Question

Read excerpt 1 from Mrs. Dalloway, and then answer the following question.

While reading the excerpt, you might have noticed that Woolf often uses strings of multiple (and often disparate) phrases separated by
commas or semicolons. Because they do not contain a main clause or even a verb, these lines are not sentences.
What is the specific effect of this technique in the lines quoted below? What effects does this technique create in the work in general? Does
the technique make the description in the text seem more natural, or does it make the description seem contrived? (To answer this
question, consider what the author is describing.) Develop an argument to support your position.
In people's eyes, In the swing, tramp, and trudge; in the bellow and the uproar; the carriages, motor cars, omnibuses, vans, sandwich
men shuffling and swinging; brass bands; barrel organs; In the triumph and the Jingle and the strangle high singing of some aeroplane
overhead was what she loved; life; London; this moment of June.

Answer 1

Woolf uses images of metal objects to transition between Clarissa's and Peter's points of view: Peter's pen-knife, Clarissa's scissors and her sewing needle, and the silverware that Lucy brings into the room. Peter fidgets with his pen-knife during the conversation, while Clarissa uses her scissors and sewing needle. The fact that they play with these objects as they talk signifies the tension between them.

The objects also symbolize their behaviors and their views of each other. Peter's pen-knife symbolizes his risk-taking nature and his love affairs. Clarissa's scissors symbolize the fact that she turned down Peter's proposal long ago. Clarissa thinks Peter's behavior is silly; she is both jealous and happy that he found love. On the other hand, the silverware that Lucy brings in symbolizes Clarissa's lifestyle, which Peter considers silly but also envies.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

Including phrases separated by commas or semicolons is a technique that mimics the frequent leaps of thought in Clarissa's mind. The list of items exposes her excessive mental activity. The disparate phrases also suggest that Clarissa's attention is divided among multiple competing subjects.

In the quoted lines, the technique seems to suggest activity and movement both in the scene outside and within Clarissa's mind; it blends the bustle of the external world with her internal state. Though the phrases are disparate, their combined effect is to show continual activity in Clarissa's mind and to suggest that the moment is alive.

If you view the phrases as direct representations of Clarissa's thoughts, you might argue that most people don't think in such strings of phrases, and there is no reason to assume that she suffers from a mental condition. Therefore, the technique makes the description seem contrived.

However, it's also possible to see the disparate phrases as a list of all the sensory input that registers in Clarissa's mind (sometimes mixed with descriptions of her thoughts). If the lines are considered a series of images, then the technique does not seem contrived; the phrases capture a passing scene or a moment in time in a kind of sketch that comprises both sense perceptions and descriptions of thoughts (but not actual thoughts).

Step-by-step explanation: