Write about apple tree
The Apple Tree (1917) is a long short story written by a prominent English novelist, playwright and short story writer John Galsworthy. His most famous novels are The Man of Property, A Modern Comedy and The Forsyte Saga. In his works, he gives a truthful picture of English bourgeois society at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. The Apple Tree is called «most finely crafted, most symbolic, and most poetic tale».
The extract under analysis shows us two no-longer-students Frank Ashurst and Robert Garton who want to get to Chagford, Ashurst having an aching knee. On their way, they decide to put up for a night on some farm. They see a girl who invites them in her aunt’s farm and whom Ashurst find quite attractive. On the farm, they ask for a stream to have a bath and are told about one near an apple tree.
In the given extract, there is no conflict; it is only an exposition of the story, where we can see only the beginning of the relationship between Ashurst and Megan. In this part, the author shows us the contrast between people of different social classes.
The main characters are Frank Ashurst and Megan David. He is a representative of the upper class, a graduate from the university, he is «pale, idealistic», and he has a bent for literature. As an educated person, he loves talking about philosophical matters. The girl they meet is different. She’s wearing a «dark frieze skirt», «worn and old greyish blouse», «split shoes» and a Scottish bonnet worn usually by men, her hands are «rough and red», and her neck is «browned» because of working under the sun. She is, surely, not that educated as Ashurst is.
Two more characters reflecting this contrast are Ashurst’s friend Garton and Megan’s aunt Mrs. Narracombe. Garton is opposed to Ashurst to some extent (he is «like some primeval beast» and very communicative, while Ashurst is more meditative), but mostly for diversity of characters. He is also well-educated and intellectual and may even seem somewhat haughty. Mrs. Narracombe is hospitable, and this trait of character is more often demonstrated by representatives of the lower class.
In order to prove his point of view, the author uses stylistic devices. Firstly, there are a number of epithets in descriptions («peacock tam-o’-shanter», «crisp voice», «round-the-corner», «dewy eyes»), idioms («talking through his hat»), metaphors («haven’t met a soul for miles»), similes, trite and genuine («thin as rails», «like some primeval beast»). All these devices are used to create the atmosphere, to make the descriptions more artistic and underline the characters’ peculiarities in a more accurate way. There are also some poetic words («maiden»).
Galsworthy uses such a graphic means as graphon («I thought you were a Celt»). The reason to italicize the word «thought» is to show that Garton makes a special stress on it as if emphasizing his knowledge. There is one more graphon of different kind, which serves to create the atmosphere. The author uses dialectal forms «strame, sittin’, an'» instead of «stream, sitting, and» to show that the action takes place in Devonshire.
Besides, in order to reveal Ashurst’s feelings and meditation at the end of extract, the author uses enumeration of things which belong to different spheres: «He thought of Theocritus, and the river Cherwell, of the moon, and the maiden with dewy eyes». Here we can see also an example of polysyndeton which makes the sentence smoother and more poetic.
As for syntactic structure, there are both simple and complex sentences. The former are used in dialogues accompanied by ellipsis (which, alongside the absence of the author’s speech, makes them more vivid and natural), and the latter are used mostly in descriptions. In the description of Megan there is also anaphora («her shoes were, . her little hands, . her neck…») and some chaotic repetitions («her face was short, her upper lip short», «her brows were straight and dark, her lashes long and dark, her nose straight»). Those repetitions of simple adjectives create rhythm and, probably, make us think that Ashurst’s eyes are quickly jumping from one part of Megan’s body to another. In addition, there is an example of inversion («by the house door stood a woman») for the purpose of smoother narration.
The extract is written in a third-person narrative. The author helps us to see the action with Ashurst’s eyes and listen to his inner thoughts. Those thoughts characterize him well enough: we could do even without his direct description to understand that he is «full of absence». His thoughts change their direction quickly, e.g.: «The sky, the flowers, the songs of birds! Robert was talking through his hat.»
There is also a symbol in this story — the apple tree (the title is not occasional, of course). In Celtic culture (Megan is a Celt), the apple tree deals with love, truth, beauty, remembrance, purity. These meanings are only hinted at in this extract, but we can see them fully in the whole story.
I cannot help admiring this work. I am charmed by the style and the master use of expressive means and stylistic devices, especially syntactic ones. They make me want to read the story again and again. I am also attracted by symbolism and poetics of the story. Besides, it is necessary to say that Galsworthy managed to create a good image of people from different social classes and living in different places.
Источник
Write about apple tree
An integral part of the American experience, “As American as Apple Pie” (which in truth is not American), the apple is nevertheless ubiquitous in U.S. culture. We put it in desserts, give it to our favorite teachers, wash our hair with its essence and put it in our lunches. So common, it’s easy to take the simple apple for granted, but it actually has a rather interesting history.
A Member of the Rose Family
Otherwise known as Malus domestica, the apple is a member of the Rosaceae family, and its siblings include the strawberry (Fraaria L.), the plum (Prunus L.), the pear (Pyrus L.), the blackberry (Rubus L.) and the rose (Rosa L.).
Common characteristics of this family include blossoms with a hypanthium (a floral cup on the flower), radial symmetry, 5 distinct petals, and many stamen and stipules (leaf-like structures).
Recent scholarship has shown that the modern apple we enjoy today started initially with the wild apple species M. sieversii that later intermingled with M. sylvestris.
How Apple Trees Make Fruit
On an apple blossom, the parts that turn into the fruit we eat (called the “pome”) are the “basal portions of the petals, calyx [sepals], and stamen [composed of an anther and filament] . . . fused into hypanthium tissue and attached to the ovary [which is] below [the other parts].”
Apples blossoms have to be fertilized, and each blossom has both male and female parts. The stamen, with its anther and filament, is male, while the ovary and stigmas are female.
Each apple’s life begins with a bud that slowly develops leaves, then a blossom. When the blossom opens, the stamen (with the pollen-rich anther) is exposed, as is the base of blossom where the nectar is located.
Bees and other pollinators seeking out nectar brush against the anther and inadvertently pick up pollen. As the bee moves from blossom to blossom drinking nectar, some of its hitchhiking pollen is rubbed off on the blossom’s stigmas [which transfer the pollen to the ovary].
Once fertilized, the blossom’s anthers (which have shed their pollen) along with the petals shrivel up and the latter falls off. Next, the stamen dries up and the fruit quickly develops underneath the sepals [which ultimately become the brown bits opposite the stem on a ripe apple].
History of Cultivated Apples
The naturalist Henry David Thoreau noted the close relationship between people and apples, since before recorded history:
It is remarkable how closely the history of the Apple-tree is connected with that of man. The geologist tells us that the order of the Rosaceae, which includes the Apple . . . were introduced only a short time previous to the appearance of man on the globe [and] . . . traces have lately been found at the bottom of the Swiss lakes [with people] supposed to be older than the foundation of Rome . . . The apple was early so important, and so generally distributed, that its name traced to its root in many languages signifies fruit in general . . . .
Scientists believe that apples were first domesticated in the Tian Shan region of southern Kazakhstan. In fact, by as early as 2000 BC, domesticated apples were being grafted in the Near East.
The Greeks and Romans introduced the domesticated apple to North Africa and Europe during their trading and conquests. These fathers of western civilization were equally impressed with the fruit, using it as a central device in some of their most lasting stories, like this myth from about 700-800 BC that explains the roots of the Trojan War:
All the gods were invited [to a wedding] with the exception of Eris, or Discord. Enraged at her exclusion, the goddess threw a golden apple among the guests with the inscription, “For the most beautiful.” Thereupon Juno [Hera], Venus [Aphrodite] and Minerva [Athena], each claimed the apple. Jupiter [Zeus] not willing to decide in so delicate a matter, sent the goddesses to . . . the beautiful shepherd Paris . . . and to him was committed the decision. . . . Juno promised him power and riches, Minerva glory and renown in war, and Venus the fairest of women for his wife [Helen] . . . . Paris decided in favor of Venus and gave her the golden apple . . . . Under [her] protection . . . Paris sailed to Greece [and] . . . aided by Venus, persuaded [Helen] to slope with him, and carried her to Troy. . . .
It was because of the Greek usage of the apple in many tales that the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden is so often depicted today as an apple. Aquila Ponticus, who was a second century translator translating the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek, took the liberty of translating it as an apple tree, even though the original text doesn’t say that. He did this because he was translating it into Greek for Greeks, and, as alluded to, in Greek mythology apples were seen as symbols of desire and destruction.
Original Colonists
The crab apple tree is the only malus species native to North America and likely greeted the first European explorers, who found the tart fruit a poor substitute for Malus domestica. This is likely why the settlers of Jamestown brought apple tree cuttings and seeds with them when they founded the colony.
Notably, however, most apples during colonial times were not eaten, but were instead used to make cider. More than just a treat, cider was commonly served, even to children, since reliably safe drinking water was a rarity in the early colonies.
Settlers
In order to grow the young country, many colonies (and later the states) set requirements before granting land rights (known as patents) including the mandate to improve the land (called “seating and planting):
The act defined . . . with great particularity, what should be deemed sufficient seating and planting. The patentee was required . . . to clear and tend three acres, or to clear and drain three acres of swamp , or to . . . there keep . . . cattle . . . sheep or goats. [For] every £ 5 expended in . . . planting trees . . . should save 50 acres [of unimproved land, also granted with the patent].
Since apples were so useful, among the trees most planted were at least two apple trees since the species needs “a second tree for cross-pollination to occur.”
Obviously, it would be difficult for settlers in the Northwest Territory (in colonial times, this meant northwest of the Ohio River) to drag seedlings along in the late 18 th and early 19 th centuries. Having learned the apple business as a young man in Massachusetts, John Chapman brought his knowledge to western Pennsylvania and started his own apple tree business in about 1801.
Planting seedlings near creeks and rivers close to where new land patents were being granted, Chapman provided the settlers with the apple trees they needed to improve their land. Working for 50 years throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, Chapman was responsible for so many apple trees and orchards, he earned the name Johnny Appleseed.
If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, Feed), as well as:
Источник
Анализ текста The apple tree
Онлайн-конференция
«Современная профориентация педагогов
и родителей, перспективы рынка труда
и особенности личности подростка»
Свидетельство и скидка на обучение каждому участнику
I’m going to analyze a long short story “The apple tree” by John Galsworthy , an English novelist and playwright, one of the most popular writers of the early 20th century. He was born in Coombe, Surrey in August 14, 1867. John Galsworthy was educated at Harrow and New College, Oxford.
Although Galsworthy is best known for his novels, he was also a successful playwright. John Galsworthy was awarded the Order of Merit in 1929 and the Nobel Prize for literature in 1932.
In “The apple tree”, John Galsworthy tells the story of Asherst, a middle-aged man who once goes to a village with his wife. While being there he remembers that 26 years ago just at that place, when he was a young man and just graduated from the university, he met a young girl, Megan by name, whom he fell in love. He promised to marry her and they decided to go away together. The next day he went to Torquay for money but there Asherst met his old friend, Phil Halliday by name , who invited him to spend a day with him and his sisters. Then the author passes on to say that Asherst fell in love with Phil’s sister Stella. The story ends with Asherst’s desire to look at the farm where Megan lived. There he meets an old man, who tells him that Megan commited a suicide because of unhappy love.
There is an external type of a conflict in the story. The two parties are Asherst that is protagonist, and Megan, antagonist. The author describes them combining two methods of characterization. The main character of the story is Asherst. He is a middle aged married man. He is well-educated. It’s quite clear that 26 years ago Asherst was inexperienced and young. He is very romantic as he says that he was always in love with somebody. It is important for him to have a person to admire and think about. Galsworthy succeded to show different sides of Asherst’s being. In the beginning of the story, when Asherst first meets Megan, we sympathize with him. The author managed to make the reader believe it to be real deep love which would end happily. But in Torquay he behaves as fully another person. He didn’t even want to explain everything Megan, whom he was supposed to love very much. He just decided to avoid superfluous problems pretending that he didn’d notice her.
Another main character of the story is Megan. She is a beautiful girl of seventeen years old. It doesn’t do the readers any difficulty to understand that she is very naïve and romantic young girl “with a loving heart” as an old man said about her. She doesn’t happen to be anywhere but in the farm. She is always busy doing all the job on the farm as she is the only woman there except her aunt. The author tries to make us sympathize with her. He shows that there isn’t any person on the farm with whom she could have heart-to-heart talk. Every day’s talks with Asherst make her be deeply attached to him. She is also a very honest and faithful person because it doesn’t come to her mind that Ahserst’s absence is caused by his unwillingness to come to her again. She doesn’t believe it because it is not in her nature and she doesn’t think it to be in somebody else’s nature. Megan is shown as a virgin character who has never loved before, never been anywhere, never faced with another people. Her commiting a suicide is an important part of the story. Even if she didn’t do that, she wouldn’t be that Megan that is shown in the story. She would be completely another person, would lose her naivety and “loving heart”, because such kinds of incidents totally change a person.
Galsworthy uses third-person objective narration. That means that the narrator doesn’t participate in the actions but knows everything concerning the characters. I think it to be a very objective and reliable type of narration because the author can enter the minds of the characters and the reader is able to know more.
The story is written in simple language. While showing the conversation with the children or with an old man on the farm, the author writes in dialectal words in order to make the reader deeply feel the atmosphere of that farm. He also writes that the two friends while going “haven’t met a soul for miles”. This metaphor is used in order to show that the farm is situated by itself and people on the farm live exclusive lives. While describing Megan the author also uses many epithets and metaphors. “Megan’s eyes were the wonder – dewy as if opened for the first time that day”. Using this stylistic device the author shows Megan’s beauties of nature. Such epithets as “greyish blouse”, “worn and old”, “split shoes” show her pressure of work. The language of an extract helps us to understand that the characters that day were all in good mood as they joke and try to be as friendly as possible.
The syntactical pattern is not very difficult and it doesn’t do any difficulty to follow the main idea.
The story is devoted to the problem of relationship between people from different social classes. It is difficult for Asherst to decide to go back to Megan as he understands them to be too different to live together. It is important for some of us to get on with people from our social class. There would be too many things on which we would have different points of view. And of course misunderstanding makes it more difficult to get on with a person.
And also there is another problem in the story. The problem of responsibility of our words. If we say something, we should do it. Asherst prefers to disguise himself instead of coming up to Megan and explaining his intentions. We should think in advance whether we could do something or not. No matter how difficult it is to be responsible for our words. It is better not to promise than to disappoint a person who believed you.
Источник
