An investigation of stylistic devices in “the great gatsby” of francis scott key fitzgerald a

THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES LÊ THỊ THÚY KIỀU AN INVESTIGATION OF STYLISTIC DEVICES IN “THE GREAT GATSBY” OF FRANCIS SCOTT KEY FITZGERALD AND ITS VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION Major : ENGLISH LINGUISTICS Code : 822.02.01 MASTER THESIS IN LINGUISTICS AND CULTURAL STUDIES OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES SUPERVISORS: NGUYỄN THỊ THU HƯỚNG, Ph.D Da Nang, 2020 THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES LÊ THỊ THÚY KIỀU AN INVESTIGATION OF STYLISTIC DEVICES IN “THE GREAT GATSBY” OF FRANCIS SCOTT KEY FITZGERALD AND ITS VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION Major : ENGLISH LINGUISTICS Code : 822.02.01 MASTER THESIS IN LINGUISTICS AND CULTURAL STUDIES OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES SUPERVISORS: NGUYỄN THỊ THU HƯỚNG, Ph.D Da Nang, 2020 i ABSTRACT Stylistic devices are one of popular tools in literature works English literature, a useful source for English learners not only helps learners to understand the beauty of English language and stylistic devices but also improves their written language with regard to stylistic features The thesis aims to make an objective analysis of stylistic devices in the famous novel – The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald The study results show not only the use of stylistic devices in 200 samples but also similarities and differences in the original and translational versions of The Great Gatsby In terms of the plot of the novel, the translator conveyed the plot to the reader despite language barrier, cultural differences and writing styles Moreover, the study provides implications regarding teaching and learning strategies involving stylistic devices ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Throughout the writing of this thesis, I have received a great deal of support and assistance First and foremost, I would like to express my endless thanks and gratefulness to my supervisor Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, Ph.D for encouraging and guiding me throughout the research journey Their constant encouragement and insightful comments had enriched and improved my work Without their motivation and instructions, my thesis would have been incompleted Next, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to the English Language Faculty, the University of Foreign Language Studies, and all teachers who taught me during the master course They created a friendly and professional environment and provided me a huge source of knowledge for my study Finally, I would like to express a very special thank and deep gratitude to my family for their encouragement and support so that I could work harder and try my best to finish this thesis iii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Apart from where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not include materials published elsewhere, or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma No other person’s work has been used without any acknowledgement in the thesis The thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Danang, May, 2020 Le Thi Thuy Kieu iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract i Acknowledgements ii Statement Of Authorship iii Table Of Contents iv List Of Tables vii List Of Figures vii Chapter One INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE 1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES .2 1.2.1 Aims 1.2.2 Objectives 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 1.6 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND .5 2.1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1.1 Language and culture 2.1.2 Stylistics and Stylistic devices 2.1.3 Functions of Stylistic devices 2.1.4 Simile 2.1.5 Personification 10 2.1.6 Repetition 10 2.1.7 Metaphor 11 2.1.8 Hyperbole (exaggeration) .11 2.1.9 Parallelism .12 2.1.10 Translation and translation methods .13 v 2.1.11 Novel 18 2.2 LITERATURE REVIEW 18 Chapter Three RESEARCH METHODS 22 3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN 22 3.2 DATA COLLECTION 22 3.3 PROCEDURE 24 3.4 DATA ANALYSIS 25 3.5 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY 25 3.6 SUMMARY 26 Chapter Four FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 27 4.1 KINDS OF STYLISTIC DEVICES USED AND THEIR FREQUENCES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE VERSIONS OF THE NOVEL “THE GREAT GATSBY” .27 4.1.1 Simile 28 4.1.2 Personification 31 4.1.3 Metaphor 34 4.1.4 Repetition 39 4.1.5 Hyperbole 40 4.1.6 Parallelism .41 4.2 SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES OF STYLISTIC DEVICES USED IN VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH VERSIONS OF THE GREAT GATSBY 44 Chapter Five CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 49 5.1 CONCLUSIONS 49 5.2 IMPLICATIONS 50 5.2.1 For learning of English 50 5.2.2 For Teaching of English 51 5.3 LIMITATIONS 51 5.4 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 51 REFERENCES 53 vi QUYẾT ĐỊNH GIAO ĐỀ TÀI (Bản sao) APPENDICES vii LIST OF TABLES Number 4.1 Name of Table The frequencies of using stylistic devices between English Page 46 and Vietnamese versions LIST OF FIGURES Number Name of Figure Page 4.1 Frequencies of stylistic devices used in english version of the 28 great gatsby Chapter One INTRODUCTION This first chapter states the rationale of the study, together with the aims, objectives, scope, methods and the significance of the whole study Above all, it is in this chapter that the research questions are set out to work as the guidelines for the whole research 1.1 RATIONALE In both daily and professional contexts, people use utterances and sentences to express their thoughts achieve successful communication In fact, people usually use objects or figures which have the similarities with figures in their speech to compare or contrast their expressions to create reliability and validity in communication Stylistic devices are commonly used in communication Stylistics is a branch of applied linguistics related to the study of style in texts, especially in literary works Stylistics focuses on the figures, tropes, and other rhetorical devices used to provide variety and distinctness to writing According to Katie Wales (2001) in Dictionary of Stylistics, second edition, the goal of "most stylistics is not simply to describe the formal features of texts for their own sake, but in order to show their functional significance for the interpretation of the text; or in order to relate literary effects to linguistic 'causes' where these are felt to be relevant."(p 373) Therefore, stylistic devices make a great contribution to literature work’s success Based on the context of the literature work, the author creates his own work with the suitable plot With aim of stripping world of wealth, lies, alcoholism and the difference between reality and dreams, running after those illusions and the negative habits in the society, Fitzgerald published the novel “The Great Gatsby” in 1925 The story reflects the lifestyle in the 1920s, which, was a pretty tumultuous time due to increased immigration, changing women's roles, and extraordinary income 48 In terms of culture, some sentences or features must be translated in explanatory way so that the readers are able to understand them since some features such as idioms or riddles, are different in different cultures In English, there are common stylistic devices called decomposition of set phrases Examples can be found in linguistic features such as noun, verb and prepositional phrase Meanwhile, many of Vietnamese idioms and riddles use hyperbole which is special way of creating funny and difficult idioms and riddles Moreover, both languages have personification and simile but sometimes the subjects personified, and methods of comparison are slightly different because of the cultural differences Similar ideas are expressed by different comparative idioms in different cultures In conclusion, because of differences in culture, writing style and word choice, The Great Gatsby and their Vietnamese translation version has clear differences in expressing the plot of The Great Gatsby 49 Chapter Five CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS This concluding chapter consists of three sections 5.1 Main findings of this study 5.2 Implications 5.2.1 To Teachers 5.2.2 To Students 5.2.3 The researchers 5.3 Limitations of the Study 5.4 Suggestions for Further Research 5.1 CONCLUSIONS This paper, explored how stylistic devices are used and their effects by investigating two hundred English and Vietnamese samples containing stylistic devices in The Great Gatsby by Fitzgeral The study investigates English and Vietnamese stylistic devices in The Great Gatsby in the light of contrastive linguistics in order to find out similarities and differences in using stylistic devices between two languages Qualitative and quantitative analysis procedures helped identify, describe stylistic devices used in the novels and explored how stylistic devices are realized in the Vietnamese version The results show different frequencies and specific features and functions of stylistic devices in both English and Vietnamese versions In The Great Gatsby, the author was found to use a variety of stylistic devices, namely metaphor, hyperbole, repetition, personification, simile, parallelism to attract the attention and create the appeal of sentences and arouse reader’s interest in the plot and characters in the novel Moreover, the author often used stylistic devices because he hoped that the readers could have an insight into the current social trend which class influences all aspects of life, and especially love and a notion of freedom ensures all Americans the possibility of upward social mobility as long as they work for it through the interesting love story of the main character – Gatsby As a result, studying on stylistic devices plays an important role in conveying the message of the author to the readers Simile, personification, metaphors are some of the most frequently used stylistic devices in The Great Gatsby in both two versions (25%, 19%, 16% 50 respectively) Among them, simile ranked first and appeared in most of the chapters and situations in the story (25%) Stylistic devices are mixed in many contexts of the story and the frequency of stylistic devices used in Vietnamese and English version is different and unequal Particularly, the author of the Vietnamese version used more stylistic devices than the original version The percentage of using stylistic devices such as simile, hyperbole, personification, repetition and parallelism increase dramatically, respectively from 25%, 19%, 14 %, 13% to 27,5%, 20,5%, 15%, 13,5% The translator of the Vietnamese version used more stylistic devices than the original version, which shows the flexibility of the author in using stylistic devices to allow the reader to easily understand and cohesively convey the main content of the original Great Gatsby in English The styles of writing of the translator and Fitzgeral are different in many aspects To Fitzgeral, he uses a lyrical writing style in The Great Gatsby Lyrical writing which uses beautiful and imaginative images helps to capture the emotion of the characters in the story exactly through the point-of-view of the character Nick Carraway during his summer living on Long Island and working in New York City Fitzgerald's lyrical writing raises the reader's sympathy for Gatsby Phong cách dịch 5.2 IMPLICATIONS This thesis would make some helpful contribution not only to teaching and learning English stylistic devices in general and of stylistic devices in The Great Gatsby in particular Moreover, it also provides learners with some useful techniques in writing Basing on the results of the study, the researcher would like to put forward the number of implications 5.2.1 For learning of English In general, stylistic devices are considered to be one of the most different aspects of any languages Therefore, for students of English, the way of mastering the knowledge about stylistic devices and then applying them in speaking or writing 51 is a big question From the findings of this paper, it is hoped that students would pick up some essential information for the study of stylistic devices Moreover, thanks to the rhetorical effects of stylistic devices described in this study, students learning English would find it more interesting and easy to study and research stylistic devices Besides, the findings of the study will help them appreciate the beauty of language in the novel It will allow them to have a better understanding of the language in the novel and provide them with some necessary strategies and techniques in writing I also hope that this study will support learners with precious experience of how to write and translate a novel As a result, their experience will certainly equip them well in their English language learning so that they will be able to learn more effectively and successfully 5.2.2 For Teaching of English How to find out the most effective method for English teachers to help their students to master stylistic devices is still a huge concern at the moment This study would give a recommendation on teaching stylistic devices through sentences using stylistic devices in the novel By doing in that way, teachers not only inspire their students with the help of interesting ideas in the novel but also bring the students clear examples of the useful way to use stylistic devices Also, the teacher should encourage his students to use stylistic devices in writing their compositions or in translating a novel, etc As a teacher of English as a foreign language, I have noticed that teaching English stylistic devices through the novel can interest learners 5.3 LIMITATIONS Although it has been given much effort, the study is without limitations due to the ability of the researcher as well as the inadequacy of materials 5.4 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH This thesis is an attempt to make a detailed analysis of using stylistic devices in the English and Vietnamese Great Gatsby novel What’s more, much of our effort 52 has been made to show how the stylistic devices were used by the authors and their functions However, within the limitation of time and materials, the study is by no means complete and still remains some other aspects awaiting research which merit further studies, including: - An investigation into using stylistic devices in describing characters in the English and Vietnamese versions of The Great Gatsby - An investigation into using stylistic devices with satirical purposes in English and Vietnamese versions of The Great Gatsby 53 REFERENCES Amare, A (2002) Some selected poems in English by Ethiopian poets: a stylistic analysis, Addis Ababa: AAU Libraries Cuddon, J A (2013) A dictionary of literary terms and literary theory West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell Chapman, S., & Clark, B (2014) Pragmatic literary Stylistics UK : Palgrave Macmillan Diribu, A (2012) Stylistic analysis of selected short stories of Edgar Allan Poe Addis Ababa, AAU Libraries Hurtubise, P G (1998) A stylistic analysis of selected passages in hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Canada: Library of New York Hough, G (1969) Style and Stylistics London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Leech, G.N (1969) A Linguistic guide to English poetry London: Longman Paxson, J.J (1994) The poetics and personification, UK: Cambridge University Press Peeter T (2009) Lotman, Juri, Culture and Explosion, German Publisher Simpson, P (2004) Stylistics: a resource book for students, London: Rutledge Wales, K (2014) A dictionary of stylistics London: Routledge Wright, L., & Hope, J (1996) Stylistics: A practical coursebook London: Routledge Widdowson, H G (1975) Stylistics and the teaching of literature, London: Oxford University Press 54 55 APPENDICES The Great Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald 56 Vietnamese translational version Gatsby vĩ đại Hoang Cuong 57 NUMBER THE GREAT GATSBY GATSBY VĨ ĐẠI “I stared at it, like Kant at his Như Kant ngắm tháp church steeple, for half an hour” chuông nhà thờ mình, tơi [p.93] ngắm tịa nhà nửa đồng hồ [p.93] I was a bridesmaid I came into Em vào phòng Daisy trước tiệc her room half an hour before the cưới nửa giờ, thấy nàng bridal dinner, and found her nằm dài gường đẹp lying on her bed as lovely as the đêm tháng Sáu áo June night in her flowered dress dài hoa………”[p.75] —and as drunk as a monkey She had a bottle of Sauterne in one hand and a letter in the other [p.75] Tom tapped his thick fingers Tom chum ngón tay trùng trục together like a clergyman and vào kẻ tu hành leaned back in his chair [p 140] ngả người vào ghế [p.140] Gatsby’s gorgeous car lurched Chiếc xe lộng lẫy Gatsby lắc up the rocky drive to my door and lư lăn bánh lối gồ ghề sỏi gave out a burst of melody from đá dẫn đến cửa nhà thả its three noted horn [p.63] nét du dương từ cịi ba nốt [p.63] Only wind in the trees which blew Chỉ có gió thổi xào xạc the wires and made the lights go đu đưa sợi dây điện làm off and on again as if the house cho ánh đèn lấp lóe thể tồn 58 had winked into the darkness nhà nhấp nháy mắt với bóng đêm [p.88] [p.88] The city seen from the Người ta cảm thấy Queensbury Bridge is always the trông thấy thành phố New York city seen for the first time, in its lần đầu với lời hứa hẹn ngông first wild promise of all the cuồng tất mystery and the beauty in the điều kì diệu mỹ lệ giới [p.37] world [p.35] The dead dream fought on as the Duy giấc mơ tan vỡ afternoon slipped away, trying to cố bám níu buổi touch what was no longer chiều trôi đi, cố đụng tangible, struggling unhappily, chạm đến khơng cịn undespairingly, toward that lost hữu hình nữa, cố sức cách voice across the room [p.142] khổ sở khơng nản lịng vươn tới giọng nói tan chìm đằng gian phịng [p.144] The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of Sự thực anh chàng Jay Gatsby West Egg, Long Island, sprang West Egg, Long Island, sản from his Platonic conception of phẩm quan niệm lí tưởng himself He was a son of God—a túy anh sinh phrase which, if it means Anh đứa Chúa anything, means just that—and trời – theo nghĩa câu he must be about His Father’s nói câu nói có ý business, the service of a vast, nghĩa – nên anh phải chăm lo đến vulgar, and meretricious beauty công việc Chúa cha: phụng So he invented just the sort of Jay đẹp bao la, tầm thường 59 Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old hào nhống Vì anh boy would be likely to invent, and tưởng tượng Jay Gatsby, to this conception he was faithful loại nười mà đứa trẻ mười to the end” [p.105] bảy tuổi nghĩ anh trung thành với khái niệm cùng” [ p 71] 10 Her voice is full of money,’ he Giọng nàng chứa đầy tiền said suddenly [p.128] bạc [p 128] : Tom was evidently perturbed at Tom rõ ràng lo ngại trước việc Daisy's running around alone, Daisy chơi mình, tối thứ for on the following Saturday bảy liền sau đấy, Tom night he came with her to nàng đế dự buổi hội nhà Gatsby's party Perhaps his Gatsby Có lẽ có mặt Tom presence gave the evening its làm cho vui mang khơng peculiar of khí ngột ngạt đặc biệt hay mà quality oppressiveness it stands out in kí ức tơi khác hẳn my memory from Gatsby's other buổi hội khác nhà Gatsby parties that summer There were mùa hè năm Vẫn khách the same people, or at least the khứa ấy, hay same sort of people, the same loại khách ấy, ê sâm banh, profusion of champagne, the ồn náo nhiệt nhiều màu same many-colored, many-keyed sắc, nhiều cung bậc âm commotion, but I felt an cảm thấy không unpleasantness in the air, a khí có căng thẳng gay pervading harshness that hadn't gắt trước khơng có Hay có been there before Or perhaps I lẽ tơi đâm quen với rồi, quen had merely grown used to it, với việc coi West Egg 60 grown to accept West Egg as a giới tự với phép tắc world complete in itself, with its riêng nó, tên tuổi lớn own standards and its own great nó, khơng thua nơi figures, second to nothing nà khác khơng cảm thấy because it had no consciousness thua kém, of being so, and now I was nhìn o lại mắt looking at it again, through Daisy Không tài tránh khỏi Daisy's eyes It is invariably đau buồn ta nhìn cặp saddening to look through new mắt mà ta bỏ eyes at things upon which you cơng sức điều chỉnh vào have expended your own powers [ p104] of adjustment [p.112] 11 12 ‘And Mr Thomas Buchanan, the Còn nhà lực sĩ Thomas Buchanan athlete?’ I inquired [ p.123] đâu? [p.123] ‘What day would suit you? Hôm tiện cho anh? ‘What day would suit YOU?’ tiện cho anh? [p.140] [p.145] 13 I can’t talk now… I can’t talk Tơi khơng nói chuyện [p.98] now [100] I can’t talk now… I can’t talk Daisy: “I’m paralyzed happiness” [p.62] 15 Tôi khơng nói chuyện [p.98] now [100] 14 Hơm with Daisy: “Tơi tê liệt hạnh phúc” [p.60] : He dismissed all the dances he Gatsby dẹp tất buổi 61 had given with a snap of his khiêu vũ mà anh tổ chức fingers [p.117] 16 bật tay [p.117] Daisy admired this aspect or that Daisy khen ngợi vẻ đẹp tòa of the feudal silhouette against kiến trúc đồ sộ lâu đài the sky, admired the gardens lãnh chúa trời, [p.96] khen ngợi vẻ đẹp khu vườn, … [p.95] 17 The largest of the banners and : Lá cờ to hàng cờ the largest of the lawns belonged bãi cỏ to tất bãi to Daisy Fay’s house [p.80] 18 cỏ nhà Daisy Fay [p.80] The largest of the banners and Lá cờ to hàng cờ the largest of the lawns belonged bãi cỏ to tất bãi to Daisy Fay’s house [p.80] 19 cỏ nhà Daisy Fay [p.80] I was immediately struck by the Tôi kinh ngạc number of young English men thấy đông niên Anh đến dotted about; all well dressed, all đám khách khứa, họ looking a little hungry and all ăn mặc lịch sự, đói taking in low earnest voice to ăn nhau, nói chuyện sôi solid and prosperous Americans nho nhỏ với người [p.54] Mỹ vẻ nịch làm ăn phát đạt [p.51] 20 Instead of being the warm center Miền Trung Tây khơng cị trung of the world, the Middle West tâm ấm áp giới nữa, mà now seemed like the ragged edge tơi thấy riềm 62 of the universe - so I decided to rách nát vũ trụ Bởi vậy, go East and learn the bond định New York học nghề business” [p.5] giao dịch chứng khoán [ p.2] They were gone, without a 21 word, snapped out, Hai người đi, khơng nói made lời, bị tan vào không accident, isolated, like ghosts trung, bị biến thành trơ trọi, vật vờ bóng ma, even from our pity [144] tình thương chúng tơi [p.139] English: Forms leaned 22 Trong tắc xi together in the taxis as they chờ đợi có bóng waited, and voice sang and there người ngả vào nhau, was laughter from unheard joke tiếng hát tiếng cười sau and lighted cigarettes outlined câu pha trị nghe khơng rõ, unintelligible [p.63] gestures inside đốm lửa đầu điếu thuốc vẽ thành đường trịn khó hiểu [p.58] ... language Semantic translation Literal translation Translation Free Translation Target language Adaptation Communicative Translation Faithful Translation Idiomatic Translation Pragmatic Translation... OF DANANG UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES LÊ THỊ THÚY KIỀU AN INVESTIGATION OF STYLISTIC DEVICES IN “THE GREAT GATSBY” OF FRANCIS SCOTT KEY FITZGERALD AND ITS VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION Major... characters For example, Tom's eyes are 'arrogant' and 'establish dominance over his face.' In reality, arrogance is a human quality and eyes are physically incapable of establishing dominance Fitzgerald