A study on Theme-rheme and cohesive ties in the short story The last leaf by O’Henry

A study on Theme-rheme and cohesive ties in
the short story “The last leaf” by O’Henry

Vũ Thị Thanh Nga


Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ
Luận văn ThS. Chuyên ngành: English linguistics; Mã số: 60 22 15
Người hướng dẫn: Pro. Dr. Hoàng Văn Vân
Năm bảo vệ: 2013


Abstract: This study is an attempt to apply systemic functional grammar to investigating
a short story “The Last Leaf” by O’Henry in terms of the theme – rheme structure and
cohesive ties. Based on the theory of systemic functional grammar as developed by
Halliday, the study focuses on the analysis of O’Henry’s story “The Last Leaf” in terms
of the textual metafunction which is represented via theme - rheme pattern, and cohesion
(grammatical cohesion and lexical cohesion) of the text. The findings show that in terms
of theme - rheme pattern, topical theme which forms unmarked one is the most striking
feature of the text. We can also realize how the author develops the text and creates a
surprise ending which makes the story one of O’Henry’s masterpiece. Moreover,
grammatical cohesion represented by reference and conjunctive devices and lexical
cohesion shown via repetition, synonyms, meronyms and antonyms make the text more
cohesive and coherent. The analysis proves that systemic functional grammar is the
smartest choice for those whose concern is for the structure and meaning of a particular
text.

Keywords: Tiếng Anh; Ngữ pháp chức năng; Phương tiện liên kết; Ngữ pháp

Content
CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale of the Study
The theory of systemic functional linguistics was originally formulated by M.A.K. Halliday in the
early 1960s. This is a new model and method of description of language known as Systemic
Functional Grammar (SFG) in which everything can be explained, ultimately, by reference to how
language is used. Different from formal grammar which focuses on written language and deals
with rules of correct usage rather than with meaning and context of the text, functional grammar
centers on both written and spoken language and emphasize how linguistic structures express
meaning and views language as a communicative resource, not as grammatical rules. It is
considered “an effective tool of analysis, which solves the issues left out by traditional grammar”
as it helps understand human language more deeply.
Systemic Funtional Grammar is a system of meanings associated with three Metafunctions, each
indicating how the language was structured to be used. These three Metafuctions are related to 1)
Interpersonal meanings, which focus on the social function of language, more specifically, the
participants; 2) Ideational meanings, focusing on how language is used, that is, the verbal choices,
and; 3) Textual meanings, which focus on how the message is organized, that is, what information
is chosen to appear first (or last) in a sentence or text.
It is the third metafuntion (Textual) that involves the concepts of Theme and Rheme which is one
in two things of the basic for my research. Theme has been studied by many grammarians such as
Mathesius (1975); Halliday and Hasan (1976); Fries (1981); Firbas (1986); Halliday (1985,
1994); Downing (1990); Davies (1987), Eggins (1994); Matthiessen (1995); Thompson (1996)
and many others. Accoding to Halliday (1994: 34), Theme is “what the message is concerned
with, the point of departure for what the speaker is going to say”. “The Theme is what I, the
speaker, choose to take as my point of departure… Theme + Rheme is speaker – oriented”
(Halliday, 1994: 299). For Halliday, the thematic organization of clauses is the most significant
aspect for the development of a text. By analyzing the thematic structure of a text it is possible to
observe its nature and understand how the writer exposed his concerns with the organization of
the message. Eggin (1994: 273) also says that thematic meanings are related to the potential
which the clause confers to its constituents to be differently organized in order to reach different
purposes. Based on these theories, many researchers have tried to analyze a text clause by clause

to gain an insight into its texture and understand how the writer made clear to us the nature of his
underlying concerns. I would like to try myself to analyze the theme-rheme structure of the short
story “The Last Leaf” by O’Henry who is famous for short stories and their unexpected endings
with the hope of exploring how the writer develop the text and what the purpose is.
Cohesive ties of the text are also of great concern to me in this study. Cohesion relates to the
“semantic ties” within text whereby a tie is made when there is some dependent link between
items that combine to create meaning. Using the short story “The Last Leaf” as a basis, the textual
aspect of meaning through cohesion will be analyzed.
As regards practical purposes, understanding the theme-rheme structure and how cohesion
functions within text to create semantic links could be beneficial to students of English as a
second or foreign language to help “decode” meaning.
For those reasons, I have decided to choose “A study on Theme-Rheme and Cohesive Ties in
the short story “The Last Leaf” by O’Henry” as the title of my MA Thesis, using Halliday’s
functional grammar as a theoretical framework.

1.2. Aims of the Study
The aim of this stury is to use systemic functional framework to explore how O’Henry organized
and developed his story “The Last Leaf” in terms of the theme – rheme patterns and cohesive ties.
To realize this aim, the following two questions are raised for exploration.
1. How is the text organized and developed in terms of theme-rheme patterns?
2. How are the different cohesive ties of contexts hung together to make the text cohesive?
To answer these questions, I will review some fundamental concepts for the study: linguistic
system, metafunctions and cohesion in chapter two. In chapter three, I will analyze the theme-
rheme patterns and the main cohesive ties in the story.
1.3. Scope of the Study
As a minor thesis, not all aspects of functional grammar are explored but only some of them such
as linguistic system, metafunctions and cohesion. The focus of the study, however, does not lie in
the theoretical findings but hopefully, on this fundamental theory, will enlighten the text analysis.
1.4. Methods of the Study
With a view to analyzing theme-rheme and cohesive ties of an English text, descriptive and

analytical methods are used. The former is concerned with the description of the main areas of
functional grammar and the latter deals with the analysis of the text for discussion.



1.5. Data collection
The text is taken from one of the most famous short stories by O’Henry “The Last Leaf” in his
collection “The Trimmed Lamp and Other Stories” which was first published by Philips & Co. in
1907 in New York.
1.6. Design of the Study
This thesis is divided into four chapters as follows:
 Chapter one – Introduction – presents the rationale of the study, the aims of the study, scope
of the study, methods of the study, data collection, and the research design.
 Chapter two – Theoretical Background – supplies some fundamental and theoretical
concepts for the study: linguistic system, metafunctions and cohesion analysis.
 Chapter three – The Analysis of the short story “The Last Leaf” by O’Henry focuses on its
thematic structure and cohesive ties.
 Chapter four – Conclusion – summarizes the results of the study and offers some suggestions
for teaching and learning as well as for further studies.

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