AS NOUN POST-MODIFIERS IN DOYLE’S
SILVER BLAZE
AND
THE ADVENTURE OF THE SUSSEX VAMPIRE:
THEIR PATTERNS AND EFFECTS
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
SIEGFRIEDA ALBERTI SHINTA MURSITA PUTRI Student Number: 03 4214 011
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA 2007
I t is better to hear and think something bad...
B ut success will fly away...
S omething is great because we think it will be the greatest...
I t is hard to hear and think something good...
And success is in your hands...
( A paraphrase from D avid J . S chwartz)
Luck doesn t last for ever, because it doesn t depend on you. W e cr eate our Good For tune, that s why it lasts f or ever .
M any people want Good For tune, But only few who give effor t to achieve it.
(Alex Rovir a and Fer nando Tr ias de Bes)
L et your hope keep you joyful,
B e pati ent i n your troubles,
And pray at all ti mes.
( Romans 12:12)
For my great parents, T atik & M ursito,
For my beloved sisters, V ita & Olla,
For my lovely f riends and f or my boyf riend, Bayu,
For my f avorite actor: Orlando Bloom
A nd f or S anata Dharma University.
I would like to thank people who have been supporting me in doing this thesis. I am deeply thankful to JESUS CHRIST who has always been my Companion especially in hard times during my study and during my thesis writing, for HIS protection and light which has led my way into a wonderful one.
I give thanks to my advisor, Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M. Pd., M. A., who has guided me in thesis writing since Writing VI class and been helpful in giving counsel for me in finishing this thesis, and toJ. Harris H. Setiajid, S. S., M. Hum. as my co-advisor, who has given several essential inputs for this thesis.
My deep grateful thanks go to my beloved dad and mom: Papa Brewok
Ignatius Mursito and Tacik eNdut Laurentia Hertatik, who are always being patient and praying for my success and giving their best effort for my future. To my sisters Elfrieda Ignatine YaninaVITA M. P. Jelitheng and KarOLLA Leonarda Maria M. P.Prego, who always care about me.
I give special thanks tombak Ninik and to English Letters Teaching Staff, who have been my friends and co-parents and give me guidance in developing my skills. And also to mbak Dewo, mas Nur, mas Paryo, mas Moko, mbak Alice, Ika Ernawati and EEC Teaching Staff, who have been my friends in my part-time job.
My special thanks also goes to my best friends who are always a friend in need: Prita, Ajeng, Tyas, Renzzie, Widhy, Yeri, Jhony, Danang, Hana, Ronald, Jonathan, Cindy, Toi-toi and friends in academic year of 2003; Tartuffified People in ‘TARTUFFE’: Gideon, Poppy, Lusi, mas Dhika, Tiara,
Jody and mas Galang; Dahlia Girls in my boarding house: Adin, Devie, Emy, Wina, Rika, mbak Ana and mbak Ncil; confused and puzzled friends in internship: Ika, Gracia and Putri; friends in YaPoRa:mas Kusen, mbak Sani, Judith, Isabel, mas Yusup, mbak Ninol, mbak Tri, mas Muklas, mas Yosi, mas item, mas Hersum and Boedi; String Movie Crews: Seny, Uke, Rizky, Tony, Edwardand Nanang; my basketball teammate:Oning, Evie, Tien, Pippi, Astu, Astri, Ajenx, Topa, Ale, NyoNyo, Nyoman and Vicky; and my boyfriend’s friends: mas Heri Gondez, mas I’is, Simbah,and mas Tri J’ndol. They all have given me great memories, motivation, spirit and I learn a lot from our friendship.
Thanks also to my favorite actors and musicians Orlando Bloom, Takuya Kimura and Backstreet Boys, who always decorate my desktop background to spirit me.
Special thanks toBayu Widhi Astono, who has been my friend, my support and motivation. May JESUS always be with him.Dangsinul saranghee yo. ^_^
Siegfrieda Alberti Shinta M. P.
TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGE... ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE... iii
MOTTO PAGE ... iv
DEDICATION PAGE... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS... viii
ABSTRACT... xi
ABSTRAK... xii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION... 1
A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... 5
C. Objectives of the Study ... 5
D. Benefit of the Study ... 5
E. Definition of Terms ... 6
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE A. Review of Related Studies ... 8
1. A Study of English Relative Clauses in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue... 8
2. Conan Doyle’s Works Readability ... 9
B. Review of Related Theories ... 13
1. Complex Noun Phrase ... 13
a. Head ... 14
b. The Pre-modifier ... 14
c. The Post-modifier ... 15
2. The Explicitness of Post-modification ... 16
3. Prepositional Phrase as Post-modifier... 17
4. Relative Clauses ... 20
a. Non-Finite Relative Clauses ... 21
i) –ing Relative Clauses ... 21
ii) –ed Relative Clauses ... 22
iii) to- infinitive Relative Clauses ... 22
b. Finite Relative Clauses ... 23
c. Restrictive Relative Clauses ... 23
d. Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses ... 24
5. The Effects of Prepositional Phrase and Relative Clauses as Post-modifier ... 24
a. Giving more Distinctive Explanation about an Object ... 25
b. Avoiding Discontinuity and Ambiguity ... 25
c. Maximizing the Explicitness ... 26
Stories ... 27
a. Situation ... 27
b. Pattern of Action ... 28
c. Characters and Relationships ... 28
d. Setting ... 28
C. Review ofSilver Blaze andThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire 30 1. Silver Blaze ... 30
2. The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire ... 30
D. Theoretical Framework ... 31
a. Identifying the Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses 37 i) Analyze the Patterns ... 37
ii) The Proportion of Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses inSilver Blaze andThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire…... 38
b. Finding the Effects by the use of Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses as Post-modifier …... 38
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS A. The Proportion of Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses in Silver BlazeandThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire... 40
1. Noun Phrase Post-modified by Prepositional Phrase ... 42
a. Noun Phrase + prepositional phrase ... 43
b. (Noun Phrase + prepositional phrase) modified by relative clause ... 44
c. (Noun Phrase + prepositional phrase) modified by relative clause with (noun phrase + prepositional phrase) in it ... 47
d. (Noun Phrase + preposition) modifying (noun phrase + prepositional phrase) ... 50
e. ((Noun Phrase + prepositional phrase) + preposition) modified by (noun phrase + prepositional phrase) ... 52
f. Noun Phrase post-modified by coordinated prepositional phrases... 53
2. Noun Phrase Post-modified by Relative Clause ... 54
a. Noun Phrase + relative clause ... 55
b. Noun Phrase modified by relative clause with NP + PP in it ... 56
+ relative clause ... 59
3. The Proportion ... 61
B. The Effects Achieved by the use of Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses as Post-modifier ... 65
1. Giving more distinctive or specific or descriptive explanation about an object so that it limits to certain extent 66 2. Avoiding discontinuity or ambiguity ... 66
3. Maximizing the explicitness ... 67
4. Supplying essential and or additional information ... 67
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION…... 72
BIBLIOGRAPHY…... 75
APPENDICES Appendix 1 Noun Phrases with Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses as Post-Modifier inSilver Blaze... 77
Appendix 2 Noun Phrases with Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses as Post-Modifier inThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire... 94
SIEGFRIEDA ALBERTI SHINTA MURSITA PUTRI. Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses as Noun Post-Modifiers in Doyle’s Silver Blaze andThe Adventure Of The Sussex Vampire: Their Patterns and Effects. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2007.
The noun phrase is one of the commonest phrases used in a writing. It is composed of three parts: head, pre-modifier and post-modifier. Noun phrase may have a minimal or complex form: the head itself can stand alone as the noun phrase or the head is modified by some modifiers. As a result, the sentence might be boring or too difficult to follow as it has simple or complex structure. Modifiers can give clearer object from the noun modified. Therefore, it is considered that if a noun phrase has more modifiers it will give clearer object. Two modifiers in noun phrases are: pre-modifier and post-modifier. Post-modifier occurs after the head. The major post-modifiers are relative clauses, non-finite clauses and prepositional phrases. Those modifiers can give descriptive explanation of the situation, crime and object, which is obligatory in creating a detective story. One author who writes a detective story is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In Silver Blazeand The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire Doyle showed his ability in creating stories using complex noun phrases.
This thesis has two objectives. The first objective is to find out the proportion of prepositional phrases and relative clauses as post-modifier in the short stories. The second objective is to find out the effects achieved by the use of prepositional phrases and relative clauses as post-modifier in Doyle’s Silver Blaze and The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.
To achieve the two objectives, an empirical study has been conducted. First, the data were collected and then analyzed to find their patterns and effects achieved. There were more than 600 noun phrases with prepositional phrases and relative clauses as their post-modifier found in the two stories.
The proportion of prepositional phrases as post-modifier is more frequent than relative clauses as post-modifier. Finite restrictive relatives clause also dominate the two short stories as they provide essential information and more explicit. The prepositional phrases and relative clauses as post-modifier that occurred showed the effects achieved by the use of such post-modifier in each pattern of action in detective stories. The effect most achieved by the use of a prepositional phrase and a relative clause as post-modifiers is to give more distinctive or specific explanation about an object so that it limits to certain extent. Besides, giving essential and additional information also dominates the stories. Those are indispensable in building detective stories because the author has to facilitate the other characters in the stories and the reader the detection process. The two other effects, avoiding discontinuity and ambiguity and maximizing the explicitness are needed in supporting the detection process in order to make the solution of the mystery is comprehensible.
SIEGFRIEDA ALBERTI SHINTA MURSITA PUTRI. Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses as Noun Post-Modifiers in Doyle’s Silver Blaze andThe Adventure Of The Sussex Vampire: Their Patterns and Effects. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2007.
Frasa nominal merupakan salah satu frasa yang paling sering digunakan dalam sebuah penulisan. Frasa nominal terdiri atas tiga bagian: kata utama,pre-modifier, dan post-modifier. Frasa nominal bisa mempunyai struktur yang sederhana atau kompleks: kata utama dapat berdiri sendiri sebagai frasa nominal itu sendiri atau kata utama yang dimodifikasi dengan beberapa atribut. Hasilnya, suatu kalimat bisa saja jadi membosankan atau terlalu sulit untuk dibaca karena mempunyai struktur kalimat yang sederhana atau kompleks. Atribut dapat memberikan gambaran dengan lebih jelas. Maka, dapat dikatakan bahwa jika suatu frasa nominal memiliki lebih banyak atribut akan memberikan gambaran yang lebih jelas. Dua atribut dalam frasa nominal adalah: pre-modifier dan post-modifier.
Post-modifier ada setelah kata utama frasa nominal. Post-modifier yang paling sering digunakan yaitu klausa adjektiva, klausa tidak terdefinisi dan frasa preposisi. Atribut-atribut tersebut dapat memberikan penjelasan yang deskriptif mengenai situasi, kriminal dan suatu objek, yang merupakan keharusan dalam membuat cerita detektif. Salah satu penulis yang menulis cerita detektif adalah Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Dalam karyanya Silver Blaze dan The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire Doyle menunjukkan kemampuannya dalam membangun cerita dengan frasa nominal yang kompleks.
Skripsi ini memiliki dua tujuan. Tujuan yang pertama adalah mencari jumlah frasa preposisi dan klausa adjektiva sebagai post-modifier dalam kedua cerita pendek tersebut. Tujuan yang kedua adalah menemukan efek yang dicapai akibat penggunaan frasa preposisi dan klausa adjektiva sebagai post-modifier dalam karyanyaSilver BlazedanThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.
Untuk mencapai kedua tujuan tadi, penelitian ini menggunakan metoda empiris. Pertama, data dikumpulkan lalu dianalisa untuk menemukan pola-pola kalimatnya dan efek yang dicapai. Ada lebih dari 600 frasa nominal dengan frasa preposisi dan klausa adjektiva sebagai post-modifier dalam kedua cerita pendek tersebut.
Jumlah frasa nominal dengan frasa preposisi sebagai post-modifier lebih banyak muncul dibandingkan dengan klausa adjektiva sebagai post-modifier. Klausa adjektiva terdefinisi dan bersifat membatasi mendominasi kedua cerita pendek tersebut karena klausa tersebut memberikan informasi yang diperlukan dan lebih eksplisit. Frasa preposisi dan klausa adjektiva sebagai post-modifier
yang ada menunjukkan effek yang dicapai akibat penggunaan frasa preposisi dan klausa adjektiva sebagai post-modifier dalam setiap pola aksi dalam cerita-cerita detektif. Efek yang paling banyak dicapai dari penggunaan frasa preposisi dan klausa adjektiva sebagai post-modifier adalah memberi penjelasan yang khusus atau spesifik mengenai sebuah objek sehingga mengacu pada tingkat tertentu. Selain itu, memberikan informasi yang diperlukan dan informasi tambahan juga
dalam menulis cerita detektif karena si penulis harus membantu karakter-karakter lain dalam cerita dan pembaca dalam proses deteksi. Dua efek lainnya, yaitu mencegah keambiguan dan memaksimalkan keeksplisitan dibutuhkan untuk mendukung proses deteksi sehingga penyelesaian misteri dalam cerita detektif tersebut dapat dipahami.
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. According to Aitchison (1978:29), the use of language began because men needed a greater degree of co-operation with each other in order to survive. People use language to communicate each other in a society, to express their feelings or emotions or interjection, to exchange information and to develop interpersonal relationship. People use language not only in spoken communication, but also in written forms, such as in newspapers, novels, poems and drama. Authors and poets use language to express their thought and transfer them in poems, dramas and novels.
Syntax is one of linguistic branch studies. It studies the structure of phrases and sentences structured. Written language consists of paragraphs which are built by sentences. Here, the role of syntax is important, in helping to understand a text and in creating a good story. A text, whether it is easy to read or not, will be understood if the reader has a thorough knowledge about syntax by analyzing the structure of the elements in sentences. The understanding of syntax also will help in creating a good story or text by combining the elements of the sentences. In building up the good and correct sentences, phrases are significant. One phrase which is often used in a written language is noun phrase.
A noun phrase is a phrase whose head is a noun. It may be composed of three parts: head, pre-modification, and post-modification. A noun phrase may have a minimal or complex form: the head itself can stand alone as the noun phrase or the head is modified by some modifiers. As a result, the sentence might be boring or too difficult to follow as it has simple or complex structure. According toThe New Oxford Dictionary of English, modifier is a word that restricts or adds to the sense of a head noun. Baker defines modifier as a word or construction that tells more about the thing modified (1989:233). In other words, modifiers can give clearer object from the noun modified. Therefore, if a noun phrase has more modifiers it will give clearer object.
There are two modifications in noun phrases: pre-modification and post-modification. Post-modification occurs after the head. They are relative clauses, non-finite clauses and prepositional phrases. And if it is possible adjective phrase or an adverb phrase can occur as a post-modifier in a noun phrase (Jackson, 1982:69). The most common post-modifier used are prepositional phrase and relative clause. Prepositional phrases have several main grammatical functions: as adverbial, as verb complement, as complement of an adjective and as modifier in a noun phrase (Leech and Svartvik, 1994:351-352). Unlike prepositional phrase, relative clause has only one main grammatical function, it is to modify a noun phrase (Leech and Svartvik, 1994:367).
involved and elucidate its unsolved mystery. (Cawelti, 1976:80-97). Therefore, clear explanation of an object is obligatory in creating a detective story, as the reader has to imagine the object and the situation by themselves. It is to make the whole story is comprehensible. As a result, authors have to use many noun modifiers in giving vivid explanation of an object to avoid ambiguity. One author who writes detective stories is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose creation is the eccentric Sherlock Holmes.
Doyle’s short stories of Sherlock Holmes are collected into five volumes:The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, His Last Bow and The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes. (www.sherlockian.net – 12 March 2006). There are also novels about Sherlock Holmes excluded from those volumes, but stand as novels. They are A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, The Hound of Baskervillesand The Valley of Fear.
began to appear in Strand Magazine. After Doyle killed the main character, Sherlock Holmes, in The Final Problem – the last story of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, twenty thousand readers cancelled their subscription to The StrandMagazine. Therefore Doyle resurrected Holmes in the next story. In 1929, Doyle was diagnosed withAngina pectoris and he died on 7 July 1930 surrounded by his family.
Doyle has a certain characteristic in writing. He is able to combine compound and complex sentences in one sentence. It means that he used more than one phrases in a sentence. This complex structure of noun phrases might lead to difficulty in reading his works. The examples of his complex noun phrase can be found inSilver BlazeandThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire. Those two stories are chosen to see how prepositional phrase and relative clause as post-modifier influence the readability in those two stories. Silver Blazeis taken from volumes whose reading ease score is the lowest and The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
is taken from volumes whose reading ease score is the highest (Pasquale Accardo, as quoted by L. J. Hurst in “How Readable is Science Fiction”).
B. Problem Formulation
In discussing the use of noun phrases in the two short stories, this study tries to answer these questions:
1. What is the proportion of prepositional phrase post-modification and that with relative clause in Doyle’s Silver Blaze and The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire?
2. What are the effects achieved by the use of those prepositional phrase and relative clause as post-modifier in the two stories?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on the problems aforementioned, this study has two objectives. They are to identify the proportion of noun phrases with prepositional phrase and relative clause post-modification in Silver Blaze and in The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire. After that, based on the findings, the writer will find out the effects achieved by the use of prepositional phrases and relative clauses as post modifier in Doyle’s work.
D. Benefits of the Study
prepositional phrase and relative clause as post-modifier in detective stories. Besides, this study also shows the significance of language, in this case prepositional phrase and relative clause, in building detective stories.
E. Definition of Terms
In discussing the problems, there are some terms used. They are as follows: 1. Noun Phrase
Jackson defined noun phrase as a phrase which has a noun as its head (1982:66). Leech and Svartvik stated that a noun phrase is called a noun phrase because the word which is its head (i.e. main part) is typically a noun (1994:315). Examples of noun phrases arethat old CAR in the drive andthe MAN whose car was stolen. Detailed definition of noun phrase will be discussed in the next chapter.
2. Post-modifier
Greenbaum and Quirk stated post-modifier is one element of three elements in noun phrase. Post-modification is defined as all modifiers placed after the head (1997:363-364). In that old CAR in the drive, CAR, which is the head, is modified by post-modifier in the drive. While inthe MAN whose car was stolen, the post-modifier iswhose car was stolen, it modifiesMAN.
3. Relative Clause
phrase the MAN who came here yesterday, the relative clause iswho came here yesterday, who is the relative pronoun which refers back to MAN, which is the head (Jackson, 1982:69).
4. Prepositional Phrase
Leech and Svartvik state that prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed by a prepositional complement (1994:351). Example of prepositional phrase as post-modifier is the MAN in the queue on the boat, wherein the queue on the boatis post-modifier ofMAN, andon the boat is post-modifier ofqueue. 5. Modifiers
According to Baker inEnglish Syntax modifier is a word or a construction that tells more about the thing modified (1989:233). Jackson in Grammar and Meaning mentioned that the class of items which realise meanings associated with the classification and description of participants is called modifiers (1990:125). One example is Gregory knows a pianist who lives in Boston, where a pianist
denotes the entire sets and is restricted by modifierwho lives in Boston. Therefore, modifierwho lives in Boston gives more information abouta pianist, furthermore, it restricts to a more specific thing.
6. Classical Detective Story
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Chapter II contains four parts, Review of Related Studies, Review of Related Theories, Review of Silver Blaze and The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire and Theoretical Framework. Review of Related Studies presents previous studies about relative clauses and readability on Doyle’s work. Review of Related Theories presents some theories which are applied in the analysis. Review of
Silver Blaze and The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire presents the information about the two stories. The last part is Theoretical Framework, which will cover the importance of the theories mentioned in answering the problem formulations. This study aims to find the effects achieved by the use of prepositional phrase and relative clause as a post-modifier in his works.
A. Review of Related Studies
1. A Study of English Relative Clauses in Edgar Allan Poe’sThe Murders in the Rue Morgue
Prasthiwi analyzed the use of relative clause in a detective story:The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe (thesis, 2006). The problems discussed are: (1) What types of relative clause are used inThe Murders in the Rue Morgue? and (2) What are the functions of relative clauses in the story? The method she used was collecting data and analyzing them.
Referring to the first problem, she mentioned the proportion of relative clauses in the story which are as shown in the table 2.1. And in table 2.2 she shows the proportion of restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses:
No. Relative Clause Occurrence Percentage
1. Restrictive relative clauses 129 67.18%
2. Non-restrictive relative clauses 63 32.82%
3. Sentential relative clause 0 0
Table 2.1 Proportion of Relative Clause in Edgar Allan Poe’sThe Murders in the Rue Morgue (Prasthiwi’s Thesis, 2006)
No. Relative Clause Occurrence Percentage
4. Finite restrictive relative clauses 93 47.45% 5. Non-finite restrictive relative clauses 36 18.37% 6. Finite non-restrictive relative clauses 44 22.45% 7. Non-finite non-restrictive relative clauses 19 9.69%
8. Zero relative clauses 4 2.04%
Table 2.2 Proportion of Restrictive and non-Restrictive Relative Clauses in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue (Prasthiwi’s Thesis, 2006)
The second problem was about the functions of the relative clauses in the story. Edgar Allan Poe uses more restrictive relative clauses than non-restrictive relative clauses in the story. The occurrences of these types of relative clause are significant in building a detective story. It provides detailed information, serve additional information, and combine ideas.
2. Conan Doyle’s Works Readability
Pasquale Accardo, as quoted by L. J. Hurst in “How Readable is Science Fiction” (http://www.rbd26.dial.pipex.com/readable.htm - 24 September 2006), gives an analysis of all the Sherlock Holmes stories and novels in his book
SL SYLL RE The Speckled Band 15.4 131.4 76
Silver Blaze 24.0 145.8 57
Wisteria Lodge 11.6 133.8 80
Hound of the Baskervilles 15.4 135.0 74 average for the canon, 15.1 137.0 73.1 Table 2.3 Readability of Sherlock Holmes Stories
Source: http://www.rbd26.dial. pipex.com/readable.htm
Accardo also gives the readability averages for the five collections of Sherlock Holmes stories. The results are as seen in table 2.4:
SL SYLL RE
Memoirs 17.1 137.3 70.8
Casebook 12.2 134.4 78.1
Table 2.4 Readability of Two Volumes of Sherlock Holmes Stories Source: http://www.rbd26.dial. pipex.com/readable.htm
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, the second volume, has the lowest average. This means that this volume is quite difficult to read. While The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes, the last volume, has the highest average. This means that the volume is quite easy to read. Therefore, if see the average of the canon as seen in
table 2.4, it will be supposed that the stories of Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle are considered not very easy to read.
a. The more syllables in a word, the harder it is to read and understand that word. b. The more words in a sentence, the harder it is to read and understand.
From those principles, it means the wordestablish is easier to understand than
antidisestablishmentarianism sinceestablish has three syllables and the latter has twelve syllables. Then a sentence like I want to eat a salmon will be easier to understand than There was but one problem before the public which could challenge his powers of analysis, and that was the singular disappearance of the favourite for the Wessex Cup, and the tragic murder of its trainer since the first sentence has six words and the latter contains more than ten words.
“Caslon Analytics Profile: online readability” (http://www.caslon.com.au/ readabilityprofile1 - 5 October 2006) explains about readability. Readability embraces four points, they are:
a. Content
Content covers interest and conceptual density. Keith Rayner & Alexander Pollatsek note in The Psychology of Readingthat users will read at a higher level than normal if interested in the subject matter. Conceptual density means too many new concepts or excessive condensation tend to frighten readers. A text with too many new concepts or too much description will bore the reader. As a result, the readability of the text will be low.
b. Expressions
bore the reader. Short sentences and reinforcement of ideas help people to read at higher levels.
c. Layout
Crisp sentences, short paragraphs and subheadings are helpful in scanning. As a result, the readability will be high, which means easy to read.
d. Typography
Empirical studies suggest that some fonts are easier to read than others. There are some fonts which are difficult to read, this causes the reader will not interested to read the text.
As aforementioned, the readability of a text can be easily calculated with a formula. Flesch calculated Ease of Reading with the formula as follows:
RE = 206.835 – (SYLL x 0.846) – (SL x 1.015)
SYLL = the number of syllables per 100 words of the text
SL = the average sentence length (of words in the text divided by number of full stops)
B. Review of Related Theories 1. Complex Noun Phrase
A noun phrase is called a noun phrase because the word which is its main part is a noun (Leech and Svartvik, 1994:315). A sentence may be complex, and so may the noun phrase. Greenbaum and Quirk in A Student’s Grammar of the English Language give an example a simple sentence with a very complex noun phrase as subject (1997:363) in (1):
(1) That tall GIRL standing in the corner who became angry because you waved to her when you enteredis Angela Hunt.
The sentence is easy to understand if the subject is parsed as in (2a) – (2e): (2a) That girl is Angela Hunt.
(2b) That girl is tall.
(2c) That girl was standing in the corner. (2d) You waved to that girl when you entered.
(2e) That girl became angry because you waved to her.
(Greenbaum and Quirk, 1997:363) It is hard to understand the noun phrase subject of (1) unless we can recognize its component parts as set out in (2).
a. Head
The head is around which the other components cluster and which dictates concord and other kinds of congruence with the rest of the sentence outside the noun phrase (Greenbaum and Quirk, 1997:363). According to Jackson in
Analyzing English, the head is obligatory. The head is the minimal requirement for the occurrence of a noun phrase. The head of a noun phrase is a noun, and may be a pronoun and personal pronoun. Because the other two parts, pre-modifier and post-modifier, are optionally occurring, it is possible that there is a minimal noun phrase, which consists of a noun itself as the head without any other elements (1982:66). For example,car,Sherlock Holmes andhe are minimal noun phrases, because they consist of a noun as the head without any other modifiers.
b. The pre-modifier
Pre-modifiers are all items placed before the head (Greenbaum and Quirk, 1997:364). According to Jackson (1982:67), a pre-modification consists of a number of word classes or sub-classes in a specific order: identifier – numeral or quantifier – adjective – noun modifier. The identifiers include articles (a, the), demonstratives (this, that) and possessives (my, your, his, etc.). Numeral and quantifier that occurs in noun phrase are function as an attribute or as specifiers. Greenbaum and Quirk (1997:383) give some pre-modifying items, they are adjective, participle, -s genitive, noun, adverbial and sentence. Those are seen in order as below
(4) I visitedhis completed COTTAGE. (5) I visitedhis fisherman’s COTTAGE. (6) I visitedhis countryCOTTAGE. (7) I visitedhis far-away COTTAGE.
(8) I visitedhis pop-down-for-the-weekend COTTAGE.
(Greenbaum and Quirk, 1997:383)
c. The post-modifier
The last element of noun phrase is post-modification. Post-modification are all items placed after the head. Greenbaum and Quirk (1997:364) mentioned three major post-modifiers. They are prepositional phrases, non-finite clauses and relative clauses. Prepositional phrase and relative clause will be explained further in points three and four of this chapter. There are also minor types of post-modification, they are adverb phrases, postposed adjectives and postposed ‘mode’ qualifiers (1997:379). Examples of minor types of post-modification are below
(9) The ROAD back was dense with traffic. (10) SOMETHING strange happened last night. (11) LOBSTER Newburg is difficult to prepare.
modification given is additional information and not essential (Greenbaum and Quirk, 1997:364). The difference can be seen from the examples below:
(12) The BOY who is playing the pianois Josh Groban. (13) He got lost onSNOWDON,which he was exploring.
From the examples, (12) is restrictive whereas (13) is non-restrictive.
Having seen the explanation about the elements of complex noun phrase, therefore in (14)
(14) That tall GIRL standing in the corner
It is obvious thatthat tall is pre-modifier,GIRL is the head andstanding in the corner is post-modifier. Then the post-modifier in (14) is restrictive.
2. The Explicitness of Post-modification
Quirket al. inA Comprehensive Grammar of the English Languagestated that pre-modification is to be interpreted, and, most frequently, can only be interpreted in terms of post-modification and its greater explicitness. That is, some tall college girlswill be interpreted assome girls who are tall and who are (studying) at a college (Quirket al., 1985:1243). Generally, more distinction can be made in post-modification than in pre-modification (Quirk et al., 1985:1276). Therefore, post-modifiers are more descriptive or more explicit in giving information.
Explicitness in post-modification varies considerably. It is greater in the finite relative clause in (15):
(15) The GIRL who was standing in the corner
(16) The GIRL standing in the corner
In (16) the explicit tense (is/was) had disappeared, while in (15) the tense is clearly stated and makes the sentence is clearer showing whether the girl is
standing or was standing. However, (16) is more explicit than the prepositional phrase in (17):
(17) The GIRL in the corner
(Quirket al., 1985:1243) In (17) the verb which indicates a specific action has also disappeared. This can create ambiguity, whether the girl was standing in the corner or was chatting in the corner. From the explanation above it is easier and clearer to understand noun phrase post-modified by finite relative clauses.
3. Prepositional Phrase as Post-modifier
Leech and Svartvik (1994:351) state that prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed by a prepositional complement, which is usually a noun phrase as seen below:
(18) As usual,her bright SMILE greeted meat the breakfast table
(Leech and Svartvik, 1994:351)
tried to shake off his fears by looking at the sky) and an adverb (You can see the stationfrom here) (Leech and Svartvik, 1994:351).
A prepositional phrase has several grammatical functions. One of its functions is as a modifier in a noun phrase (Leech and Svartvik, 1994:351-352). This is seen from the examples:
(19) She felt she hadno CHANCE of promotion.
(20) The NOISE from the sitting-roomwas deafening but tuneful.
(Leech and Svartvik, 1994:352) The head of the noun phrase in (19), CHANCE, is modified by prepositional phrase of promotion and in (20)NOISE is modified by prepositional phrasefrom the sitting-room.
Leech and Svartvik (1994:345) also stated that prepositional phrases are by far the most common type of post-modifier in English. Quirket al. (1972:883) stated it is three or four times more frequent than either finite or nonfinite clausal post-modification. Aarts and Aarts (1982:114) mentioned some examples noun phrases post-modified by a prepositional phrase as seen below
(21) the CITY of Rome
(22) a HOUSE of my father’s
(23) the RESTAURANT opposite Harrods
(24) SPECULATIONS about how he acquired his fortune
(25) Is thisthe ROAD to Paris? (‘Is thisthe ROAD that leads to Paris?’) (26) These are economic ACTIONS far beyond the normal citizen’s control.
(‘…ACTIONS which are far beyond …’) (Leech and Svartvik, 1994:345)
(27) The MAN in the corner. (‘The MAN who is in the corner’) (Greenbaum and Quirk, 1997:375)
In other words, a prepositional phrase is the shorter type of relative clause. Flor Aarts and Jan Aarts (1982:114) stated that a noun phrase may contain two or more prepositional phrases as seen below:
(28) The BOOK on archaeology by Professor Smith
(29) The HOUSE at the corner of the street
(Aarts and Aarts, 1982:114) Unfortunately, those examples do not have the same syntactic structure. In (28) the second prepositional phrase modifies all that precedes:
(30) The BOOK on archaeology by Professor Smith
In this case,by Professor Smith modifiestheBOOKon archeology. Whereas in (29) the second prepositional phrase modifies only the first NP:
(31) The HOUSE at the corner of the street
Prepositional clauses can be restrictive or nonrestrictive. The difference is seen from the examples below:
(32) The BOOK on grammar
(33) The BOOK,on grammar,
(Quirket al., 1972:890-891) In (32) the prepositional phrase is restrictive, whereas in (33) is non-restrictive. It is worth noting that (33), non-restrictive prepositional phrase, is rare and rather awkward (Quirket al., 1972:890-891).
4. Relative Clause
A relative clause is a full clause which is introduced by a relative pronoun which refers back to the head of the noun phrase in which it occurs as a post-modifier (Jackson, 1982:69). Relative clauses are typically found after a noun phrase and provide some information about the person or thing indicated by that noun phrase. Relative clauses are also called as adjective clauses because they often describe and help to identify the person or thing being talked about (Yule, 2004:240).
The main grammatical function of relative clause is to modify a noun phrase. The example is as follows
(34) They readevery BOOK that they could borrow in the village
In (34) the relative pronoun isthat and the relative clause is that they could borrow in the village. The relative pronoun that refers to the head of the noun phrase,book, which is called the antecedent (Leech and Svartvik, 1994:367).
It is possible to have the construction of relative pronoun acts as prepositional complement as the following example
(35) Maurice wrote me a LETTER in which he said: ‘I’m not interested in how long a bee can live in a vacuum or how far it can fly’
(Leech and Svartvik, 1994:369)
Relative clause can be finite or finite, and can be restrictive and non-restrictive. The points below will explain more about relative clause.
a. Non-Finite Relative Clause
There are three types of non-finite relative clauses. The three types are: -ing relative clause, -ed relative clause and to- infinitive relative clause. They can function as post-modifier similar to relative clauses and have the same meaning as the finite relative clause. Unfortunately, non-finite relative clause is not as explicit as the finite relative clause.
i) –ing Relative Clause
This relative clause does not have tense. Therefore, the clause can be interpreted as past or present, depending on the context, as seen below
(36) PEOPLE working in the advertising business are often young. (37) All ARTICLES belonging to the college must be returned.
In The noun phrase is interpreted as PEOPLE who are working in the advertising business. While in (37) the noun phrase is interpreted as All
ARTICLES that belong to the college. ii) –ed Relative Clause
This relative clause refers to passive. As seen in (38) and (39)
(38) The QUESTION debated in Parliament yesterday was about the new tax. (QUESTION that was debated in Parliament)
(39) We have seen the DAMAGE to the pine done by the deer. (DAMAGE that has been/had/was done)
(Leech and Svartvik, 1994:346) iii) to- Infinitive Relative Clause
In a suitable context, this relative clause has the same meaning as the finite relative clause, as seen in (40)
(40) The next TRAIN to arrive was from New York. (TRAIN which arrived) In many infinitive clauses like (41), the head of the noun phrase is the implied object or prepositional object of the infinitive verb.
(41) The (best)PERSON (for John) to consultis Wilson. (The best PERSON you should consult)
(Leech and Svartvik, 1994:346-347) Non-finite clauses also can be non-restrictive. This is seen in (42)
(42) The apple TREE,swaying gently in the breeze, had a good crop of fruit. (which was swaying gently in the breeze)
The clause can be moved into initial position without changing the meaning, but it can no longer be expanded into finite relative clause (Greenbaum and Quirk, 1997:374).
b. Finite Relative Clause
Finite relative clause is introduced by relative pronouns who/whom, whose,
which, andthat, and relative adverbswhere, when, andwhy. The choice of relative pronoun depends on whether the clause is restrictive or non-restrictive, personal or non-personal and depends on what role the pronoun has in the relative clause: whether it is subject or object.
The uses of relative pronouns are given in this table:
Restrictive and non-restrictive Restrictive only
Personal Non-personal Personal and non-personal
Subjective who which that
Objective who(m) which that,zero
Genitive whose of which, whose
Table 2.6 The use of relative pronoun (Leech and Svartvik, 1994:369)
c. Restrictive Relative Clause
(41) The BOYthatis playing the piano … (who) (42) The TABLEthatstands in the corner … (which) (43) The BOYthatwe met … (who(m))
(44) The TABLEthatthe boy crawled under… (under which)
(Greenbaum and Quirk, 1997:368).
d. Non-Restrictive Relative Clause
Non-restrictive relative clause is non-defining, giving extra information and less common. Furthermore, it functions as additional comment (Yule, 2004:249). Relative clause is non-restrictive when the head can be viewed as a member of a class that has been independently identified. Thus it makes any modification given is additional information and not essential (Greenbaum and Quirk, 1997:364). The distinctive elements between restrictive and non-restrictive relative clause is known as separation markers, such as commas, dashes, brackets or parentheses. The examples are below:
(45) My NEIGHBOR,who is an English teacher, plays very loud music. (46) The MAN – whose name is Johnny Jensen – also likes to have weekend
parties.
(Yule, 2004:248)
a. Giving more Distinctive Explanation about an Object
As mentioned in the explicitness of post-modification, more distinction can be made in post-modification than in pre-modification. This clarifies that the use of post-modifier will give more distinctive explanation about an object. Prepositional phrase and relative clause are the commonest type of post-modifiers. Therefore, they are also to give more distinctive explanation about an object. This can be seen in the example below:
(47) The FUNNEL of the ship
(48) The FUNNEL of a ship
(49) A FUNNEL of the ship
Phrases in (47) and (48) can be made into a noun phrase with pre-modification in a genitive construction as in (47a) and (48a). On the other hand, (49) can not be made in such construction.
(47a) The ship’s FUNNEL (48a) A ship’s FUNNEL
(Quirket al., 1985:1276) This shows that post-modifiers give more distinction explanation than pre-modifier. The distinction explanation given is more descriptive and limited to a specific extent. This effect is possible to apply in multiple post-modification.
b. Avoiding Discontinuity and Ambiguity
sentence. Therefore, the use of post-modifier helps to avoid discontinuity and ambiguity. The examples are seen in (50) and (52) which are more normal and in (51) and (53) which are awkward.
(50) The EARS of the man in the deckchair
(51) * The man’s EARSin the deckchair
(52) The ARRIVAL of his daughter and his German friend
(53) * His daughter’s and his German friend’s ARRIVAL
(Quirket al., 1985:1282 and 1298)
c. Maximizing the Explicitness
This part is still related to the use of multiple modifiers. The use of post-modifiers is in response to a desire for maximal explicitness. The example can be seen in the example below.
(54a) the man talking to John
(54b) the man in the cornerand the woman in the corner (54c) the corner nearest the door
By bringing a, b, and c together, it will be
(54) [the [man and woman] [in [the corner [nearest the door]]] [talking to John]]
is who are talking to John to maximize the explicitness, in this case the post-modifier which is relatively distant from the head (Quirket al., 1985:1296-1297).
d. Supplying Essential and or Additional Information
As stated in Yohana Kuncup’s thesis relative clauses in Poe’sThe Murders in the Rue Morgue function to provide detailed information and serve additional information. This is also strengthened by Yule who stated the characteristics of relative clause. As a post-modifier, relative clause function to supply essential information and to give additional information.
6. Patterns of the Formula and Rules in Writing Detective Stories
John G. Cawelti in his book Adventure, Mystery, and Romance mentioned four aspects of the detective story formula so sharply and effectively that, until the emergence of the hard-boiled story which has different pattern, detective story writers largely based their work on Poe’s inventions: situation, pattern of action, characters and relationships and setting.
a. Situation
b. Pattern of Action
The detective story formula centres upon the detective’s investigation and solution of the crime. There are six main phases of the pattern: (1) introduction of the detective; (b) crime and clues; (c) investigation; (d) announcement of the solution; (e) explanation of the solution; (f) denouement (Cawelti, 1976:81-82). From this statement, it is also considered that there will be many descriptions and explanations needed in detective stories, especially in phases of crime and clues, investigation, announcement and explanation of the solution.
c. Characters and Relationships
Cawelti also stated that if the reader is given too much information about the victim or the criminal only, the focus of the story around the process of investigation will be blurred (Cawelti, 1976:91). Therefore, in building detective stories sufficient description is needed and no overwriting is allowed. This aims to maintain the tenseness of the story and to focus on the process of investigation done by the detective.
d. Setting
London slums, and the English countryside. This setting used in classical detective story establishes a framework for the treatment of manners and local colour in a fashion, especially for the great Victorian novelists (Cawelti, 1976:96-97). In describing such places, descriptive and distinctive explanations are needed. There are also several set of unwritten rules in writing detective stories stated by several writers in The Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction uploaded by Golden Age of Detective Stories (http://www.mysterylist.com/declog.htm – 23 March 2007) which strengthens the formula stated by Cawelti. The writer only took several rules which are related in this study.
a. All Clues must be Revealed
Ronald Knox mentioned that all clues must be revealed as one of his rules. b. The Writer must Avoid Overwriting
Howard Haycraft stated several rules in writing detective stories, in which one of them is about its style: that writing detective stories must avoid corniness, pretentiousness and overwriting. In other word, detective stories authors are not allowed to write too elaborate and mawkishly sentimental. Haycraft also stated one rule about the devices of detection, which recommends detective story writers not to be too elaborate as it makes the denouement incomprehensible.
c. There must be a Sufficient Descriptiveness
preoccupations. Those matters do not have vital places in detective fiction. In short, there must be a sufficient descriptiveness.
C. Review ofSilver Blaze andThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
1. Silver Blaze
Silver Blaze is one story in the second volume of Sherlock Holmes The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. This story is set in 1888 in Dartmoor and in a late Victorian sporting milieu. The story itself was published in Strand magazine in 1892. The story of Silver Blaze focuses on the disappearance of the eponymous race horse, a famous winner, on the evening of an important race and on the apparent murder of its trainer, John Straker. This story also features some of Conan Doyle’s style in solving the case secretly through the character of Sherlock Holmes by the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.
2. The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
D. Theoretical Framework
This study aims to answer problems about the proportion of prepositional phrases and relative clauses as post-modifiers in two of Doyle’s short stories and the factors which influenced Doyle in choosing the prepositional phrases and relative clauses as post-modifiers. In this part the application of theories on the research will be explained.
The theory of complex noun phrase, prepositional phrases and relative clauses give contributions in finding the noun phrases in Silver Blaze and The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire to answer the first problem. Theories discussed about the prepositional phrases and relative clauses are to help the writer in analyzing noun phrases found in the two stories. The theory of relative clauses based on Greenbaum and Quirk (1997) and Leech and Svartvik (1994) are significant to divide relative clauses into finite and non-finite relative clause, restrictive and non-restrictive relative clause. The syntactic structure of prepositional phrase by Flor Aarts and Jan Aarts (1982) helps in analyzing the syntactic structure of the prepositional phrases found in the two stories. Furthermore, those theories are useful in analyzing the proportion of prepositional phrases and relative clauses as noun post-modifier found in the two stories written by Doyle.
METHODOLOGY
Chapter III covers two parts: Object of the Study and Method of the Study. Object of the Study presents the short stories analyzed in this study, records about the stories of Sherlock Holmes and a brief summary about the two short stories. The second part is Method of the Study. This part covers the steps taken in doing the analysis in this study.
A. Object of the Study
This thesis deals with the application of prepositional phrases and relative clauses as post-modifier in Conan Doyle’s Silver Blaze andThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire. Therefore, the data needed are the short stories entitled aforementioned.
The stories of Sherlock Holmes are very well-known since the stories had been made into recordings. “Recordings made by Basil Rathbone” (http://www.basilrathbone.net/recordings/ - 27 October 2006) mentioned that there are audiocassette tapes of many of the Sherlock Holmes radio broadcasts starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. The characteristics of Sherlock Holmes also inspire movie directors and musicians to produce movies and soundtracks. “Yahoo! Movies Search Results” (http://www.yahoo.com – 27 October 2006) shows ten movies entitled “Sherlock Holmes” which are released in the range of year 1935 until 2006. The movies do not always tell Holmes’ life, some of them
has different story from Holmes’ life. Some movies mentioned use the same characteristics in Sherlock Holmes Stories, and some movies provides ‘younger version’ of Holmes and Watson. Sherlock Holmes stories are not made into recordings and movies only. Musicians are also interested to create soundtracks of this eccentric detective. Soundtrack Collector, in its specific section which is entitled Soundtrack Collector: Soundtrack Details: Young Sherlock Holmes
(http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/soundtrackdetail.php?movieid28820 – 27 October 2006) shows some Soundtrack CDs from the movie Young Sherlock Holmes: Pyramid of Fear in 1985.
The writer uses two short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle entitled
Silver BlazeandThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.Silver Blazeis one of short stories in the second volume of Sherlock Holmes: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. The writer downloaded the story from http://www.wikipedia.org. It is an-11-page story when printed. The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire is taken from the last volume: The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes. The writer took the story from Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories Volume 5, published in 2003 by Classic Press.The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire is in the page 242 up to page 257. In other words it has 16 pages.
After doing investigations, Holmes found the horse in Capleton’s and he proved that Straker’s death was because of the horse: Straker tried to hurt the horse. The horse, sensing something dangerous was panicked and brought a shod hoof down on its trainer’s head. WhileThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampireis a story about his client, Robert Fergusson, who had been convinced that his Peruvian wife had been sucking their baby son’s blood. He was broken-hearted as she was a devoted and loving wife. Holmes did some investigations in Fergusson’s house with Watson: asking questions about anyone in the house and watched their behaviour. Seeing the weapon in the house and the jealousy face in Jack, Fergusson’s son, Holmes convinced Fergusson that his wife did not do anything wrong. Actually, she was sucking out the poison out of the baby from the poisoning darts shot by Jack. This made Fergusson in pain.
B. Method of the Study
In this section, the writer will present the kind of research, method of research including data collection and data analysis.
1. Kind of Research
it gives precise explanation about the relation of each other elements in language. Considering those points aforementioned, this thesis is an empirical study and is conducted by collecting data and analyzing them to draw a conclusion.
2. Data Collection
The object of the study in this thesis was prepositional phrases and relative clauses as post-modifier found in two stories by Conan Doyle: Silver Blaze and
The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire. Therefore the objects of the study were the short stories themselves.
To collect the data, first, the writer read the short stories in order to have better understanding in the stories and to find out the prepositional phrases and relative clauses as post-modifier in the stories. The writer also used Simple Concordance Program 4.05 in finding prepositional phrases and relative clauses as post-modifier in the stories. This analysis aimed to find the proportion of prepositional phrases and relative clauses as post-modifier in the stories. Further, this study was to find the effects achieved by the use of prepositional phrase and relative clause as post-modifier in Doyle’s stories.
3. Data Analysis
data in order to find the effects achieved by the use of prepositional phrases and relative clause as post-modifier in the two short stories.
a. Identifying the Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses
The first step was to identify the prepositional phrases and relative clauses in the two stories based on the theories of prepositional phrase and relative clause as post-modifier. This was important to answer the first problem. In this step the writer also looked into the whole phrase and the whole sentence where it occurred to ease the further analysis.
i) Analyzing the Patterns
clauses are used as noun post-modifier based on their patterns and took three noun phrases in each pattern to discuss.
ii) The Proportion of Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses as the post-modifier inSilver BlazeandThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
Based on the findings, there were 287 prepositional phrases in Silver Blaze
and 155 prepositional phrases in The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire. InSilver Blaze there were 138 relative clauses and inThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
there were 75 relative clauses. In other words, there are 442 prepositional phrases and 213 relative clauses in those two stories. The writer also divided the relative clauses found in the stories based on their finiteness and restrictiveness. There were 176 finite relative clauses, 37 non-finite relative clauses, 149 restrictive relative clauses and 64 non-restrictive relative clauses. The analysis result in this part gave contribution in answering the second problem formulation.
b. Finding the Effects Achieved by the Use of Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses as Post-modifier
ANALYSIS RESULT
This study studies the prepositional phrases and relative clauses as post-modifier which are found in Doyle’sSilver Blaze andThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire and identifies the proportion how prepositional phrase and relative clause as post-modifier are used in detective stories.
This chapter covers findings, the analysis and the discussion related to the study in order to answer the problems in chapter I. The first part deals with the pattern and the proportion of prepositional phrases and relative clauses as noun post-modifier in Doyle’s Silver Blaze and The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire. The pattern analysis helps in analyzing how prepositional phrase and relative clause are used as noun post-modifier. The second part deals with the effects achieved by the use of prepositional phrases and relative clauses as noun post-modifier in Doyle’s work.
A. The Proportion of Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses in Doyle’s
Silver BlazeandThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
Having read the two stories by Conan Doyle, the writer found several patterns in which the prepositional phrase and relative clause are used as noun post-modifier. Before seeing the overall proportion of prepositional phrase and relative clause as post-modifier in Doyle’s two short stories, the writer will show the recurring pattern found the two stories. The percentage of the patterns found will
help in finding how Doyle used prepositional phrase and relative clause as post-modifier in buildingSilver Blaze andThe Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.
The following table will show how prepositional phrase and relative clause are used in several patterns in the two stories. There are two basic patterns. They are a noun phrase modified by prepositional phrase and a noun phrase modified by relative clause. The most frequent pattern is a noun phrase post-modified by a prepositional phrase, the occurrence is 348. Then the second most frequent is a noun phrase post-modified by a relative clause whose occurrence is 157.
Table 4.1 The Proportion of How Prepositional Phrases and Relative Clauses are used as Post-modifier in Conan Doyle’s Silver Blaze and The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
No. Pattern Number %
1. NP + prepositional phrase 348 68.91%
a. NP + prepositional phrase 265 52.47%
b. NP + prepositional phrase modified by relative clause 34 6.73% c. NP + prepositional phrase modified by relative clause
with NP + prepositional phrase in it 12 2.38% d. NP + prepositional phrases (more than one) 37 7.33%
2. NP + relative clause 157 31.09%
a. NP + relative clause 126 24.95%
b. NP + relative clause with NP + prepositional phrase
in it 21 4.16%
c. NP + relative clause with another NP + relative
clause in it 10 1.98%
TOTAL 505 100%
and Svartvik). Based on the data, prepositional phrase as post-modifier not only can stand alone in modifying a noun, but also possible to appear together with relative clause in one noun phrase whether they modify the main head or modify other heads. This is suitable to the characteristics of noun phrase, in which noun phrase can be recursive. In other word, it is possible to have more than one noun phrase in a noun phrase. As seen in table 4.1, noun phrase with prepositional phrase post-modification can be modified by relative clause and it is possible, even though rarely to find, to have more than one relative clause as post-modifier in a noun phrase. The points below will discuss further about the patterns and sub-patterns found in Doyle’sSilver Blaze and The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire. The writer will use brackets in some sub-title to distinguish the post-modified and the post-modifier. The in brackets are the things post-modified. The noun phrase is bolded and italicized while the head is capitalized. After discussing the patterns, the writer will show the analysis result and discussion about how prepositional phrase and relative clause are used as post-modifier in overall occurrence found in the two stories.
1. Noun Phrase Post-modified by Prepositional Phrase
post-modified by more than one prepositional phrase. In the two stories, the occurrence of this basic pattern is 348.
a. Noun Phrase + prepositional phrase
This sub-pattern is the most frequent to occur in the two short stories analyzed. There are 265 noun phrases which have this sub-pattern. The noun phrases in this sub-pattern has the general phrase structure as shown below
(1) NP
Det. N
N PP
P NP
The examples and analysis of noun phrases with prepositional phrases as post-modifier taken from Doyle’s Silver Blaze and The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire are below.
(2) Werethe strange ATTACKS upon the baby andthe ASSAULTS upon your son at the same period? (Appendix 2, no. 80)
(3) Fresh EDITIONS of every paper had been sent up by our news agent, only to be glanced over and tossed down into a corner. (Appendix 1, no. 3)
(4) I had almost made up my mind to sleep on the moor when I saw the LIGHT of your lantern. (Appendix 1, no. 45)
upon the baby gives information that is necessary for the antecedentthe strange attacks, and the noun phrase structure is shown in (2a).
(2a) NP
Det. N
Adj. N
the N PP
strange P NP
attacks Det. N
upon the baby
In (2a) is seen that the noun phrase can be recursive and it is possible to have other noun phrase in a noun phrase. From sentence (2) it is also seen that it is possible to have more than one noun phrase with prepositional phrase post-modification in one sentence.
b. (Noun Phrase + prepositional phrase) modified by relative clause This sub-pattern is shown by the structure below
(5) NP
Det. N
N Relative Clause
N PP
which is the head, is modified by a relative clause. Meanwhile, this sub-pattern is also possible to have the following structure shown in (6), although there are only a few. From the structure below, it is seen that the noun phrase is post-modified by a prepositional phrase, in which the noun in the first modifier is post-modified by a relative clause.
(6) NP
Det. N
N PP
P NP
N Relative Clause
From the phrase structures above, it is obvious that the head in the noun phrase has more than one post-modification. This sub-pattern is quite often to find. The number of this pattern in the stories is 34. Below are the examples of noun phrases with prepositional phrase and relative clause post-modification.
(7) He felt there were SIDES of her character which he could never explore or understand. (Appendix 2, no. 30)
(8) And I think that your time will not be misspent, for there arePOINTS about the case which promise to make it an absolutely unique one. (Appendix 1, no. 7)
(9) Tavistock itself lies two miles to the west, while across the moor, also about two miles distant, is the larger training ESTABLISHMENT of Mapleton, which belongs to Lord Backwater and is managed by Silas Brown. (Appendix 1, no. 36)
COMMUNICATION of even date concerning vampires. (Appendix 2, no. 4)
Sentence (8) has a noun phrase POINTS about the case which promise to make it an absolutely unique one. When the noun phrase is unattached from its sentence, it will be analyzed as follows
(8a) POINTS about the case which promise to make it an absolutely unique one
In (8a) it is seen that about the case modifiesPOINTS. ThenPOINTS about the case becomes the antecedent which is then modified by finite restrictive relative clause which promise to make it an absolutely unique one. This sub-pattern also can be applied for the non-finite relative clause. The example is seen in sentence (10), which uses –ing non-finite relative clause to modify the head which is post-modified by prepositional phrase. Sentence (7) has a noun phrase
SIDES of her character which he could never explore or understand. The head
SIDESis post-modified by a prepositional phraseof her character. ThenSIDES of her character is post-modified by a finite restrictive relative clause which he could never explore or understand. When unattached from its sentence, the analysis result is
(7a) SIDES of her character which he could never explore or understand
(7b) NP
Det. N
N S
N PP Comp. S’
NP VP
ø
N P NPN
SIDES of her character which he could never explore or understand There is also a special case like in (9). The finite non-restrictive relative clause
which belongs to Lord Backwater and is managed by Silas Brown only modifies the antecedent Mapleton instead ofthe larger training establishment of Mapleton. This type has the same phrase structure as in (6). From this sub-pattern, it is seen
that both prepositional phrase and relative clause can appear together as post-modifier in a noun phrase, that the head of a noun phrase may have more than one post-modifier.
c. (Noun Phrase + prepositional phrase) modified by relative clause with (noun phrase + prepositional phrase) in it
(11) NP
Det. N
N CP
N PP Spec. C
Comp. IP
NP I
I VP
V PP
The examples of noun phrase post-modified by prepositional phrase and then post-modified by relative clause containing prepositional phrase are below.
(12) As to the missing horse, there were abundant PROOFS in the mud which lay at the BOTTOM of the fatal hollow that he had been there at the TIME of the struggle. (Appendix 1, no. 70)
(13) Holmes balanced it on his knee, and his eyes moved slowly and lovingly over the RECORD of old cases, mixed with the accumulated information of a lifetime. (Appendix 2, no. 10)
(14) He wasa MAN of excellent birth and education, who had squandered a FORTUNE upon the turf. (Appendix 1, no. 78)
From the sentence (12) it is seen that the antecedent abundant PROOFS is post-modified by a prepositional phrasein the mud. Then theabundant PROOFS in the mud, which is the head, is post-modified by a finite restrictive relative clause
