DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE GIFT OF THE MAGI (SMITH'S DISCOURSE MODES)

Five Discourse Modes have been identified by Smith (2003), i.e. Narrative, Report, Descriptive, Information and Argument. Smith analyzes the properties that distinguish each mode, focusing on grammatical rather than lexical information. She has also examined presentational matters: topic and focus; variation in syntactic structure; and subjectivity, or point of view (2003, 1999, 1991). According to him, close linguistic analysis of the text through discourse modes helps understand the text. The short story “The Gift of the Magi” is analyzed applying the five modes of discourse with the objective if the analysis of the text could lead better understanding of the text. It is also analyzed if all the five modes are present in one type of text i.e. the Narrative here, and if their presence in the text enhances the understanding. The purpose of the analysis is to mark the stylistic effect of the Discourse Modes that may contribute to the better and proper understanding of the text, specifically from a pedagogical point of view.