суббота, 31 мая 2014 г.

W.S. Maugham "Theater"



Tasks for Chapters 28-29


I. Answer the following questions:

1. What seemed the most scaring for Julia in the talk with her son on the first day of his arrival? This was his suggestion that if she went into an empty room and someone suddenly opened the door there would be nobody there. It made her feel very uncomfortable.
2. How did Julia prepare for the play? She studied her part. Julia did not deliberately create the character she was going to act by observation; she had a knack of getting into the shoes of the woman she had to portray so that she thought with her mind and felt with her senses. Her intuition suggested to her a hundred small touches that afterwards amazed people by their verisimilitude; but when they asked her where she had got them she could not say. Now she wanted to show the courageous yet uneasy breeziness of the Mrs. Marten who played golf and could talk to a man like one good chap to another and yet, essentially a respectable, middle-class woman, hankered for the security of the marriage state.
 3. How did she act at the dress-rehearsal? Why? Julia spared herself. She had no intention of giving all she had to give till the first night.
4. What advice did Julia give Michael about Avice Crichton? Why did she need it? Was that carefully planned? Michael, having taken Julia's advice, had gone to a good deal of trouble with Avice. He had rehearsed her by herself upstairs in his private room and had given her every intonation and every gesture. He had also, Julia had good reason to believe, lunched with her several times and taken her out to supper. The result of all this was that she was playing the part uncommonly well. Julia also told Michael not to rely on Avice until the first night.
5. Who did Julia talk to about her conversation with Roger? Why? What did she need to get from the conversation? She talked to Charles because she wanted his sympathy and advice.
6. Describe the state Julia was in before a first night? Compare her attitude towards first-night acting with the bygone years? In bygone years she had been intolerably nervous before a first night. She had felt slightly sick all day and as the hours passed got into such a state that she almost thought she would have to leave the stage. But by now, after having passed through the ordeal so many times, she had acquired a certain nonchalance. Throughout the early part of the day she felt only happy and mildly excited; it was not till late in the afternoon that she began to feel ill at ease. She grew silent and wanted to be left alone. She also grew irritable, and Michael, having learnt from experience, took care to keep out of her way. Her hands and feet got cold and by the time she reached the theatre they were like lumps of ice. But still the apprehension that filled her was not unpleasant.
7. Who did she meet while wandering the streets of London at noon, 6 hours before the first night? Where did they go? She met Tom and they went to his flat for a cup of tea.
8. What thoughts accompanied Julia when she visited Tom's place? She looked round the room that had been the scene of so many emotions for her. Nothing was changed. Her photograph stood in its old place, but on the chimney piece was a large photograph also of Avice Crichton. On it was written for Tom from Avice. Julia took everything in. The room might have been a set in which she had once acted; it was vaguely familiar, but no longer meant anything to her. The love that had consumed her then, the jealousy she had stifled, the ecstasy of surrender, it had no more reality than one of the innumerable parts she had played in the past.
9. Why did Julia change her attitude to Tom? What phrase does Julia pronounce to herself at the end of chapter 28? Comment on it. Julia became indifferent to Tom and the phrase "I dare say there's something in what Roger said. Love isn't worth all the fuss they make about it" proves it.
10. Was the first night a success for Julia? For Avice? Why? The first night was a success for Julia and a disaster for Avice. Julia literally outshined her.
 11. What was Tom's attitude towards Avice's acting? How does the scene in Julia's dressing-room characterize him? Tom found Avice’s acting a rotten one. And the scene in Juluia’s dressing room characterizes him as an easy-rider.
 12. Why do you think Julia refused to supper with Tom that night? It was her revenge to him? And moreover she did not want him anymore.
13. How did Julia spend that night? Was it typical of her? Why did she prefer this? She spent that night alone in her favourite restaurant. She felt herself on the top of the world and wanted to be alone and enjoy herself. She did not want to share such a moment with anybody.
14. What was peculiar about Julia's appearance and order at the Berkeley? Do you feel that night was somehow significant to her? Why? She neither painted her lips nor rouged her cheeks. She put on again the brown coat and skirt in which she had come to the theatre and the same hat. It was a felt hat with a brim, and this she pulled down over one eye so that it should hide as much of her face as possible. When she was ready she looked at herself in the glass. She did it to analyze her life and everything that happened to her. So that was a very important moment.
15. How does she reflect about the day passed? Does she feel satisfied? Why? Prove your point of view. It was enchanting to be alone and allow her mind to wander. She thought once more of Tom and spiritually shrugged a humorous shoulder. "It was an amusing experience."
16. Describe the place in a restaurant where Julia was having supper? What was special about it? Why had she chosen to be seated there? The room in which she sat was connected by three archways with the big dining-room where they supped and danced; amid the crowd doubtless were a certain number who had been to the play. How surprised they would be if they knew that the quiet little woman in the corner of the adjoining room, her face half hidden by a felt hat, was Julia Lambert. It gave her a pleasant sense of independence to sit there unknown and unnoticed. They were acting a play for her and she was the audience. She caught brief glimpses of them as they passed the archway, young men and young women, young men and women not so young, men with bald heads and men with fat bellies, old harridans clinging desperately to their painted semblance of youth. Some were in love, and some were jealous, and some were indifferent.
17. What conclusion did Julia come to while sitting at the Berkeley and "throwing prudence to the winds?" 'All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.' But there's the illusion, through that archway; it's we, the actors, who are the reality.
That's the answer to Roger. They are our raw material. We are the meaning of their lives. We take their silly little emotions and turn them into art, out of them we create beauty, and their significance is that they form the audience we must have to fulfil ourselves. They are the instruments on which we play, and what is an instrument without somebody to play on it?"
The notion exhilarated her, and for a moment or two she savoured it with satisfaction. Her brain seemed miraculously lucid.
"Roger says we don't exist. Why, it's only we who do exist. They are the shadows and we give them substance. We are the symbols of all this confused, aimless struggling that they call life, and it's only the symbol which is real. They say acting is only make-believe. That make-believe is the only reality."
Thus Julia out of her own head framed anew the platonic theory of ideas. It filled her with exultation. She felt a sudden wave of friendliness for that immense anonymous public, who had being only to give her opportunity to express herself.

W.S. Maugham "Theater"

TASKS for Chapters 25-27


III. Answer the following questions:

1. Why was Julia doubtful about her beauty and sex appeal the night after her adventure with Charles? Because Charles did not want her.
2. How did she put her looks to the test? Why did she need it? That afternoon, when she had had her sleep, she got up, made up a little more than usual, and without calling Evie put on a dress that was neither plain nor obviously expensive and a red straw hat with a wide brim. She needed it to find out whether she had sex appeal or not.
3. Describe Julia's feelings when she had caught a young man's eye in the street? Rely on the lines starting with, "Suddenly her heart gave an exultant leap..." (Ch.25) and use your stylistic and linguistic knowledge while commenting. Suddenly her heart gave an exultant leap. She had caught a young man's eye and she was sure that there was a gleam in it. He passed, and she had all she could do not to turn round. She started, for in a moment he passed her again, he had retraced his steps, and this time he gave her a stare. She shot him a glance and then modestly lowered her eyes. He fell back and she was conscious that he was following her. It was all right. She stopped to look into a shop window and he stopped too. She knew how to behave now. She pretended to be absorbed in the goods that were displayed, but just before she moved on gave him a quick flash of her faintly smiling eyes.
4. Did the date meet Julia's expectations? What were the man's real intentions towards having a cup of tea with Julia? The date did not meet Julia’s expectations, for the man only wanted to take an autograph for his wife.
5. The young man didn't seem to be very polite and well-bred. Prove it using the text and comment on the techniques the author employs to create a desirable effect upon the reader. The man used cockney in his speech, and behaved in a way as though Julia was obliged to him (tried to insist on letting his wife meet with Julia in her dressing room).
6. After the stroll, what thoughts occurred to Julia when she got back home and started reflecting over herself? Rely on the lines starting with, "When she got home she went upstairs to her room..." (Ch.25) and use your stylistic and linguistic knowledge while commenting. She felt herself old and devoid of sex appeal.
7. Why did Julia begin to do an imitation of Lydia Mayne? What affect did this acting have on her? How does that characterize Julia as professional and personality? Julia was a great mimic and did it only to prove herself that sex appeal is not everything and that she did not need it to be a great actress.
8. What was the name of the play Michael was putting on? The play was a modern version of The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, but with the change of manners of this generation it had been treated from the standpoint of comedy.
9. How did Julia feel before the rehearsals? Though Julia had been on the stage so long she had never lost the thrill she got out of rehearsing, and the first rehearsal still made her almost sick with excitement. It was the beginning of a new adventure. She did not feel like a leading lady then, she felt as gay and eager as if she were a girl playing her first small part. But at the same time she had a delicious sense of her own powers. Once more she had the chance to exercise them.
10. The play Michael was staging was a modern version of The Second Mrs. Tanqueray by Arthur Pinero (1855-1934), an English playwright. What changes did Michael introduce to the original? The change of manners of this generation it had been treated from the standpoint of comedy.
11. Why did Michael need Julia's advice about Avice's acting? Michael had realized from the beginning that Avice’s scene was effective and important. Avice's cold, matter-of-fact prettiness had been exactly what he had thought would be so telling in the circumstances. But after half a dozen rehearsals he began to think that that was all she had to give. So he talked it over with Julia.
12. What motifs did Julia have to praise the mediocre Avice Crichton and keep her in the cast? Julia had her reasons for wishing to keep Avice in the cast. She knew her well enough to be sure that if she were dismissed she would tell Tom that it was because Julia was jealous of her. He loved her and would believe anything she said. He might even think that Julia had put this affront on her in revenge for his desertion. No, no, she must stay. She must play the part, and fail; and Tom must see with his own eyes what a bad actress she was. They both of them thought the play would make her. Fools. It would kill her.
13. What pains did Julia take to make herself look nice to meet Roger? How does that characterize her as an actress and a mother? She wanted Roger to be proud of her, and certainly she looked very young and pretty in her summer frock as she strolled up and down the platform. You would have thought, but wrongly, that she was perfectly unconscious of the attention she attracted. Roger, after a month in the sun, was very brown, but he was still rather spotty and he seemed thinner than when he had left London at the New Year. She hugged him with exuberant affection.
14. What did Michael ask Julia to discuss with Roger? There was indeed a subject that Michael had invited her to discuss with Roger when the opportunity arose. Now that he was going to Cambridge so soon he ought to make up his mind what he wanted to do. Michael was afraid that he would drift through his time there and then go into a broker's office or even on the stage. Thinking that Julia had more tact than he, and more influence with the boy, he had urged her to put before him the advantages of the Foreign Office and the brilliant possibilities of the Bar.
 15. How did Julia react on Roger's reflection about his future? What did they eventually talk about? Julia could hardly believe her ears. She had a feeling of acute discomfort. They talk about their relationships and of her affair with Tom.
16. During their conversation, Julia notices some new traits in her son's character and behavior. What are they? She listened to him attentively, with a certain anxiety, for he was so serious that she felt he was expressing something that had burdened him for years. She had never in his whole life heard him talk so much.
17. Roger sounds reproachful to Julia. What doesn't he approve of? Do you agree with him? He does not approve of her affair with Tom. I agree with him, for Tom was much younger than she and wanted only her money and position.
 18. What were Julia's arguments to support her point of view about acting? Do you feel they are ground and serious? Why? She said that acting isn't nature; it's art, and art is something you create. Real grief is ugly; the business of the actor is to represent it not only with truth but with beauty. I agree with her.
19. How did their talk end? Michal came to them and their conversation thus was over.
20. What was the thing Roger said that bothered Julia most? His suggestion of her affair with Tom.

пятница, 16 мая 2014 г.

W.S. Maugham "Theater"



TASKS for Chapters 22-24

I. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases:
 to make a clean breast of sth – сделать чистосердечно, to tear sb limb from limb – перемывать кому-то кости, a sleeping-draught снотворное, to and fro – взад и вперед, curtain calls - поклон, pull oneself together - собраться, magnanimous - щедрый, to cramp one's style - мешать, contrition - раскаяние, a succinct account of sth – краткое содержание, a bereavement - лишение, an austere and snug little town – аскетичный и уютный маленький город, to adhere to sth – придерживаться чего-то.
 
VII. Answer the questions:
 1. Why couldn't Julie take her troubles to Charles or Dolly as usual? She thought it would be cruel to tell Charles that she had given to a very ordinary young man what he would gladly have sacrificed ten years of his life for. As for Dolly, she’d be shocked and jealous when Julia made a clean breast of it, but she’d be so thankful that everything was over, she’d forgive.
 2. How different was Charles's circle from that of Tom's? Charles was from high society.
 3. Was Michael right when criticizing Julie's acting? Yes, for she lost control and let her emotions to take over.
4. How did Julie react to her husband's criticism? At first she was furious but then understood he was right.
5. How did the breakup with Tom influence Julie's attitude to Michael and Charles? Her tenderness for Michael and her ever-present sense of having been for years unjust to him filled her with contrition. She felt that she had been selfish and overbearing, and she wanted to atone for all that.  As for Charles, she decided to give him a chance.
6. Why did Julie decide to spend the summer with her mother and aunt? Julia had a feeling that perhaps in the course of her brilliant and triumphant career she had a trifle neglected her mother. She was eager to sacrifice herself, and so wrote to her mother to announce her imminent arrival.
7. What kind of lifestyle did Aunt Carrie and Mrs Lambert have? Aunt Carrie and Julia’s mother, Mrs. Lambert were very devout. They went to Mass every morning and to High Mass on Sundays. Otherwise they seldom went out. When they did it was to pay a ceremonious call on some old lady who had had a bereavement in the family or one of whose grandchildren was become engaged.
 8. How did the old ladies treat Julie? How did they feel about her occupation? They treated her with cordiality, but thought her profession to be indecent.
9. How did Julie imagine Charles's love for her? She felt that Charles was a worthy object for its exercise. She laughed a little, kindly and compassionately, as she thought of his amazement when he understood what she intended; for a moment he would hardly be able to believe it, and then what rapture, then what ecstasy! The love that he had held banked up for so many years would burst its sluices like a great torrent and in a flood overwhelm her. Her heart swelled at the thought of his infinite gratitude. But still he could hardly believe in his good fortune; and when it was all over and she lay in his arms she would nestle up to him and whisper tenderly:
“Was it worth waiting for?”
“Like Helen, you make me immortal with a kiss.”
It was wonderful to be able to give so much happiness to a human being.
10. When in Paris, what did Julie mean when saying, "I feel like a queen returning from an exile?" She was happy to feel herself again famous and leading an eventful life.
11. How did Julie slip out from the awkward situation with Charles? She did the only thing possible. She continued the gesture. Counting so that she should not go too fast, she drew her hands towards one another, till she could clasp them, and then throwing back her head, raised them, very slowly, to one side of her neck. 12. How did Julie explain to herself the fact that her amorous advances had been declined by Charles? She thought that Charles was impotent and used his devotion to her as a cover to’ distract attention from his real inclinations.

W.S. Maugham "Theater"



Tasks for Chapters 19-21

 

I. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases:
an understudy - дублер, perfidy -измена, wanton temperament – своенравный темперамент, to cut the date – отменить встречу, an American conjurer – американский иллюзионист, to make a stab at acting in America – попытаться сделать актерскую карьеру в Америке, off the nail – быть навеселе, the R.A.D.A. – Королевская академия драмы, in point of fact – в действительности, insipid - безвкусный, hard as nails – в форме, for toffee – ни за что, be a sport – будь человеком, to beat about the bush – ходить вокруг да около, to feel all in – чувствовать себя в порядке, to give the air – не принять во внимание, to put one's foot down – занять твердую позицию.

IV. Answer the questions:
1. Under what circumstances did Roger get acquainted with Joan Denver? What kind of favour did he ask of Julie? Tom Roger picked Jill and Joan after the show. Tom knew the girls before. Roger asked Julia to give Joan an understudy in her next play.
2. Why did Julie feel she had lost Roger? Her life had always been so full and so exciting that she had never had the time to busy herself much with Roger. She got in a state, of course, when he had whooping-cough or measles, but he was for the most part in robust health, and then he occupied a pleasant place in the background of her consciousness. But she had always felt that he was there to be attended to when she was inclined and she had often thought it would be nice when he was old enough really to share her interests. It came to her as a shock now to realize that, without ever having really possessed him, she had lost him.
3. How did Tom react to Julie's plans to take her play to New York? He thought it would be a marvelous chance for her to make a stab in America.
4. What kind of new acquaintances and connections did Tom make through Julie? These people were from high society and he helped them with their income-tax records.
5. How did Julie receive Joan Denver? She received Joan Denver the moment she had taken her last call. Julia could in the twinkling of an eye leap from her part into private life, but now without an effort she continued to play the imperious, aloof, stately and well-bred woman of the play.
6. How did Michael hear about Avice Crichton? Through Tom.
7. Why does Maugham describe Julie's appearance at the Sunday night show as "beautifully timed?" To show how she was famous.
 8. What impression did Avice Crichton and her acting produce on Julie? Impression of a small-part actress who didn’t even begin to know how to act. It was grotesque. She couldn’t use her hands; why she didn’t even know how to walk across the stage.
9. Why did it irk Tom to have to come back with Julie after the Sunday night show? He wanted to be at the party with Avice
10. What kind of relationship did Tom and Avice have? He loved her, and she used him.