Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
A part of a man's leg
Hello,
In the book "Parrot and Olivier in America" by Peter Carey, I came across the following sentence:
"She had put him next to a sloping attic window stolen from our home in the faubourg Saint-Antoine, but out the window was another country, a broken wilderness, fallen trunks, splintered yellow roots, a part of a man’s leg. No one would buy a work like this."
Context: On of the characters, Mathilde, has painted a portrait of Mr. Eckerd, a Jew. In the above mentioned sentence the author speaks about the background of the picture. I have a question concerning the phrase "a part of a man's leg". Does the author mean a human leg, or a male leg here? With regard to the indefinite article, I would say it was a male leg, but I am not sure about it.
Thank you for your help
In the book "Parrot and Olivier in America" by Peter Carey, I came across the following sentence:
"She had put him next to a sloping attic window stolen from our home in the faubourg Saint-Antoine, but out the window was another country, a broken wilderness, fallen trunks, splintered yellow roots, a part of a man’s leg. No one would buy a work like this."
Context: On of the characters, Mathilde, has painted a portrait of Mr. Eckerd, a Jew. In the above mentioned sentence the author speaks about the background of the picture. I have a question concerning the phrase "a part of a man's leg". Does the author mean a human leg, or a male leg here? With regard to the indefinite article, I would say it was a male leg, but I am not sure about it.
Thank you for your help
Top answer
The description seems perfect. One can create anything one chooses in a painting. It's not the whole leg - just a piece of it - enough of it to identify it as being male.
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The description seems perfect. One can create anything one chooses in a painting.
It's not the whole leg - just a piece of it - enough of it to identify it as being male.
We don't know if it's been disconnected from its owner, or if the rest of the man is simply obscured from view.
If it were "a part from an old car," the situation might be clearer, since car parts
It's not the whole leg - just a piece of it - enough of it to identify it as being male.
We don't know if it's been disconnected from its owner, or if the rest of the man is simply obscured from view.
If it were "a part from an old car," the situation might be clearer, since car parts
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