Hi. this is Jiro.
Recently I read the short story “Rat” by Stephen King, the King of Horror.
Today I’d like to share something that amazed me about the way he writes—and how it relates to your English learning.
The first thing that struck me was his extraordinary ability to create vivid images in the reader’s mind.
Drew, a middle-aged aspiring writer, is struggling to finish his first novel. Alone in a dilapidated cabin in the mountains, he spends his days writing. One stormy night, he discovers a talking rat on the floor. The rat talks to him endlessly. Whenever Drew throws something at it, it disappears—only to return the following night. Before long, the rat begins to appear when he least expects it. Little by little, it seems to build a nest inside his mind.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
（talking with Al, his friend）
‘…. What I want to know is how you’re doing.’
‘Pretty good,’ Al said.
‘Except I’ve got this rat to contend with.’
Now Drew bolted to his feet from his chair, suddenly feeling sick again. Feverish.
‘What?’
‘Oh, don’t sound so concerned,’ Al said.
‘It’s a new medication the doctors put me on. It has all kinds of side-effects, but the only one I’ve got is the rash. All over my back and sides. I had the test and it’s just a rash. Itches like hell, though.’
‘Just a rash,’ Drew echoed.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
What did you think when you read this passage?
When I came across the word rat, I almost dropped the book. I was so startled that I instinctively looked around to make sure there wasn’t really a rat nearby.
It was as though King had summoned a living rat into the real world.
At first, I simply admired his writing technique. Then I realized that this scene has something important to teach us about learning English.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーー
（Drew is talking with his wife）
She took his hand and said,
‘I was pissed at you for not coming back home, writing your novel.
But I was wrong and you were rat.
’ He took his hand back, feeling feverish again
‘What did you say?
’ ‘That I was wrong. And you were right.What’s the trouble, Drew?’
He said. ‘Nothing at all.’
ーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Normally, I was wrong is followed by You were right. To Drew, however, the last word sounds exactly like rat.
Notice that Stephen King never actually tells us that Drew hears rat. Instead, he lets Drew’s disturbed mind do the work.
As readers, we are left with the strange feeling that the rat has appeared once again out of nowhere.
The final example is even more striking.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
He told himself again there was no rat.
The rat was in his head
Really, everything was all rat.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Of course, everything was all rat should be everything was all right.
By this point, Drew can no longer distinguish rat from right. Isn’t it as though the rat has finally made a nest in his brain?
Now let’s turn to your English learning.
Let me begin with a question.
How vividly could you feel the presence of the rat while reading these passages?
Your answer may reveal something about the way you have been learning English.
You may think, “It’s just a pun.”
But appreciating this kind of wordplay requires something very important: a clear mental image of how English words sound.
Many Japanese learners pay much more attention to spelling than to sound. Perhaps this is natural. After all, we grow up learning thousands of Chinese characters, which are primarily visual symbols. As a result, it is easy to memorize English words mainly with our eyes instead of our ears.
If your only reaction is, “Well, it’s just a pun,” perhaps your sound images of English words are not yet as clear or as vivid as they could be.
So let’s read English aloud, enjoying the sound of our own voices.
Let’s also listen carefully to the voices of others.
Then, who knows?
One day, a rat may speak to you, too.
私立学校に英語教師として勤務中、40代半ばに差し掛かったころ、荒れたクラスを立て直す策として、生徒に公言して英検1級に挑戦することを思い立つ。同様の挑戦を繰り返し、退職までに英検一級（検定連合会長賞）、TOEIC満点、国連英検SA級、フランス語一級、スペイン語一級（文科大臣賞）、ドイツ語一級、放送大学大学院修士号などの成果を得る。
アメリカで生徒への対応法を学ぶ為に研修（地銀の助成金）。最新の心理学に触れた。4都県での全発表、勤務校での教員への研修を英語で行う。現在も特別選抜クラスの授業を全て英語で行っている。「どうやって単語を覚えればいいですか？」という良くある質問に答える為、印欧祖語からの派生に基づく「生徒には見せたくない語源英単語集」を執筆中。完成間近。常日頃洋書の読破で様々な思考にふれているが、そうして得た発想の一つを生かして書いた論文がコロナ対策論文として最近入賞。賞品の牛肉に舌鼓をうっている。元英検面接委員