The text under study is an extract from the novel under the title “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” written by famous American writer Mark Twain. The events of the text are set in the small church, where the morning sermon is going to begin.
The events of the text are presented in the form of the author`s narration. The narration is done in the third person singular, for example “Presently Tom remembered a treasure he had and got it out”. These forms of presentation interrelate with description. They overlap and run together. We also observe description at the beginning (for example: “the widow Douglas, fair, smart and forty, a generous, good-hearted soul and well-to-do”) and in the centre of the text (for example: “sad at heart, lazy with the summer softness and the quiet, weary of captivity, sighing for change”).
The general emotional tone of the given text is ironic, humorous, and emotional. It is confirmed by the use of emotionally colored words and epithets (good-hearted, respectable, generous, poor, tranquilly, perfectly, formidable jaws, helpless, vagrant poodle dog, indifferent and absent-minded, inward joy, a wild yelp, a genuine relief, marring thought).
The main characters of the story are Tom and poodle dog. The characters are drawn both implicitly and explicitly. We can only guess about the temper of the people in the text, their attitude to each other, their manner to behave, thanks to actions of the main character Tom and the author’s manner to present his characters. But describing the poodle dog, the author goes into details, especially when disclosing his appearance in the church, look and state. The author resorts to the use of epithets (a vagrant poodle dog), metaphors (sad at heart, surveyed the prize, lay down on his stomach, continued his experiments, his chin descended and touched the enemy), personification (lazy with the summer softness, sighing for change, grew weary at last, His head nodded, There was a sharp yelp) to describe the appearance of the poodle dog. Thus, the intensity of feelings from the events taking place in the church made clear to the reader with a series of metaphors (“people found relief in the beetle”), personifications (“a fly had lit on the back of the pew”, “There was a sharp yelp”, “several faces went behind fans and handkerchiefs”) and synecdoche (“the whole church was red-faced and suffocating with suppressed laughter”) materializing the feeling into a physically grasped object. The author’s initial words create the perspective of the story and establish the basic disparity between the characters. The author offers no judgments to the actions, described in the extract. Most of the story is presented from Tom’s viewpoint. There are many signals of his subjective attitude to the described, e.g. “Tom had no handkerchief and he looked upon boys who had, as snobs”, “Tom believed his soul would be instantly destroyed if he caught the fly while the prayer was going on”, “Tom was entirely happy”. His portrayal, though never done explicitly, is still exhaustive.
The author of the present text creates the atmosphere of joy and laughter, it is emotionally colored, and however, sometimes it becomes alarming whether what is happening in the church will lead to serious consequences for the main character. The mood is created with the help of such literary techniques as epithets (generous prayer, large black beetle, a vagrant poodle dog, a sharp yelp, inward joy). The story produces a humorous impression.
The attitude of the author is expressed implicitly. The author gives no comment in his own persona, we can only guess about his attitude to the characters. The author is just a witness and observer, he only describes the events. The characters are made self-revealing. The author describes the characters and their actions in detail but does not pass judgments on them. The author never introduces his own voice. All the events are presented from one and the same viewpoint – that of the narrator, for example: “About half-past ten the cracked bell of the small church began to ring, and presently the people began to gather for the morning sermon”. Making no explicit appearance the author may convey his judgments and estimations only implicitly. Though the author never appreciates or condemns his protagonist, we feel that he likes and sympathizes with him and shares his views.
Analyzing the text in terms of the category of informativity we must say that since the writing under analysis is a piece of belles-lettres style, both types of information can be elicited from it, namely the factual and the conceptual ones.
The main concern of the text can be formulated in the following way: the extract highlights the challenges and growth of Tom's character, emphasizing his journey of self-discovery and his awareness of societal norms.
In terms of factual information, the text can be divided into 4 logically complete parts.
The first logically complete part starts from the beginning of the text and ends with the words “The choir always tittered and whispered all through service”, introduces the reader into the subject matter of the text, namely an episode when the author depicts the people who came to the church for the morning sermon. The author describes all the people, who came to the sermon, among whom were aunt Polly, Tom, Sid, Mary, postmaster, the mayor and his wife, the justice of the peace, the widow Douglas, the Major and Mrs. Ward, the belle of the village, the young clerks and the model boy Willie Mufferson with his mother.
The second logically complete part focuses on the sermon itself, where Tom was distracted by the fly. This part of the text begins with the words “And now the minister prayed” and ends with the words “His aunt detected the act, and made him let it go”. This part highlights that when everyone gathered, the service began and during it, Tom noticed a fly and it began to distract him, however, he decided to catch it only at the end of the service, but then let it go.
The third logically complete part provides the information about Tom’s actions, when he took out a punch bug, which flew away from him and then a dog appeared and began to play with it, disturbing everyone in the church. This part of the text begins with the words “Presently Tom remembered a treasure he had and got it out” and ends with the words “and the voice of distress quickly thinned away and died in the distance”.
The concluding logically complete part depicts the result of Tom's carelessness and the funny behavior of the poodle, as the service was ruined, but Tom went home with a smile. This part of the text begins with words “By this time the whole church was red-faced…” and ends at the end of the text.
The conceptual information of the present text conveys the author’s message to the reader, namely, if you don't want to go to somewhere, then don't go, otherwise you may disturb others/even one small trick in a public place can lead to a number of troubles, resulting in a violation of order.
The text contains the following components of the compositional structure:
The beginning of the story starts from the introduction, where the setting and characters are introduced. Considering this part, we can distinguish that the chapter begins with Tom sitting in church next to his aunt, Sid and Mary. This sets the stage for the subsequent events and establishes the setting of the story;
The following part, namely exposition reveals the back ground information, such as the setting, characters, and their relationships. It sets the stage for the main events of the story. The exposition in this extract provides further details about Tom's restless nature and his tendency to misbehave in church. It also introduces the theme of the clash between societal expectations and youthful restlessness;
The story is the main narrative of a piece of writing, including the events, actions, and dialogue that make up the plot. The story in this case discloses when Tom's mind starts to wander during the sermon, leading to various mischievous actions. He teases fly, he takes out a beetle and starts indulging with it, as a result of which it bites Tom and turns out to be thrown into the distance, where a vagrant poodle dog soon notices it and also begins to play with it;
The climax, mainly the turning point in a story, where the conflict or tension reaches its peak and the outcome of the story becomes clear, reveals the culmination point in the development of the action. It expresses the moment when the poodle, having gained confidence and played enough with punch bug, lost all interest in it and just sat on it, and when the beetle bit the dog, a wild yelp of agony rang out throughout the church;
The denouement is the resolution of the story, where loose ends are tied up, and the final outcome of the conflict is revealed. The denouement in this extract disclose the situation, when the whole church shudders with laughter caused by the behavior of the poodle and the beetle, which interrupts the sermon;
The ending is the conclusion of the story, where the final events take place and the story comes to a close. Ending opens in the last paragraph of the story, when Tom returns home satisfied that the sermon was not boring, but he is sad that after running away, the poodle took with him Tom's treasure – his beetle.
The author uses different paragraphs. The paragraphs are large, full, informative and emotionally rich. Paragraphs are graded in the text: at the beginning of the text they are long, at the end of the text they are short. The first paragraph is not very long, it is medium size, the second and the fourth paragraphs are very short in their size, and the third paragraph is the longest one. I consider that it is connected with the fact, that in the third paragraph the most crucial events took place, namely the episode, when the poodle dog started playing with the beetle, attracting the spectators’ attention. There is mainly asyndetic connection between the sentences and paragraphs, for example: “At last the sufferer sprang into its master’s lap; he flung it out of the window, and the voice of distress quickly thinned away and died in the distance”. The author used asyndetic connection in his story to create a sense of urgency, speed. It is also used to create a more impactful and rhythmic effect in the writing, as well as a specific tone and mood. Every paragraph has a logical connection with the previous and following paragraphs, because it’s a narration. It is created with the help of such introductory phrases, as “About half-past ten”, “And now”, “Presently”, “By this time”. But sometimes the author resorts to using syndetic connection between the sentences and paragraphs, for example: “And now the minister prayed”, “Tom had no handkerchief and he looked upon boys who had, as snobs”. The author used syndetic connection in his story to create a sense of cohesion and unity among the items or actions in a story. Additionally, the use of conjunctions helps to clarify the relationships between the items or actions in the story, and can create a more structured and organized feel to the writing.
The first and the second physical paragraphs are connected with the help of the conjunction “and” which serves as a coordinator between paragraphs, linking them together and indicating a continuation or connection of ideas. The conjunction “but” is used to introduce a contrasting ideas; “or” is used to present alternative possibilities, such as the choice of either sitting still in the church or risking punishment by misbehaving; “so” is used to indicate a consequence or result, such as Tom's boredom leading to his mischief in the church; “because” is used to explain the reason or cause of an event. The use of different conjunctions serves to maintain the flow of the story and ensure a smooth transition between different events or aspects being described.
The above formulated factual information is extended by a number of facts relevant in terms of the category of presupposition which require a certain amount of background knowledge on the part of the reader.
In terms of social presupposition, we can distinguish the assumption of church attendance. The chapter revolves around Tom being in a church with many other people of the village, which presupposes the societal norm of attending religious services, particularly on Sundays.
Also we can highlight the expected behavior in church, related to social presupposition. Throughout the chapter, there may be references to certain behaviors that are socially expected when attending church, such as sitting quietly, paying attention to the sermon, and showing respect towards others.
Respect for authority figures related to social presupposition as well. The presence of a minister and the congregation presupposes social expectations of showing reverence and respect towards religious authority figures.
The reader is expected to be aware of these facts to fully comprehend, appreciate, evaluate and access a work of verbal art.
Now that the factual information has been summarized, it should be pointed out that the category of informativity is not confined to this type of information only. It also comprises the conceptual information that is deduced from the text as a whole and makes up the author’s artistic message.
Before we start analyzing the text in terms of the category of implication, I find it necessary to formulate the conceptual information of the text. In my opinion the conceptual information of the present text conveys the author’s message to the reader, namely, if you don't want to go to somewhere, then don't go, otherwise you may disturb others/even one small trick in a public place can lead to a number of troubles, resulting in a violation of order.
Furthermore, it is also possible trace the principle of incomplete representation in the text. The author places some poetic details into the story in order to single out the most characteristic features of the objects of the episode. “The cracked bell of the small church” introduces the reader into the state of things in the village, its grievous and poor condition. The poetic detail “his white handkerchief” serves to characterize its owner Willie Mufferson, who is always tidy and obedient in contrast to other street boys and Tom Sawyer.
According to the conceptual information it becomes possible to divide the main characters into two conceptual cores, namely “adults and children” and “animals” describing them by means of the stylistic devices. They are represented by the author by means of different the SD.
Metaphor is a lexical stylistic device resulting from the logical association of similarity between two objects, in which words or phrases denoting one object transferred to others in order to indicate a resemblance between them. The author used the metaphor “the pride of all matrons” to stress diligence and politeness of Willie Mufferson. “A solemn hush fell upon the church” is used to emphasize that at the beginning of the sermon people in the church were in serious mood. Mark Twain used the metaphor “his soul would be instantly destroyed” to depict Tom's consciousness and fear of committing a sin, as he thought. “He surveyed the prize” is used by the author to highlight the value of the beetle for dog and Tom, as well. The author used the metaphor the “continued his experiments” to express dog's attitude to the beetle as an object of exploration or even a toy. “Resentment in his heart” is used by Mark Twain to show that even the dog doesn't want to be hurt and fooled.
Simile is a lexical stylistic device, a kind of metaphor, based upon an analogy between two unlike objects belonging to two different classes. “Taking as much care of his mother as if she were cut glass”, “he looked upon boys as snobs”.
Antonomasia is a lexical stylistic device which consists in the use of a proper name for a common one, and vice versa. “Sufferer” replaces “poodle” in order to stress tired out state of the poodle after his adventure with a beetle. “A prisoner of war” is used by author to express childish behaviour of Tom. “Treasure” stands for “beetle” and it is an antonomasia which is used to emphasize Tom's attitude to the beetle. “The church was red-faced” means the congregation become red because of laughter.
Zeugma is a lexical stylistic device which consists in the use of a word in the same grammatical relation to two adjacent words in the context, one metaphorical and the other literal in sense. The author used zeugma “as far as away from the open window and the outside summer scenes as possible” to underline Tom's ordinary distraction by landscapes during the sermon and childish attitude to religion.
Chiasmus is a syntactical stylistic device based on the repetition of a syntactical pattern, but it has a cross order of words and phrases. “A good, generous prayer it was…” is a chiasmus which used to produce an ironic effect on the reader.
Polysyndeton is a syntactical stylistic device which lies in an insistent repetition of a connective between words, phrases or clauses in an utterance. “He surveyed the prize; walked around it; smelt at it from a safe distance; walked around it again; grew bolder, and took a closer smell; then lay down on his stomach with the beetle between his paws, and continued his experiments; grew weary at last, and then indifferent and absent-minded” used to describe dog's interest to the ‘pinchbug’. “So he went to the beetle and began a wary attack on it again; jumping at it from every point of a circle, lighting with his forepaws within an inch of the creature, making even closer snatches at it with his teeth, and jerking his head. But he grew tired once more, after a while; tried to amuse himself with a fly, but found no relief; followed an ant around, with his nose to the floor, and quickly wearied of that; yawned, sighed, forgot the beetle entirely, and sat down on it” is an asyndeton used to enumerate the deeds of the poodle after being insulted and fooled by a 'pinchbug'. “Aunt Polly came, and Tom, and Sid, and Mary” is used to describe gathering of the locals to the sermon.
Climax is a stylistic device, a figure of speech in which a number of ideas are so arranged that each succeeding one rises above its predecessor in impressiveness, force, importance or emotional tension. “…yawned, sighed, forgot the beetle entirely, and sat down on it” is used to express weakening interest of the dog to the beetle.
Anticlimax is a stylistic device, a figure of speech in which ideas are arranged in ascending order of significance or emotion or logical importance accumulated is unexpectedly broken and brought down. “…it pleaded for the Church and the little children of the Church; for the other churches of the village; for the village itself; for the country; for the State; for the State officers; for the United States; for the President: for the officers of the Government; and for poor sailors, tossed by stormy seas” is used by Mark Twain to mock pompous and solemn prayer.
Periphrasis is a lexical stylistic device which consists of using a roundabout form of expression instead of a simpler one. “Several faces went behind fans and handkerchiefs” is used to underline that some people at least try to hide their distraction from the sermon, but on the whole it changes nothing.
Antithesis is a stylistic device consisting in an opposition or contrast of ideas expressed by parallelism of contrasted words placed at the
beginning and at the end of a syntactical unit. “The boys all hated him, he was so good”. Boy’s hatred proves Willie’s being a role-model for young people, attentive son and just a pride of the locals.
Hyperbole (overstatement) is a lexical stylistic device which emphasis is achieved through deliberate exaggeration. “The belle of the village, followed by a troop of young heart-breakers” is a hyperbole used to depict humorously the attitude of the provincials to the beauty of a girl who lives in the village. “Craving for revenge” is an overstatement which is used to underline ridiculous state of the poodle and his desire to find an ant.
Epithet is a lexical stylistic device which gives an attributive characterization of a person, thing or phenomenon. The expressive-evaluative epithet “the cracked bell” is used to underline that there was little governess and solemnity in the church. Descriptive epithets “fair, smart and fourty” are used to describe the widow Douglas, The epithets “bend and respectable” are used to portray Major and Mrs. Ward. The epithet “model boy” is used by the author to show the difference between Tom Sawyer and Willie Mufferson. To express lazy relaxation of the dog and produce humorous effect the author used such epithets: “sad at heart”, “lazy with the summer softness”, “weary of captivity”, “sighing for change”, "red-faced and suffocating with laughter” are epithets which are used to emphasize the distraction of congregation on the whole and inattentiveness to the morning sermon. The epithet “cheerful” is used to depict Tom's state after making the sermon come to a dead-stand still.
Personification is a lexical stylistic device which endows an inanimate object or idea with features peculiar of a human being. The personification “his hand began to curve and steal forward” is used to show that Tom doesn't do his trick on purpose. “The hurt finger went in the boy's mouth” is used to underline his infantile attitude to pain. “The dropping tail lifted and wagged” is used by the author to stress arising interest of the dog to the beetle. “The voice of distress quickly thinned away and died in the distance” is used to show the end of the battle between the dog and the beetle.
The passage contains vivid descriptions of the poodle's actions, allowing readers to visualize the dog's interaction with the beetle. There is irony in the poodle's gradual transition from indifference to resentment, and the subsequent humorous outcome of its interaction with the beetle.
The author deliberately makes use of this SD to make the image more expressive, to give a greater expressive force to the utterance. These stylistic devices work together to create a lively and amusing portrayal of the events within the church, adding depth and humor to the narrative.
Now let’s have a closer look at those means of the lexical cohesion which contribute to the logico-semantic and artistic wholeness of the text under analysis. It is generally recognized that among various means of any text cohesion lexical means of cohesion play the crucial role because they, first and foremost, make for the logico-semantic globality of the text. One of the means through which the lexical cohesion finds its expression in the text is the recurrence of the key-words. In the present text the following key-words hold the logico-conceptual integrity of the text together, they are: “church”, the primary setting of the chapter, where various events unfold, and “sermon”, a religious discourse delivered by the preacher to the congregation during which the main events with the main characters took place.
The lexical cohesion in the chapter “In the Church” of Tom Sawyer finds its expression in the consistent use of religious terminology and related vocabulary throughout the chapter. This contributes to the overall coherence and thematic unity of the chapter. Additionally, the chapter exhibits cohesion through the reoccurrence of specific words and concepts. Here are some examples:
1. Church: The word "church" is repeatedly mentioned, representing the central setting and reinforcing the religious context.
2. Sermon: The concept of a sermon is introduced early on and referenced multiple times, highlighting its relevance in the chapter.
4. Prayer: The act of prayer is mentioned, emphasizing the religious practices within the church.
5. Sunday: The chapter takes place on a Sunday, with several references to this specific day of the week.
6. Faith: The concept of faith is alluded to, emphasizing the religious beliefs commonly associated with the church.
7. God: References to God and spirituality are present, further establishing the religious atmosphere.
The use of these related terms creates a cohesive network of meaning, reinforcing the chapter's focus on the religious setting and activities within the church. This contributes to the overall coherence and unity of the chapter and enhances the reader's understanding and engagement with the text.
A very important role in the lexical cohesion of the text is played by the synonyms proper and contextual synonyms. Among them: synonyms proper and contextual synonyms “good-hearted – good”, “to gather – to assemble”, “sermon – service”, “presently – now – instantly”, “crowd – congregation”, “ tittering – whispering”, “to pray – to plead”, “poor – sufferer”, “torture – ordeal”, “spirit – soul – heart”, calmly – tranquilly”, “pinch bug – beetle”, “to take by the finger – to seize”, “to be safe out of one’s rich – from a safe distance”, “to grow weary – to grow tired”, “to lay down – to descend”, “to continue – to resume”, “indifferent – absent-minded”, “a sharp yelp – a wild yelp”, “inward – suppressed”, “joy – laughter, “several – some”, “happy – cheerful”, “to detect – to spie”, “resentment – distress, “to jump – to sprang”, “amuse – play”, “lame – halting”, “to go on – to continue”, which explicitly pertain to the notion of actions, taking place at the church.
The cohesive power of the key-words is not confined to the above said, because this word is logically associated with the words and word-combinations united thus forming two thematic groups:
1. Negative behavior: irreverent, disruptive, disrespectful, chaotic, agitated, unruly, hostile.
2. Religious environment: blissful, calm, majestic, divine, traditional.
Alongside this, the use of words belonging to the lexico-semantic groups of antonyms united by the notion of description of the atmosphere also contributes to the lexical cohesion of the text. Among the contextual antonyms we can distinguish such combinations as: “a solemn hush – a wild yelp”, “to find relief – to find no relief”, “needy – well-to-do”, “to catch – to let go”, “to droop – to lift”, “smart – foolish, “happy – distress”, “cheerful – sad”, far – close”, “to begin – to end”, “peace – war”.
The key-words enter a number of word-combinations which cover the text with a kind of thematic network. The use of words pertaining to one and the same lexico-semantic group is another means of lexical cohesion which contributes to the logico-semantic unity of the text.
Another means of the lexical cohesion within this text is the use of words and word-combinations referring to the same thematic group with the underlying notion of unity and coherence. The contrast between "gathered vs. scattered" and "captured vs. released" creates a sense of movement and change, while "prayed vs. ignored" and "toyed vs. ignored" convey a contrast in action and intention. These word choices contribute to the overall theme of opposing forces and choices within the text.
Now let’s have a closer look at those grammatical means of cohesion which ensure the formal integrity within the text. To illustrate how the means of grammatical cohesion function in the text I have chosen the paragraph where they find their most vivid expression.
The conjunction “and” serves as a coordinator between paragraphs, linking them together and indicating a continuation or connection of ideas. The conjunction “but” is used to introduce a contrasting ideas; “or” is used to present alternative possibilities, such as the choice of either sitting still in the church or risking punishment by misbehaving; “so” is used to indicate a consequence or result, such as Tom's boredom leading to his mischief in the church; “because” is used to explain the reason or cause of an event.
One more grammatical means of cohesion within this part of the text is the use of parallel structure, which correlates the whole sentence with a sense of balance and symmetry.
The unity of the tense forms, namely, present and past, makes for the expression of the author’s idea of continuity and change, the author tries to put us into the context and time of the text.
The pronoun “it” serves as a means of secondary nomination, which is semantically related to and grammatically connected with the noun it replaces through another means of grammatical cohesion, namely agreement in number and gender. This unity of tense forms and grammatical cohesion allows for the seamless expression of the author's ideas and helps to convey the concept of continuity and change within the text.
This grammatical means of cohesion substitutes for its antecedent allowing for smoother and more concise communication. Additionally, this grammatical cohesion helps to clarify the relationships between different elements of the text, ensuring that the reader can easily follow the author's train of thought.
Morphological level
Speaking about morphological peculiarities of the present text we can find different parts of speech with the reference to the situation described:
Let’s have a close look at the verbs. As it is a narration the majority of verbs are used in the Past Indefinite (“the cracked bell of the small church began to ring”, “the minister prayed”, “Tom remembered”, “a vagrant poodle dog came”, etc.). They express a succession of actions.
In the description of actions at the church the author uses adverbial participles (“calmly rubbing its hands”, “ embracing its head”, “scraping its wings”, “taking care”, “tittering and whispering”, “sighing”, “jumping”, “lighting”, “making”, “jerking”). It helps to characterize the characters and their actions.
When the author explains us the actions of the main characters, he also uses verbs in the Past Perfect form (“had seen”, “a fly had lit”, “the sermon had come”). They are used to sum up a situation.
As for the voice forms, the author uses mostly active voice (“the bell rang once more”, “a solemn hush fell upon the church”, “The dog looked foolish”), except few cases of passive forms (“Tom being placed”, “The congregation being”, “all possibility of impressiveness being at an end”). However, the majority of the passage is in active voice, portraying events and actions that are clearly and directly attributed to their subjects. They show the speaker’s attitude towards the actions or states indicated by the infinitive.
The use of modal verbs presents special interest for us, e.g. “they might be as far away from the open window”, “his soul would be destroyed”, and “the dog should play”. They show the speaker’s attitude towards the actions or states indicated by the infinitive.
The ample use of pronouns “he,” “it,” “his” in the opening sentence and the next two paragraphs produces an effect of focusing the narrative on the individual characters and their actions and experiences. This creates a sense of specificity and personalization within the storytelling, allowing the reader to connect with the characters and follow their interactions more closely. The repeated use of pronouns also contributes to the flow of the text, lending a natural conversational tone to the storytelling.
Though the manner of narration is objectively neutral, still it is possible to say that the author condemns the situation. We can come to such a conclusion analyzing the vocabulary.
There are the following indications in the syntax.
Alongside with “congregation” and “sermon”, the word “choir” is also repeated. Its semantic movement in the story shows a sense of tension and conflict within the congregation. It should be mentioned that these repetitions are significant for the understanding of the author’s viewpoint.
To show a succession of actions, to draw the general line of the events the author uses the Past Indefinite tense. Analyzing the text on the morphological level I’d like to mention that the main tense form used in the narration is the Past Indefinite tense, the mood – indicative in the majority of cases.
Lexical level
The domineering feature of the text under consideration is humor. We can trace it on lexical, morphological and syntactic levels. First of all let’s dwell upon the most prominent lexical peculiarities of the text. It would ne natural to single out the following thematic groups:
Nouns denoting social groups and professions: postmaster, mayor and his wife, the justice of the peace, widow Douglas, Major and Mrs. Ward, the belle of the village, young heart-breakers, young clerks, the model boy, Willie Mufferson with his mother, matrons, minister, choir show the social state of the main characters;
Members of the family: Aunt Polly, Tom, Sid, Mary show the relations between them;
Nouns denoting religious things: a small church, a cracked bell, morning sermon, aisles, prayer, congregation, choir, to pray, to plead, divine service, ordeal, “Amen”, spirit, soul show that the text is related to religious topics;
Animals: fly, pinchbug, poodle, beetle, dog, ant, tail, forepaws, paws, head, chin, nose, stomach, heart, jaws, eyes show the humorous side of a serious text;
Adjectives and adverbs: cracked, small, aged, needy, fair, smart, generous, good-hearted, well-to-do, bent, respectable, young, good, solemn, poor, stormy, calm, safe, delicious, gentle show the emotional and social state of the heroes;
Verbs of motion: began, follow, come, bring, ring, fall, whisper, pray, embrace, go, catch, curve, steal forward, let go, go flying, walk around, lay down, descend, go to the beetle, jump, to grow tired, fling show the progress of actions;
Abstract nouns: Generosity, Good-heartedness, Solitude, Peace, Happiness, Resentment, Revenge show qualities, states, actions, other abstract ideas, emotions, beliefs, or characteristics;
Numerals: “half-past ten”, “forty”;
Adjectives: cracked – describing the bell; small – describing the church; aged and needy – describing the postmaster; fair, smart, and forty – describing the widow Douglas; young – describing heart-breakers; large, formidable – describing the beetle; sad, lazy, quiet, weary – describing the poodle dog;
Adverbs: presently – describing the timing of people gathering; fully – describing the congregation being assembled; tranquilly – describing the behavior of the fly; accidentally – describing the hanging of the handkerchief; immediately – describing the action of catching the fly; vehemently – describing the assault on the beetle.
Special emphasis should be laid on the lexical SD and EM. They are:
Epithets (good-hearted, formidable jaws, helpless legs, vagrant poodle dog, inward joy, a wild yelp, a genuine relief, marring thought) shows the author’s attitude;
Metaphors (sad at heart, surveyed the prize, lay down on his stomach, continued his experiments, his chin descended and touched the enemy) mount tension;
Similes (“as it cut glass”, “as snobs”, “as tranquilly as if…”) – one of the means of character drawing;
Polysyndeton (“and Tom, and Sid, and Mary”, “for the other churches of the village, for the village itself, for the country, for the State, for the State officers, for the United States, for the President, etc.) gives readers additional details.
All these SD are also used to create the atmosphere of humor and laughter.
Syntactical level
As far as the syntactical peculiarities of the text are concerned it should be stressed that we first of all encounter the use of such communicative type of sentences as statements. The statements make the events more truthful (“The crowd filed up the aisles”, “And now the minister prayed”, “Presently Tom remembered a treasure he had and got it out”).
As for the simplicity of the structure of the sentences, the author uses mostly simple sentences (“It was a large black beetle with formidable jaws”, “Presently a vagrant poodle dog came idling along”, “Tom Sawyer went home quite cheerful”).
As for the complexity of the structure of the sentences in the narration, complex sentences are used (“In the midst of the prayer, a fly had lit on the back of the pew in front of him, and tortured his spirit by calmly rubbing its hands together, embracing its head with its arms, and scraping its wings with its hind legs”, “At last the sufferer sprang into its master’s lap; he flung it out of the window, and the voice of distress quickly thinned away and died in the distance”, “He had but one marring thought; he was willing that the dog should play with his pinch bug, but he did not think it was fair of him to carry it off”).
As well the compound sentences also used (“Aunt Polly came, and Tom, and Sid, and Mary sat with her”, “His white handkerchief was hanging out of his pocket behind, as usual on Sundays, accidentally”, “The crowd filed up the aisles, and the aged and needy postmaster, who had seen better days”, “The neighboring spectators shook with a gentle inward joy, several faces went behind fans and handkerchiefs, and Tom was entirely happy”).
Special emphasis should be laid on the use of syntactic SD and EM. They are:
Repetitions (“for the Church and the little children of the Church; for the other churches of the village”, “for the State; for the State officers; for the
United States”, “her ears closer and closer”);
Enumerations (“the aged and needy postmaster, the mayor, the justice of the peace, the widow Douglas, the bent and respectable Major and Mrs. Ward, the belle of the village, the young clerks, the model boy”, “for the Church; for the other churches; for the village; for the country; for the State; for the State officers, etc.)
Polysyndeton shows down the actions (“for the Church and the little children of the Church; for the other churches of the village; for the village itself; for the country; for the State; for the State officers; for the United States; for the President; for the officers of the Government; and for poor sailors”).
These syntactic SD and EM also help to create the atmosphere of suspense.
To draw a conclusion it is essential to point out that the author’s main concern is to state that even the quiet, calm and ordinary sermon can turn into a place for the most unexpected, funny and interesting events.
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