Empathy versus engagement
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Maria-Ángeles Martínez
Abstract
This study uses one of Hemingway’s very short stories (“The shooting of the six Greek cabinet ministers”, 1924) to explore the connections between narrative engagement, emotion and the linguistic organization of narratives. The analysis is developed within the framework of storyworld possible selves (SPSs) (Martínez 2012, 2014, 2018) or blends of readers’ self-concept and the character construct of a narrative perspectivizer, be it the narrator or a focalizing character. In Hemingway’s story, emotions may seem to emerge from empathy towards the executed ministers; however, a closer look at the language of reference and deixis suggests that engagement and emotion are connected to the ethical conflict resulting from SPS blending and perspectival alignment with their executioners.
Abstract
This study uses one of Hemingway’s very short stories (“The shooting of the six Greek cabinet ministers”, 1924) to explore the connections between narrative engagement, emotion and the linguistic organization of narratives. The analysis is developed within the framework of storyworld possible selves (SPSs) (Martínez 2012, 2014, 2018) or blends of readers’ self-concept and the character construct of a narrative perspectivizer, be it the narrator or a focalizing character. In Hemingway’s story, emotions may seem to emerge from empathy towards the executed ministers; however, a closer look at the language of reference and deixis suggests that engagement and emotion are connected to the ethical conflict resulting from SPS blending and perspectival alignment with their executioners.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
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Section I. Discourse structure and verbal interaction
- The encoding and signalling of discourse relations in argumentative discourse 13
- A typological approach to the encoding of motion events 45
- Contrastive analysis of interactional discourse markers in English and Spanish newspaper texts 75
- “God that came out quick didn’t it eh” 109
- The use of tag questions in the oral production of L2 English learners 145
- “Okay … so … nice to meet you? {smiles}” 171
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Section II. Evaluation and engagement
- Lexis and grammar as complementary discourse systems for expressing stance and evaluation 201
- Emotion and appraisal processes in language 227
- Empathy versus engagement 251
- Two dimensions of language intensity in evaluative discourse 273
- Name index 297
- Subject Index 301
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Section I. Discourse structure and verbal interaction
- The encoding and signalling of discourse relations in argumentative discourse 13
- A typological approach to the encoding of motion events 45
- Contrastive analysis of interactional discourse markers in English and Spanish newspaper texts 75
- “God that came out quick didn’t it eh” 109
- The use of tag questions in the oral production of L2 English learners 145
- “Okay … so … nice to meet you? {smiles}” 171
-
Section II. Evaluation and engagement
- Lexis and grammar as complementary discourse systems for expressing stance and evaluation 201
- Emotion and appraisal processes in language 227
- Empathy versus engagement 251
- Two dimensions of language intensity in evaluative discourse 273
- Name index 297
- Subject Index 301
