ENG2602 EXAM PACK
GENRES IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE: THEORY, STYLE AND POETICS
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014 MEMORANDUM
SECTION A: GENRES OF LANGUAGE
QUESTION 1: PERSUASIVE PROSE: ANALYSIS OF THE TEXT – “Eyesore
Rubbish Island” hidden from Maldives tourists”
The text is basically, a narrative-descriptive persuasive prose news report. The article was
published by the Mail and Guardian online publication on 20 October 2013. Photographic
imagery and emotive language has been used by the reporter to paint a gloomy picture or
scenario which exists behind the Maldives tourist attraction destination. A plethora of
audiences are being targeted by this article. The audience base ranges from environmentalists,
general online news readers, Maldives citizens, lawmakers and policy makers in particular.
By and large, the intention of the writer is to expose the bleak side of tourism industry
especially on the environment and certain groups of people. Such revelations are normally
swept under the carpet. The writer’s tone is blunt and direct, hence the article leaves no
apprehension as to what is the writer’s position.
In the text, the dumping rubbish pile at Thilafushi Island is emotively described as an
“eyesore.” The use of such a lexical item suggests that the dumping site is a very ugly feature
which is unpleasant to look at. Thilafushi Island, is now known as “Rubbish Island.” The use
of the adjective “rubbish” vividly describe and allude to the gravity and magnitude of the
rubbish pile which is hypocritically hidden from the sight of the tourists.
Furthermore, the ambivalence and juxtaposition created by the writer highlights the contrast
between the attractive and beautiful scenery in Maldives and the eyesore rubbish island. In
the opening paragraph the reporter contradicts the “panoramic view of azure seas” exposed to
the tourists when touching down the Maldives airport with the “billowing smoke in the
middle distance” which “reveals an environmental calamity.” The juxtaposition of the
“panoramic view” and the “billowing smoke” vehemently suggests that all those glitters in
Maldives are not gold. Even though the place is very attractive, the use of the conjunction
“but” and the emotive word “calamity” suggests that the “billowing smoke” is a phenomena
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,which is heavily ignored even though it causes great and sudden damage and distress to the
environment and people around. The verb “billowing” has been used as an adjective which
also invoke the sense of sight in the mind of the reader. The picture created is that the smoke
is swelling and filling up the air just like a rolling mass of cloud. By and large, the writer
laments and bemoan the lack of sustainable environmental practices from the city authorities.
In paragraph two and three the writer continues to expatiate on the imagery of the
contradiction which exists between the beautiful features of Thilafushi Island and the
“eyesore” rising smoke. The island is depicted as the “Indian ocean archipelago” and a
“honeymoon destination for the rich and the famous.” Nevertheless, these rich and famous
visitors are oblivious or unconcerned with the rising smoke emanating from the rubbish dump
set alight by Fusin. In a nutshell, the squalid and acrid environmental conditions on the island
is not an issue of concern to the tourist holidaymakers. It seems as if these holidaymakers are
so myopic that “none could imagine from their plane seats” the presence of the rising smoke
and its causes. Tourists are mainly concerned about enjoying their holiday. Consciously or
unconsciously they are not worried about the consequences of their actions when they leave
the place. By and large, by capturing such a scenario, the reporter intent to highlight the
selfish motives of the authorities in Maldives. They are more concerned with attracting
tourists and raising the so much needed revenue but ironically they do not utilise the money
to uplift the living conditions of the “Rubbish Island” hence the writer is cynical and sarcastic
in this online article.
Furthermore, the writer is very critical towards the adverse effects of tourism on the
environment as well as the health dangers it imposes on individual people like the “40-year-
old Fusin” who is a migrant from Bangladesh. The tourists have turned Thilafushi Island into
a rubbish island. In fact it is now “the biggest waste dump in the country.” To illustrate the
adverse effects of the tourism industry on individuals the writers make use of Fusin’s
anecdote. Despite the lucrative income brought in by tourism, Fusin’s salary is a mockery and
insult. It is very little considering that he works “12-hour shifts, seven days a week.” Over
and above all, he works with no safety equipment thereby compromising his health.
According to the writer his “eyes [are] streaming and voice choked after four years’ exposure
to thick, toxic fumes.” Maldives local tourism industry collected insurmountable revenue
while Fusin collected a deteriorating health status. By and large, the presentation of Fusin’s
story invokes the reader’s sympathy and perceive tourism as an evil which needs to be tamed
before it destroys many people’s lives.
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,Despite Fusin’s inevitable damage to his health after working for so many years exposed to
the smoke and rubbish soon or later he is bound to lose his job since the local authorities have
plans to stop the toxic open burning on the island and engage a private operator which will
build an incinerator.
In conclusion, the writer of this online publication exposes the negative impact of tourism on
the environment and some people. Mostly, this article persuaded the reader to buy the writer’s
opinion by using adjectives which vividly bring out some images in the mind of the reader.
By and large, the text is a logical and well-structured argument which is generally persuasive.
QUESTION 2: CONVERSATION
In your view, is politeness in conversation a universal phenomenon? Provide reasons for
your answer.
MODEL ESSAY
The view that politeness in conversation is a universal phenomenon has been subjected to
numerous heated debates. Some scholars argues that it is a universal phenomenon while
others say it is not. In this essay the writer is of the view that politeness is a thread which is
evident is every conversation engaged in even by people of different cultural backgrounds.
By the writer’s thesis is that politeness is universal as a concept not as a behaviour.
Politeness is heterogeneous across cultures or within cultures. In light of this heterogeneity,
the universality of politeness principles might not be appropriate to all cultures. It can also be
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, argued that politeness is not a natural phenomenon but it is acquired gradually and
programmed in terms of social norms in the mind of the individual who is going to express
them through his behaviour. This indicates that the social rules of a society are specific for
that society and the rules enable the individual to use his speech acts appropriately. These
rules include the ways that members of a certain society adhere to in expressing politeness
towards each other. For example, social distance involves the individual to be formal in his
speech.
Politeness means to take hearers’ feelings and desires into consideration when speaking and
acting. This means that politeness could be expressed verbally and non-verbally in actions. In
other words, politeness could be expressed, for example, through dressing appropriately, and
using appropriate “facial expression, gestures or bodily postures. It could further be expressed
verbally using honorific language represented through certain linguistic forms of a particular
language such as Japanese. Politeness plays an effective role in interaction because it controls
the cooperative behaviour in conversations. By and large, politeness strategies are used by
speakers to maintain harmony between them.
The more formal the context, the more powerful will be the relations between interlocutors.
The unequal relation between interlocutors results in a high distance between them. In
considering politeness, individuals are allowed to avoid friction in any act of face-to-face
communication and this in turn might lead individuals to communicate successfully. For the
speaker to be polite or impolite linguistically he is required to speak according to the
relationship that relates him to the hearer. Therefore, making decisions about what is polite or
impolite in any community depends on two factors. First is an assessment of the social
relationship between interlocutors along the dimension of power and solidarity.
Since politeness is generally considered as not universal, Leech (2005) formulated ten
politeness maxims paying particular attention to their applicability to all cultures. However,
despite these modifications, it is a fact that politeness is not constant to all situations.
Different degrees of politeness may occur in interaction and these may be influenced by
different social factors such as vertical distance between the speaker and the hearer,
horizontal distance, which is identified in terms of the intimacy, familiarity, solidarity and the
deference relations between the speaker and the hearer; weight or value, which refers to the
social distinction attached to what is transacted; strength of socially defined rights and
obligations, which refers to the relation between teacher and student, two lover, host and
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