Analysis of "Passionate year" James Hilton

Passionate Year

The text under analysis is an extract from the book “The Passionate Year” written by James
Hilton.
James Hilton wrote his first novel “Catherine Herself”. His first big success came with the
publication of “Good-bye, Mr.Chips”. Some of his other books are: “We are not alone”,
“Random Harvest”, “Nothing so strange” and “Time and Time Again”.
In this text the author describes the relationship between pupils and their attitude to a new
teacher.
The title of the text excites many associations due to abstract word “passionate” the relationship
between pupils. This text is the author’s reminiscences from his own life.
The author wrote the psychological story because he describes pupil’s everyday life and
difficulties which a new young teacher can find. The author used such stylistic devices, for
example: pun – to underline or to show us the all humoristic of this situation and so the author
wanted to show the intension, the atmosphere in the class. The author described not these pupils,
but he also wanted to show teacher’s one-day and his attempts to communicate with children.

This story was written in chronological order. We could see all events which happened in this
story.
This text can be divided into three logical parts. All events which he describes in this text are
presented in their logical order.
The first part of the text introduces the exposition. In this part the author shows us the scene from
one day’s pupil everyday life at school. The author wanted to reveal the atmosphere in class. His
aim was to display the teacher’s agitation and give us the intension of this situation. The
atmosphere was strained, awkward, tense and nervy.
The main characters in this story are: the teacher - Speed, two boys, the whole assembly and
Nailor.
The second part is a narration.
A young man comes into the class to conduct a lesson. It was his first lesson, the atmosphere was
broken by pupils and the teacher decided to punish them. He ordered to stand Warsley or
Wowsley, but he didn’t know who was who. Wowsley was ungilty and he said about it his friend
supported him, but the teacher decided to punish these two boys. It was no important for him
who was guilty and then two boys wrote 100 lines. But at the end of the punishment the teacher
remembered his own case from his life and he made concessions.
The third part is climax. The climax lies in the episode when the teacher began to punish the
boys. The more tension was the moment “What for sir?”
The plot is unified. The main idea of this text is to testify the conflict between the teacher and the
boys. The nature of the conflict is based on misunderstanding between a teacher and a pupil on
the other hand as a result of generation gap between them. The atmosphere of suspense was
created by the author.
The author used flashbacks from his own life to introduce the reader to information reveal the
teacher’s condition, his own world. The conflict was resolved at the logical end. The teacher
made concession because he remembered himself in his youth. The plot is unified. The main
character – protagonist – is the teacher Speed. He was a broad-minded, experienced, an
intelligent, a well-bred, a well-read, clever and wise person. The antagonist are the boys and the
whole assembly which the author personificated. The boys are very naughty and bad. The main
characters during this text are changed. For example, the teacher Speed changed, he became
greater to children and he changed his own world.
The author reveals the main character describing him as directly and indirectly. He displays us
him through his acts, world.
The purpose of the minor characters was to testify children, their attitude to a new teacher and
their behavior. Two boys represented the whole assembly.

The setting which the author revealed us was very important in my response, because it helps us
to imagine the whole situation.
I think the setting is used symbolically and this setting can be used in any school.
The time, place and atmosphere in this text related to the theme of course. It might happen at any
school to any children and teacher. This story was written by the author. The third person
narrator is Speed who tells us the story. The narrator is the author himself. He is reliable and
objective.

The theme which the author touches upon in this text developed implicitly through the plot, main
characters, descriptions and dialogs. To my mind this theme is actual in our life. It’s sure a
confirm of my values, because it could happen to any young teacher at any school at any time.
The style is consistent and appropriate throughout the story.
The author used some colloquial expressions such as: “to be hard on”, “to pay the penalty of”,
“to put off” to testify Speed’s wishes and attempts to find the contact with the whole class.
The whole class-assembly is a personificated because the author used this stylistic device to
display the atmosphere in class. He created such atmosphere of mutual friendship, trust and
understanding.
The level of diction can be described both formal and informal. The author uses long complex
sentences, stylistic coloured super-neutral words. For example, the following bookish words:
“subdued expectancy”, “outrageously bold”, “adventure passed entirely without incidents”,
poetics words to show Speed’s high intellectual quality and the same time in Speed’s speech can
be charactered informal in his dialogs with the pupils. That’s why the author uses we come
across some short sentences and one case of break in the narrative (What for sir?), “for sitting in
your wrong desk” and colloquial expressions. Credit should be given to the author for his
masterful usage of stylistically coloured worlds. The choice of words in the following
expressions, for example, “straggling to their places”, “the boys stared about them”, “there was
some tittering”,” the whole assembly roared with laughter” contributes to creation of certain
atmosphere.
The author uses some stylistic devices to make the story more expressive, pictures, vivid,
objective.
For example, pun - he wondered how the name should be pronounces whether the first syllable
should rhyme with “purse” or with “horse”.
Using this stylistic device the author wanted to show the intention to put the boy’s off.
One more device is a simile: “as if he were sitting on a powder-magazine” to display the
protagonist’s excitement and intension.

Allusion (stylistic device), for example, “ being pioneers”, oxymoron – “outrageously bold”,
“adventure”, understainment – “tittering”, the epithet – “hysterics of laughter”, metonymy –
“assembly roared with laughter”, “again the assembly laughed” used to show that the class was
unified in its desire, to play practical joke on a new teacher and everyone was ready to do his
part in this action.
The tone of the story in the whole is humorous and ironical. The tone of exposition is a little
extense and the repetition used by the author proves those facts the “boys stared at about the
grinned at each other seemed as if…”
The ironical effect is achieved by means of simile “as if he were sitting”.

Personally I think that this text is interesting because you don’t know what happen next and
how the main characters will behave.
I think that this problem described by the author is very actual nowadays, because it can happen
to any young teacher at any school.