1. Blackmail --Arthur Hailey
Lesson 6
Blackmail
--Arthur Hailey

2. Background information
Main characters
Setting, plot, and the end
Type of writing
Structural analysis
Detailed study
Character analysis
Rhetorical devices

3. Background information
Arthur Hailey：
born in 1920, and educated in Britain.
emigrated to Canada in 1949.
famous novels: Hotel, Airport, The moneychanger.
·Title of the novel： Hotel

4. Main characters McDermott: assistant general manager of the hotel
Ogilvie: chief house detective
the Duke of Croydon: newly appointed British ambassador to the United States
the Duchess of Croydon: wife of the Duke
a prostitute called lady friend by Ogilvie

5. Setting
The story happened in a hotel named St. Gregory in New Orleans, Louisiana which is in the south of US.

8. Plot
Gregory was now at the brink of bankruptcy, but Peter McDermott, the assistant general manager, is trying every means he could to save it. Several events happened during the week with the present text as part of it.
The Duke of Croydon was an internationally famous statesman and the newly appointed British ambassador to Washington. They occupied the best suite of the hotel--- the Presidential Suite

9. Plot
Monday evening, the Duke went to the gambling house. Later, his wife pursued and found him. On their way back, the car Jaguar knocked down a woman and her child. Both were killed.
Then we have the present text.

10. Type of writing This kind of novel is called thriller.
A thriller is a work of fiction or drama designed to hold the interest by the use of a high degree of intrigue, adventure or suspense.(刺激的小说、电影，恐怖片)
Others :cop-criminal novels, detective novels. The main purpose is for entertainment, amusement.
The basic technique is to make the whole story of crime into sth. like a jigsaw puzzle. You can not see the outcome until the final part is put in.

11. Structural Analysis -- part 1
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)

12. Structural Analysis -- part 2
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 )
Ogilvie spelt out what he had found out about the activity of the Croydons and tried to confirm all the details. The Duchess tried to win back the upper hand.

13. Structural Analysis -- part 2
Section 3. The conviction was undeniable.(The Duke cautioned...the Duchess turned away ).
The Croydons realized that they were convicted of the crime

14. Structural Analysis -- part 3
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. (The Duchess ...Or had they? )
Her judgement, analysis and calculation of the situation, weighing the advantages and disadvantages, the pros and cons.

15. Structural Analysis -- part 3
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.

16. Detailed study of part 1
1. blackmail: the obtaining of money or advancement by threatening to make known unpleasant facts about a person or group

17. Section 1 : (The chief house ...that both might return at any moment.)
Main idea:
The setting, main characters, and the suspension.

18. 2. Language points in section 1
1). Croydon: The name of a manor supposed to belong to the Duke
2). suite: a set of rooms.
A suite in a hotel is usually expensive. The suite the Croydons are staying in is St. Gregory Hotel's largest and most elaborate, called the Presidential Suite.

19. Language points in section 1
3). The different title of different class of nobleman.
Duke / Duchess（公爵）
Marquis (marquess)/ Marchioness（侯爵）
Count / Countess（伯爵）
Viscount / Viscountess（子爵）
Baron / Baroness（男爵）
4). cryptic: hidden, secret, mysterious
5). excessively frayed
excessive: (derog). too much, too great, too large
e.g: Excessive rainfall washes out valuable minerals from the soil.

20. Section 1
6). fray: to cause a person's temper, nerves, etc. to become worn out
His nerves were frayed by the noises in the street.
7). Bedlington terrier：贝德林顿小长毛狗
wolfdog 狼狗, hound 猎狗,
Pekinese 京吧, pug-dog 狮子狗,
bull dog 牛头犬

21. 2). Why did the Duchess send her maid and secretary out?
3. Questions
1). Did Ogilvie deliberately delay his call at the Croydons’ suite? Why?
2). Why did the Duchess send her maid and secretary out?

22. section 2 piggy: dirty, greedy
1. piggy eyes: small eyes lost in the mess of flesh.
piggy: dirty, greedy
2. sardonically: disdainfully, scornfully, cynically,
3. gross: unpleasantly fat, vulgar, not refined
gross weight / net weight

23. Language points of section 2
4. jowl: the lower part of the side of the face, esp. loose skin and flesh near the lower jaw.
5. appoint: to provide with complete and elegant furnishings or equipment
well / badly / luxuriously appointed room

24. Language points of section 2
6.encompass: to surround on all sides, to form a circle about, enclose
The enemy encompassed the city.
cf: compass: an instrument for showing direction
a pair of compasses

25. Language points of section 2
7.incongruous falsetto voice:
incongruous: not harmonious, absurd, inappropriate
e.g: Red and green are generally considered in incongruous colours.
falsetto: unnaturally high voice by a man, esp. in singing

26. Question-answering of section 2
Do you think Ogilive was being deliberately offensive to the Croydons in the beginning? Why?

27. Detailed study of part II
Language points in section 1
1. adversary: a person or group to whom one is opposed, opponent or enemy.This word implies active hostility
cf: rival: a person with whom one competes
a rival in love

28. Language points in section 1
2. your high-an-mightiness: (here) used for ridicule, mockery
Your Grace（大人）: to duke, duchess, archbishop
Your Mightiness (大人): to marquis, count,viscount, baron, baroness:

29. Language points in section 1
Your Highness （殿下）: to prince, princess
Your honour （阁下）: to judge
Your Majesty （陛下）: to emperor, empress, king, queen:
Your Excellency（阁下）: to governor, ambassador, archbishop, premier

30. Language points in section 1
3. interject: to make a sudden remark between others
Interject carries extremely strong implication of abrupt or forced introduction.
Interrupt means to cut or break the flow of sth. continuous such as the speech of others

31. Language points in section 1
4. It's no go.
What you are trying to do wouldn't work.
A GO is an attempt at doing sth.
I always wanted to have a go at football.
It took us two goes to make the colour right.

32. Language points in section 1
5. accuse: to charge sb. with doing wrong or breaking the law
accuse sb. of sth.
The police accused him of murder.
I don't think anyone can accuse me of not being frank.
Several of the accused were found guilty / not guilty / innocent.

33. Language points in section 1
Cf: blame: consider sb. responsible for sth. bad
I don’t blame you for being too cautious.
He blamed his failure on his teacher.
Don't blame our defeat on the weather.

34. Detailed study of section 2
Question-answering
Main idea
Language points

35. Question-answering 1. What did the Duke do early last night?
The Duke drove to Lindy’s Place in Irish Bayou with his lady friend to gamble.
2. How did the Duchess know where the Duke had gone the night the accident occurred?
Her husband had the habit of making notes while he was telephoning. Afterward he often forgot to destroy them.
3. What was the Duchess’ response to the house detective’s statement?
She tried to win back the upper hand. .

36. Main idea of section 2 the main idea of this section:
the second round of clash
Ogilvie spelt out what he had found out about the activity of the Croydons and tried to confirm all the details. The Duchess tried to win back the upper hand.

37. Language points in section 2
1. conceal: If you conceal sth., you hide it or cover it carefully.
Conceal and hide are exchangeable. While hide is a general term, conceal suggests intuition to hide, to refuse to let others know.
The snow hides all the ground.
The robber concealed the weapon under his coat.
You can't conceal the truth.
to conceal one's displeasure

38. Language points in section 2
2. fussy: nervous about small matters, too much concerned about details
She is very fussy about her personal appearance.
“Would you like black tea or green?” “I am not fussy.”

39. Language points in section 2
fuss: (It's uncountable, but often goes together with 'a') unnecessary nervousness or excitement
There is no need for fuss.
Whoever the star goes out with, there is sure to be a fuss about their relationship.
Don't make so much (a) fuss.
Don't fuss.
Stop fussing!

40. Language points in section 2
3.smug: showing too much satisfaction with one's qualities, position, etc.
He looks smug about knowing the answer.
I don’t like that smug little man.
4.swinging: lively & up-to-date, gay and full of life, fashionably free & modern, esp, on sex life

41. Language points in section 2
5.tuck away: put or push into a convenient position, to put into a convenient narrow space for protection, safety, etc.
tuck your shirt inside the trousers
have the bottles of wine tucked away under the bed.

42. Detailed study of section 3
Reading the section
Question-answering
Main idea
Language points

43. Question-answering in section 3
How did Ogilvie come to suspect the Croydons of the hit-’n-run crime?
He found that on the night the couple entered the hotel through the basement instead of the lobby, both very much shaken.
How many clues did the police get to the hit-’n-run? What were they?
1) headlight trim ring;
2) some headlight glass
3) a brush trace

44. Language points of section 3
concede: reluctantly accept sth. as true, it usu. suggests the strength of the opponent's argument.
to concede a point in an argument
to concede a game, contest, argument means to end it by admitting that you can no longer win
I conceded that an error had been made.
"Maybe there is some truth in it," he conceded.

45. Language points of section 3
admit: It stresses reluctance to grant or concede and refers rather to facts than to their implications to admit a charge only means to admit the fact but not the view-point which the charge implies to admit his crime / one's fault / one' error

46. Language points of section 3
confess: say or admit, often formally (that one has done wrong, committed a crime, etc.)
The prisoner refused to confess (his crime).
I must confess I did not expect a speech about oyster here.

47. Detailed study of part 3 Section 1: 1. Questions to answer:
1). What made the Duchess jump to the conclusion that Ogilvie had come to blackmail them?
2). Why didn’t the police come immediately to the hotel to check the cars?
3). Why couldn’t the Duchess get her car repaired discreetly in New Orleans?

48. Language points of section 1
1. take on a musing note:
take on: begin to have an appearance
These insects can take on the colour of their surroundings.
Her eyes took on a hurting expression.
muse: to think deeply, forgetting the world around
took on a musing note:
His words sounds as if he was in deep thought

49. Language points of section 1
2. poise: good judgement and self-control in one's action, combined with a quiet belief in one's abilities
The gymnast poised on the balance beam.
She has perfect poise of mind & body, never seems embarrassed.

50. Language points of section 1
3. get around to: find the necessary time to
I haven't been able to get around to reading your essay. I'll read it tonight.
After a long delay, he got around to writing the letter

51. Section 2 1. Questions to answer: 1). What was the Duchess’ decision?
2). Why did the Duchess make such a decision?

52. Language points of section 2
1. hazardous/ risky
hazardous: of an activity which contains risk or danger from sth. beyond control. This word contains strong implication of dependence on chance.
risky: implies voluntarily taking danger.

53. Language points of section 2
hazard n.,v.: danger; risk
Smoking is a serious health hazard.
Wet roads are a hazard to drivers.
jeopardy: n (idm) in jeopardy: in danger of harm, loss or destruction
A fall in demand for oil tankers has put/placed thousands of jobs in the shipbuilding industry in jeopardy.

54. Language points of section 2
risk n.: possibility of meeting danger or suffering harm, loss, etc
Is there any risk of the bomb exploding?
You shouldn't underestimate the risks of the enterprise.
Persons swimming beyond this point do so at their own risk.
The whole future of the company is at risk.

55. Language points of section 2
2. Danger, jeopardy, hazard, risk mean either the state or fact of being threatened with loss of life or property or with serious injury to one’s health or moral integrity or the cause or source of such a threat.
Danger is the general term and implies contingent evil in prospect but not necessarily inescapable.

56. Language points of section 2
Jeopardy implies exposure to extreme or dangerous chances. The term is much used in law in reference to persons accused or serious offenses, being tried in court, and therefore exposed to the danger of conviction and punishment.
Hazard implies danger from something fortuitous or beyond one’s control, it is not so strong a term as Jeopardy.
Risk, more frequently than hazard implies a voluntary taking of doubtful or adverse chances.

57. Language points of section 2
3. complication: complicated situation
Sth. complicated is so complex that it is exceedingly difficult to understand, explain, solve or to deal with
Sth. complex is made up of so many different interrelated parts or elements that it requires deep study of expert knowledge to deal with it. Not like complicated, it does not imply a fault or failure.

58. Language points of section 2
4. conspicuous: noticeable, attracting attention
A traffic sign should be conspicuous.
She is conspicuous because of her trendy clothes.
Lincoln is a conspicuous example of a poor boy who succeeded.

59. Section 3 Questions to answer:
Why did the Duchess offer Ogilvie 25 thousand dollars instead of ten thousand the detective asked for?
Did Ogilvie accept the Duchess’ offer?

60. Language points in section 3
… her handsome, high-cheek-boned features set in their most imperious mold.
1) feature: any of the noticeable parts of the face
a man with Oriental features
Her mouth is her worst feature / best feature, like a cherry.
2).imperious: intensely compelling, marked by arrogant assurance, dominating. This word is related to imperial.

61. 3).set in a mould（mold）:
mould: particular type of a person’s character
When you take a picture, you set your body, your countenance ...in a certain way. That is to set in a mould.
4) The whole sentence means:
Her handsome high-cheek-boned features were set in a way which shows her imperial character.

62. 2. respite: a short period of pause or rest, during a time of great effort pain, or trouble, a time of relief (as from labour, suffering or war) or delay (as before sentencing or executing
The patient said he never had any respite from the pain.
Sentence sb. to death with 2-years' respite
3. comply: act according to a demand, order, rule
to comply with the law / regulations

63. 4.vacillation: hesitation, uncertainty, waver, continuous changing of one's opinions
This word implies prolonged hesitation resulting from one's inability to reach a decision
He vacillates between accepting & not accepting. The earthquake caused the entire house vacillate.

64. The end of the story
At one o'clock Thursday morning, Ogilvie drove the car north. But he was seen leaving the hotel by McDermott. Later in the afternoon, McDermott witnessed the funeral of the two victims of the accident.
He suddenly realized the relation between these two events and contacted police.

65. The end of the story
Ogilvie was caught in Tennessee and sent back to New Orleans.
The Duke decided to go to the police to confess his crime (to surrender himself / to give himself up). But he was hurled out the elevator due to the breakdown of it. He hit the cement ground and died instantly.

66. The end of the story Anyway, the novel had a pleasant ending.
One of the guests, who looked old and sick, turned out to be a millionaire. Earlier he was seriously ill and was saved by McDermott and his girl friend.
To show his gratitude and to repay the hotel staffs' kindness, he bought the hotel and appointed McDermott executive vice president of the hotel

67. Character Analysis --- Ogilvie
Appearance:
fat: piggy eyes/ gross jowled face/ obese body,/
incongruous falsetto voice,
2. Character: rude, sardonic, self-assured, shameless greedy, but finally subservient
3. Language: uneducated, full of slang, colloquial, not grammatical.

68. Character Analysis --- the Duchess
Appearance: pale cheek with two high points, gray-green eyes
2. Language: formal, highly educated
I imagine you did not come here to discuss décor.

69. Character Analysis --- the Duchess
3. Character: imperious, three centuries and a half of inbred arrogance, decisive, vigilant, very quick in response
used “please” only once
look pointedly at the cigar
shot a swift warning glance
Would you kindly put that out!

70. Character Analysis --- the Duke
1. Appearance: attempt to square his shoulders but failed
2. Character: uncertain, ready to compromise, passive, despairingly,
“That’s interesting, I didn’t know that.” The duke spoke as if he was speaking of sb. unrelated to the whole thing.
3. Language: upper class slang
It's no go, old girl.

71. Rhetorical devices 1. Metaphor:
...the nerves of both ... were excessively frayed…
his wife shot him a swift, warning glance.
The words spat forth with sudden savagery.
I’ll spell it out.

72. Rhetorical devices 2. Euphemism: ...and you took a lady friend
3. Metonymy:
You drove there in your fancy Jaguar.