الفهرس 
The Relevance of Linguistics to Literary CriticismOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 171 |  |  |
| | | from | 171 | | |
Abstract
This thesis takes as its focus a particular type of discourse, conversation, more particularly fictional conversation. It studies conversation in E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India. It demonstrates that conversation plays a major role in the novel; it contributes to the reader’s understanding of characters and themes. The models of analysis employed in the research allowed for the deduction of results and findings.
The thesis starts with examining the modes of speech employed by Forster in his presentation of character talk. Adopting Hutchinson’s approach, which is a discourse based approach, the thesis demonstrates that Forster is a skillful novelist: he does not restrict himself to the two traditional modes of direct and indirect speech, rather he uses two other interesting and useful modes, namely free indirect speech and narrative report of speech acts. Direct speech has been found to be the dominant mode in the novel. It is very useful for the development of the characters and the plot. It also gives vividness and immediacy to the scene described. Forster employs free indirect speech to produce a variety of effects. He uses it to produce an effect of irony, distancing, summarizing, and contrast. Forster, however, does not use this mode as extensively as the novelists of the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Indirect speech and narrative report of speech acts are employed to summarize long conversations as well as the unimportant stretches of speech. Both modes are also used to present what was previously given in direct speech as well as what the reader already knows.