英语短篇小说教程 虞建华 高等教育出版社 课后答案

Keys to Unit Two

(1) I. B. Singer: The Washwoman

(2) Frank Sargeson: A Piece of Yellow Soap

1) Questions for Discussion:

(Suggested answers for reference)

(1) Does the piece of washing soap have the “power” as the narrator tells us? What is the “power”

that forces him to take off?

(The piece of yellow washing soap is, of course, an ordinary one. The narrator is a “naïve narrator”who believed that it had some sort of mysterious “power,”while the readers are expected to know better. This power comes from the narrator’s deep sympathy for the tragic fate of the washing woman. Seeing the situation, he simply could not continue to demand the payment which he knew the woman was unable to produce.)

(2) In this Unit, we have two stories about two washwomen. There are a lot of similar descriptions

and common characteristics in the two stories. Find and list them.

(They were both reduce to desperation, depending solely on washing for living. Both were hard-working and uncomplaining, quietly but almost heroically bore their burden and struggled for a hard existence. The author describes their common feature –the white and shrunken fingers – as symbol of suffering in the lives of the working people. They both were both dead by the end of the stories.)

(3) The two first-person narrators tell two stories of two washwomen who shared similar tragic

fate. Discuss the differences in the narrators that result in the differences in the way the two short stories are told.

(Singer’s narrator knows more and tells more about the washing woman, often making direct comments and revealing his own feelings about the life of the woman whose story he is telling. He frequently emphasizes that what he is telling is real, and hints that the story has significance. The narrator’s voice is very close to the author’s. Please see more in “Reading Tips” on page 11. On the other hand, Sargeson’s narrator is a naïve one, that is, the narrator’s understanding is purposely made shallow, and the reader need find by himself the real meaning in the situation. So the narrator stands at some distance from the author. Please see more in “Reading Tips”on page 15. Therefore, in Text I, we, as readers, are basically “given” or “received” the story, while in Text II, we need to participate imaginatively in the story to “dig out” the true meaning the naïve narrator has left unexplained.)

2) Explanation and Interpretation:

(Explain the implied meaning of the following sentences, and point out their significance in the context of the story.)