Lesson 6 Blackmail

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• Lesson 6 Blackmail
• 
  Arthur Hailey

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Objectives of Teaching

• get familiar with the background of the author
  and this piece of writing
• understand the main idea and theme of this text
• master the key words and phrases and their use
• learn and appreciate the writing style of this
  passage.

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Important and Difficult Points

• understand the main idea of this passage
• learn to use the key words and phrases
• learn and appreciate the writing style

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Background information---the author
born and educated in Britain. 1939, RAF(????),
emigrated to Canada 1949. Famous novels
Hotel ??? Airport??? The moneychanger??
Arthur Hailey ???? (1920-2004)

• This piece is taken from Hotel

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Type of writing

• Fiction/novel, to be specific, a thriller,
  designed to hold the interest by the use of a
  high degree of intriguey(??), adventure or
  suspense.

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Detailed Study of the Text
1.The chief house officer, Ogilvie, who had
declared he would took twice that time
Paraphrase the sentence. The chief house
officer, Ogilvie, gave the Croydons a mysterious
telephone call telling them he would pay them a
visit an hour later, but actually he appeared at
their suite two hours later.
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Detailed Study of the Text
2. the Duke (in Britain) a nobleman, whose rank
is just below that of a prince. Below the duke
are the marquis, earl, viscount and baron. 3.
the Duchess wife or widown of a duke, or a woman
with a rank equal to that of a duke 4. the
nerves of both the Duke and Duchess were
excessively frayed The nerves of both the Duke
and Duchess were worn out by the long wait, were
over-strained. Both the Duke and Duchess were
extremely nervous.
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Detailed Study of the Text
5. the muted buzzer muted to render the
noise of the bell less harsh and strident 6. she
had dispatched her maid on an invented errand
They sent her out to get her out of the way the
errand being just an excuse, a trip which was
not necessary. Obviously the talk between
Ogilvie and the Croydons had to be kept a secret.
7. the moon-faced male secretary The use of
male before secretary is to avoid possibility of
the readers assuming otherwise, for commonly in
the U.S. secretaryship is the female profession.
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Detailed Study of the Text
8. cruelly instructed cruel because they knew
the secretary was terrified of dogs. They could
easily have found some other errand for him. 9.
to exercise the Bedlington terriers to walk the
dogs to take the dogs out and give them some
exercise. The Bedlington terrier is a breed of
blue or liver-coloured, wooly-coated, active,
typically small dogs. The terriers are a status
symbol showing that the Duchess id no ordinary
dog owner. And the fact that they can keep dogs
in a hotel suite proves they are very important
people.
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Detailed Study of the Text
10. Her own tension was not lessened Ogilvie
had telephoned to say that he would be at the
suite in an hour. The Duchess made arrangement
for the maid and the secretary to be away when he
called. But he was an hour late, and the maid and
the secretary might return at any moment. The
Duchess knew this and it made her nervous.
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Detailed Study of the Text
11. A wave of cigar smoke accompanied Ogilvie in
to smoke a cigar in the presence of a lady
without ask for permission is impolite and being
familiar. He comes into the room smoking his
cigar. Ogilvie is a coarse, vulgar, and
uneducated fellow and because he thinks he has
the Croydons under his thumb he doesnt give a
damn to what they may think or feel. The Duchess
looked pointedly, that is, directly and sharply
at the cigar, trying to intimidate hem with her
superior social position. 12. Would you kindly
put that out. a period instead of a question
mark, indicating it is said in a falling tone,
meant to be a command, not a polite request.
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Detailed Study of the Text
13. piggy eyes small, narrow eyes lost in the
mass of flesh. Ogilvie is one of the bad guys
in this novel. He has piggy eyes, a gross jowled
face, an obese body, speaks in falsetto, is
vulgar, unscrupulous, ill-mannered, to the point
of throwing his cigar on the carpet. Some
examples with the word pig Dont be a pig.
(Dont be greedy.) He is a pig. (He is a dirty,
greedy or ill-mannered person) Ive made a pig of
myself. (Ive eaten too much.) 14. surveyed her
sardonically He looked her up and down
scornfully because he had evidence of their crime
up his sleeve and felt sure that in a moment he
would be able to humble her and bring her to her
knees.
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Detailed Study of the Text
15. to sweep the spacious, will-appointed room
His glance passes swiftly over the big,
excellently furnished and arranged room. 16. who
faced them uncertainly Besides having a weak
character, the Duke is over fond of liquor and
other mens wives, and so is submissive to the
Duchess, herself a woman of strong character, a
known public figure and cousin of the queen.
After the road accident, it was the Duchess who
masterminded the cover-up and the Duke wasnt
quite sure of what to say to Ogilvie or what to
do, he was afraid of messing things up.
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Detailed Study of the Text
17. an appreciative chuckle mainly self
appreciative. When a hotel employee goes to a
guests room, usually he goes there on business
and no familiarity is allowed. But here Ogilvie
was enjoying the fact that he could afford to do
whatever he liked. He loved being in a position
of temporary supremacy. Also he appreciated the
fact that the Duchess was no fool. She knew why
he had come. He lowered the level of his
incongruous falsetto voice He had an unnaturally
high-pitched voice. When he spoke now, he lowered
the pitch. incongruous This falsetto voice
sounded funny coming from a thickset man like
Ogilvie.
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Detailed Study of the Text
18. a warning glance The Duke had made a
blunder the night before by mentioning the car in
front of the hotels assistant general manager
when his wife was trying hard to establish
something of an alibi. Now the wife was warning
him not to blunder again. 19. it pays to check
to be profitable or worthwhile to check. Other
examples It pays to think before you
speak. Itll pay to keep a diary in English.
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Detailed Study of the Text
20. surprising speed surprising because you
wouldnt expect a fat man like him to move
quickly 21. You two was in that hit-n-run
You two are guilty of that hit-and-run accident.
Hit-and-run is usually used to describe a driver
who flees from the scene of an accident in which
he is involved. 22. your high-an-mightiness
High-and-mighty very proud, (the correct way
to address a Duke or a Duchess is Your
Grace).Ogilvie addressed her this way in
imitation of Your highness, to mock her haughty
attitude. 23. high-tailed it (colloquial) leave
in a hurry, scurry off
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Detailed Study of the Text
24. theyll throw the book, and never mind who it
hits Theyll deal out the maximum in punishment,
to apply the full force of the law and they will
not care who will be punished in this case. To
throw the book is an idiom, in which the word
book means the law book. It refers to the book.
Here Ogilvie follows the metaphor through. 25.
The Duchess of croydonthree centuries and a half
of inbred arrogance behind herdid not yield
easily The Duchess was supported by her
arrogance coming from parents of noble families
who belonged to the nobility for more than three
hundred years. So she did not give in easily.
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Detailed Study of the Text
26. she faced the grossness of the house
detective squarely She stood up boldly and
rebuked the coarse vulgarity of the house
detective. 27. Lindys Place a gambling joint, a
gambling nightclub, a casino 28. Irish Bayou
bayou ¹beiu a French, word, a marsh. New
Orleans was colonized by the French, so a lot of
places there have French names. 29. fancy Jaguar
Fancy here means expensive and superior model
(car). 30. You were into a second hundredwith a
real swinging party You were beginning to spend
another hundred dollars of your own (the hundred
won in gambling had already been spent) to treat
a merry and lively party.
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Detailed Study of the Text
31. There aint much, out of the way, which
people who stay in this hotel do, I dont get to
hear about If anybody who stays in this hotel
does anything wrong, improper or unusual, I
always get to know about it. There isnt much
that can escape me. out of the way improper,
wrong, unusual 32. lickered up liquored up,
drunk Compare liquor an alcoholic drink,
esp. one made by distillation, as whiskey or rum
(neat whiskey) wine mainly grape wine (sweet
or dry wine) soft drinks non-alcoholic, like
soda pop chaser a mild drink, taken with or
after liquor be as good as ones word /break
ones word /a man of his word in so many words
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Detailed Study of the Text
33. On a hunch I went over to the garage As I
suspected and felt there was something wrong, I
went over to the garage to inspect. hunch a
feeling about something not based on the known
facts premonition or suspicion. The meaning
derives from the superstition that it brings good
luck to touch a hunch-back. I have a hunch
that I rather think that 34. Providin nobody
twigs the car It should be Provided (or
providing) that nobody notices the car. twig
(from thieves slang) observe, notice 35. You
people are hot You are now wanted by the police.
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Detailed Study of the Text
36. kept firm, tight rein on her racing mind She
kept firm and tight control of her mind which is
working quickly. Here the Duchess is thinking
quickly but at he same time keeping her thoughts
under control, not letting them run wild. 37. as
if the discussion were of some minor domestic
matter and not survival itself as if the
discussion were about some unimportant domestic
matter, not concerned with life and death. 38.
her husband now a tense but passive spectator
Nominative absolute construction with a noun plus
a noun. Her husband watched anxiously and
nervously, incapable of taking an active
part. 39. calculated coolness She was not cool,
in fact, her mind was racing, but she
deliberately appeared to be cool.
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Detailed Study of the Text
40. to fall victim to some sharp-eyed policeman
to be seen and arrested by an observant and alert
policeman 41. adept at using maps skilled in
using maps 42. their speech and manner would
betray them Their speech and manner would reveal
their identity. betray reveal unknowingly, or
against ones wishes Examples He said he had
stayed indoors all day, but his hoes betrayed
him. His face betrayed his fear. 43. pretty well
fixed quite rich, wealthy fixed
(colloquial) supplied with something needed, esp.
money, e.g. well fixed for life
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Detailed Study of the Text
44. She must do so in such a way as to place the
outcome beyond any doubt She would offer him so
much money as to make it impossible for him to
refuse to do what she would ask him to in return,
no matter how dangerous the job might be. 45.
eyes bulged with greed 46. watched intently
The to Duchess, it was a question of survival
itself. Only if Ogilvie agreed to drive their car
north would they have a chance to get out of the
mess unscathed. 47. This cigar bother in you,
Duchess? If this cigar is bothering you, Ill
put it out. This shows that he is willing to
comply with the Duchess wishes.
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Organization of the story

• Part 1. Prelude (The chief house officer
  ...Ogilvie remained standing)
• Section 1. The setting, main characters, and
  the suspension. (The chief house ...that both
  might return at any moment.)
• Section 2. The preliminary encounter between
  the house detective and the Croydons. (A wave of
  cigar smoke...Ogilvie remained standing)

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Organization of the story

• Part2 Process of unveiling the crime (Now
  then...the Duchess turned away)
• Section 1. First round of clash. the Duke
  confessed his crime(Now then...Now we're getting
  somewhere).
• Section 2. Second round of clash.(Wearily, in a
  gesture...I can prove all I need to )
• Section 3. The conviction was undeniable.(The
  Duke cautioned...the Duchess turned away ).

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Organization of the story

• Part 3. The Dirty Deal
• Section 1. Eliminating the possibility of having
  the car repaired in New Orleans. ( Her husband
  asked...You people are hot).
• Section 2. The interior monologue of the Duchess.
  Her judgement, analysis and calculation of the
  situation, weighing the advantages and
  disadvantages. (The duchess ...Or had they? )
• Section 3. The Duchess' decision to gamble on the
  greed of the house detective.(The Duchess faced
  Ogilvie... the silence hung )
• Section 4. The ending. The dirty deal reached.

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Character analysis

• Ogilvie (notice that the name itself sounds
  awkward, awful) rude, uneducated, sardonic,
  self-assured, shamelessly greedy, but finally
  subservient
• the Duchess imperious, three centuries and a
  half of inbred arrogance, decisive, vigilant,
  very quick in response, highly educated
• the Duke uncertain, ready to compromise,
  passive, despairing,

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Rhetorical devices

• Metaphor
• ...the nerves of both ... were
  excessively frayed
• his wife shot him a swift, warning
  glance.
• The words spat forth with sudden
  savagery.
• Ill spell it out.
• Euphemism
• ...and you took a lady friend.
• Metonymy
• won 100 at the tables
• lost it at the bar
• they'll throw the book,...

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Questions for discussion

• 1. What made the Duchess jump to the conclusion
  that Ogilvie had come to blackmail them?
• 2. Why did the Duchess offer Ogilvie twenty-five
  thousand dollars instead of the ten thousand the
  detective asked for? Did Ogilvie accept the
  Duchess offer?