Customs and traditions

English customs and traditions, first of all, concerns United Kingdom political system. In Great Britain there is no written constitution, only customs, traditions and precedents. After the English Revolution of Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy headed by King (now Queen, Elizabeth the second). Traditionally the Queen acts only on the advice of her Ministers. She reigns but she does not rule.

Englishmen have traditions not only in political, but in social life. For example, London, the capital of England, is traditionally divided into three parts: the West End, the East end, and the City. The City is a historical, financial and business center of London. The East End is the district inhabited by the workers, and the West End is a fashionable shopping and entertaining center. English people like to spend their free time in numerous pubs where they can have a glass of beer and talk about different things with their friends.

The English are traditional about their meals. They eat eggs and bacon with toasts for breakfast, pudding or apple pie for dessert. Every English family has five o'clock tea. A typical feature of an English house is a fireplace, even when there is central heating in the house.

English people like domestic animals. Every family has a pet: a dog, a cat or a bird.

Politeness is a characteristic feature of Englishmen. They often say "Thank you", "Sorry", "Beg your pardon". Russian people, I think, have to learn this good custom.

Englishmen have many traditional holidays, such as Christmas, St.Valentine's Day, Mother's day, Easter and others.          Some English customs  and  traditions are famous all over the world. Bowler hats, tea and talking about the weather, for example. From Scotland to Cornwall, the United Kingdom is full of customs  and  traditions. Here are some of them…

SPB

St. Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great as the "Window on Europe St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia from 1712 till 1918.

The city was built on the swampy land at the mouth of the River Neva. Prominent European and Russian architects worked here. The new capital grew rapidly in wealth and beauty.

When World War I began in 1914, the German-sounding name St. Petersburg was changed to Petrograd. After the October Revolution the city was renamed in honour of Lenin. In 1991 the old name of St. Petersburg was returned to the city.

During the Great Patriotic War the city suffered a great deal. The German armies laid siege to it in 1941, and for the next two years and a half the city was cut off from the rest of the country. No food could be brought in, and people died of starvation. Daily shelling and air raids destroyed parts of the city. Thousands of people were killed. Rebuilding took years.

Now St. Petersburg is an industrial, cultural and scientific centre. There are over 80 museums, more than 20 theatres, a lot of exhibitions, clubs, universities, colleges, schools and parks. The Alexandrinski Drama Theatre, the Bolshoi Drama Theatre, the Mariinsky Theatre of Opera and Ballet are pearls of the Russian art.

In St. Petersburg there are a lot of parks and gardens where citizens spend their free time. The Summer Garden is the oldest and most fascinating park. Rare trees, bushes and flowers grow there. Beautiful marble statues made by Italian sculptors and a famous cast iron grille decorate the Summer Garden. There is a bronze monument to the prominent Russian writer of fables Ivan Krylov (by sculptor Klodt) in the Summer Garden.

St. Petersburg is famous for its magnificent architectural ensembles of the 18th and 19th centuries. The city began with the Peter and Paul Portress built to protect the Neva banks from Swedish invasion. Later Domeniko Trezzini, the famous Swiss architect, reconstructed the fortress. It became a prison. Now it is a museum. Trezzini erected the Peter and Paul Cathedral here, and Russian tsars were buried in it.

The most famous square in the city is the Palace Square with its magnificent ensemble. Here one can see the Winter Palace built by Rastrelli. Till the revolution it was the residence of the Russian csars. Now the Winter Palace and four other buildings are occupied by the Hermitage, one of the oldest art museums in Russia. There one can see masterpieces of outstanding artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, Velazquez and other unique works of art.

The Russian Museum is located in the Mikhailovsky Palace, designed by Rossi. Marvellous paintings by the famous Russian artists: Tropinin, Repin, Bryullov, Fedotov, Surikov, Serov; the works of sculptors: Rastrelli, Shubin, Antokolsky are exhibited here.

The streets and squares in St. Petersburg are very beautiful. Nevsky Prospect is the main street of the city, where there are amazing buildings, shops, hotels and the remarkable Kazan Cathedral (by Voronikhin) with a colonnade and monuments to M. Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly. Here in the prospect one can see the magnificent building of the Admiralty (by Zakharov) and the ensemble of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Famous Russian writers, painters, composers and actors were buried in the Lavra.

Majestic palaces, cathedrals, churches and other buildings, built by famous architects, such as: palaces of Stroganov, Menshikov, Anichkov, and St. Isaac's Cathedral, erected by Montferrand, decorate St. Petersburg.

The city is often called the Venice of the North because there are 65 rivers and canals with artistically decorated cast iron bridges. One of the most beautiful is the Anichkov Bridge.

Citizens and tourists enjoy visiting the suburbs of St Petersburg: Petergof, Pushkin, Pavlovsk with their wonderful palaces, parks and fountains.

St. Petersburg inspired many of our great poets, writers, painters, sculptors, composers and actors. Much of the life and work of Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky, Repin and Kramskoi was connected with the city.

АНАЛИЗ

The novel under consideration is entitled “The Happy Man”. It is written by Somerset Maugham. The events took place in London and Seville, Spain. The settings where the actions took place are the following: a modest apartment and an ordinary Spanish house with a patio. We don’t know at what period of history the actions took place, but we know the time length of the narrated events and the amount of time during they occurred: many years later, fifteen at least. This novel runs about a desperate man who confided his life to a total stranger. The theme of the novel: a man’s search for happiness; the role of advice in the life of people. We can divide the novel into three logical parts in order to understand it better. The first part can be called “A total strange”, the second part can be named “A great risk” and the third part is “A Happy Life”. It is a narrative text. It tells us about different events which followed one another, for example: I heard a ring bell at the door; I led him into my sitting room; achieved this feat; he reached out for his hat; he left me; many years later; I happened to be in Seville, ect. This text is a descriptive one; there are many descriptive signals, for example: a modest apartment, a total stranger, an apologetic laugh, sharp sentences, a forcible ring, a cursory glance, a little man, bright eyes, a wonderful life, trifling indisposition, an ordinary Spanish house, a squeamish patient, a dim recollection, a Spanish woman and others. Descriptive words make the text expressive and vivid. Besides, there are many cases of discourse, for example: in the first paragraph the author gives us his opinion about such notions as advice, destiny and loneliness. The main character is the narrator. There is no any information about his appearance in the text. The only one thing about his age is the information that he was a young man when he advised well. Nevertheless we can judge about his character from his thoughts, behavior and speech. The description of his character is indirect. He is a wise man: he knows that it is impossible to know another persons as well as oneself to give him/her advice which would be good for him/her. And he is bold enough for a man who dares to give the life changing advice to a man he see for the first time. The text is expressive and emotional because it describes the feelings of the man who has been forced to point the finger of other man’s fate. The author uses different stylistic devices for this purpose. First of all there are metaphors and metaphorical epithets there, for example: a prisoner in a solitary tower; prisoners; dark cloak of Destiny; finger of fate; the words were hardly out of his mouth. The author employs many contextual synonyms which make the language expressive, they are the following: dangerous, hazardous; unwillingly, forced; confused, embarrassed; a total stranger, a perfect stranger; alter, change; twinkled, shone. The key words: a total stranger, Destiny, English doctor, a little fat man, a dim recollection, an ordinary Spanish house, a more delightful creature, a bacchanalian smile, a Spanish woman, the mistress of the house. The author shows us that our life is full of compensations. Taking the risk you lose something but also you can find something important for you.