Encore Une Fois

Context

The text is from a travel blog written by an American woman called Anne. She and her family lived in Paris for four years before returning to Washington DC. This particular blog post describes their recent trip to Paris. How can you tell it's a travel blog? A travel blog is a discussion or an informational site published on the Worldwide Web. It normally consists of a personal account of the author's travels. This blog post is a personal account because of the use of pronouns such as 'my' and 'I'. The extract is definitely a modern piece, as it mentions iPhones in the first paragraph. This means that the audience will understand the time context in which the blog post was written in and be able to relate to it. Read it

Who is the narrator, and which viewpoint do they have? As mentioned before, this blog post is a personal account which is written in a first person narrative. The narrative is told from the perspective of the narrator, and as the narrator has a protagonist position, it is entirely a subjective point of view. How reliable is the narrator? There are few (if any) spelling or grammatical errors, which means that Anne must have professionally checked her own writing. This means that readers are more likely to trust what they read. There is also a clear layout of the blog, which also means that readers perceive Anne to be a reliable source of information about Paris.

Language Techniques and Other Features

The inclusion of an image within the blog post makes the post itself more visually attractive and appealing, meaning that more readers will want to read it. The use of onomatopoeia, such as 'snippets of sound' create an intensive atmosphere, but also a rhythm. The post uses sensory language. Cloud is the most common word used in the text, written 27 times. The nouns used in the blog post help to orientate the reader into Paris, at the same time and place that the author was in.

Presentation of Paris and Parisians

The author describes the positive aspects of her holiday in Paris; 'blue skies,' 'temperatures in the 50's', 'sightseeing and hanging out with friends,' 'rush of the familiar'. Visual, olfactory, auditory and gustatory descriptions help to place the reader in Paris; 'rattan cafe chairs lining the sidewalks' 'the sound of klaxons, the taciturn cashiers in Monoprix demanding exact change' 'yeasty smell of the neighbourhood boulangerie' 'crispy galettes laden with cheese, butter, eggs and ham'

The phrase 'demanding exact change,' presents the Parisians as precise, bold and forceful.The description of 'men in their scarves,' shows the men to be more fashionable and feminine than the author is used to.