Language and Communication

Language and Communication

1. Miscommunication

   • John Thorpe's proposal to Catherine
   • Catherine's faulty assumptions of the General's involvement in Mrs. Tilney's death

2. Use of Direct Speech

   • Allows the reader to get a true perception of the characters without seeing them through Catherine's flawed viewpoint

3. Contributes to Catherine's bildungsroman

   • By communicating and understanding the characters she is able to make correct judgements and assumptions
   • Catherine judges Isabella correctly on recieving her letter, she understands her true motives

4. “Well, Catherine, how do you like my friend Thorpe?” instead of answering, as she probably would have done, had there been no friendship and no flattery in the case, “I do not like him at all;” she directly replied, “I like him very much; he seems very agreeable.” Pg. 49

5. Free Indirect Speech

   • When the narrator uses the character's idiolect or speech to narrate their thoughts
   • Satirical tone or ambiguity
   • Jane Austen uses free indirect speech to comic effect, emphasising the conviction with which Catherine believes in a Gothic world - Narelle Shaw