- Aug 2022
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He was so different when he took any drink.
Readers would interpret this kind of statement to mean that Joe might become unpleasant and rude after a couple of drinks, even though that is not explicitly stated. I wonder what kind of computational analysis we would have to do for a computer or program to also come to this conclusion.
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barmbracks
Is a traditional Irish bread usually mixed with sultanas and spice to give it a fruity and heavy flavor. Was often enjoyed during Halloween and were mostly considered a luxury - especially since they preserved the contained fruits. As XiaoruiLiu mentioned earlier, it could indicate the wealth or social status of the family as being high.
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Mrs. Mooney, who was a shrewd judge, knew that the young men were only passing the time away: none of them meant business.
It seems that Mrs. Mooney is looking for an eligible suitor that is willing to marry her daughter (not just date for some time), even though she is only nineteen years old, still a young girl. The young men seem to have a very different perspective and want to just have a casual relationship. It makes me wonder what Polly actually wants, and whether we as the readers will get to find out.
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MRS. MOONEY was a butcher’s daughter
This is an interesting way of starting off a story. Immediately we get information unique to Mrs. Mooney's upbringing, and this fact will likely play a big role in shaping our character - influencing her traits and personality.
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we played till our bodies glowed.
I found this type of description and imagery really interesting, because I'm not quite sure what I would picture for this scenario. This kind of detail conveys a feeling more than an image, a contrast from the Mansfield stories we read last week. I wonder if this kind of description will continue throughout this short story collection.
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storeys
Was there an alternative spelling for the word 'stories' when this text took place? Maybe some other words will also be spelled differently from their traditional spellings today - if we tried to find the hyponym of this word I wonder what we would get (would it be the same as the hyponym for 'stories')
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I found it strange that neither I nor the day seemed in a mourning mood
Interesting how he turns to the weather and tries to focus on other things instead of actively processing his grief and the emotions he is feeling. He's trying to not think about the death by saying that this is not the right mood or weather, saying that it's sunny outside instead of dreary to match his supposed inner feelings.
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- Jul 2022
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Spring—warm, eager, restless—
Here again seasons such as spring are being personified using adjectives that are usually used to describe humans. This seems to be a common theme among Mansfield stories, and just a little later in this paragraph itself spring is given the pronoun 'her,' as if spring was an actual person.
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Oh dear, how hard it was to be indifferent like the others! She tried not to smile too much; she tried not to care. But every single thing was so new and exciting...
Reading this passage reminded me of a young girl getting the chance to tag along with her older sister and friends to a night out - the way she tries to appear nonchalant like the others when everything is "so new and exciting" to her. She might be younger than the other girls, or maybe she is not as wealthy and therefore doesn't participate in these events as often.
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And because they were all laughing it seemed to Leila that they were all lovely.
This sentence paints Leila in somewhat of a naive and innocent light. It seems that she is easily believes and takes things at face value without questioning in people or being cautious.
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two very awkward parcels
It's interesting how the author described the parcels as being 'awkward,' a term usually reserve for people and not objects. This personification of objects seems to be a recurring theme in these short stories, and I wonder how a computational literary model would analyze these phrases.
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she cried out carelessly,
To me this phrase seems like an oxymoron. When I think of someone crying out, it's very intense and emotion-filled, as they are loudly interjecting what they want to say. On the other hand, saying something carelessly is seems like it's being said without much thought or attention. These two terms being juxtaposed together makes me wonder which of the two is closer to reality in this scenario.
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Mrs. Raddick’s daughter
Interesting how this girl is referenced in relation to another character instead of by her own name. I read another comment earlier about how throughout the entire story, she is never called by her name, but only as 'the young girl' or someone else's daughter. The narrator might have done this to provide an alternate way of placing emphasis on the girl, mentioning her through a more descriptive mean that just her name. For example, by calling her 'Mrs. Raddick's daughter', we can understand her relationship to another character, information her name might not have given us.
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But nobody sees us,
This simple statement reflects the manner in which young girls and women were regarded by society, especially in the early 1900s. Even if they were present in a conversation or room, they were never given a fair chance to actually be seen or heard, hence the statement nobody sees us.
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the little creature
I found it strange the way that they dehumanized the "little woman" that had invited Laura into the kitchen. Maybe it's a way of showing how the lower classes were often not even treated as humans, but some other creatures that were just meant to work and serve for the upper classes.
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“Promise,” he said, “that you will put this into my coffin with your own hand; and that you will see that no other hand touches it afterwards.” I gave him my promise. And the promise has been performed.
I wonder, if we were to create a computational literary analysis model, would it be able to figure out what the promise was? Although it was stated indirectly so that the readers would obviously know, it was never explicitly stated, so this made me curious about how a computer would interpret the promise.
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Report
I wonder if there is any significance to the word being capitalized here. Even in the next line when it is referred to again it is capitalized...I wonder how the computational literary analysis model would analyze this compared to the other reports referenced throughout the novel but not capitalized.
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So far
These two words kind of sound like foreshadowing, which is strange because Ezra's narrative is from a diary. Unlike Betteredge and Franklin, at this time he wouldn't know what else Miss Verinder would ask of him (or anything that would take place later on), but his conviction makes me curious as to why he feels so certain about this.
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I went abroad, resolved–if change and absence could help me–to forget her. It is, I am persuaded, no true view of human nature which denies that change and absence do help a man under these circumstances
The way that Mr. Blake deals with his emotions seems to be very methodical and efficient, almost robotic. Just a few paragraphs earlier - after learning about his father's death - he was already thinking about dealing with the situation at hand instead of grieving or mourning his loss. And then here, to cope with his emotions, he doesn't mention anything about heartache or longing, but simply goes abroad and says that it will help him forget about her.
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Lady Verinder
It's interesting to see how Mr. Bruff often refers to Rachel as Lady Verinder while Betteredge calls her Miss Rachel. The way that she is referred to, although both seem to be polite, changes person by person. It could be cool to analyze how different characters refer to each other and see if there are any patterns or similarities.
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took my message in insolent silence
Just something to keep in mind is that Miss Clark seems really prone to making snap judgements about others. Might shed some insight into why she characterizes some of the characters the way she does.
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a doctor’s skin was waterproof. In spite of his skin, the wet had got through him. He had caught a chill that night, and was now down with a fever.
The way that the narrator describes events or characters seems pretty unusual. Normally the term "waterproof" would refer to an object and not a person, and this made me wonder how literary analysis models would interpret terms like these.
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When you looked down into the stone, you looked into a yellow deep that drew your eyes into it so that they saw nothing else.
While looking at the Moonstone himself, the narrator seems to be entranced, so captivated by the diamond's brilliance that he is momentarily blind to everything else. Seeing how his reaction mirrors the rest of the characters (except for Ms. Godfrey), we gain some insight into how everyone is likely feeling about the gemstone, and how this strong first connection could motivate some of the characters to steal the Moonstone later.
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Her nose was not quite large enough, I admit.
Reading through this paragraph made me wonder how modern computational literary analysis models go about interpreting descriptions of physical attributes, especially in the context of another person's (in this case the narrator's) perspective. As decades and centuries pass, aesthetic preferences and standards change as well - with this example, it seems that in the story a large nose is deemed more desirable, while today the opposite is true. Would an analysis model try to determine the tone of the author and take into account the time period, or maybe make conclusions based on past stories it has analyzed.
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Who was the poet who said that Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do? If he had occupied my place in the family, and had seen Miss Rachel with her brush, and Mr. Franklin with his vehicle, he could have written nothing truer of either of them than that.
I believe the poet he is referring to here is Isaac Watts, an English minister from the 17th and 18th centuries. By using this quote to describe both Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin, our narrator is implying that these two (who have lots of time and not much to do) could very well get involved in something troublesome or dangerous. Could be foreshadowing the murder or theft that's bound to take place (and their possible involvement).
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I must acknowledge, before I conclude, that I am influenced by a certain superstition of my own in this matter.
It seems that the narrator has a tendency to believe in certain superstitions or fallacies. Although he does openly acknowledge the fact, it makes me wonder whether this will influence his reasoning or explanation for certain events or actions later in the novel (maybe causing readers to question the credibility of his narration).
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The only difficulty is to fetch out the dates, in the first place. This Penelope offers to do for me by looking into her own diary
I find it curious that Gabriel's daughter Penelope plays such an active role in his narrative. From consulting her about the contents of his writing to asking her about the dates, I wonder how much of his recollection is prompted by Penelope and her diary and not his own memory. Could the narration become an inconsistent blend of two perspectives?
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