Analysis of the fragments from ‘The Passionate Year’ by James Hilton

Analysis of the fragments from ‘The Passionate Year’ by James Hilton 

     The fragments from «The Passionate Year» written by English writer James Hilton is under our interpretation. James Hilton was born in England and educated in Cambridge.

     This story is about a young teacher Kenneth Speed (who is the central character) who came to work in Millstead Boarding school for boys. The author tells us about his first work day. In this school students had a custom to rag at a new teacher during the prep. Speed was very nervous when he came to class. The author expressed his nervous condition by the epithets: «nervous», «an atmosphere of subdued expectancy», «keenly conscious» and simile: «as if he were sitting on a powder-magazine» to express the emotional state of the main character. But a teacher had a strong will and didn’t let pupils make jokes at him .

     The theme of the text is the relations between school teacher and students. James Hilton showed us how important to make a first impression. Not to make a fool of yourself and to put children off if it was necessary. Also he showed how difficult to gain a firm standing for a young teacher. 

     The idea of the text is the problem of young teacher and pupils. The master should be at the same length to the class.

     There is no exposition in the text, it begins with the emotional state of the main character «Speed was very nervous….».

     The author  uses choice of words to express that children were hostile and they came to the class with conspiracy. «Straggling» instead of «coming» or «walking», «stared» instead of «looked». These descriptive words make the text vivid. In the sentence «….watched the school straggling to the places» the author shows that the students moved in an untidy way in different directions.  And in the sentence ….the boy stared about them we can see than children looked at Speed for a long time, in unfriendly way.

     The author conveys Speed’s emotional state to the reader using metaphors «..there was a sense in which he was eager for the storm to break», «uncanny feeling for atmosphere», «embarked him on an outrageously bold adventure», « …dangerous weapon in armoury» to show his nervousness not to make fool of himself.

     To show the atmosphere after Speed’s confusion with the names, the author uses rhetorical exclamatory sentence, even with inversion in it. And then goes Speed’s flashback to his past. Elliptical sentence «in hot indignation» is used to show how really indignant Worsley was.

     The climax of the story tells about children’s misbehavior «banging of desk-lids», «…raise a desk-lid and drop it with a bang».

     The author makes extensive use of epithets such as «the passionate year», «trifling» to render the story more vivid, convincing, more real and emotional.

These stylistic devices contribute the expressiveness of the passage.

Colloquial words are put in a front part of a text «I don’t want to be hard with you».

     I think that the sentence: «you and Worsley can share the hundred lines between you» –is the denouement of the text. This fragment of the story in order to come to the conclusion that the victory over the children was full and Speed had passed his «ordeal».

     I think that the author shows us the problem of in the relationship between thee teacher and students and to show the atmosphere of teacher’s nervousness.