Expansion and its realization in the short story runaway by alice munro from systemic functional grammar perspective

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ THỊ THẢO EXPANSION AND ITS REALIZATION IN THE SHORT STORY “RUNAWAY” BY ALICE MUNRO: FROM SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR PERSPECTIVE (Bành trướng thể truyện ngắn ―Trốn chạy‖ Alice Munro: Nghiên cứu theo quan điểm ngữ pháp chức hệ thống) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 HANOI – 2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ THỊ THẢO EXPANSION AND ITS REALIZATION IN THE SHORT STORY “RUNAWAY” BY ALICE MUNRO: FROM SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR PERSPECTIVE (Bành trướng thể truyện ngắn ―Trốn chạy‖ Alice Munro: Nghiên cứu theo quan điểm ngữ pháp chức hệ thống) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Prof Dr Hoàng Văn Vân HANOI – 2014 DECLARATION I, Vũ Thị Thảo, hereby declare that the work contained in this thesis is the result of my own research It is recognized that, should this declaration be found to be false, disciplinary action could be taken and penalties imposed in accordance with the University policy and rules Signature Vũ Thị Thảo i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Prof Dr Hoàng Văn Vân, Dean of the School of Graduates, Vietnam National University Hanoi, for his continuous support, guidance, patience and inspiration to me in researching and writing this thesis I could not have imagined having a better supervisor for my M.A thesis I also wish to extend particular thanks to lecturers at the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, for their positive and encouraging impacts on my work in one way or another Finally, my special thanks and blessings go to my parents and my friends for their love and support in any respect during the completion of the thesis Their wellbeing is of great inspiration to me all the time ii ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to examine how expansion relations between clauses are realized in the short story ―Runaway‖ by Alice Munro, using systemic functional grammar as the theoretical framework The research findings show that of 252 clause complexes collected from the story, the highest frequency use of expansion is enhancement, aiming to provide necessary circumstantial information to the clauses Extension is the second dominant type and elaboration is the least popular type Besides using explicit conjunctive signals to link the clauses, implicit ones are also used, which sometimes cause challenges to identify the type of relations The results help to confirm the application of SFG in text analysis to understand lexico-semantic relations between clauses iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale for the study Aim of the study and research questions Scope of the study Significance of the study Methodology Organization of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND FOR THE STUDY 1.1 An overview of systemic functional approach to grammar 1.2 Meta-function of the language 1.1.1 Ideational meta-function 1.1.2 Interpersonal meta-function 1.1.3 Textual meta-function 1.3 Ranks 1.4 The clause 1.4.1 Clause simplex and clause complex 1.4.2 Types of relationship between clauses in clause complexes 1.4.2.1 Taxis 1.4.2.2 Logico-sematic relations 1.4.3 Summary 10 iv CHAPTER 2: EXPANSION AND EXPANSION RELATION BETWEEN CLAUSES IN CLAUSE COMPLEXES 2.1 Expansion 11 2.2 Types of expansion 11 2.2.1 Elaboration .11 2.2.1.1 Paratactic elaboration .12 2.2.1.2 Hypotactic elaboration .12 2.2.2 Extension .14 2.2.2.1 Paratactic extension .14 2.2.2.2 Hypotactic extension .15 2.2.3 Enhancement 16 2.2.3.1 Paractactic enhancement 16 2.2.3.2 Hypotactic enhancement 18 2.3 Summary 20 CHAPTER 3: EXPANSION RELATIONS BETWEEN CLAUSES IN CLAUSE COMPLEXES IN THE SHORT STORY “RUNAWAY” BY ALICE MUNRO 3.1 The chosen story ―Runaway‖ by Alice Munro 21 3.2 A register analysis of the story 21 3.2.1 Genre 22 3.2.2 Field 23 3.2.3 Tenor 23 3.2.4 Mode 24 3.3 The expansion relation between clauses in the story 24 3.3.1 Data collection 24 v 3.3.2 Data analysis and discussion 25 3.3.3 Summary 33 PART C: CONCLUSION Summary of the study 36 Limitations and suggestions for further studies 38 REFERENCES 39 APPENDICES I vi PART INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study It is apparent that people have been fascinated with language and communication for thousands of years Linguistics, therefore, becomes a growing and exciting area of study with an increasing number of theories and research conducted aiming to explain the complex nature of language and communication Along with many branches of linguistics, grammar has been received great attention by linguists in attempts to understand how language works Systemic functional grammar (SFG), a theory developed by M A K Halliday and his associates, provides a comprehensive account of how language is used in specific contexts for communication purposes It looks at how language works, how it is organized and what social functions are represented SFG differs from other previous models of grammar in that it views language ―as a social semiotic a resource people use to accomplish their purposes by expressing meanings in context‖ (Chapelle, 1998) and seeks to provide a clear relationship between functions and grammatical systems (Halliday, 1994) SFG can also be an effective grammatical tool for text analysis as it is designed to ―make it possible to say sensible and useful things about any text, spoken or written‖ (Halliday, 1994: xv) In Vietnam, there have been an increasing number of significant studies on different aspects of SFG, which not only makes important contributions to the study of this field in Vietnam, but also becomes great source of reference as well as motivation for me to choose SFG as the theoretical framework for my MA thesis Amongst many interesting aspects of SFG, I decided to carry out a study on a specific phenomenon – expansion relation between clauses in clauses complexes There are two key justifications for my study titled “Expansion and its realization in the short story “Runaway” by Alice Munro: from systemic functional perspective” Foremost, the reason for choosing expansion is that I would like to explore how the writer constructs the text, particularly the way clauses in clause complexes are expanded and developed in the text Expansion, therefore, could help to understand the interdependency and logico-semantic relation between clauses In addition, I am fascinated by the short story ―Runaway‖ written by the 2013 Nobel Laureate, Alice Munro, whose multi-layered writing styles and the characters portrayed in her story gave me a deep impression and inspired me to choose the story for text analysis In light of the above mentioned, I decided to select this story for analysis to explore how expansion is realized in the text and how the findings can help to understand the way the author constructs the story Aim of the study and research questions The main aim of the study is to investigate the realization of expansion relations between clauses in clause complexes in the story ―Runaway‖ by Alice Munro In order to fulfill the above mentioned aim, two research questions are raised for exploration:  What is expansion in systemic functional grammar?  How are expansion relations between clauses in clause complexes realized in the short story ―Runaway‖ by Alice Munro? Scope of the study Within the framework of a minor MA thesis, the study cannot cover all types of relationship between clauses Only expansion relation between clauses in clause complexes is taken into consideration Projection and other aspects of SFG such as transitivity, mood and modality, theme and rhyme are, therefore, not examined The focus of the study does not lie in the theoretical findings but on the basis of these it is to enlighten the analysis of the chosen story to understand the way the author constructs the text in terms of expansion relation between clauses Significance of the study The study is hoped to serve as a useful source of reference for those interested in this story by Alice Munro to further understand the content as well as the way clauses are built in the story and the interrelations between them This thesis may st 189 ||(514) |She managed to stop crying ||(515) but she had started to shake||| th 190 + adversative |||(516) She was in a bad way ||(517) and would have to take hold, ||(518) get +2 additive + additive a grip on herself||| st 191 |||(519) This was the third town away from the one where she had got on the α bus, ||(520) which meant that they had passed through the second town ||(521) finite = β (α + β) adversative without her even noticing||| 192 nd |||(521) The bus must have stopped, ||(522) the driver must have called out the + additive name,||(523) and she had not heard ||(524) or seen anything, in her fog of fright||| + additive rd 193 + alternative |||(525) Soon enough, they would reach the highway, ||(526) they would be x (temporal) tearing along toward Toronto||| th 194 |||(527) The building behind them, the café that served as a bus stop, was also in motion; ||(528) a liquefying wave passed through the bricks and windows|| (529) additive: positive +2 (α x β) comparison as if they were about to dissolve||| th 195 |||(530) She closed the door ||(531) and this time she locked it||| + additive th 196 |||(532) There was a playful sound, a tinkling tapping sound, ||(533) coming α = β (non-finite) from the wall of windows||| th 197 |||(534) She switched the light on, ||(535) but saw nothing there, ||(536) and +2 adversative switched it off again||| XXVI x (temporal) 198th |||(537) Not even really closed, ||(538) since she had left them open an inch or α x β (cause – reason) so to air the house||| 199th |||(539) She started to close them, ||(540) and then somebody laughed, close + (temporal) by, close enough to be in the room with her||| 200th |||(541) He was pressed against the glass of the door; ||(542) he was right + (additive) beside her||| st 201 |||(543) She was not going to ask him in, ||(544) but she was afraid to shut the +2 (adversative) door in his face||| nd 202 |||(545) He might grab it ||(546) before she could get it closed||| α x β (temporal) rd 203 |||(547) She should have pulled the quilt from the sofa ||(548) and wrapped it x2 (temporal) around herself, ||(549) but it was too late now||| + (adversative) th 204 |||(550) He thrust it at her, ||(551) but did not try to move forward with it||| th 205 |||(552) She felt inside the bag, ||(553) not looking||| th 206 |||(554) She tightened her jaw ||(555) so that her teeth wouldn‘t chatter||| α 208 th x β (purpose) th 207 |||(556) She had always disliked the sight of him||—(557) she had mentioned positive) + (additive: her dislike to Leon, || (558) who said that the man was just unsure of himself, just a (α = β) finite projectio n bit too frien dly||| He shifted, ||(560) perhaps just to put out his hand, ||(561) and with XXVII ||| ( 5 ) 1(α x β) (purpose) + (additive) the movement of his body she shrieked|| 209th ||| ―What‘s what?‖ (562) he said, ||(563) as if she were trying out a trick projection α x (β1 comparison ||(564) and it would not work||| + β2) additive th 210 |||(565) But then he caught sight of something reflected in the window, ||(566) and he snapped around||(567) to look||| x β) (purpose) + additive (α 211 th |||(568) The fog was there tonight, ||(569) had been there all this while||| = (exposition) th 212 |||(570) It had thickened,|| (571) taken on a separate shape, ||(572) transformed x2 temporal x temporal itself into something spiky and radiant||| th 213 |||(573) First, a live dandelion ball, tumbling forward, ||(574) then it condensed x2 (temporal) itself into an unearthly sort of animal, pure white, hellbent, something like a giant unicorn rushing at them||| th 214 |||(575) Out of the fog, and out of the magnifying light now revealed to be that of a car travelling along this back road, probably in search of a place to park ||(576) out of this appeared a white goat||| x (temporal) th 215 |||(577) The goat had stopped a yard or so away from them, ||(578) had turned x (temporal) shy, ||(579) and her head||| x (temporal) th 216 |||(580) Flora came closer ||(581) but still did not look up||| + (adversative) XXVIII th 217 |||(582) But when Sylvia put out her hand to the same ||(583) Flora β temporal x α (α immediately lowered her head ||(584) as if preparing to butt||| x β) comparison th 218 |||(585) They stood looking down at the goat, ||(586) as if hoping that she α x β comparison would provide them with more conversation||| projection 219 th ||| ―I guess it is,‖ (587) Sylvia said, ||(588) just as if this had been an ordinary projection α x β comparison visit||| th 220 |||(589) She did not sleep, ||(590) thinking of the little goat, ||(591) whose + additive (α = β) finite appearance out of the fog seemed to her more and more magical||| st 221 |||(592) If she were a poet, ||(593) she would write a poem about something β x α (condition: positive) like this||| th 222 |||(594) Carla had not heard Clark go out,|| (595) but she woke ||when he came + (adversative) in||| th 223 |||(596) The puddles dried up,|| (597) the mud turned to dust||| + (additive) th 224 |||(598) A light warm wind blew ||(599) and everybody felt like doing things + (additive) again||| th 225 |||(600) Summer camps cancelled their trips to museums, ||(601) and minivans + (additive) drew up, ||(602) loaded with restless children||| x (temporal) th 226 |||(603) The horses pranced along the fences, ||(604) freed from their blankets||| XXIX + (additive) th 227 |||(605) For a couple of days, as they went about their chores, ||(606) he and β x α (temporal) Carla would wave at each other||| th 228 |||(607) If she happened to pass close to him ||(608) and there was nobody else (β1 + β2) additive around, ||(609) Carla might kiss his shoulder through the light material of his x α (condition: positive) summer shirt||| th 229 |||(610) At first they just sat there, ||(611) drying out their voluminous wings, α = (β1 non-finite ||(612) lifting themselves occasionally for a trial flight, ||(613) flapping around a bit, x β2 temporal x β3 temporal ||(614) then composing themselves, ||(615) to let the sun and the warm air their x β4 (α x β) temporal x purpose work||| th 230 |||(616) In a day or so, they were restored, ||(617) flying high, ||(618) circling α non-finite = (β1 x β2 temporal ||(619) and dropping to earth, ||(620) disappearing over the woods, ||(621) coming x β3 temporal x β4 temporal x β5) temporal back to rest in the familiar bare tree||| st 231 |||(622) She had got sick of the rain, ||(623) and gone off on her holidays to x (cause ^ effect) hike in the Rocky Mountains||| nd 232 |||(624) She and Clark treated each other warily at first, ||(625) but they were adversative + (α soon joking ||(626) as if nothing had happened||| x β) comparison 233 rd |||(627) When Carla opened it, ||(628) she found the phone bill, a promise that β x α (temporal) XXX if they subscribed to a certain magazine they could win a million dollars, and Mrs Jamieson‘s letter 234 th |||(629) All she cared for was Carla‘s happiness,|| (630) and she saw now that +2 projection she—Carla—had found that in her marriage||| th 235 |||(631) As soon as Carla had read this letter ||(632) she crumpled it up||| β th 236 x α (temporal) |||(633) The flames leaped up alarmingly ||(634) and she turned on the tap, +2 additive ||(635) then scooped up the soft disgusting black stuff ||(636) and put it down the x temporal x temporal toilet, ||(637) as she should have done in the first place||| (α x th 237 β) comparison |||(638) During that time, she had to take two parties out on the trails, ||(639) she had to give lessons to children, individually and in groups||| + additive th 238 |||(640) At night when Clark put his arms around her—||(641) he was generally β1 = β2 (clarification) in good spirits now—||(642) she did not find it hard to be cooperative||| x α temporal th 239 |||643) It was as if she had a murderous needle somewhere in her lungs, ||644) and by breathing carefully ||(645) she could avoid feeling it||| additive + ( β x th 240 α) manner |||(646) But every once in a while she had to take a deep breath, ||(647) and it + additive was still there||| st 241 |||(648) The house was not up for sale ||(649) or at least there wasn‘t a sign out + alternative XXXI in front of it||| nd 242 |||(650) Leon Jamieson had got some kind of posthumous award ||(651) news of this was in the papers||| = (clarification) th 243 |||(652) As the dry golden days of fall came on—an encouraging and β profitable season—||(653) Carla found that she had got used to the sharp thought x α (temporal) projection that had lodged inside her||| th 244 |||(654) It wasn‘t so sharp anymore; ||(655)in fact, it no longer surprised her||| 245 th =2 clarification |||(656) She had only to raise her eyes, ||(657) she had only to look in one + (α additive direction, ||(658) to know where she might go|| x β purpose projection th 246 |||(659) Suppose ||(660) something else had happened||| α xβ (condition: positive) th 247 ||| (661) Suppose ||(662) he had chased Flora away,|| (663) or tied her in the α x (condition: positive β1 + β2 alternative back of the truck ||(664) and driven some distance ||(665) and let her loose||| x β3 temporal x β4 temporal th 248 |||(666) The kind of thing she did ||(667) when clumsy and terrified riders were α x β (temporal) feeling humiliated||| th 249 ||| (668) Carla said something, ||(669) said the same thing again||| th 250 +2 additive |||―Distress,‖ (670) he said, ||(671) as if examining the word||| projection α x β (comparison) XXXII st 251 ||| (672) Not to have her around, ||| (673) reminding them of this bad time||| α nd 252 x β (purpose) |||(674) The days passed ||(675) and she didn‘t go||| + additive XXXIII APPENDIX This part includes 71 clause complexes mixed between expansion and projection, but projection is the primary relation st ―She wants you to go and help her straighten up the house‖ nd ―But you‘d better phone up and confirm.‖ rd Carla said, ―Why I have to, if you told her?‖ th ―I cleaned up her house before she left‖ th ―Maybe some coons got in and made a mess of it while she was gone‖ th ― I want to drink my tea and I want to take a shower.‖ th ―When the towels dry out, they still smell moldy.‖ th ―I hate when you‘re like this, that‘s all.‖ th ―I‘m like this because you‘re mad.‖ th 10 ―Go and get control of yourself‖ 11 th ―All we have to is threaten and she‘d cave in‖ th 12 ―You were molested and humiliated and I was injured and humiliated because you are my wife‖ th 13 ―I go in to see what he wants.‖ th 14 ―Where I was, this little tiny village with my two old friends, well, it was the sort of place where the very occasional tourist bus would stop, as if it had got lost, and the tourists would get off and look around and they were absolutely bewildered because they weren‘t anywhere‖ th 15 ―There were just these few simple things, but they could fill the day‖ th 16 ―You walk half a mile down the road to buy some oil, and half a mile in the other direction to buy your bread or your wine, and that‘s the morning.‖ XXXIV th 17 ―Then you eat some lunch under the trees, and after lunch it‘s too hot to anything but close the shutters and lie on your bed and maybe read.‖ th 18 ―Later on, you notice that the shadows are longer and you get up and go for a swim.‖ th 19 And then say, as she now said, ―Swimming reminded me of this because it‘s a little replica, you know, it‘s a little replica of the horse they found under the sea.‖ th 20 When Carla had come in and looked around for work to do, Sylvia had said, ―Oh, just sit down a minute.‖ st 21 The next thing she knew she was on a bus somewhere—in Greece?—with a lot of people she did not know, and the engine of the bus was making an alarming knocking sound nd 22 She did not mention that the boy had made her think of Carla, and she could not now have said why rd 23 ―You can see that,‖ Carla said, conscientiously now examining the little bronzy-green statue.‖ th 24 ―The coffee in Greece was strong, a little stronger than I liked, but the bread was heavenly‖ th 25 ―This is for Carla,‖ she had said to her friend Maggie, who was walking beside her th 26 Sylvia had already mentioned Carla to Maggie, and to Soraya, her other friend there—telling them how the girl‘s presence had come to mean more and more to her, how an indescribable bond had seemed to grow up between them, and had consoled her in the awful months of last spring th 27 ―There was one thing I thought you would have liked a lot,‖ Sylvia said energetically th 28 ―They were quite small even when they were full grown.‖ XXXV th 29 Some spotty and some white, and they were leaping around on the rocks just like—really like the spirits of the place.‖ th 30 st 31 ―I wouldn‘t be surprised if they‘d had wreaths on their horns‖ ―They don‘t want you there unless you‘ve been beaten up.‖ rd 33 nd 32 ―And everybody would find out and it would be bad for our business.‖ ―If you had the money to go, where would you go?‖ th 34 ― I‘d stay in a motel or something and I‘d get a job at a riding stable.‖ th 35 ―I think you should take the bus to Toronto and go to stay with a friend of mine.‖ th 36 ― She has a big house and she lives alone and she won‘t mind having somebody to stay.‖ th 37 ―You can stay there till you find a job‖ th 38 ―Do you want me to phone and find out what time the bus goes?‖ th 39 ―She is just a person in a bad situation, the way it happens.‖ th 40 ―Maybe when you make up your mind to something, when you really make up your mind, that‘s how it is.‖ st 41 ―Me, too,‖ Sylvia said with a pretense of gaiety, but she spoiled the moment by saying, ―Are you going to phone him? rd 43 nd 42 At least he‘ll have to know where you are by the time he‘d be expecting you home.‖ ―I don‘t want us to even drive past there when we‘re going into town.‖ th 44 ―So if I write it—if I write it, could you, could you maybe slip it in the box when you come back?‖ th 45 Her mother had said, ―He‘ll break your heart, that‘s a sure thing.‖ XXXVI th 46 Carla said, ―Does a drifter save up enough money to buy a farm, which, by the way, he has done?‖ th 47 ―Will you get in touch with your parents after you‘re settled?‖ Sylvia asked th 48 ―Look and see‖ th ―I helped her because she seemed to be in distress.‖ th ―She was in very big distress when she jumped off that bus and got on the 49 50 phone to me to come and get her.‖ st 51 ―Actually, I came here not just to return those clothes.‖ nd 52 ―I came here to tell you that I don‘t appreciate you interfering in my life with my wife.‖ rd 53 ―She is a human being,‖ Sylvia said, though she knew that it would be better if she could keep quiet.‖ th 54 ―I just have a couple of important things to say to you.‖ th 55 ―You are a goddam goat from outer space,‖ he said, patting Flora th 56 ―They can seem tame but they‘re not really‖ th ―I‘ll make other arrangements for help if I need it,‖ she said th ―A car went along the road a while ago, and I wondered what it was doing 57 58 here.‖ th 59 ―I couldn‘t get back to sleep till I went out and checked whether everything was O.K.‖ th 60 ―When I read your note, it was just like I went hollow inside.‖ st 61 ―I have been thinking about the (rather dramatic) events of the last few days and I find myself talking to myself, but really to you, so often that I thought I must speak to you, even if—the best way I can now—only in a letter.‖ XXXVII nd 62 ―Where had she been all that time and why did she choose just that moment to reappear?‖ rd 63 ―We were talking at the patio door, and I—facing out—was the first to see this white something, descending on us out of the night.‖ th 64 ―There we were, two adults, frozen, and then out of the fog comes little lost Flora.‖ th 65 ―I know, of course, that Flora is an ordinary little animal and that she probably spent her time away getting herself pregnant.‖ th 66 ―When two human beings divided by hostility are both, at the same time, mystified by the same apparition, there is a bond that springs up between them, and they find themselves united in the most unexpected way.‖ th 67 ―So Flora has her place as a good angel in my life and perhaps also in your husband‘s life and yours.‖ th 68 Yesterday, she had driven out, not in a jokey mood at all, and complained about the roof‘s not being fixed and Lizzie looking so miserable, as if she might have caught a chill th 69 But then it was Joy Tucker who flared up and said that their place was a dump, and Lizzie deserved better, and Clark said, ―Suit yourself.‖ th 70 She hoped that if they could get out of there, go to the laundromat, get a takeout at the cappuccino place they might be able to talk in a different way, some release might be possible st 71 And in one part of her mind it was true: she saw the randy old man, the bump he made in the sheet, bedridden, almost beyond speech but proficient in sign language, indicating his desire, trying to nudge and finger her into complicity, into obliging stunts and intimacies XXXVIII ... the short story ? ?Runaway? ?? by Alice Munro is examined 3.1 The chosen story – ? ?Runaway? ?? ? ?Runaway? ??, the first story in a story collection of the same title, written by the 2013 Nobel Prize winning... in the short story ? ?Runaway? ?? by Alice Munro, using systemic functional grammar as the theoretical framework The research findings show that of 252 clause complexes collected from the story, the. .. of the chosen text 36 1.2 The realization of expansion in the short story ? ?Runaway? ?? by Alice Munro The second research question concerning the realization of expansion between clauses in the short