Étude du texte de Frank McCourt au bac anglais

Le texte est disponible dans votre livre d'anglais ( insight ) à la page 122.

1 : What literary genre does this passage belong to ? Justify your answer in your own words.

This a first person narrative, an autobiographical narrative, a memoir since the narrator and the author are the same person and as the title reads « memoirs of a childhood ».

2 : In which country does the scene take place ? Justify by quoting an element from the text.

It takes place ( or is set ) in Ireland. Indeed, the narrator refers to ''O Connel Street'' and ''Limerick'' ( line 30 ).

3 : Pick out the following information about the main character : name, age, occupation, the town he lives in.

The main character, Frank McCourt is a fourteen-year-old telegram boy who lives in Limerick.

4 : What particular event occurs in the first paragraph ?

He gets his first salary ( or wages, pay-day ).

5 : How does this event make the narrator feel ? How does it affect his projects : in the short term ? In the long term ?

He gets his first salary, therefore, it makes him feel proud like an adult. He feels happy, excited, elated, exhilarated ( euphorique – fou de joie ).

In the short term, he can afford to go to the Savoy Cinema and he can eat and drink whatever he fancies. In the long term, he wants to save and spare money so as to ( afin de ) fulfil ( réaliser ) his dream, that ( c'est-à-dire ) is to go to America.

6 : « I walk up one side of O'Connell Street and down the other and hope they'll notice me ». ( line 5 ) : Who does « they » refer to in this sentence ? Explain, why he wants them to notice him.

He walk up and down the street because he wants all the other workers to know he's like them. He wants to boast ( se vanter = show off ) about his one-pound note ( billet ). Actually ( en effet ), he is restless ( il ne tient pas en place ).

7 : Focus on the second paragraph. Compare and contrast the way poor and rich people spend their evenings out.

Unlike the lower classes who go to the cheaper ( moins cher ) cinema to see popular films, the well-off go to the more expensive Savoy. Contrary to the destitute who eat fish and chips, the well to do can afford tea and buns. The haves watch musicals quietly whereas the have-nots can't stay quiet.

8 : Yankee Doodle Dandy ( line 22 ) : What genre does the film Yankee Doodle Dandy belong to ? Justify by quoting from the text : a musical ? A thriller ? A western ? To what extent ( dans quelle mesure ) this film influence the image the two characters have of America ?

It's a musical comedy ( line 22 ). They are fooled into ( ils sont amenés à croire ) believing that america is a dreamland where people are happy all the time and keep singing and dancing. Actually ( en réalité ), this a far cry from the hardships that await ( attendre ) emmigrants and it shows how gullible ( naïf ) they are.

9 : In the last paragraph, the word « tip » is used four times. Why does the main character keep thinking about these tips ?

He now wants to spare money to go to America and he has obviously understood that he will never save enough from his weekly pound. Therefore, he needs as many tips as he can get if he wants to make his dream come true. Every tip he gets will bring him closer to America, that's why he is so obsessed with getting tips.

10 : When he delivers his telegrams, how do maids and clerks treat him ? Given their social status, how would he expect hem to react and why ? ( 50 words )

He would expect them to treat him as an equal, to be more respectful, grateful or thankful to him because the actually belong to the same social class as he does. Instead, they behave as if he were inferior and are even rude ( même grossier ) to him. They despise ( or scorn, look down on = méprise ) him.

TRADUCTION : Translate from line 24 ( « Michael says it must be great to be in America ... » ) to line 32.

Après le film, nous buvions du thé et de la brioche et avons chanté et dansé de la même manière que Cagney sur tout le chemin qui menait aux Abbots. Michael dit que cela devait être merveilleux d'être en Amérique où les gens n'ont rien d'autres à faire que de chanter et danser. Il était à moitié endormi mais il dit qu'il irait là-bas un jour pour chanter et danser et est-ce que je serais d'accord pour l'aider à partir ; ce pourquoi quand il fût endormi, je me mis à réfléchir sur l'Amérique et sur la manière dont je pourrais économiser suffisamment d'argent pour mon billet au lieu de tout gaspiller en fish and chips ou en thé et brioche. Je devais mettre de côté quelques shillings de mon pound pour éviter de rester à Limerick à jamais. J'ai en ce moment 14 ans et si je parviens à en épargner chaque semaine suffisamment, probablement que je pourrais me rendre en Amérique lorsque j'aurais 20 ans.

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