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ISSN No : 2230-7850

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Indian Streams Research Journal

Executive Editor Ashok Yakkaldevi

Editor-in-chief H.N.Jagtap

IMPACT FACTOR : 0.2105 Welcome to ISRJ RNI MAHMUL/2011/38595 ISSN No.2230-7850 Indian Streams Research Journal is a multidisciplinary research journal, published monthly in English, Hindi & Marathi Language. All research papers submitted to the journal will be double - blind peer reviewed referred by members of the editorial Board readers will include investigator in universities, research institutes government and industry with research interest in the general subjects.

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Flvio de So Pedro Filho Federal University of Rondonia, Brazil Hasan Baktir Mohammad Hailat English Language and Literature Dept. of Mathmatical Sciences, University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken SC Department, Kayseri Kamani Perera 29801 Regional Centre For Strategic Studies, Sri Ghayoor Abbas Chotana Lanka Department of Chemistry, Lahore Abdullah Sabbagh University of Management Sciences [ PK Engineering Studies, Sydney Janaki Sinnasamy ] Librarian, University of Malaya [ Anna Maria Constantinovici Catalina Neculai Malaysia ] AL. I. Cuza University, Romania University of Coventry, UK Romona Mihaila Spiru Haret University, Romania Delia Serbescu Spiru Haret University, Bucharest, Romania Anurag Misra DBS College, Kanpur Titus Pop Ecaterina Patrascu Spiru Haret University, Bucharest Loredana Bosca Spiru Haret University, Romania Fabricio Moraes de Almeida Federal University of Rondonia, Brazil George - Calin SERITAN Postdoctoral Researcher Horia Patrascu Spiru Haret University, Bucharest, Romania Ilie Pintea, Spiru Haret University, Romania Xiaohua Yang PhD, USA Nawab Ali Khan College of Business Administration

Editorial Board
Iresh Swami Pratap Vyamktrao Naikwade ASP College Devrukh,Ratnagiri,MS India Ex - VC. Solapur University, Solapur R. R. Patil Head Geology Department Solapur University, Solapur Rama Bhosale Prin. and Jt. Director Higher Education, Panvel Salve R. N. Department of Sociology, Shivaji University, Kolhapur Govind P. Shinde Bharati Vidyapeeth School of Distance Education Center, Navi Mumbai Chakane Sanjay Dnyaneshwar Arts, Science & Commerce College, Indapur, Pune N.S. Dhaygude Ex. Prin. Dayanand College, Solapur Narendra Kadu Jt. Director Higher Education, Pune K. M. Bhandarkar Praful Patel College of Education, Gondia Sonal Singh Vikram University, Ujjain Rajendra Shendge Director, B.C.U.D. Solapur University, Solapur R. R. Yalikar Director Managment Institute, Solapur Umesh Rajderkar Head Humanities & Social Science YCMOU, Nashik S. R. Pandya Head Education Dept. Mumbai University, Mumbai

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Indian Streams Research Journal

Volume 2, Issue. 9, Oct 2012

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ISSN:-2230-7850 ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Irony - Its Discourse Structure In The Novel

Khalil Abdul-Hameed Mohammed Saif Alquraidhy Department of English, . Bangalore University, Bangalore, India

Abstract: In this paper I have tried to explain how the discourse structure of irony - of the most complex, vocal and meaningful linguistic and literary devices can best be revealed in the prose fiction which can an Essay, a short story or a Novel .To me, it appears that the meaningful use of irony for the purposes of communication can best be taught with the help of a novel. Both irony and the novel use the same discourse structure and, hence, they help each other in communicating the several layers of meanings which hide, in themselves, the linguistic and literary beauty of irony and the novel. Irony can best be communicated through the events and conditions of the fictional world and construed from the description itself. It requires the help of both What happens and how it is described. And both are the basic of the novel. So a lesson in irony can best be given with the help of a novel. For my purposes, I will take the help of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. KEYWORD: Irony, communicative, Bennet. INTRODUCTION To me, as a teacher of English language, the main aim of teaching English language to the learner should be to make him develop his own individual capacity to respond to language. The language teaching imparted by us today is a patterned teaching. He at best, learns how to react to a patterned situation or event in a pattern like this; for instance go to the booking counter and ask for the ticket by using this sentence or these sentences and at the end say 'thank you'. If the booking clerk asks such and such questions reply with these and these sentences. The same formula or pattern is adopted in other situations. So everything depends on the assumed situation calling for an assumed response. In teaching to the medical students or law graduates (and this I do myself) we do the same thing. Certain course books are prescribed; they follow the same formula or patterned situation with a patterned response. Beyond the pattern our learners start fumbling. They fail to react properly or to communicate efficiently and powerfully if they are faced with a sudden change in the patterned situation or the event. Further, in language course books, the learners see sentences only as illustrations of grammatical patterns and not as expressions with an independent communicative value that can be an aid to some pragmatic and sociolinguistic questions noosing our day to day life. That way, we, as it were, compel the language to commit a serious and unpardonable fault of creating a big gap between the learner and life. Since he lacks this training, so, at best he can express and understand simple ideas in a common simple language, but he gets confused and nervous with complex expressions having a serious communicative value that has or can have an impact on life for an understanding of life or various situations in life. I have been trying to experiment at the level of my medical students and graduates of law after completing these course books I shift to some common simple medical or legal documents, bring them before my students and try to gauge their response. Such documents have their communicative value; they give them, in a simple way and the simple language, a knowledge about diseases and patients, about certain laws, courts
Please cite this Article as :Khalil Abdul-Hameed Mohammed Saif Alquraidhy , Irony - Its Discourse Structure In The Novel : Indian Streams Research Journal (Oct. ; 2012)

Irony - Its Discourse Structure In The Novel

and clients. But they take them to be too heavy. That is because they do not want to deviate from the learnt patterns and come out of artificial environment of pattern and be independent. At that moment, I feel my limitations and wish to have some engrossing and interesting short story books for my medical students and law graduates which can connect their professions to their actual life and help them in communicating with their life and life-like situations. Communicating with one or two men is in its simplest and miniature form. Even a child on his own knows how to do that. But the real communication lies in conversing with life in a real life-like situation which brings us face to face with the linguistic pragmatics (the study of the way in which language is used to express what subject really means in particular situations, especially when the actual words used may appear to mean something different.) helping us with the real pragmatic (solving problems in a practical and sensible way rather than by having fixed ideas or theories) life. And here language feels the necessity of literature, and literature becomes the real aim and support to language. Here the pragmatics and the pragmatic life get combined. This is the ideal situation but very complex for a learner since the patterned language teaching has not trained him to react to it. Here he will have to get training in literature which is the domain of such situation. Irony - a linguistic and literary device - is the best illustration of this ideal situation where language and literature join together to communicate the meaning of a complex life like event seeking the prompt attention of both the individual and the society. As per his training the learner can react promptly to a simple situation involving the use of a simple straight forward irony. Even a shop keeper can understand the hidden ironic barb of the following sentence 'I hope you are making enough profit out of this.' The shop keeper understands the ironic implication of "enough"'; to him it suggests he is making far too much profit. The individual makes the comment; the shop keeper understands its meaning and the onlookers laugh. So, everybody can participate in this play of simple irony. They have this much of linguistic training. At this simple level they can isolate the ironic meaning (what is really meant) from the literal meaning. (what has been said or stated.) Here, the irony is simple because the context is simple, well known and common. This is a simple "verbal irony" a game of a word or words in its or their meanings. But what would be the reaction of the listener if he is put in a complex situation where a complex ironic tone with layers of meaning and a complex discourse structure has been used. It is but natural that, in the absence of proper linguistic training that has not made him capable of individual reaction and communication, he will feel nonplussed. Here, he may feel the need of help from literature and literary training. Suppose he comes across this opening of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Taken on its surface value it seems to the listener to be just a simple common usual statement about marriage in general. His communication with this statement stops at that. But let him have a literary training, he would not stop at that but try to probe further and find out its wider and deeper ramifications. He would drop the sentence and start communicating with its tone. Once, he catches the tone, the discourse structure of the sentence would reveal layers of meaning. The simple discourse structure as revealed to him would be like this: Addresser (Novelist) Message (the sentence) Addressee (the reader)

This discourse, that is the sentence, read in isolation reveals this structure. But it is the surface level structure which does not reveal the layers of meaning. This structure is there before the tone starts ringing in his ears. After it starts ringing so many things appear in his mind: 1.Narrator's attitude towards readers; 2.Narrator's attitude towards characters; 3.Characters attitude towards the character or characters; and 4.The context. If we draw the discourse structure it would give us a picture like this: -

Indian Streams Research Journal Volume 2 Issue 9 Oct 2012

Irony - Its Discourse Structure In The Novel

Addresser (The novelist)

Message (The sentence)

Addressee (The reader)

Implied

Actual

Addresser

Message

Addresser (Mrs. Bennet)

Addressee (Mr. Bennet)

(The novelist) (The sentence)

Message

Mrs. Bennet

Mr. Bennet

Message

From the novel's introductory sentence itself it seems that the novelist is simply addressing only the reader. But, put in the whole context, it becomes clear that the matter is not so simple. If we read the two pages 1 and 2 of the novel which contain the long conversation between Ms. Bennet and Mr. Bennet two things become clear the whole introductory sentence has been uttered and the extension of the relationships between the novelists, the reader and the characters. The novelists addresses the first the reader both implied and actual. The implied the reader the whole of the then society which is supposed to read the novel and in whose court the real action of the novel is ready to take place. This society is being chiefly addressed; it is being implicated as the real culprit arranging for the marriage for money instead of marriage for love and which is being suggested by implication to be the ideal for the novelists. The actual reader also takes into account this implied reader and draws in his mind a picture of the then society. Without this picture it would be useless for him to read the novel. The novelist also in her mind the characters specially Ms. Bennet. This link becomes apparent when we come to this dialogue of Ms. Bennet. Why, my dear, you must know Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England. . . "(Chapter 1 Page 1) We have to like the repetition of the words "man of large fortune" Here, the society and individual (in this case, the mother herself) seem to connive together against the girls for the sake of large fortune. This way, the novelist brings before the reader three culprits, the society, the family the individual especially the mother. Then, the novelist brings characters together Ms. Bennet talks to Mr. Bennet. The attitude of Ms. Bennet is already apparent. This attitude is contracted
Indian Streams Research Journal Volume 2 Issue 9 Oct 2012

Development of Primitive Tribes in India (An Impact Assessment of Development Initiatives)

by his ironic tone. Here is his utterance "You want to tell me, and they have no objection to hearing it." (Chapter 1 page 1) His ironic tone implies that he will listen to her knowing full well that her idea would not be worth hearing. By this statement he wants to suggest this disagreement with a present social arrangement. This analysis of the discourse structure of the introductory sentence of the novel has been done to suggest that irony one of the most complex, vocal and meaningful linguistic and literary devices can reveal its beauty, complexity and utility best in a prose fiction. It is the best device to reveal the value picture. The multi faceted nature of the novels value picture is a matter not only of co-existing spheres of value, but of co-existing levels of discourse. In this discourse there is a secret communion between the author and the reader. This conspiracy is founded on shared standards of evaluation, and on the manner in which these are controlled and developed through the novel. What is suggested is that irony is the most mature communicative device at service of both linguists and the artists. It reveals its maturity in the novel. Hence the learner, in order to achieve the perfection of communication, should try to achieve that maturity. It will come to him not only through a language course. It will require him to attach himself to a literature course too. A lesson in irony can best be given with the help of a novel. To establish this thesis I took recourse to Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. REFERENCES:
Widdowson H G (1975) Stylistics and the Teaching of Literature London, OUP Furniss T, and Michael, B (1996) Reading Poetry An Introduction London: Pentice hall. Leech G N , and S Mill (1981) Style in Fiction London, Longman.

Indian Streams Research Journal Volume 2 Issue 9 Oct 2012

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