neither here nor there LIT

Question 1

What’s the genre?

Answer 1

chapter of a travel memoir, comedic

Question 2

What’s the register?

Answer 2

informal, absurd, flippant

Question 3

context of production

Answer 3

Bill Bryson, American author

Question 4

Who’s the audience?

Answer 4

people thinking of going to Paris, fans of bill (american and british)

Question 5

What’s the mode?

Answer 5

written/anecdotal

Question 6

What’s the purpose?

Answer 6

written, to entertain and inform

Question 7

What’s the subject?

Answer 7

it’s about his time and experiences in Paris, reality of Paris - its culture

Question 8

representation of Paris

Answer 8

• saying Paris is overrated
• conforms to negative stereotypes
• challenging how Paris is presented in media

Question 9

metonym (refers to one part)
‘pairs of hurrying legs’

Answer 9

reflects the collective, public chaos of Paris

Question 10

simile & syndetic listing
‘like flocks of startled birds…’

Answer 10

simile reflects how Paris is quick moving, dynamic, ‘frantic’, syndetic listing creates a chaotic feel

Question 11

superlative adverb
‘most pathologically’

Answer 11

implies that it’s in thier natured, engrained in DNA

Question 12

hyperbole
‘most pathologically’
‘lunatic drivers’
‘foolishly tried to cross’
‘people of Paris want me dead’

Answer 12

comedic tone, opinionated, reflects underlying frustration/anger, presenting danger levels (enough to get you killed)

Question 13

second person narrative ‘you’

Answer 13

immerses reader in the action, places the reader in Paris

Question 14

adjective phrase ‘killer automobiles’

Answer 14

implies the cars are dangerous because of the ‘lunatic drivers’

Question 15

intertextual reference
‘Batman’
‘Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’

Answer 15

• Jack Nicholson plays ‘the jooker’, sinister, ominous, threatening, implies drivers are insane and unhinged
• reference to painting, high-brow

Question 16

simile
‘like an abandoned garden hose’
‘the ‘Mona Lisa’ was like a postage stamp’
‘like a department store on the first day of a big sale’

Answer 16

• use of simile is effective as it makes it clear that there’s no structure/order in the queue, implies French are bad at queueing (playing on Parisian stereotypes)
• unimpressive tourists expereince, not being celebrated (tucked away), tourist experience underwhelming
• humour, relatable comparison - hectic

Question 17

USA stereotype
‘bullet holes in their trench coats’

Answer 17

flippant tone, sensitive topics
gets away with it as he’s American

Question 18

British stereotype
‘I say, kindly take your place…’

Answer 18

stereotype that the British are good at queueing and polite, positive representation

Question 19

high register vocab vs low brow vocab
‘well-travelled’ ‘shit’

Answer 19

humorous due to contrast, unexpected

Question 20

direct speech
‘why?’ ‘it just is, believe me.’

Answer 20

makes the story more immersive and captivating

Question 21

dysphemism
‘when a bird shit on his head.’
‘dog shit’

Answer 21

contradicts ‘pristine’ idea of Paris, absurd humour

Question 22

flippant tone
‘spanish gigolo’

Answer 22

crude reference, reinforces a flippant tone

Question 23

scatological humour
‘pot of yoghurt upended’

Answer 23

vulgar, Bryson being humorous, shocking audience, keeping them involved

Question 24

irony
‘but I guess that’s what you get when you build with plastic’

Answer 24

being ironic to create humour

Question 25

juxtaposition
‘a haven’ ‘crowded and confusing’

Answer 25

the reality is disappointing, symbol of Paris (crowded, pretentious and a let down)

Question 26

simple sentence
‘it has no heart’
‘they are for people’

Answer 26

reflects matter of fact tone, assured of his knowledge - what would improve Paris

Question 27

syntactic parallelism, adverb
‘too much money, too little sense’

Answer 27

suggests excessive amounts - capitalist society, Bryson criticising Paris

Question 28

parentheses
‘a male Russian wrestler’

Answer 28

gives us extra information that we wouldn’t have assumed

Question 29

hyperbole
‘thank you for winning the war for them’

Answer 29

creating humour, as if winning the war is down to one person, suggests Bryson expects Paris to feel personable

Question 30

hyperbolic tone
‘I even saw a waiter smile once’

Answer 30

humorous as he’s acting like their simple acts of kidness are a revelation, playing on stereotype

Question 31

vulgar dysphemism
‘imperfectly formed piece of shit’

Answer 31

excessively graphic, absurd humour