The Eyes Have It - Occhio all'alieno by Philip K. Dick

 

 

The Eyes Have It (1953) is Dick's clever short story full of idioms and puns. Dick delivers a brisk, playful piece that doubles as a satire of literalism and the ways language shapes reality. Short, witty, and self-aware, it turns a few idioms into a tongue-in-cheek meditation on perception and the stories we tell ourselves when we read too closely. 

 

 

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Warm up:

The story we are going to read is a piece of fiction. Use the following adjectives and phrases to define the differences between fiction and non-fiction:

invented; factual; real events, people etc.; untrue; imaginary; true; made up; work of fantasy

Fiction:

Non fiction:

Which of the following literary genres belong to fiction? Circle them.

Romance, fantasy, brochures, thriller, mystery, biographies, historical, encyclopedias, horror, adverts, science fiction, newspapers. 

Now match topics and genres:

👽Aliens, robots, time travels  

💖Falling in love

😈Goblins, Hobbits, Elves

💻Information, News, Reports

 

• Now read the parts of the story in italics and decide what genre they belong to.

The phrase ‘falling in love’ doesn’t mean that you drop or go down in love, but it means to be attracted to someone and begin to love them. In fact, you cannot deduce its meaning from individual words beacause it is an ideomatic form of language whose meaning is estabilished by usage. They can make language more vivid and interesting.

WHAT IF YOU TAKE THEM AD LITERAM (LITERALLY)?

The effects can be very surprising, like in the short following story

 

Read the whole story and answer the following questions adopting the narrator’s point of view

Part one

1. What did the narrator discover by accident?

2. Where did he find the clues for this extraordinary invasion?

3. What was the aspect of the aliens?

4. What about their eyes?

5. What was the narrator terrified by?

6. Where did he start reading the book?

 

 

The Eyes Have It

by Philip K. Dick

 

 

Part 1 

It was quite by accident I discovered this incredible invasion of Earth by lifeforms from another planet. As yet, I haven't done anything about it; I can't think of anything to do. I wrote to the Government, and they sent back a pamphlet on the repair and maintenance of frame houses. Anyhow, the whole thing is known; I'm not the first to discover it. Maybe it's even under control.

Fu quasi per caso che scoprii questa incedibile invasione della Terra ad opera di forme di vita provenienti da un altro pianeta. Finora, non ho fatto niente al riguardo: non so proprio cosa potrei fare. Ho scritto al governo e mi hanno spedito un opuscolo sulla riparazione e manutenzione delle case in legno. Comunque, l’intera faccenda è nota, non sono il primo a scoprirla. Forse è perfino sotto controllo.

I was sitting in my easy-chair, idly turning the pages of a paperbacked book someone had left on the bus, when I came across the reference that first put me on the trail. For a moment I didn't respond. It took some time for the full import to sink in. After I'd comprehended, it seemed odd I hadn't noticed it right away.

Ero seduto nella mia poltrona, sfogliando pigramente le pagine di un romanzo tascabile che qualcuno aveva lasciato sull’autobus, quando mi imbattei nel riferimento che per primo mi mise sulla giusta traccia. Dapprincipio non reagii. Mi ci volle del tempo per comprenderne l’esatto significato. Dopo che ebbi capito, mi sembrò strano che non me ne fossi accorto immediatamente.

Vague chills assailed me. I tried to picture the eyes. Did they roll like dimes? The passage indicated not; they seemed to move through the air, not over the surface. Rather rapidly, apparently. No one in the story was surprised. That's what tipped me off. No sign of amazement at such an outrageous thing. Later the matter was amplified.

...his eyes moved from person to person.

Vaghi brividi mi assalirono. Tentai di immaginare quegli occhi. Rotolavano come monetine? Il brano non lo specificava, sembravano muoversi nell’aria, non su di una superficie. Piuttosto velocemente, apparentemente. Nessuno nella storia ne era sorpreso. Questo è ciò che mi fece drizzare le antenne. Nessun segno di stupore per una cosa tanto assurda. Più avanti la situazione peggiorò.

… i suoi occhi si spostavano da una persona all’altra.

There it was in a nutshell. The eyes had clearly come apart from the rest of him and were on their own. My heart pounded and my breath choked in my windpipe. I had stumbled on an accidental mention of a totally unfamiliar race. Obviously non-Terrestrial. Yet, to the characters in the book, it was perfectly natural--which suggested they belonged to the same species.

Ecco il nocciolo della questione. Gli occhi si erano chiaramente separati dal resto del corpo dell’uomo e se ne stavano per conto proprio. Il mio cuore batteva all’impazzata e il respiro mi si soffocò in gola. Ero inciampato nella menzione accidentale di una razza totalmente sconosciuta. Ovviamente non terrestre. Eppure, per i personaggi del libro, era tutto perfettamente naturale – il che mi suggerì che appartenevano alla stessa specie.

And the author? A slow suspicion burned in my mind. The author was taking it rather too easily in his stride. Evidently, he felt this was quite a usual thing. He made absolutely no attempt to conceal this knowledge. The story continued:

...presently his eyes fastened on Julia.

E l’autore? Un lento sospetto si fece strada nella mia mente. L’autore stava prendendo la situazione un po’ troppo facilmente sotto gamba. Evidentemente, pensava che fosse una cosa del tutto usuale. Non faceva assolutamente nessun tentativo per nascondere queste informazioni. La storia continuava:

… poi i suoi occhi si fermarono su Giulia.

Julia, being a lady, had at least the breeding to feel indignant. She is described as blushing and knitting her brows angrily. At this, I sighed with relief. They weren't all non-Terrestrials. The narrative continues:

...slowly, calmly, his eyes examined every inch of her.

Giulia, essendo una signora, doveva almeno avere la buona creanza di sentirsi indignata. È descritta mentre arrossiva e aggrottava la fronte rabbiosamente. A questo punto ebbi un sospiro di sollievo. Non erano tutti non-terrestri. Il racconto proseguiva:

… lentamente, con calma, gli occhi di lui esaminarono ogni suo centimetro.

Great Scott! But here the girl turned and stomped off and the matter ended. I lay back in my chair gasping with horror. My wife and family regarded me in wonder.

"What's wrong, dear?" my wife asked.

I couldn't tell her. Knowledge like this was too much for the ordinary run-of-the-mill person. I had to keep it to myself. "Nothing," I gasped. I leaped up, snatched the book, and hurried out of the room.

Perbacco! Ma qui la ragazza si voltò e alzò i tacchi e la faccenda finì lì. Mi appoggiai allo schienale senza fiato per l’orrore. Mia moglie e i miei figli mi guardarono meravigliati.

“Cosa c’è, caro?” chiese mia moglie.

Non potevo dirglielo. Conoscere cose del genere era troppo per una qualsiasi persona nella media. Dovevo tenermelo per me. “Niente,” dissi a fatica. Balzai in piedi, afferrai il libro e corsi fuori dalla stanza.

Part 2

1. Where did he go after leaving home?

2. What were the peculiarities of the aliens?

3. What sort of creatures were they?

     

In the garage, I continued reading. There was more. Trembling, I read the next revealing passage:

...he put his arm around Julia. Presently she asked him if he would remove his arm. He immediately did so, with a smile.

It's not said what was done with the arm after the fellow had removed it. Maybe it was left standing upright in the corner. Maybe it was thrown away. I don't care. In any case, the full meaning was there, staring me right in the face.

In garage continuai a leggere. C’era di più. Tremando, lessi il seguente brano rivelatore:

… lui mise il suo braccio intorno a Giulia. Lei gli chiese subito di rimuovere il suo braccio. Lui lo rimosse immediatamente, con un sorriso.

Non si dice cosa successe al braccio dopo che il tizio lo aveva tolto. Forse fu messo all’angolo con la mano in alto. Forse fu gettato via. Non me ne importa. In ogni caso, il pieno significato era lì, proprio sotto il mio naso.

Here was a race of creatures capable of removing portions of their anatomy at will. Eyes, arms--and maybe more. Without batting an eyelash. My knowledge of biology came in handy, at this point. Obviously they were simple beings, uni-cellular, some sort of primitive single-celled things. Beings no more developed than starfish. Starfish can do the same thing, you know.

Si trattava di una razza di creature capaci di rimuovere a piacere porzioni della loro anatomia. Occhi, braccia e forse altro. Senza battere ciglio. Le mie conoscenze di biologia mi tornarono utili. Ovviamente erano organismi semplici, unicellulari, una specie di cosi primitivi costituiti da una singola cellula. Esseri non più sviluppati di una stella marina. Le stelle marine possono fare lo stesso, sapete.

I read on. And came to this incredible revelation, tossed off coolly by the author without the faintest tremor:

...outside the movie theater we split up. Part of us went inside, part over to the cafe for dinner.

Binary fission, obviously. Splitting in half and forming two entities. Probably each lower half went to the cafe, it being farther, and the upper halves to the movies. I read on, hands shaking. I had really stumbled onto something here. My mind reeled as I made out this passage:

...I'm afraid there's no doubt about it. Poor Bibney has lost his head again.

Continuai a leggere. Arrivai a questa incredibile rivelazione, buttata lì freddamente dall’autore, senza la minima esitazione:

...fuori dal cinema ci separammo. Una parte di noi entrò, una parte andò alla caffetteria per cenare.

Fissione binaria, ovviamente. Dividersi a metà e formare due entità. Probabilmente ciascuna metà inferiore andò alla caffetteria, essendo più lontana, le metà superiori al cinema. Continuai a leggere con le mani tramanti. A questo punto ero veramente incappato in qualcosa di grosso. La mia mente vacillò mentre scorrevo queste righe:

… temo che non ci siano più dubbi al riguardo. Il povero Bibney ha di nuovo perso la testa.

Which was followed by:

...and Bob says he has utterly no guts.

Yet Bibney got around as well as the next person. The next person, however, was just as strange. He was soon described as:

...totally lacking in brains.                                                     

Che fu seguito da:

… e Bob dice che non ha fegato.

Tuttavia Bibney se ne andava in giro proprio come l’altro personaggio. Quest’altro personaggio, comunque, era altrettanto strano. Fu immediatamente descritto come:

...totalmente senza cervello.

Part 3

1. Who was Julia?

2. Which parts of her body were removable?

3. Who wanted to dismantle her?

4. What did the narrator decide to do and why?

 

There was no doubt of the thing in the next passage. Julia, whom I had thought to be the one normal person, reveals herself as also being an alien life form, similar to the rest:

...quite deliberately, Julia had given her heart to the young man.

It didn't relate what the final disposition of the organ was, but I didn't really care. It was evident Julia had gone right on living in her usual manner, like all the others in the book. Without heart, arms, eyes, brains, viscera, dividing up in two when the occasion demanded. Without a qualm.

...thereupon she gave him her hand.

Il brano seguente cancellava ogni dubbio al riguardo. Giulia, che avevo creduto che fosse l’unica persona normale, si rivela essere anche lei una forma di vita aliena, come tutti gli altri:

…. Giulia aveva deliberatamente dato il suo cuore al giovane uomo.

Non diceva quale fosse la disposizione finale dell’organo, ma non me ne importava veramente. Era evidente che Giulia aveva continuato a vivere al suo solito, come il resto degli altri personaggi. Senza cuore, braccia, occhi, viscere, dividendosi in due quando l’occasione lo richiedeva. Senza nessuna remora.

...dopodiché gli diede la sua mano.

I sickened. The rascal now had her hand, as well as her heart. I shudder to think what he's done with them, by this time.

...he took her arm.

Not content to wait, he had to start dismantling her on his own. Flushing crimson, I slammed the book shut and leaped to my feet. But not in time to escape one last reference to those carefree bits of anatomy whose travels had originally thrown me on the track:

...her eyes followed him all the way down the road and across the meadow.

Mi venne da vomitare. Il mascalzone adesso aveva la sua mano, insieme al suo cuore. Tremo al pensiero di cosa ne abbia fatto a quest’ora.

… le prese il braccio.

Non contento di aspettare, aveva iniziato a smantellarla per conto suo. Diventai paonazzo, chiusi il libro di scatto e balzai in piedi. Ma non abbastanza in fretta da sfuggire all’ultimo riferimento a quegli spensierati pezzi di anatomia i cui movimenti mi avevano originariamente messo sulla giusta traccia:

… gli occhi di lei lo seguirono fino alla strada e attraverso il prato.

I rushed from the garage and back inside the warm house, as if the accursed things were following me. My wife and children were playing Monopoly in the kitchen. I joined them and played with frantic fervor, brow feverish, teeth chattering.

I had had enough of the thing. I want to hear no more about it. Let them come on. Let them invade Earth. I don't want to get mixed up in it.

I have absolutely no stomach for it.

Corsi fuori dal garage e mi precipitai dentro il tepore della mia casa, come se avessi quelle cose maledette alle calcagna. Mia moglie e i miei figli stavano giocando a Monopoli in cucina. Mi unii a loro e giocai con frenetico fervore, la fronte in fiamme e i denti che battevano. Che vengano. Che invadano pure la Terra.

Non ho assolutamente lo stomaco per cose del genere.

 

FINE 

 

For further comprehension:

Read the whole text and find the following ideomatic forms

Idioms

1. came across

2. to take something in your stride

3. run-of-the-mill

4. to come in hand

5. don’t have the guts

6. no qualms about

Now match idioms and their meanings:

1. not to be nervous or afraid / not suffer a guilty conscience

2. to lack courage

3. finding by chance

4. something ordinary and not special or exciting

5. to be useful for a particular purpose

6. deal calmly with a problem

Fill in the gaps :

• This recipe ------------------- when you have unexpected guests.

• She had ----------------------- lying to the police.

• When you become a politician, you soon learn ------- criticism ----------.

• Yesterday I---------------- an old photo in the drawer.

• He gave a fairly ------------- speech.

• I --------------- to say goodbye and go.

The last but not the least: the title

“The Eyes Have It”

It is a pun, another way to play with words.

A pun is the usually humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings or the meaning of another word similar in sound.

These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of

• homophons: words that sound identical but differ in meaning/spelling (e.g., so, sow, sew or there and their)

• homographs: words with the same spelling as another or others but with a different meaning and origin and, sometimes, a different pronunciation (Ex.: bow, the front part of a ship; bow, to bend; bow, a decorative knot

• Homonyms are words that share both a spelling and pronunciation but differ in meaning – for example, bow (to bend at the waist) and bow (the front of a ship).

The author plays with two words that have the same sound: “eyes” and “aye,” that is another word for "yes"

“The ayes have it” is a phrase used in a parliament or meeting to announce that there are more votes to support a suggestion, law, etc. than votes against it, so the "yes" votes have won:

“The ayes have it, 20 to 12, and the motion is carried.”

What rethorical device did the author use?

Do you know others? (e.g., pair/pear, bear/bare, To/ too/ two)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately - Fredric Brown

Unfortunately is a story by Fredric Brown (1906 – 1972) an American writer of science fiction and thrillers.

Now, read the first paragraph and tell the genre of this short story.

Read to the end.

Underline the following words, and match them with their synonyms:

inhabited                                                        amicable

supplies                                                          willingly

friendly                                                          mastery

inhuman                                                         provisions

freely                                                              restriction

fluency                                                           dull

abstinence                                                      seized

grabbed                                                          post

deaf very                                                        hot

seazling                                                          not human

stake                                                               populated

 

 

 

Unfortunately

by

FREDRIC BROWN

Ralph NC*5 sighed with relief as he caught sight of Planet Four of Arcturus in the spotter scope, just where his computer had told him it would be. Arcturus IV was the only inhabited or inhabitable planet of its primary and it was quite a few light-years to the next star system.

Ralph NC*5 fece un sospiro di sollievo quando nel suo visore apparve il pianeta Quattro di Arturo, proprio là dove il suo computer aveva detto che sarebbe stato. Arturo IV era l’unico pianeta abitato o abitabile del suo sole e distava solo pochi anni luce dal successivo sistema solare.

He needed food — his fuel and water supplies were okay but the commissary department on Pluto had made a mistake in stocking his scouter — and, according to the space manual, the natives were friendly. They’d give him anything he asked for.

Aveva bisogno di cibo – le sue riserve di acqua e carburante erano okay ma l’ufficio addetto al vettovagliamento su Plutone aveva fatto un errore nel rifornire il suo ricognitore – e, secondo il manuale spaziale, i nativi erano amichevoli. Gli avrebbero dato qualunque cosa avesse chiesto.

The manual was very specific on that point; he reread the brief section on the Arcturians as soon as he had set the controls for automatic landing.

“The Arcturians,” he read, “are inhuman, but very friendly. A pilot landing here need only ask for what he wants, and it is given to him freely, readily, and without argument.

Il manuale era molto specifico su quel punto, rilesse la breve sezione sugli arturiani non appena ebbe inserito i controlli per l’atterraggio automatico.

“Gli arturiani,” lesse, “non sono umani, ma molto amichevoli. Un pilota che atterri lì deve soltanto chiedere quello che vuole e gli sarà dato generosamente, prontamente e senza discussioni.

“Communication with them, however, must be by paper and pencil as they have no vocal organs and no organs of hearing. However, they read and write English with considerable fluency.”

“Tuttavia, la comunicazione con loro deve avvenire con carta e matita, dal momento che non hanno organi vocali o organi uditivi. Comunque, leggono e scrivono l’inglese con considerevole padronanza.”

Ralph NC-5’s mouth watered as he tried to decide what he wanted to eat first, after two days of complete abstinence from food, preceded by five days of short rations; a week ago he had discovered the commissary department’s mistake in stocking his lockers.

A Ralph NC-5 venne l’acquolina in bocca mentre cercava di decidere quello che voleva mangiare come prima cosa, dopo due giorni di completa astinenza dal cibo, preceduti da cinque giorni di razioni ridotte: una settimana fa aveva scoperto che gli addetti alle vettovaglie avevano commesso un errore nello stoccaggio della dispensa.

Foods, wonderful foods, chased one another through his mind.

He landed, The Arcturians, a dozen of them and they were indeed inhuman — twelve feet tail, six-armed, bright magenta — approached him and their leader bowed and handed him paper and pencil.

Cibi, cibi meravigliosi si susseguirono uno dietro l’altro nella sua mente.

Atterrò. Gli arturiani, una dozzina di loro ed erano veramente inumani – una coda di più di tre metri, sei braccia, magenta brillante – si avvicinarono e il loro capo si inchinò e gli consegnò carta e matita.

Suddenly he knew exactly what he wanted; he wrote rapidly and handed back the pad. It passed from hand to hand among them.

Improvvisamente seppe esattamente ciò che voleva, scrisse velocemente e riconsegnò il taccuino. Gli arturiani se lo passarono di mano in mano.

Then abruptly he found himself grabbed, his arms pinioned. And then tied to a stake around which they were piling brushwood and sticks. One of them lighted it.

Poi, di colpo, si trovò agguantato, le braccia immobilizzate. E poi lo legarono ad un palo intorno a cui stavano ammucchiando sterpaglie e rami. Uno di loro gli diede fuoco.

He screamed protests but they fell, not on deaf ears but on no ears at all. He screamed pain, and then stopped screaming.

The space manual had been quite correct in saying that the Arcturians read and write English with considerable fluency. But it had omitted to add that they were very poor at spelling; else the last thing Ralph NC-5 would have requested would have been a sizzling steak.

Lanciò urla di protesta, ma caddero non su orecchie sorde, ma su orecchie che non esistevano affatto. Urlò di dolore, e poi smise di urlare.

Il manuale spaziale era stato abbastanza corretto nel dire che gli arturiani leggono e scrivono l’inglese con considerevole padronanza. Ma aveva omesso di aggiungere che erano molto carenti in ortografia, altrimenti l’ultima cosa che Ralph NC-5 avrebbe chiesto sarebbe stata una bistecca sfrigolante.

Give a short description of the physical features of the Arcturians:

 

General understanding:

Say which of the following sentences are true and correct the false ones:

1- RalphNC*5 landed on Arcturus IV because he was short of fuel

2- Arcturus IV was one of the habitable planets of its solar system

3- The Arcturians were hostile

4- They didn’t know English

5- They communicated by paper and pencil

6- They didn’t give RalphNC*5 what he wanted

7- The space manual was very helpful

Further exploitation:

Bearing in mind that stake also means ‘execution by

 burning at a stake’ (do you know Joan of Arc?) explain:

 ✏what RalphNC*5 asked for, what he got, and why.

Discussion:

• Do you still think the aliens were friendly?

• Who or what did the narrator put the blame on for this tragic misunderstanding?

• What is the general tone of the story?

Guided summary:

Summarize the story using the following words to

fill in the gaps:  

generous, supplies, land, inhabited, hungry, tail, bright, arms, vehicle, knew, paper, 

aliens, pencil, deaf, sociable, magenta, steak, pilot, dumb, poor, fire.

RalphNC*5 was the -------------of a space---------.As he was short of food------------, he decided to----------- on Arcturus IV. The planet was ------------ by inhuman--------- with a long----------, six------------, and a------- ----- skin. They----------- English, but they communicated by --------- and-------- becuase they were---------- and--------. Anyway, they were --------------and---------. As RalphNC*5 was very-------- he aked for a sizzling ------------, but their spelling was very------------ so they mistook ---------- for--------- and poor RalphNC*5 died on a sizzling------- .

Unfotunately is a good example of Fredric

Brown’s style.

Here is a list of the main features of the

story, circle the adjectives that best define them:

Length               long, short, very short

Language           simple, rich, factual, abstract

syntax                complex/simple sentences

Tone                   ironic, dramatic, funny, serious

End                     msurprising, logical, unexpected,  

                           predictable

Now use them to write a short paragraph. You can start like this:

Fredric Brown was a succesful writer of …

Grammar exploitation:

You can use this story to introduce the prefixes in,

 un, im to change the meaning of adjectives from positive to negative

At a higher level, you can also introduce if clauses type three