Monologue Analysis

http://www.monologuearchive.com/w/walker_001.html

THE CHOCOLATE AFFAIR
A monologue from the play by Stephanie Alison Walker:

I'm up every day at five. Every day. Up at five, go for a jog, take a shower, wake Sally, cook breakfast—something healthy—egg whites, flax, kale, organic coffee, sprouted wheat. Sit down with Dave and Sally for breakfast. Eat a tiny portion. Be sure to leave some on the plate. Always leave some on the plate.
Get dressed. Something feminine, flattering. Kiss Dave goodbye. Make sure to give him a little something worth coming back home to.
Check on Sally. Comb her hair. Pack her lunch. Wait with her for the bus. Hug her goodbye. Make sure that hug lasts all day long...that she feels your arms around her even at recess when the mean kids pick on her because their moms don't hug them enough. Then let go. Watch her walk away, board the bus.
Choke back your tears. Taste the salt slide down the back of your throat. Go back inside. Check yourself in the mirror. Ugh. Turn around. Turn back hoping to see someone else. Cross through the kitchen. Pause. Feel the quiet of the empty house. No one watching. What can you eat? Open the pantry, look inside. Grab the jar of peanut butter. Unscrew the lid. Take a whiff. Stick your finger in the jar of peanut butter. Lick it off. Feel someone watching you. Shit. Turn around to face them. No one's there. Put the peanut butter away. Wash your hands, careful to remove any trace of peanut butter. Reapply lipstick. Head out the door. To work. Again.
This isn't fun anymore. There's something wrong with me.


This monologue starts with a short sentence to set the scene for the reader. By using a time (five), as one of the first things said, it allows the reader to start building a picture in their mind. Another thing that Stephanie Walker has used at the beginning is a list. This gives the reader an 'endless' feeling. By using only commas in the list and avoiding the use of the word 'and' it gives across the impression that she is bored of having so much to do and it makes the list seem longer than it actually is. In fact the writer uses short sentences the whole way through to make the whole monologue seem like a list. This makes the reader sympathise with her as it seems as if she doesn’t stop doing things all day. By using plenty of full stops it means that the reader keeps pausing throughout reading it and makes them seem almost 'out of breathe' whilst reading it, as if the woman is extremely tired.

Stephanie uses many contractions at the beginning of sentences, such as 'I'm' and 'There's'. By using this lexis it makes it seem as thought she does not have enough time to say the two words seperately and that she has to shorten them both to be able to fit them into her very 'busy' day. She also uses a lot of imperatives in her writing for example 'Grab the jar of peanut butter.','Pack her lunch','Unscrew the lid.' and 'Choke back the tears' This almost gives across the feeling that she is in some sort of strict routine as they sound very much like orders.

Blog Analysis

 http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/

I was debating whether or not to analyse this blog as i know that it is not pro dominantly word based. But then i thought about what the meaning of the posts were and i liked the fact that they use language within different forms of media (pictures) to create humor. The main of the blog is about people using ''quotation'' marks where they shouldn't (hence the url) . Quotation marks are a type of punctuation that is mainly used when there is direct speech or a literal name or title. They can also be used to express irony or a word that has maybe 2 meanings. Aswell as this they are to emphasize specific phrases or words within a sentence (although, as you can see here, most people use them in an incorrect manner). By using punctuation marks in the wrong way you are essentially making the words within them sound more sarcastic than they should do. For example, in the picture above the quoted word is ''once''. This makes the person reading it wonder whether they have to ring it once or lots of times? And also makes the person that put it there sound slightly sarcastic. I like this blog as i enjoy how it points out the mistakes in peoples language but makes them humorous at the same time.

The Ellen Show: Hugh Laurie,the British accent vs the American

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYmrg3owTRE
 
I found this text that plays on language very well. I like the fact that each country has their own 'slang' words and own socialect for when they are speaking to people from the same place as them. It goes to show how different language can be from one place to the next and how different words develop differently depending on the people picking them up. For example Ellen says the word 'shawty' which comes from the Southern United States pronunciation of 'Shorty'. I think it is very interesting how both Ellen and Hugh Laurie interpret each other’s words/language differently. Also how Ellen couldn't understand Hugh's accent when he was saying 'Chin wag'. It makes you realise how different accents can be and also how different people pick up words and assume things that are not necessarily meant.

Armstrong and Miller- RAF Pilots D-day:

Armstrong and Miller- RAF Pilots D-day:

The writer of this piece of media plays with the language of this sketch to create entertainment through mixing up the register with the setting. By creating a ‘mashed up’ socialect it creates comedy. Through the characters saying things such as ‘it’s all sandy, or pebbly or some shit like that’ it creates a funny effect as it is not something that you would expect a person of that time period to be saying. It also doesn’t go with their strong English accent, as you wouldn’t expect these sorts of ‘old fashioned’ people to be saying the sort of things that are used in this sketch, especially not Tabboo words. The sort of grammar that they are using in this piece is almost ‘chavy’ and ‘common’ whereas the characters in this do not come across as these types of people. It creates comedy through surprising the audience in giving them something that they did not expect.

They also use certain socialect such as ‘aint’ and ‘bled’. These words are predominantly used in the 20^th century and would not be expected to be heard in the era that this sketch was set in. Therefore it creates comedy; due to the fact that if this sketch was ‘realistic’ it would not have the main characters using this sort of language. It’s almost as if they have taken two different eras and mixed them together in terms of what they are saying and how they say it. The accent of the characters goes with the setting but what is actually being said does not.

The writer also creates comedy through jokes that the characters are saying. When the ‘Captain’ says “We’re nearly there, aren’t you going to black your faces?”  Miller replies with “Do I look like a mad racist?” and then Armstrong joins in with “This isn’t the olden times man, this is nowadays, you need to get some diversity training”. This is an example of irony, due to the fact that the majority of people in that era would have been moderately racist, whereas Armstrong and Miller are acting shocked by the ‘supposed’ racism said by the ‘captain’ even though it was not meant as a racist remark. Also the fact that Armstrong says “This isn’t the olden times man” creates comedic effect as too us (the audience) it is the ‘olden times’.

Change of Register- Hey there Delilah

Greetings Delilah, how does it appear in the city of New York? I seem to be a thousand Miles afar. But on this evening you look rather dashing. I’m confident you do. Times Square cannot compete with your beauty, I am positive it is correct. Hello Delilah, do not burden yourself with the distance, I’m right there if you feel isolated. Listen to this song again, close your eyes and adhere to my speech, it’s my masquerade, I am by your side.

Text about me

I enjoy spending time thinking. I mean, so many people take the world for granted right? Just the little things, like the way the wind whistles so innocently through the trees on a morning. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. I like having time to just breathe, and take everything in. When you consider how much everybody rushes around on a daily basis, trying to get everything done as fast as they can, in the amount of time it takes for the sun to rise and set throughout the day. The worlds actually a pretty spectacular place. How it can inhabit so many life forms that have evolved to survive, hunt and live in harmony with each other.  I guess I sometimes like to question the world in a different perspective, imagining what it’s like to be able to soar through the sky like a bird, having the ability to go places that I could only dream of experiencing. I always end up spending large amounts of time, just pondering on my thoughts and attempting to appreciate the simple things life has to give.  When thinking about myself however, and the things I want to aspire to be in the future I always picture myself as a business manager.  Having the authority to make important decisions that determine the future of something that I feel passionate about, something that i enjoy. Being depended on for results, regardless of the difficulties of high pressures.  In a certain sense I enjoy the idea of having a challenge put in front of me because it can only mean I either learn or become a stronger person from it. Life throws many challenges at us, whether they have a good or bad outcome, I believe that everything happens for a reason and therefore you should appreciate every single precious moment on this planet.
 

Use of text language in exams

''Exam Markers have expressed concerns over the use of text messaging language in exam answers.

The proof of its increased usage came when a 13-year-old Scottish schoolgirl handed in an essay written completely in text message shorthand, much to the bemusement of her teacher.

One extract said: ''My smmr holds wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 MY 2C my bro, his GF & thr3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc.''

Can you translate the above passage? R U a txt addict? Do you think txting is killing off the English language? R is it jst gr8 tkn 2 m8s?

YOUR COMMENTS

The English language has survived and adapted through many attempts to supplant it over the centuries. Indeed the very thing that makes English such a powerful and flexible language is that over the centuries it has adopted and borrowed from other languages. English as we no it know is quite different from 200 years ago, which in turn was quite differnt from 500 years ago. Shakespeare himself was responsible for introducing many new words. So unlike other languages English has survived and become so dominant through evolution. Therefore txt msging may or may not influence it in the long term, but history has shown us that any elements adopted will only serve to expand the flexibilty and ease of the language.
Perry, UK

Languages are invented for people to communicate. It is always better when a language is convenient to use, and is effective in delivering one's thought. Another key factor is that costs involved in communication cannot be too high. It is inevitable for us to ''speak'' in this way via a machine, to save time... We'd better invent better machines which can translate abbreviated words that we key in back into real words to the recipient.
Steve, Hong Kong''



I chose to use this extract from a BBC debate about whether text message language is ruining the use of the English language as i think that is is very interesting to see how different people from different backgrounds opinionate on this subject. I also like the fact that the Author used text talk when he was talking about the subject, as the focus of this article is to do with using shorthanded words that are prodominantly used within text messaging. I agree with the point that text talk is ruining the English Language to some extent as i beleive the main of this generation have started to use text talk and slip it into their work where it should not be used. I beleive that it is acceptable to use text talk where appropriate, e.g. in casual conversation, but it should be kept to that and not feature in a place such as exams or coursework or other official documents.