). This phrase is spoken by the main character, which complements her sexy image. The overall narrative of Dead Man’s Path is an atmosphere of poverty and strict prohibitions in the name of tradition. The author tries to keep the narration dispassionate (without expressing his tone), sometimes even forcing a tense situation. The author’s purpose is to tell a story about a specific problem with specific characters and within a particular place. The author of A & P is trying to lure the reader to his side of admiration for the girl. He does not stand aside, and the distance between the author and the reader is significantly reduced. The atmosphere of a friendly conversation is preserved while reading the entire text.
The two texts reviewed are somewhat opposite in their atmospheres, although the authors use the same tools to engage the reader. Dead Man’s Path is a short story about the plight of a poor African village where an ambitious teacher wanted to place a stronghold of civilization but failed. A & P is a story with a friendly atmosphere and a raised theme of female sexuality and attractiveness, where the author does not try to be serious.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Dead Men’s Path. Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Fourth Edition. Edited by R. S. Gwynn. New York: Penguin, 2009.
Updike, J. John Updike: The Collected Stories. Library of America, 2013.