On Sun, 23 Jan 2000, David Johnston wrote:
Jason Liao wrote:
So, how to regain control?
So, how do I regain control?
There is nothing really wrong with the original sentence.
Except that Ranma goes from being extremely well spoken to stating
something that isn't a proper sentence.
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Even well-spoken people do not always obey formalistic rules of grammar.
Consider this sentence from one of the best speeches in history:
"To sleep, perchance to dream." Hamlet is a well-spoken person, but he
doesn't need to add a pronoun to identify who is going to "sleep"
because he knows perfectly well who he is talking about.
Hamlet's speech is also intended to flow, and sound lyrical. To put a
pronoun there would chance disrupting that. On the other hand, Ranma is
merely holding an internal monolog, and is not trying to make his words
flow at all, since he's not in a play. This is -pure- internal monolog,
not being spoken at all. He's certainly no Kuno, trying to think in
poetry.
Shakespere's characters, well spoken and following gramatical rules, often
spoke in iambic pentameter (sp?). Does anyone you know not actively
involved in a play speak in iambic pentameter?
One thing that does strike me, is that this is such a remarkably stupid
idea that I think Ranma needs some help striking upon it. He probably
should have just finished reading half-way through Hamlet to connect the
story up with its inspiration, and to justify Ranma's change in
character. (He should probably stop reading before the part where
Hamlet's idea leads to the death of his fiancee and friends.)
Or maybe that's his plan. ^_^
Had he been speaking in his
ordinary fashion, I would not have pointed this out. Even so, it still
sounds like Viz's Shampoo might say.
Not really. Viz's Shampoo would say, "How Shampoo get control back?"
But you do realize the point I was trying to make with this comparison, I
hope.
Of course the problem with this speech in the first place is that you
can't regain control you never had.
Heh. Does anyone really have any control in Ranma 1/2? Only Nabiki, and
that's because everyone lets her. If any of the martial artists didn't
want Nabiki around, then she'd be in trouble.
"Then it is rude for school to be late. I'd expect it to be here promptly."
I expect...
I'd means "I would". By saying it as you have it, he's not making a
complete sentence.
Yes he is. "would" is a perfectly acceptable verb.
Sorry, this is a problem with finishing C&C at 3:00 in the morning. I
-should- have said that the tense is incorrect. He's talking about
something that is going on right now, so saying -would- is incorrect.
Unless of course he is talking about what he expects from school all the
time, rather than just today.
True. But that would involve changing the tense in the middle of the
distinct idea, which leads to confusion on the part of the reader.
Where are the random 'acts' of madness? What posessions is he treating as
meaningless pieces of paper? Again, you have not accomplished what you
have said tha tyou originally intended.
Well, the truth is Hamlet's speeches were not so random as all that either.
No, it wasn't. But Hamlet wasn't trying to prevent himself from being
manupilated. Instead, he was trying to manipulate others (the King and
his mother). Ranma wanted to make it not cost-effective for Nabiki to try
to manipulate him and to shield himself from retribution by faking
madness, but so far, he's just making a sermon.
That's true. But then, despite what Ranma says, this isn't about him
freeing himself from manipulation. He is getting control over his life
by gaining control over everyone in it.
Then he ought to -say- so.
Being told something explicitly, and then doing something else is usually
one of the worst things you can do in fanfic (IMHO). If you can get the
reader to assume something, and then throw him a curveball, that's one
thing. But stating something, and then doing something else leaves the
reader with a sense of anticipation that is never satisfied.
-Natsume Ranma Ranma
-------
The sardines weren't worth the trouble. A few more shots, then
Ryoga-san would overheat and explode. Ducking around a corner,
I managed to lose him as I entered the ramshackle residence of
my Anime supplier.
One look at his face and I knew that I had been betrayed. "Tell me,"
I insisted. He refused, so I slammed him against the wall.
"Last chance. Where can Ranma-Ranma find good fanfics?"
"Try Jason Liao," he whispered, before he slumped to the floor.
I heard the sounds of a door splintering as I left through the
window, one step ahead of Tendo Heavy Industries...