"I was as much affected by the faint hum of a mosquito making its invisble and unimaginable tour through my apartment,when I was sitting with door and windows open,as I could be by any trumpet that ever sang of fame."
Q1.Is the narrator prasing the mosquito or despising it?
Q2.What does "sang of fame" mean?

Answers

LaurenMc

29 Aug 2016

English (US)

praising it.
sang is past tense if sing. fame is a state of being famous.
"sang of fame" is describing the heralding of the trumpet. heralding is like the music that is played before a king walks in a room.

He is saying that the hum of the mosquito is as important and beautiful to him as the procession of music that comes before a king. or more important than the trumpet that.let's you know.someone important is coming.

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Dong_Xu

30 Aug 2016

Simplified Chinese (China)
Traditional Chinese (Taiwan) Near fluent

@LaurenMc Thanks,nice answer.And I have another question:How should I interpret "I could be by"?Why didn't the author omit the part?(It seems unnecessary)

LaurenMc

31 Aug 2016

English (US)

it's necessary because it is finishing the simile which is a comparison using the phrase "as _ as a "
it is actually more important than all the other stuff between the two as
you could narrow this whole sentence down to
"I was as affected by the faint hum of the mosquito as I could be by any trumpet that ever sang of fame."

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LaurenMc

31 Aug 2016

English (US)

sorry that response took so long :)

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Dong_Xu

4 Sep 2016

Simplified Chinese (China)
Traditional Chinese (Taiwan) Near fluent

@LaurenMc Doesn't matter.So do I.(I am in school)
I wad just enlightened by your answer.Is 'I could be by' an attribute that describes 'trumpet'?

LaurenMc

5 Sep 2016

English (US)

no. you need "I could be by" to finish the simile. it corresponds with the verb "was affected"
I was as affected as I could be. meaning he could not he more affected by the trumpet than he was by the mosquito. he is comparing the affect the sound of the mosquito has on him to the affect the trumpet has on others.

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Dong_Xu

11 Sep 2016

Simplified Chinese (China)
Traditional Chinese (Taiwan) Near fluent

@LaurenMc Oh,so I should interpret the sentence as "Compared with any trumpet that sang of fame,I was extremely affected by the hum of a mosquito"And the narrator is despising fame in the meanwhile.Is that right?

LaurenMc

14 Sep 2016

English (US)

As I read that sentence, I can't tell if he despises fame or not. Does he despise the mosquito? I don't think so. Does he despise fame. Maybe.
I say that because he seems to appreciate the humble sound a mosquito, and he is saying that it affects him as much, if not more, than a trumpet announcing a king.
I think what you should get from this sentence is that the narrator likes things that are quiet, humble, things that don't ask to heard and can only be appreciated when another is paying close attention.
so..yeah, I think he despises fame mongering (the act of trying to be famous).
read the sentence like this...
"The narrator respects the mosquito for its unassuming nature much more than he could any person, especially those that ask to famous."
I think the noise of each object, the mosquito and the trumpet, is just a.metaphor. The author is not really talking about how the noise affects him, but how the mosquito doesn't care if anyone notices it, but a person with a trumpet wants you to pay attention to them.

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Dong_Xu

18 Sep 2016

Simplified Chinese (China)
Traditional Chinese (Taiwan) Near fluent

I think you're right. The writer writes that he appreciates the simplicity of nature in front of this sentence and that the hum is like Homer's requiem behind it. Now I understand it totally. Many thanks for your patience.
And I want to teach you a Chinese sentence as a reward:"小叩辄发大鸣"which means I consult you and get a much more detailed answer than I expected.