A Comparison of The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, Passage to India by E.M. Foster, and When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
The three extracts I have chosen are all written in a relatively
similar style, I am rather partial to this style, ergo the motive for
choosing them. This will however, make contrasting them a little
harder, however I believe that the consequent refined subtleties will
provide a more interesting essay. Let us hope so.
To provide a suitable structure from which to analyse less obvious
comparisons, something of the author's contextual intentions must be
made apparent. Style lends itself well to this.
When observing the three extracts we conclude that all three have a
similar style. From this we mean that they have the same approach and
method of conveying their intensions, whatever they may be. The three
extracts vary in the amount of description they use; they do this in
relation to their period, the earliest using the most and so forth, at
first indicating a difference in style. A more convoluted language
used with Tmotf (The Mill On The Floss) becoming sparser through Pti
(Passage to India), and then Wwwo (When We Were Orphans) although this
is true and a contrast is observed we also note that they are three
very descriptive passages, not only from their own periods but also,
in subtle comparison to each other. Tmotf is a descriptive extract in
its own right, an extensive use of adjectives proving this.
'stretching their red-brown sails close among the branches of the
spreading ash'
However, the other two extracts are equally descriptive. They both
give the reader an unnecessary amount of inform...
... middle of paper ...
... have said above, Forster allows the reader to make their own
decisions. I can say that the extract does give a delicate taste of
further themes to come, already raising issues of race, the novel
opening giving India an uncertain feel, as uncertain as the conclusion
of the novel; it also gives a historical aspect. Lastly is Ishiguro's
Wwwo. This passage tells a story while explicating something of the
character to the reader. What does the author intend to do? I think
begin to create a character, which in the short passage of text he
manages to do we great ability.
In conclusion all three extracts vary greatly, as one would expect in
contextual aspects of all kind; likewise as many comparisons can be
found, entwining them as much as the contrasts separate them. Three
unique openings to three highly impressive novels.
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