Expressions

…to orient the reader in a particular time and place

…to ring true = to make believable

The setting makes the whole story ring true.

…a true-to-life story = a realistic story

…to render reality

…to represent life

…to lead (to enable, to convince) the reader to infer that…

…to report

Events are reported though N’s eyes.

…to bring out

The conflict brings out some revealing traits of his character.

…to experience internal conflict

The character experiences internal conflict.

…to sympathize with

We sympathize with P. As he struggles to understand what is happening to him.

…conflict with nature (society, the unknown)

…to have symbolic significance

…first of all

First of all, we feel that…

…second

Second, it is clear, that…

…at last=finally

At last, we are convinced that…

…at the very least

At the very least, we have learnt that…

…in this sense

In this sense the reader sympathizes…

…to sustain the mood

The mood is sustained until the very end.

…upon closer examination

…to point up

The talk points up his level of education, manner, temperament…

…to add a touch of reality to

The dialogue adds an important touch of reality to the story.

…to draw the reader into

The dialogue draws the reader into the situation.

…to come from

The humour comes from the absurdity of the idea.

…implication

The implication here seems to be that… The implication is that…

…to mount

Tension and suspense mount very gradually in the extract.

…in retrospect

The little details become important in retrospect, or upon rereading the extract.

…to provide ideas for the reader to think about

The story provides ideas for the reader to think about.

…to become known

The true nature of the character becomes known gradually.

…to seem

From this action and conversation the character seems highly intelligent.

…thought-provoking

The reader finds the story thought-provoking.

…all in all

All in all, these well-chosen details portray him as…

…to be built around

The plot is built around a conflict.

…to establish the atmosphere of

…the opening sentence (paragraph) of the story

…the closing sentence (paragraph) of the story

…to interrupt the narration with digressions (foreshadowing, flashbacks to the past)

…to contribute to characterization (individualization, verisimilitude)

…an onlooker = observer = a character who participates in events

…to increase the immediacy and freshness of the impression

…to stimulate the reader to make his own judgements

…to make the reader draw his/her own conclusions

…to awaken interest = to arouse interest

…to retain interest

…to hold the interest of the reader

…to stir one’s imagination

…to express smth implicitly = indirectly

…to understand the implied meaning

…to reveal different aspects of human nature

…to approach the idea

The idea is approached in an indirect way.

…to offer explicit characterization of personages

The author seemingly offers explicit characterization of personages.

…juxtaposition

The juxtaposition of two characters carries out all levels of textual structure.

…ambivalent

The title of the story is ambivalent.

…pronominally

The protagonists have no names. They are referred to pronominally.

…to set a definite expectation

The title sets a definite expectation of the possible development of events.

…to be given a flashback

The past is given in a flashback.

…to sustain the effect

All these elements (details) sustain the effect.

…to individualize

… N is individualized.

…the arrangement of compositional elements

The author’s viewpoint is realized through the arrangement of compositional elements.

…to foreground

The choice of epithets foregrounds…

…an open end

The story has an open end, the impending fate of the characters remains unknown.

…to prognosticate

It is possible to prognosticate the character’s future actions.

…to arouse warmth (affection, compassion, delight, admiration, dislike, disgust, resentment, antipathy…)

…to mock at (to sneer, to satirize, to ridicule)

…to reinforce characterization

…to arouse the reader’s excitement (curiosity, concern)

…to lay bare (to expose, to reveal)