Marta Guerrieri, Group A 16/05/07
English for minors-Module II,Task 2
My
double (a working-class do-nothing
adolescent from Birmingham, whom I got to know through his blog on
the Internet) has a style of writing based on stereotypical
Anglo style learned at school.It’s linear, colloquial, simple,
made of short period sentences, with some inflections from the young
man’s local slang. SPECIFY!
ALSO SPECIFY THE “BAD
LANGUAGE” HE USES AS A MARK OF REBELLION.
My maxims:
Don’t squander the best days of your life
I wasted most of my time being lazy and stupid,but I don’t care
Don’t be a hateful person
Study is not as important as the experience you draw from travelling
My friends overall
I want to be indipendend from my family and from the environment in which I grew up
True love means marriage in the future
I feel civil in my environment
Italianissime maxims vs my counter maxims
1) “SENZA PASTA,NON E’ UN PRANZO(O UNA CENA)”-I arrange my meal!
2)”LA MAMMA E’ SEMPRE LA MAMMA”-I can do it by myself
3) “CON CALMA,COSA VUOI CHE SIANO 10 MIN DI RITARDO”-Punctuality is matter of respect
4) “IMBASTICI IL DISCORSO ARRICCHENDOLO DI RETORICA E FARAI COLPO”-Go straight to the point
5) “SE MI COMPORTO COSI’,TUTTI MI GIUDICANO”-Act as you like,no one is looking at you
6) “CHI OTTIENE RISULTATI PIU’ ALTI E’ IL PIU’ BRAVO E INTELLIGENTE E AVRA’ UN FUTURO”-Your future is what you decide of it with all means you have.no one is better than someone else
7) “HO PAURA DELLA MIA MORTE PER LA SOFFERENZA CHE PROVEREBBERO I MIEI CARI”-I fear dying young
8) LA COLPA E’ SEMPRE DEGLI ALTRI-I feel responsible of my faults
Report:
On Sunday morning I got up late and Johnny,the cat of the Italian family where I live now,had just come back from a night out.The mother compared it to me: “ Johnny usually come back home in the morning,just like you!” “Mom” I answered: “cats are crap,I hate’em but they act as they want,being costantly indipendent from everything!” She seemed to agree “Look at me” I went on “I’m a lazy mother fucker but I already left home to be a person on my own,to get a shape of myself”.
“Don’t have breakfast” she said,then.We are going to have lunch with granfather”. I didn’t pay attention to her because I felt a little bit irritated because of the choice she made for me.
Half an hour later,lunch was ready.All the family around the table,chatting loudly,in a sense I like’em.they were so tied between them in the meal time,joyful an laughing all the time.Then,I asked for a beer. “Beer?why?” father said.”I need it!”I answered.and them,surprised: “from when?”
The mum gave it to me.It was analcholic!!But I didn’t care,I was enjoying the atmosphere.
Then I asked to the father of the family how he considered Marco,their daughter’s boyfriend for more than 2 years.He started to ironize about him(he was joking)and I told them thwy will probably get married,after 2 years together. “You say it really?Stop joking!” they couldn’t believe me.maybe they don’t value the marriage in Italy or it’s not taken seriously.
Pissed off the rest of my food,I helped them to clean the table because I feel civil in the place I live,and towards them.
The day after in the morning,just waken up,I went towards the kitchen.I tought that was a shit to walk naked-feet on the floor:in this way you can see the crap you are walking on.Why they don’t use the moquette??It can hide the crap.The Italian mother was silent(it sounded strange).She was putting some too genuine food in the fridge.She was so fucking annoyed;suddenly she started : “Your brother!what a stupid guy!He wasn’t ready to go to school today morning.He was still having breakfast when I came back home to pick up him at home to bring him to school.I can’t stand it!!”
“Oh fuck it,mother!”I said. “Leave him in peace!If he’s in late,the responsability belongs to himself only.He will learn then,when he’ll start to get problems with the others”
She got angry: “Don’t justify him because he brings problems to my engagements too,if he’s in late.”
“I undestand you feel he treats you as shit.but…come off him,then!Try not to be influenced by everything he does.”
She tryed to convince me again and again at the point that I pissed off the conversation.I wanted to go out and enjoy with my friends.
Conclusioni:
L’esperienza di impersonificare culturalmente il mio doppio nel mio ambiente è stata controversa:da un lato divertente,dall’altro mi sono resa conto che è stato poco costruttivo.
La mia più grande riuscita è stata quella di aver indagato sociologicamente un personaggio che puo essere definito una non entità,cioè un giovane ancora allo sbaraglio.
Il mio fallimento è stato invece nell’esprimerlo,poiché non l’ho fatto “proprio”e quindi non mi è stato possibile esprimere il “will to mean” della sua lingua inglese,di conseguenza interiorizzare la cultura di un ragazzo di Birmingham.
Potrei dire che l’esperimento è riuscito,perché ho dato una forma a Rich,l’ho fatto comportare da teenager con una base culturale inglese,ho visto il mondo di Marta attraverso i suoi occhi,ciò l’ho capito anche dalle reazioni dei miei genitori.Però in fondo,sento di non aver “completato l’opera”.Essendo il mio doppio un personaggio confusionario e sconclusionato e attenendomi io più che altro all’apparenza di lui che presenta sul suo blog mista a certi valori che appartengono alla sua comunità,sì sono riuscita a caratterizzarlo,ma ho espresso un “will to be” confuso,appunto,e un inglese incapace di esprimere davvero una cultura.