VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THUỲ LINH
AN ANALYSIS OF CLAUSE EXPANSION
IN ‘TWO THANKSGIVING DAY GENTLEMEN’
BASED ON SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR AND
SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING WRITING

Phân tích về cú mở rộng
trong tác phẩm ‘Hai quý ông trong ngày Lễ Tạ ơn’
dựa trên quan điểm Ngữ pháp Chức năng Hệ thống
và một số gợi ý trong giảng dạy viết M.A. MINOR THESIS
FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE: 60 22 15
HA NOI - 2010


HA NOI - 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Acknowledgement i
Table of Contents ii
Chapter I: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale of the study 1
1.2. Aims of the study 2
1.3. Scope of the study 2
1.4. Methods of the study 3
1.5. Design of the study 3
Chapter II: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1. O‘ Henry and his work 5
2.1.1. O‘ Henry 5
2.1.2. O‘ Henry‗s stories 8
2.1.3. Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen 10
2.2. Systemic Functional Grammar & Clause 11
2.2.1. Systemic Functional Grammar & Its Three Metafunctions 11
2.2.2. Clause 14
2.3. Above the Clause: the Clause Complex 14
2.3.1. Clause Complex and Sentence 14
2.3.2. Parataxis and Hypotaxis 15
2.3.3. Projection and Expansion 16
a. Expansion 16
b. Projection 18
2.4. Summary 18
Chapter III: EXPANSION IN “TWO THANKSGIVING DAY GENTLEMEN”

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Rationale of the Study

The world has seemed to become smaller and smaller together with the process of
globalization which is considered natural. People around the world need to know one
common language to communicate and that language now is obviously English. English
has been used as an international language - a tool for numerous economic, cultural and
social activities worldwide.
Realizing the importance of the language, English has been put in Vietnamese
schools for a long time. With this action, the movement of learning English has been
blooming in all areas of the country, from the North to the South. However, it seems that in
primary and high schools, more attention has been paid on grammar and reading skill than
on any other ones such as writing, speaking and listening. Fortunately, learners have
recently paid more attention to speaking and listening because they need these two to
communicate well. Then, how about their writing skill?
As an instructor at the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Thai Nguyen University, I
was many times disappointed when receiving students‘ writings with simple errors. A
majority of these errors are not grammatical ones. This means students do not meet many
difficulties with tenses or structures of noun phrases, verb phrases or prepositional phrase.
Most of their mistakes lie on higher structures. Many of them are confused about relations
between clauses: how to connect them together, whether it should be one sentence with
one clause or one sentence with two clause, etc. The thought of providing a theoretical
framework for instructors and first year students to apply into studying writing skill is the

students often make mistakes with these.
- The approach of grammar used to analyze in the paper is Systemic Functional
Grammar developed by M.A.K Halliday because of its clear system and easiness
to understand as applied into the analysis.
- Only one short story of O. Henry, Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen, is
discussed due to the time constraints, knowledge restriction, and also the scope
of an M.A. thesis.
- Students mentioned in the study are all first year ones from Faculty of Foreign
Languages of Thai Nguyen University.

1.4. Methods of the Study

As the title of this the study has suggested, the following steps should be taken so
as to make full analysis of the research paper.
Firstly, the original of ―Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen‖ by O. Henry will be
searched on some famous and reliable websites for reading. There are some versions from
Bookworm or A Ladder Edition, in which the story was re-written in simpler ways to meet
with different reading levels of readers. However, in this paper we would analyze the
original one by O. Henry through which his ways of writing complex clauses can be seen
better.
Secondly, related issues such as Systemic Functional Grammar, Clause and
especially notions about Clause Complex in the light of Functional Grammar will be made
clear. This would make it easier for readers to understand when the analysis of the story is
shown.
Thirdly, ―Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen‖ will be analyzed in order to see what
kind of expansion and what devices to connect clauses the author used in his writing.
Finally, the results of the analysis and difficulties in studying writing of first year
students will be discussed in details to come to the suggestions about teaching writing for
students in Faculty of Foreign Languages of Thai Nguyen University.
In order to achieve the goals of the study, two successive methods will be applied

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1. O. Henry and his work
2.1.1 O. Henry

O. Henry was the penname of William Sidney Porter who was born on September
11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. His middle name at birth was Sidney; he changed
the spelling to Sydney in 1898. His parents were Dr. Algernon Sidney Porter (1825–1888),
a physician, and Mary Jane Virginia Swaim Porter (1833–1865). They were married April
20, 1858. When William was three, his mother died from tuberculosis, so he and his father
moved into the home of his paternal grandmother. As a child, Porter was always reading.
He read everything from classics to dime novels. His favorite work was One Thousand and
One Nights.
Porter graduated from his aunt Evelina Maria Porter's elementary school in 1876.
He then enrolled at the Lindsey Street High School. His aunt continued to tutor him until

His job at the GLO was a political appointment by Hall. Hall ran for governor in the
election of 1890 but lost. Porter resigned in early 1891 when the new governor was sworn
in. In the same year, Porter began working at the First National Bank of Austin as a teller
and bookkeeper at the same salary he had made at the GLO. The bank was operated
informally and Porter had trouble keeping track of his books. In 1894, he was accused by
the bank of embezzlement and lost his job but was not indicted. He then worked full time
on his humorous weekly called The Rolling Stone, which he started while working at the
bank. The Rolling Stone featured satire on life, people and politics and included Porter's
short stories and sketches. Although eventually reaching a top circulation of 1500, The
Rolling Stone failed in April 1895, perhaps because of Porter's poking fun at powerful
people. Porter also may have ceased publication as the paper never provided the money he
needed to support his family. By then, his writing and drawings caught the attention of the
editor at the Houston Post.
Porter and his family moved to Houston in 1895, where he started writing for the
Post. His salary was only $25 a month, but it rose steadily as his popularity increased.
Porter gathered ideas for his column by hanging out in hotel lobbies and observing and
talking to people there. This was a technique he used throughout his writing career. While
he was in Houston, the First National Bank of Austin was audited and the federal auditors
found several discrepancies. They managed to get a federal indictment against Porter.
Porter was subsequently arrested on charges of embezzlement, charges which he denied, in
connection with his employment at the bank.
Porter's father-in-law posted bail to keep Porter out of jail, but the day before Porter
was due to stand trial on July 7, 1896, he fled, first to New Orleans and later to Honduras.
While holed up in a Tegucigalpa hotel for several months, he wrote Cabbages and Kings,
in which he coined the term "banana republic" to describe the country, subsequently used
to describe almost any small, unstable tropical nation in Latin America. Porter had sent
Athol and Margaret back to Austin to live with Athol's parents. Unfortunately, Athol
became too ill to meet Porter in Honduras as Porter planned. When he learned that his wife
was dying, Porter returned to Austin in February 1897 and surrendered to the court,
pending an appeal. Once again, Porter's father-in-law posted bail so Porter could stay with

2.1.2 O. Henry‟s stories

O. Henry stories are famous for their surprising endings, to the point that such an
ending is often referred to as an "O. Henry‘s ending." He was called the American answer
to Guy de Maupassant. Both authors wrote twist endings, but O. Henry‘s stories were
much more playful and optimistic. His stories are also well known for witty narration.
Most of O. Henry's stories are set in his own time, the early years of the 20th century.
Many take place in New York City, and deal for the most part with ordinary people: clerks,
policemen, waitresses….
Fundamentally a product of his time, O. Henry's work provides one of the best
English examples of catching the entire flavor of an age. Whether roaming the cattle-lands
of Texas, exploring the art of the "gentle grafter," or investigating the tensions of class and
wealth in turn-of-the-century New York, O. Henry had an inimitable hand for isolating
some element of society and describing it with an incredible economy and grace of
language. Some of his best and least-known work resides in the collection Cabbages and
Kings, a series of stories which each explores some individual aspects of life in a
paralytically sleepy Central American town while each advancing some aspects of the
larger plot and relating back one to another in a complex structure which slowly explicates
its own background even as it painstakingly erects a town which is one of the most detailed
literary creations of the period.
The Four Million is another collection of stories. It opens with a reference to Ward
McAllister's assertion that there were only 'Four Hundred' people in New York City who
were really worth noticing. To O. Henry, everyone in New York counted. He had an
obvious affection for the city and many of his stories are set there—but others are set in
small towns and in other cities.
Among his most famous stories are:
* "The Gift of the Magi" is about a young couple who are short of money but
desperately want to buy each other Christmas gifts. Unbeknownst to Jim, Della sells her
most valuable possession, her beautiful hair, in order to buy a platinum fob chain for Jim's
watch; while unbeknownst to Della, Jim sells his own most valuable possession, his watch,


2.1.3. Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen

This is a story about two men in one Thanksgiving Day. One is Stuffy Pete, a poor
and homeless man and another character is named the Old Gentleman. As reading the first
few lines, readers may wonder about the name of the story and why O. Henry put it ―Two
Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen‖ while there seems to be only one Old Gentleman. The
answer can not be found until we reach the middle of the story.
There has been an implicit tradition for nine years between the Old Gentleman and
Pete that every Thanksgiving Day they would meet in the same place – the third bench on
the right from the East Gate in Union Square, at the same time – promptly at one o‘clock.
The Old Gentleman would lead Pete to the same table in the same restaurant and watch
him eat a big dinner. However, this year one thing is different. Pete is not hungry at all. On
the contrary, he is too full because of being overcharged by an unexpected super bountiful
dinner, and he can not have anything else. Nevertheless, Stuffy Pete still comes to the
place to meet the Old Gentleman. He still comes with the Old Gentleman to the restaurant,
eats as if he was starved for a long time. Finally, as the meal ends and they part at the same
door, the Old Gentleman going south, Stuffy north; he falls down at the corner and is taken
to hospital because of eating too much.
Is Stuffy Pete too greedy? No. So why does he need to eat that second big meal?
Why does he make things difficult to himself like that? Why he does not simply say ―No‖
to the Old Gentleman‘s invitation? Up to this point, readers perhaps can understand why
the name of the story is ―Two Thanksgiving Day Gentleman‖. Not only the Old Gentleman
is a gentleman but also the homeless, poor Stuffy Pete who sacrifices his own feeling to
make the old man happy is also called Gentleman. This is the humane value which can be
seen in almost all O.Henry‘s stories.
However, that is not all for the story. O. Henry‘s stories are also famous for their
―surprising twists‖. Readers one more time feel surprised and moved as they read the last
lines. It turns out that the Old Gentleman who feeds Stuffy Pete a big Thanksgiving meal is
also carried to the hospital, but not for being overcharged but for having nothing to eat for

of the situation in which it is used.
(Van, H. V, 2006: 28)
Each of the three metafunctions is about a different aspect of the world, and is
concerned with a different mode of meaning of clauses. Each of the function is realized by
different set of systems. The ideational function is realized through the system of
Transitivity which is defined as the grammar of processes – material, mental, relational,
verbal, behavioral, existential; the participants in the processes and attendant
circumstances. These notions can be seen more clearly through the following examples.

I
kicked
the ball
Actor
Material. Pro
Goal

I
heard
a noise
outside
Sensor
Mental. Pro
Phenomenon
Circumstance

He
is
good
Carrier
Relational. Pro

The remainder of the clause is the Residue which consists of three functional
components: the Predicator, the Complement, and the Adjunct. The predicator is realized
by a verbal group. The complement is an element which has the potential of being a
subject and typically realized by a nominal group. The adjunct is often known as an
adverbial group (of place, time or manner). Examples to illustrate interpersonal function
can be as follows.

She
is learning
in the room
Subject
Finite
Predicator
Adjunct
Mood
Residue

The boy
hit
the dog
Subject
Finite
Predicator
Compliment
Mood
Residue

. (Van, H. V, 2006: 56)

The third function of language, according to Systemic Functional Grammar, the

Sentence /// the little boy shouted when he saw the wolf ///
Clause

/// the little boy shouted // when he saw the wolf ///
Group

// [ the little boy] [ shouted] //
Word

[ {the} {little} {boy} ]
Morpheme
{<shout> <ed> }

The rank scale (Thompson, 1996: 22)
From the table above, we can see that clause has a special place in a language when
expressing meaning. It is at clause rank that we can begin talking about how things exist,
how things happen and how people feel in the world around. Instead of simply uttering
sounds or single words such as the, little, boy, the systems of clauses allow us to express
ideas such as the little boy shouted… In Systemic Functional Grammar, clause is
considered the basic unit to analyze a discourse.

2.3. Above the Clause: the Clause Complex Although clause is considered the standard unit in Systemic Functional Grammar
by Halliday, clause complex and relationships between clauses are the main subjects of the
analysis in this paper.
2.3.2. Parataxis and Hypotaxis The clauses which make a clause complex are related in two different ways:
syntactically and logico-semantically.
Syntactically, clauses are related to each other basically in one of two ways: either
the relationship is one of equivalence, both or all clauses having the same syntactic status,
or the relationship is one of non-equivalence, the clauses having a different status.
When clauses are linked in a relationship of equality, that relationship is paratactic.
Parataxis is the relationship between units of equal status. However, the second or last of a
series of paratactically related clauses will be the most prominent in terms of information
focus, while the first represents the point of departure of the message. We shall call the
primary clause in a paratactic sequence the initiating clause, and the secondary or further
clauses are the continuing clause(s).
Conversely, when clauses of unequal status are related, the relationship is
hypotaxis. In hypotactically related clauses, one clause is subordinated to another or to a
series of clauses. We shall keep the usual term main for the independent clause in
hypotactic clause complex and call the subordinate clause the dependent.

2.3.3. Projection and Expansion Apart from syntactic relationship, clauses are related in a relationship called logico-
semantic one. The logico-semantic relations are grouped into two main types: expansion
and projection.

a. Expansion


× 2
Tom kept quiet,
α
because he was afraid.
× β

(Downing, 1995: 281)
As being shown on the table above, we can understand to some extent about three
kinds of Expansion: Elaboration, Extension, and Enhancement. Downing (1995: 282)
summarized that ―Elaborating clauses are clauses which clarify or comment on a primary
clause‖. In other words, one clause elaborates on the meaning of another by further
specifying or describing it. The secondary clause does not introduce a new element into the
picture but rather provides a further characterization of one that is already there, restating
it, clarifying it, refining it, or adding descriptive attribute or comment (Halliday, 1994:
225).
There are three smaller types of Elaboration which are Exposition, Exemplification,
and Clarification. In Exposition, the secondary clause restates the thesis of the primary
clause in different words, to present it from different point of view, or to reinforce the
message. For instance: That clock doesn’t go; it’s not working. Or She wasn’t a show dog;
I didn’t buy her as a show dog.
Not for restating, in Exemplification, the secondary clause develops the thesis of
the primary clause by becoming more specific about it. For example: Your face is the same
as everybody else has – the two eyes so, nose in the middle, mouth under.
In the last kind of Elaboration, Clarification, the secondary clause clarifies the
thesis of the primary clause, backing it up with some form of explanation or explanatory
comment. Like: I wasn’t surprised – it was what I had expected.
Unlike Elaboration, in Extension one clause extends the meaning of another by
adding something new to it. What is added may be an addition, or a replacement, or an
alternative (Halliday, 1994: 230). Extension can be divided into two subtypes: Addition
and Variation.

b. Idea
Tom thought:
1
‗I‘ll say nothing.‘
‗ 2
Tom thought
α
he would say nothing.
‗ β

(Downing, 1995: 282)
In traditional grammar, paratactic projection is known as direct speech and
hypotactic projection as indirect one.

2.4. Summary

Chapter II has presented a number of fundamental and essential knowledge and
theoretical concepts relating to the subject matters under analysis.
Some information about O.Henry‗s life and his work has been given so that we can
have a deeper understanding about the author as well as the influences of his own life on
his work. Some of his well-known stories have also been introduced; thus, we can see the
unique and excellent writing style of O.Henry which is shown not only in ―Two
Thanksgiving Gentlemen‖ but also in his other stories.
The paper aims at analyzing a short story by O.Henry, so we have gone through the
grammar approach which will be used in the analysis. That is Systemic Functional
Grammar developed by Halliday. In Systemic Functional Grammar, clause is the
standard, the core element to start analyzing. Thus, the concept of clause and its three
metafunctions have been discussed. Clause as Representation relates to definitions of
Process, Participant, and Circumstance. Clause as Exchange deals with Mood and Residue.
Clause as Message mentions Theme and Rheme.

SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING WRITING

This chapter firstly aims at analyzing expansion relationships found in the short
story named ―Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen‖ by O.Henry.
There are some versions of the story published by well-known publishers such as
Book Worm, or A Ladder Edition. However, some of these versions are the shorter ones
which are rewritten to meet with different reading levels of readers. For instance, the
collection of ―O.Henry‘s American scenes‖ published by A Ladder Edition in 1994 was
written for readers of level 1 with 1000 different English words.
However, in this paper we would like to analyze the original version written by O.
Henry so that his writing style can be kept and seen better. Four versions from four reliable
websites for literary works have been compared and checked carefully word by word. As
can be seen from the websites, all these versions are exactly the same. Therefore, we can
trust that the version used in this paper is the original one by O. Henry. The story and
website addresses can be referred to in the parts of Appendices and Reference.
The relationship between clauses in a clause complex is the focus of the study.
Thus, in the analysis followed, we only mark the number of clause complexes found in
―Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen‖. These clause complexes will be classified into two
types based on their logico-semantic relationship: Expansion or Projection. Projection
relation is not in the scope of this paper, so only clause complexes with Expansion relation
then will be analyzed.

3.1. Expansion in “Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen” by O‟Henry.
3.1.1. Clause Complexes in „Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen‟

As can be seen from the analysis in appendix 1 – page I, there are seventy-six
clause complexes found in the short story ―Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen‖ by O.
Henry. In these seventy-six clause complexes, there are nine completely of projection
relationships. Those are number 33, 38, 39, 41, 44, 57, 63, 75 and 76. The other sixty-
seven are of expansion.


For syntactic relations (or type of dependence):
1 2 3 : paratactic relation
α β …: hypotactic relation