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Your Witness Analysis

The document summarizes a short story titled "Your Witness" by Helen Nielsen. It provides context about the author and analyzes various elements of the story, including the style, functional language, genre, form of narration, setting, plot, characterization, themes, and stylistic devices. The plot involves a lawyer named Arnold questioning a witness in court to prove his client's innocence of a crime, but the story takes an unexpected turn when Arnold's wife kills her husband after confronting him about his affair.

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1K views4 pages

Your Witness Analysis

The document summarizes a short story titled "Your Witness" by Helen Nielsen. It provides context about the author and analyzes various elements of the story, including the style, functional language, genre, form of narration, setting, plot, characterization, themes, and stylistic devices. The plot involves a lawyer named Arnold questioning a witness in court to prove his client's innocence of a crime, but the story takes an unexpected turn when Arnold's wife kills her husband after confronting him about his affair.

Uploaded by

Valencia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Your Witness by H.

Nielsen

I. Introduction
Helen Nielsen was author of mysteries and television scripts for such television
dramas as "Perry Mason" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". She was born in
Rosewille, the USA, in 1918. Her main genre was mystery. She studied
journalism, art and aeronautical drafting at various schools, including the Chicago
Art Institute. Before her writing career, she worked as a draftsman during World
War II and contributed to the designs of B-36 and P-80 aircraft. Her stories were
often set in Laguna Beach and Oceanside, California where she lived for 60 years.
According to the title, it is easy to understand that the story may somehow relate to
crime, court or something like this, so it is not obscure and clear.
The short story itself was written in 1959. It is about a successful lawyer and one
of the case he should win.

II. The general character of style


In general, the story is quite formal and neutral because it is about the court and the
crime. Sometimes the author uses remarks to show Arnold's change of mood:
“With a degree of bitterness…”
“Arnold continued, with mock humility”
“And then Arnold had smiled”.
“Arnold smiled. He was always dangerous when he smiled”.
“Arnold turned toward him, smiling”, etc.
The author does not use slang and nonstandard English, archaic or invented words,
but she uses courtroom vocabulary to make this story more formal and to create a
more serious atmosphere.

III. The functional style

The English bookish literary language of “Your Witness” is written in fiction style.
It contains courtroom vocabulary. In the whole, the language of the story is quite
simple: there are no archaic and bookish words, no barbarisms and foreignisms, no
slang and jargon.

IV. The genre of the story


The genre of this story is complicated to define but I’m sure it could be a
tragicomedy as it consists of tragic and ironic events.

V. The form of the story


“Your Witness” is a third person narration story with bits of dialogs, especially
between Arnold and Mr. Babcock. All the events are described in chronological
order.

VI. The type of narration


This story is a third person narration told us by an external narrator. He does not
appear in the story and does not take part in described events. The narrator is
objective telling the events without including his or her own opinion to them.

VII. The setting of the story


The story takes place in a courtroom. We do not know the city or the country but
as it was said in the introduction, most of Nielsen’s stories took place in the USA,
so perhaps this short story is not an exception. There is no information about the
time of the actions described, but I guess it could be the 20th century.

VIII. The plot


The plot structure is quite complicated as by the end of one theme begins the
another one. There is no prologue and epilogue.
1) The exposition: the very beginning of the story, when we learn that the
action takes place in a courtroom. Information about Arnold's lawyer is also
provided here.
2) The narrative hook: we read about Arnold asking Mr. Babcock questions
about the main details of crime, and at the same time find out that Mr.
Jerome deliberately committed the crime.
3) The rising actions: Mr. Babcock tells the court about the situation on the
intersection.
4) The climax: Arnold proved that his client is not guilty.
5) The falling actions: closing the case. The witness is proved to be unreliable.
6) The narrative hook 2: another conflict takes place here. Naomi talks with
Arnold about his lover. We understand that this topic is very disturbing to
her, and something is going to happen.
7) The rising actions 2: Everything that happens is described very briefly.
Arnold does not expect something bad to happen.
8) The climax 2: Naomi kills her husband by .
9) The falling actions: “after the police officer had extracted Arnold's body
from under the wheels, Naomi tried to explain” what has exactly happened.
10) The resolution: the last paragraph of the story. The only witness of
Naomi’s crime is Mr. Babcock who was proved to be unreliable.

IX. Characterization
The author describes the characters in both the direct and the indirect methods.
Through people’s speech and deeds, we can understand their nature, but at the
same time the author gives precise descriptions of the characters:

“Mr. Jerome. He was nineteen. A slight nineteen with an almost childlike face and
guilty blue eyes that stared disconsolately at his uncalloused hands laced together
on the table before him. His blond hair was combed back neatly, and he wore a
conservative tie, white shirt and dark suit, as per Arnold's instructions. Kenneth
Jerome looked more like an honor student than a cold-blooded hit and run killer”.
“Henry Babcock was merely nervous at this stage of the cross-examination. He
was a rather slight man, balding, had a clean-shaven face and wore thick lensed
glasses that magnified his eyes owlishly. He might have been Arnold's age, Naomi
realized with a sense of incredulity. There was no other similarity. Henry Babcock
looked shabby and servile”.

X. The theme and the subject


 The theme of honesty;
Throughout this story, we have seen the concept of "honesty" from different sides.
On the one hand, honesty in court, when the lawyer tells the truth, but he protects
the guilty person who committed the crime. On the other hand, honesty in the
relationship of a married couple.
 The relationship between husband and wife;
The author shows the married life of two characters. She describes how they sort
out things out and does not hide the fact that one is cheating on the other.

XI. Stylistic devices and expressive means:

Collocations: proved a red traffic light green; felt strangely at home in her mind; a
conservative tie; have a showdown call; keep under wraps; get the wheels rolling
etc;
Irony: uncomfortable disadvantage of not being dead; take punishment for being
a good citizen;);
Epithets: childlike face; uncalloused hands; guilty eyes; electrifying virility;
fascinated eyes; scrupulous care; cold-blooded hit;
Metaphors: a marriage of convenience; Arnold's voice- was an instrument played
with professional skill;
Similes: like a whip, like an honor student, as simple as Arnold had said;
Enumeration: He was a dramatist, a strategist, a psychologist; He was more
handsome at fifty than he'd been at twenty-five, more confident, more successful,
more feared and much more hated;
Repetition: I’m honest, I’m not cruel; is that what you told the police?; I see
nothing objectable; The innocent must always be made to appear guilty.
Comparison: Kenneth Jerome looked more like an honor student than a cold-
blooded hit and run killer; "You're talking nonsense, Naomi. Go to bed." It was
the way to dismiss a child;
Parcellation: Echoes. She pushed them from her mind;
Anaphor: Presumably, Mrs. Thompson was weary after the strain of her vigil;
presumably, she walked with a heavy tread-she was a rather heavy woman;
"Maybe she came too fast for me to see her. Maybe she was running." "Maybe she
was afraid.";
XII. Personal evaluation
Overall, I enjoyed reading this story. I liked the way the author conveyed the tense
atmosphere in the courtroom. There are not many stylistic devices, but it does not
make the story boring, but, on the contrary, short and sweet. I could not have
expected such an ending of the story, I was even a little shocked. Naomi seemed
quiet and calm to me, and she didn't seem capable of doing such a thing!
I was also very intrigued by how Arnold would prove the culprit's innocence, so
this story seemed quite intriguing to me.

Courtroom vocabulary:

A lawyer
Forensic
A murder
An assassination
A crime
Place of execution
Witness
A courtroom spectator
The accused
The victim
Take punishment
An accident
The defendant
To clarify a detail
Your Honor
To sit in a witness box
Testimony
Acquittal
To have a showdown
As per one’s instructions
To keep under wraps
To get wind of smth
To get the wheels rolling
I want him tabbed from the year one

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