Analysis on the Binary Oppositions in After Twenty Years

开篇：润墨网以专业的文秘视角，为您筛选了一篇Analysis on the Binary Oppositions in After Twenty Years范文，如需获取更多写作素材，在线客服老师一对一协助。欢迎您的阅读与分享！

Abstract：Based on the theory of interpersonal metafunction， this paper aims to find out the employment of binary oppositions in After twenty years， explore the internal structure of this short story and appreciate it from a new angle.

Key words：interpersonal metafunction； binary oppositions

中图分类号：I106 文献标识码： A 文章编号：1672-1578（2014）6-0008-02

1 Introduction

O. Henry is a very famous American writer. His novels， especially short novels， impress a lot of readers for its excellent writing skill and unexpected ending. After Twenty Years is one of them， it mainly tells about a simple story concerning friendship， justice， personal choice and the influence of environment on individual. To some extent， it is the vivid description of conversation that contributes to the practice of binary oppositions in this story.

2 The Definition of Interpersonal Metafunction and Binary Oppositions

In interpersonal metafunction， together， the subject and finite make up a component of the clause that is called the Mood. The finite is the first functional element of the verbal group [1]49. The Finite is drawn from a small number of verbal operators. There can be divided into two main groups： those that express tense and those that express modality. If present， the negative marker “n’t” is included as part of the finite [1]51. And the term “implicit” is used when the modality is expressed in the same clause as the main proposition， while “explicit” is used when it is expressed in a separate clause[1]71.The general term for part of the clause that is not the Mood is the residue. There are three kinds of functional elements in the residue： the predicator， complements， and adjuncts [1]60. And modal adjuncts can be divided into three parts： circumstantial adjuncts， conjunctive adjunct and modal adjunct.

Binary oppositions， as defined in Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms， is the principle of contrast between two mutually exclusive terms， an important concept of structuralism， which sees such distinctions as fundamental to all language and thought[2]24.

3 The Practice of Interpersonal Metafunction in the Story

It is not difficult for us to observe that conversation occupies a large part of this story. And as far as I am concerned， conversation between major roles in this novel can be divided into three sections. The first part is the intercourse between Jimmy and Bob， the second part is the talk between the tall man and Bob and the last one is what we call the one-sided interaction――the note. （if written language can be regarded as communication， Jimmy finally tells the truth， and after his “confession”， the story comes to an end. As to Bob's reply， it is left for readers to image.）

3.1. The First Conversation.

The first conversation is the longest one of the three. And paragraph 4， which is the beginning of this conversation， can be thought as a monologue of Bob. By dividing Bob’s words into clauses， and by analyzing the subject， finite and speech role of those clauses， we can easily see that there are 6 clauses’ subjects referring to object and 3 clauses’ referring to human from table（1）. So it is not difficulty for us to observe that Bob is a very cautious man， he talks most the circumstance around him and the story he want to convey to the policeman. For example， when Bob meets the policeman， firstly， he says “It’s all right， officer.[3]90” In addition， he continues with“It is an appointment made twenty years ago，[3]90” Bob seldom tells about himself， unless it is unavoidable. For example， because it is already very late， he explains that "I am just waiting for a friend [3]90" to ensure the policeman that he is a good person. Furthermore， he adds "I'll explain [3]90" to prove the reason for being there. The clause "sounds a little funny to you， doesn't it [3]90" is also worth noticing， it is the only disjunctive question in this paragraph. Bob is really considerable， he raises the question which he thinks the police should ask， and explains it later. Besides this， Bob is very calm， almost every clause he utters is statement， he just narrates the fact， but never ask question. So we can see that he is indeed a very skilled talker.

From paragraph 5 to paragraph 7， this conversation proceeds. But still Bob is the person who makes the speech. He describes the unforgettable scene of twenty year’s ago. It is easy to note that 17 clauses of this conversation begin with Bob， Jimmy or both of them as subjects. Although Bob is very good at concealling his personal feeling， when it is about the story between him and his best friend， he can not stop. In addition， there are some details worth mentioning. For instance， three circumstantial adjuncts concerning with time appears at the beginning of the clauses， which is an emphasis on time， it reflects the affection between the two friends. Both of them clearly remember the last meeting happened twenty years ago. For example， when the policeman says "Until five years ago， it was pulled down then [3]90"， Bob replys with "Twenty years ago tonight， I ate here at 'Big Joe' Brady's with Jimmy Wells [3]92". From the distribution of finite it can be found that the finite moves from the unmodalized （was， were） to the modalized （would， might， ought to）， it shows that Bob is certain about the past but uncertain about the future， indicating that everyone has his own destiny.

From paragraph 9 to paragraph 17， when the two persons continue their talk， they are still the key roles of the conversation. As time approaches， 10 o'clock is coming， and from Bob's words， we can see that in the process of telling the story about him and his friend， the tense he uses is difficult from his previous talk， “present tense”， “past tense” and “future tense” juxtapose together without any rule. Bob is going to meet his best friend and he is very excited， although the clause pattern he speaks does not change dramatically， it can be found from the tense that he is so eager to meet Jimmy that even his talk is not as logical as his previous talk. And the finite “will”， “never” and “should”， to some extent， deepen the possibility that his friend will turn up soon. The policeman's use of tense is also very changeable， although his speech is the minority of this conversation， from his short words the combination of “present tense”， “past tense” and “future tense” can still be observed. Jimmy is a policeman， he should be calm， but his speech tells everything. He meets Bob， his best friend， a criminal. To catch him or not， Jimmy at this time is in a dilemma.

3.2 The Second Conversation.

From paragraph 20 to paragraph 26， the exchange between the two “false” friends is smoother than the interaction between the two “real” pair. Each part's speech is relatively shorter. And by using interrogative clauses， both of them can get more information and have a better understanding of each other.

In paragraph 30 and 31， the use of “may” is very important. “You may have dropped over our way [3]96” proves that the policeman is very cautious. When he says “You may read it here at the window[3]96”， it proves that he has sympathy on Bob， and does not force Bob to do it， Bob can choose to read it now or read it later， it depends on him. From this we can see that Jimmy must have told the tall man to take care of his friend Bob. Though he is now a criminal， Jimmy still cherishes the friendship.

3.3 The Third Conversation.

In the last paragraph， “I” is the subject of 5 clauses， （this is shown in table（7）） it clearly expresses the conflict in Jimmy's inner heart. He keeps the promise， the use of “was” in “I was at the appointed place on time[3]98” and “couldn't” in “Somehow I couldn’t do it myself[3]98” proves that he cherishes the friendship. But when he finds that his close friend is the criminal wanted， he hesitates. He remembers that he is a policeman， and should undertake the responsibility.

4 The Employment of Binary Oppositions

In the first conversation， Jimmy recognizes Bob， but does not reveal his own identity. He knows the man standing in front of him is a criminal， but he does not make any action. The conflict in Jimmy’s inner heart stops him from taking any effective action. At this moment， Jimmy abandons friendship and responsibility.

In the second conversation， the tall man becomes a symbol of Jimmy， representing the responsibility he should shoulder. So in the end， Bob is under arrest， we can say that Jimmy indirectly fulfills his task， keeps the justice of the society.

In the third conversation， Jimmy emphasizes his personal feeling in the note. Here， he plays the role of a friend， policeman has to adhere to justice， but he can not forget his best friend， he wants to get the friendship back.

So it can be concluded that through the analysis of the interpersonal metafunction， the whole structure of this story is a typical binary oppositions. Jimmy first throws out friendship and responsibility， but eventually， he does what a policeman and friend should do， asking another policeman to catch Bob and telling him that he still remembers Bob， his best friend. Jimmy chooses justice and friendship which he has abandoned previously， it is this structure that makes the story a complete one， and it is interpersonal metafunction that makes the structure vivid and everlasting.

Reference：

[1]Thompson， G. Introducing Functional Grammar（2nd edition）[M].London： Arnold/北京： 外语教学与研究出版社，2004/2008.

[2]Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms[M].上海：上海外语教育出版社，2000.

[3]田艳，（编译）.欧・亨利短篇小说精选[M].大连：大连理工大学出版社，2005.