‘Encore Une Fois’ is a blog whilst the ‘Wild Night Music’ is an article and so both are in written mode. The audience of Text A are mainly adults who are interested in travelling to Paris with their children whilst Text B engages adults who are interested in the realities of Paris. As text A is a blog, an affordance of it is that it can be accessed globally however this can be limited to those who are unable to access the internet. Text B being an article means that it is much more localised thus cannot be accessed locally. However an affordance of it is that it is much more reliable as it is for a news paper.
Both Texts present Paris in highly contrasting ways. In text A , Paris is presented in an idealistic manner. The text producer believes the city to be ‘pure magic’. This short declarative sentence intensifies the allure and dream-like quality of Paris which is reinforced through the use of the pre-modifier ‘pure’. The writer constructs a semantic field of fairy-tales, through the words ‘magic’, ‘twinkled’ and ‘midnight’ which alludes to the idea of dreams coming true. This may appeal to the text receivers existing schema of Paris.
On the other hand, Text B portrays Paris contrary to the stereotypes as it is described through the adjectives ‘artificial’ and ‘feverish’. The adjective ‘feverish’ builds on this negative outlook it connotes a frenetic atmosphere. This imagery contrasts with the idea of Paris being a calm and quintessential place. The word ‘artificial’ exemplifies how Paris seems to many to be a grand place due to its iconic architecture however it is not a genuine place and rather ‘is operated at great profit for the entertainment of the buyer’. Hemmingway makes more references like this such as ‘the prices charged... are such that only a war profiteer, a Brazilian millionaire, or an American on a spree can pay’ to emphasise how Paris is centralised on making money. The list of three exaggerates the extortionate prices in Paris that is unaffordable to a commoner and so in this way Parisians are portrayed as people who take advantage of tourists.
Text A also creates a family-friendly atmosphere as the blogger mentions that it was a ‘great idea’ to spend her ‘thanksgiving’ at Paris with her ‘kids’. She makes many other references to family such as her ‘daughter’ and her ‘friend’s parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents’ that had lived there. The semantic field of family advocates the idea of Paris being well-suited for family holidays as well as residing in the country with your family. The asyndetic listing when mentioning her friend’s family members shows that Paris has held this trait for many generations. This idea is further given credibility through the personal pronoun ‘my’ she places before friend as it shows that she knows this herself. By mentioning these family members, Paris is also given a sense of being secure and safe as these people are generally the most vulnerable and require the most security. The enthusiastic tone expressed when mentioning them gives a sense of approval and confidence in Paris being a safe place.
Contrary to this, text B presents Paris to be a dangerous city through the anecdote where ‘hard-faced kids come out of an ally’ and rob a tourist. The adjective ‘hard-faced’ creates a menacing ambience which depicts the street kids of Paris of a callous nature. There is an antithesis of the poor people and children as they are both expected to be the most vulnerable in society. Thus the text producer portrays the people of Paris to be danger to tourists.
Text A also illustrates Paris to be rich in culture and food through its constant references to food such as ‘ the tangy taste of Polane’s small rye loaf studded with raisins’. This description appeals to the text receiver’s sense of taste and this is heightened through the use if alliteration in ‘tangy-taste’. The verb ‘studded’ is often used to describe the placement of gems or stones thus by describing the raisins in this manner the loaf is given a sense of luxury. The extensive detail of one item of food emphasises the richness of the food of Paris.
Text B opposes this and portrays Paris to be a sinful and alcoholic city. Paris is stated to be a ‘Super-Sodom and Grander-Gomorrah’. These biblical places have become synonymous with impertinent sin and thus through this reference, Paris is associated with this trait. This is further emphasises through the alliteration of the ‘super’ and ‘grander’ with its place. These words exemplify that Paris has surpassed these places in sins as it is described to a higher degree.
Both text A and B are written in a subjective point of view as they express their views strongly throughout the text. The Text producer of Text A states that she ‘loved just letting it all wash over her’. Here the abstract noun ‘loved’ demonstrates the extent of her fondness towards Paris; the word ‘love’ has deep and strong connotations and thus her opinion is explicitly recognised. Text B similarly expresses a strong opinion through its constant remarks and humour against Paris such as ‘Paris is the Mecca of bluffers and fakers’. The words ‘bluffers’ and ‘fakers’ are synonymous to eachother however the text producer uses both together to emphasise his view on the Parisians.
