WILLIAM STYRON (1 925 an American novelist, won the 1968

Sophie’s Choice
WILLIAM STYRON (1925- ...)
William Styron (1925-…), an American novelist, won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for The Confessions of Nat
Turner, which relates an 1831 slave revolt in Virginia. Sophie's Choice (1976), his most famous novel, is
centered around the nightmare of the concentration camps during World War II.
WATCH & READ
Sophie is a Polish refugee who has survived and escaped the Auschwitz concentration camp and has
just arrived in the U.S.A.
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“And thank you for making me to bloom like a rose,” she added after a moment.
All at once I became aware of the way in which Sophie echoed so much of Nathan's diction. Indeed,
he was her dialogue coach, a fact which became more directly evident now as I heard him begin to correct
her in detail, like an exceedingly meticulous, very patient instructor at a Berlitz school. “Not ‘to bloom’”,
he explained, “Just ‘bloom.’ You're so good, it's about time you were perfect. You must begin to learn
when and where to add the preposition ‘to’ to the infinitive verb, and when to leave it out. And it's tough,
you see, because in English there's no hard, fast1 rule. You have to use your instinct.”
“Instinct?” she said.
“You have to use your ear, so that it finally becomes instinct. Let me give you an example. You
could say ‘causing me to bloom like a rose’ but not ‘making me to bloom.’ There's no rule about this,
understand. It's just one of those odd little tricks of the language which you'll pick up in time.” He stroked
her earlobe. “With that pretty ear of yours.”
“Such a language!” she groaned, and in mock pain clutched her brow2. “Too many words. I mean
just the words for velocity. I mean ‘fast.’ ‘Rapid.’ ‘Quick.’ All the same thing! A scandal!”
“’Swift,’” I added.
“How about ‘speedy’?” Nathan said.
“’Hasty,’” I went on.
“And ‘fleet,’” Nathan said, “though that's a bit fancy3.”
“’Snappy’!” I said.
“Stop it!” Sophie said, laughing. “Too much! Too many words, this English. In French it is so
simple, you just say ‘vite.’”
From Sophie’s Choice, William Styron, 1976
WORK ON WORDS
Choose the correct meaning according to the context.
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bloom (l. 1): éclore / rougir
all at once (l. 2): une fois / soudain
become aware (l. 2): prendre conscience / se réveiller
coach (l. 3): entraîneur / professeur
tough (l. 6): difficile / ennuyeux
pick up (l. 11): apprendre / ramasser
stroke (l. 11): pincer / caresser
groan (l. 13): gémir / gronder
fast : (ici) immuable
to clutch one’s brow : se prendre la tête dans les mains
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fancy : (ici) recherché
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Sophie’s Choice
Overall comprehension
1.
2.
3.
4.
Is the excerpt a narrative, a dialogue or a monologue? Give details.
Pick out the number of characters, their names.
What is the main topic of the excerpt?
Who is expressing his or her point of view at the beginning?
Detailed comprehension
1. Read this sentence from the excerpt. Who do the underlined words refer to?
“Indeed, he was her dialogue coach, a fact which became more directly evident as I heard him begin to
correct her in detail.” (l. 2-4)
2. Is the lesson planned or improvised? How does it begin?
3. Explain the man's and the woman's role.
The man
The woman
Name
Role
Description
4.
Are the following statements true or false? Support your answers with the text.
a) The woman can speak French.
b) She knows quite a lot of English.
c) She thinks English is easy to learn.
d) She remains serious during the lesson.
e) She thinks French is easy to learn.
f) He thinks that to speak a language perfectly, one must spend hours studying a grammar book.
5. Is the relationship between the man and the woman distant or intimate? Support your answer
with a detail from the excerpt.
Building up your vocabulary
1. Look at all the words in italics.
Some of them are used to show the speaker is insisting on something.
Others indicate words in a foreign language.
Make two lists.
2. Synonyms of “fast” and collocations
"Brisk", "hasty", "quick", "rapid", "speedy", "swift" are all synonyms of "fast".
As in French, two words often go together.
This is called a collocation.
For example, in French you can say une voiture rapide. You can't say une voiture leste.
It is the same in English, and finding the right associations is essential if you want to sound right.
You must learn the words together.
Read the text again to complete the sentences with the right words.
a. Languages often have ……………………………… grammar rules.
b. What's difficult to learn are the …………………………………………….. tricks of the language.
c. She was not really hurt, she was crying in …………………………………………………..pain.
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Sophie’s Choice
Expression
1. About the text
Do you agree with Sophie about French being a simple language (40 words)? Do we only have one word
to say vite? Find as many synonyms as you can.
2. Beyond the text
What makes people feel like learning a language?
Answer with precise arguments and examples. (150 words)
QUANTIFIEURS
Too much! Too many words, this English! (l. 20)
1. ANALYSE
Les mots much et many expriment tous deux une grande quantité, beaucoup. Ils ne sont pas
interchangeables :
¾ Observez le nom qui suit many : c'est un dénombrable (que l'on peut compter, « un, deux mots »,
etc.) au pluriel ;
¾ si le mot much dans la première partie était suivi d'un nom, ce serait un indénombrable (que l'on ne
peut pas compter), comme time, difficulty, ou knowledge.
Les quantifieurs sont souvent différents selon que le mot est dénombrable ou non :
¾ dénombrables:
many, some, few, a few,
no;
¾ indénombrables:
much, some, little, a little, no.
REMARQUE : much est également utilisé avec un verbe ou un adjectif, en tant qu'adverbe signifiant
« beaucoup » : I love you very much!
2. EXERCICES
Choisissez le quantifieur qui convient.
a. Sophie is still making [a few / a little] mistakes when she speaks English.
b. There are not [many / much] rules in English.
c. Did [much / many] people escape Poland during WWII?
d. There were [few / little] survivors from the death camps.
e. In those camps, people had very [little / few] to eat.
Complétez les phrases avec much / many, a little / a few ou little / few.
a. Too…………………….pupils make spelling mistakes.
b. Only…………………….French people master the English language.
c. You just need…………………….patience to teach children a foreign language.
d. I don't know…………………….about grammar, but I manage to have good marks.
e. My English teacher is boring but he gives …………………….bad marks.
Réécrivez les phrases en utilisant le mot entre parenthèses et en effectuant les modifications
nécessaires, comme dans l'exemple.
Learning a language takes too much time (years) takes too many years.
a. You won't spend many more years in high school (time).
b. There aren't many rules to learn in English (grammar).
c. Sophie doesn't know much English (words)!
d. Sophie thinks there is too much vocabulary in English (words).
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Sophie’s Choice
FAIRE FAIRE
“And thank you for making me to bloom like a rose.” “Not ‘to bloom,’” he explained, “just ‘bloom.’” (l.
4-5)
1. ANALYSE
Nathan corrige Sophie : réécrivez ce qu'elle dit sans erreur. La construction verbale qui suit make est :
make + sujet de BV + BV.
Cette structure correspond souvent au français: « faire faire quelque chose à quelqu'un ».
N.B. : Quand le sujet de BV est un pronom, c'est un pronom complément : me.
2. EXERCICES
Composez des phrases logiques au prétérit. Remplacez les noms par des pronoms.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Nathan - Sophie - take vitamins
Sophie - Nathan - give examples
Sophie - Nathan and the narrator - stop playing with words
Our English teacher - students - learn irregular verbs.
Traduisez les phrases suivantes.
a.
Son père lui fait faire des exercices d'anglais tous les jours
b.
Les professeurs nous font faire trop de contrôles.
c.
C'est difficile de leur faire comprendre la grammaire anglaise.
d.
Mes parents m'ont fait écouter beaucoup de chansons en anglais quand j'étais petit.
PRONUNCIATION
1. Find the stress: aware, about, finally, exceedingly, instinct
2. Spot the sound: dialogue, coach, patient, tough, though, meticulous, learn, ear
3. -ed forms: [d], [t] or [Id]: added, echoed, stroked, groaned, clutched
The Movie
Sophie's Choice, 1982
Directed by Alan J. Pakula
Screenplay by Alain J. Pakula, based on William Styron's novel
Starring Meryl Streep as Sophie Zawistowska, Kevin Kline as Nathan, Peter MacNicol as Stingo
Academy Awards, USA, 1983: Best Actress (Oscar): Meryl Streep - Best Writing, Screenplay: Alan J.
Pakula
British Academy Awards, 1984: Best Actress: Meryl Streep - Best Newcomer: Kevin Kline
GOING ABROAD
1. ESLV1 Sportifs Octobre 1999 (250 words): Would you go and live in another country? What
would motivate your decision? What difficulties would you be faced with?
2. LLV2 National Juin 2000 (250 words): If you had to leave your country one day, where would
you go and why? Wouldn't you miss anything?
3. ESLV1 Antille-Guyane Septembre 1999 (350 words): Would you be ready to leave your
homeland to follow the one you love abroad? Give your reasons.
4. LLV2 Antilles-Guyanne Septembre 2000 (250 words): Would you rather live near a small lake in
Canada or in a big city in America?
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