Understanding Chic by Nancy Miller LIT

Question 1

context of production

Answer 1

Fraser-Cavassoni is a British author, intially lived in Paris in her twenties and now permanently lives there with her family, UC tells the story of her first visit to Paris as a teenager

Question 2

representation of Paris

Answer 2

represented retrospectively, contrast of childhood memories and adult experiences, making it a both stereotypical and evaluative version of Paris
- concludes they respect bravery and individuality ‘find an adventurous spirit intriguing’

Question 3

genre

Answer 3

travel memoir

Question 4

register

Answer 4

informal

Question 5

audience

Answer 5

possibly tourists, fans of Fraser-Cavassoni, those interested in Parisian culture, or those researching it

Question 6

mode

Answer 6

written, and therefore planned out

Question 7

purpose

Answer 7

to entertain/ to share particular view on Paris

Question 8

subject

Answer 8

retellling her first experiences of paris, as a teengaer

Question 9

generic conventions of a memoir

Answer 9

past tense, first person, double journey (element of evaluation), facts, opinions, emotive, engaging, othering (compares them to where reader is)

Question 10

proper nouns
‘Marigold Johnson’
‘Anna Wintour’
‘Antonia Fraser’

Answer 10

reader might know who she is, flaunting her connections/knowledge

Question 11

sound/ sight (sensory) imagery
‘noisy traffic jam’
‘hazy afternoon’

Answer 11

setting the scene, immersing reading in her experience

Question 12

pre-modifying adjective
‘the feisty honking of cars’
‘slowly sucking on her lollipop’

Answer 12

suggests impatience/rudeness of Parisians (stereotype), even from a young age

Question 13

french in itallics
‘citron presse’
‘gifler’
‘nons’

Answer 13

• experiencing differences between paris and her own country, highlighting her earliest memories of Parisian culture
• authenticity, immersing reader in culture
• no translation, expectation of knowledgeable audience - will know what it means

Question 14

temporal and spatial shift
‘ten days later, I returned to my family’

Answer 14

memoir, sharing her first experience of Paris

Question 15

capitalisation
‘Paris Bore’

Answer 15

emphasising how much she spoke about Paris, she loved it

Question 16

othering
‘unlike London…’

Answer 16

enabling audience to relate, assuming a British audience

Question 17

double journey
‘I write “apparently”’

Answer 17

doesn’t want to ruin her idealistic view of Paris

Question 18

alliteration
‘daring to be different’

Answer 18

standing out like Parisian fashion

Question 19

metaphor
‘city of light’

Answer 19

a well-known way of describing Paris, appealing to audience as it’s a familiar name

Question 20

what does her experience of being slapped mean?

Answer 20

it’s a metaphor for understanding the reality of Paris quickly, being immersed in it from a young age, forming her own childhood experience (rebelliousness - close identity to Parisians)