Lesson 3-- Blackmail

Unit 3

Blackmail

By Arthur Hailey

Teaching Points I. Background information II. Introduction to the passage III. Text analysis IV. Rhetorical devices V. Questions for discussion

I. Background Information 1. Arthur Hailey 2. Hotel

Arthur Hailey is the author of a number of bestselling novels. Born in Luton, England, in 1920, he was educated in English schools until age fourteen. After a brief career as an office boy, he joined the British Royal Air Force in 1939 and served through World War II, rising through the ranks to become a pilot and flight lieutnant. In 1949 he immigrated to Canada, where he was successively a real estate salesman, business paper editor and a sales and advertising executive. HE became , and still a Canadian citizen. IN 1956 Arthor Hailey scored his first writing success with a TV drama, Fight into Danger, which later became a motion picture and a novel, Runaway Zero-Eight (1958). The sensational Hailey bestsellers include The Final Diagnosis (1959), In High Places (1962), Hotel (1966), Airport (1968), Wheels (1971), The Moneychangers (1975). Though a Canadian himself, he set the scene of most of his works in America. Each of his books deals with one particular field of society. This is made clear by the titles of his books. It is the peculiarity of his that is of value to those who are eager to learn about contemporary American society.

The St. Gregory Hotel is the largest in New Orleans, Louisiana. For 4 days from Monday evening to Friday, the hotel goes through a succession of dramatic events. With the hotel’s mortgage due by the weekend and with no chance of getting further renewal, the owner, Warren Trent, reluctantly makes up his mind to sell it to a chain hotel owner, Curtis O’Keefe. Peter McDermott, the assistant general manager, has to tackle several other knotty problems: handling an attempter rape which has occurred in one of the hotel’s rooms; catching a professional thief operating in the hotel; pacifying a whole convention of several dentists that threaten to leave in protest against the hotel’s objection to putting up a member of the convention---a black doctor. Then there is the Duke of Croydon, an internationally famous statesman and the newly-appointed British ambassador to Washington.

New Orleans;新奥尔良，美国路易斯安那州最大 的城市，全国第二大港口(以对外贸易额计),医疗、 工业、教育的中心和旅游胜地。 Louisiana;路易斯安那，美国中南部之一州。 北接阿肯色州，西接得克萨斯州，东接密西西 比州，南临墨西哥湾。面积125675平方公里， 居全国第31位。人口420余万(1980),居全国第 20位。

II. Introduction to the Passage 1. Type of literature: a piece of narration ---character, action, conflicts, climax and denouement (结局)2. An excerpt from the novel Hotel . --- character portrayal : through conversation and conflicts Figures of speech --- sarcasm : [sa:k zem] use of

bitter remarks intended to wound sb’s feelings. 讽刺；挖苦 Irony & sarcasm : sarcasm aims to hurt or humiliate the receiver; irony is no more than an amused comment.

III . Effective Writing Skills 1.making effective use of specific words to make the narration vivid 2.vividly and carefully describing the actions of the characters http://www.77cn.com.cning the languages which suit the backgrounds of characters

story1. setting : in a hotel; 2. event : hit-and-run and the blackmailing whereof 3. characters A. Duke of Croydon B. Duchness C. Ogilvie

Structure of the Text I. 1-3 : the meeting with the detective II. 4-22 : hit-and-run; blackmailing; Duke’s breakdown; helpless of Duchess III. 23-99 : blackmailing & antiblackmailing IV.100-109 :intervention in blackmailing and controlling the situation by Duchess.

IV. Text Analysis1. The chief house officer…took twice that time: 1) chief house officer: Hotels in the US employ detectives to take care of hotel security, called “house dicks”, dignified appellation--house officer 2) HE was slow in coming because he wanted to create the impression that he was a busy and important man and to keep the Croydons on tenderhooks.

2. the duke: ( in Britain) a nobleman, whose rank is just below that of a prince. Below the Duke are the marquis(侯), earl(伯), viscount(子爵) and baron(男爵).3. she had dispatched her maid on an invented errand: They sent her out to get her out of the way; the “errand” being just an excuse, which was not necessary. Obviously the talk between Ogilvie and the Croydons had to be kept a secret.

4. to exercise the Bedlington terriersL to walk the dogs, to take the dogs out and give them some exercise. The Bedlington terrier is a breed of blue or liver-coloured, woolly-coated, active, typically small dogs. The terriers are a status symbol showing that the Duchess is no ordinary dog owner. And the fact that they can keep dogs in a hotel proves they are very important people.

5. A wave of smoke accompanied Ogilvie: to smoke a cigar in the presence of a lady without asking for permission is impolite and being familiar. He comes into the room smoking his cigar. He is a coarse, vulgar, and uneducated fellow and because he thinks he has them under his thumb he doesn’t give a damn to what they might think or feel. The Duchess “looked pointedly”, that is directly and sharply, trying to intimidate him with her superior social position.

6. The house…piggy eyes…gross jowled face: 1) piggy eyes: small, narrow eyes lost in the mass of flesh. He has piggy eyes, a gross jowled face, an obese body, speaks in falsetto, is vulgar, unscrupulous, ill-mannered, to the point of throwing his cigar on the carpet. Examples with “pig” Don’t be a pig.(Don’t be greedy.) He is a pig. (He is a dirty, greedy or ill-mannered person.) I’ve made a pig of myself.(I’ve eaten too much.) 2) surveyed her sardonically: He looked her up and down scornfully because he had

evidence of their crime and he felt sure that in a moment he would be able to humble her and bring her to her knees.

Sardonic: being scornful, cynical Sarcastic: intending to hurt the feelings, to inflict pain by taunting Satirical: intending to make a person or thing appear foolish Ironical: a humorous or sarcastic form of expression in which the intended meaning of what is said is directly opposite to the usual sense.

7. I imagine you did not come here to discuss décor: I suppose you did not come here merely to discus the arrangements of the furniture and other decorations of the suite. What she mean t was “Speak your mind. Don’t waiste time.” She purposely used the word “décor”, imagining Ogilvie would be awed. Unlike Ogilvie, the Duchess always speaks the Queen’s English, using strictly grammatical structures and choosing her words carefully, sometimes to the extent of being pompous.

8. an appreciative chuckle: mainly self appreciative. When a hotel employee goes into a quest’s room, usually on business, no familiarity is allowed. But here he was enjoying the fact that he could afford to do whatever he liked. He loved being in a position of temporary supremacy. Also he appreciated the fact that the Duchess was no fool. She knew why he had come.

9. “Aah!” : Now the Duke knew what the man was there for. The sound escaping his lips showed that the Duke was startled and perhaps a bit relieved that things now had come out into the open. 10. a warning glance: The Duke had made a blunder(a careless mistake) the night before by mentioning the car in front of the hotel’s assistant general manager when his wife was trying to established something of an alibi. Now the wife was warning him not to blunder again.

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