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Optimus Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
the definite article
Esteemed teachers,
Hello. I have more questions about the usage of the definite article.
"When I was a child I would look at my father, the thinning hair, the collapsing teeth, and wonder why anyone would give money for a head like that."
Why is the used instead of his? Is it because it is considered unique? Is it used for emphasis?
Also, in the movie "Apocalypse Now," Kurtz says "The horror ... the horror."
Why is the used here? Is it because it is part of an of-clause? e.g., The horror (of war)?
Thank you
Hello. I have more questions about the usage of the definite article.
"When I was a child I would look at my father, the thinning hair, the collapsing teeth, and wonder why anyone would give money for a head like that."
Why is the used instead of his? Is it because it is considered unique? Is it used for emphasis?
Also, in the movie "Apocalypse Now," Kurtz says "The horror ... the horror."
Why is the used here? Is it because it is part of an of-clause? e.g., The horror (of war)?
Thank you
Top answer
I would argue that in both cases the definite article is used for artistic effect, rather than grammatical. In the first example, "the thinning hair" deliberately objectifies his father. By saying "the" instead of his, the author makes his father and his father's body seem more distant, less like a person and more like a thing.
- I would argue that in both cases the definite article is used for artistic effect, rather than grammatical.
- In the first example, "the thinning hair" deliberately objectifies his father.
- By saying "the" instead of his, the author makes his father and his father's body seem more distant, less like a person and more like a thing.
- Given the feeling of the quotation, this seems to be a deliberate artistic strategy of the author.
- "The horror" symbols everything that is wrong with the situation, with Kurtz, with the war, with the mission, with humanity.
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1 Answers
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I would argue that in both cases the definite article is used for artistic effect, rather than grammatical. In the first example, "the thinning hair" deliberately objectifies his father. By saying "the" instead of his, the author makes his father and his father's body seem more distant, less like a person and more like a thing. Given the feeling of the quotation, this seems to be a deliberate a
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