Juan Carlos Thomas - Word Whisperer - Role 2
Pages 33-68
( page 42-43 , paragraph 6 )
" Far in the distance , on the other side of the site , the sun , red and enormous , was rising in haze , its beams cutting obliquely through the gates , the whole building site , and the fence. "
The author uses an imagery in this text. An imagery is when a compound of words make the reader imagine the idea being expressed. In this phrase , the author makes the reader imagine a beautiful sunrise. This imagery reflects the idea that even though prisoners are in a Gulag camp , there can be a nice setting and environment.
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( page 48 , paragraph 1 )
" What had he eaten for eight , no , more than eight years ?
Here , we can see a rhetorical question being used by the other. Rhetorical questions are question being asked by someone but no answer is necessary. Rhetorical questions are used to emphasise an idea being pointed out by someone. The reader usually thinks of a possible answer to the question. This rhetorical question highlights the fact the the food in the Gulag camps is horrible ! Prisoners enjoy , due to the fact that that's their only option to eat , even though the food is nasty and gross.
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( page 49 , paragraph 6 )
" What ? What ? " asked Senka Klevshin , missing the point.
The author used a repetition in this phrase. A repetition is when a word or phrase is used twice or more in a text. A repetition is used to emphasise an idea in a text. The reader reads the repetition and has clearer understanding of the idea. This repetition being used emphasises the fact that some prisoners have disabilities such as: hearing. Senka lost an eardrum and has trouble hearing.
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( page 49 , paragraph 7 )
" One of his eardrums had been smashed in '41. Then he was captured; he escaped, was recaptured, and was sent to Buchenwald. "
In this text a flashback is used by the author. A flashback is a memory or an event occurred in the past. A flashback allows the reader to understand the history or past of a character or sometimes of a place. This flashback is very important because some prisoners in the Gulag camps have horrible pasts and memories. Getting to know a character's history helps you understand why he or she are how they are.
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( page 52 , paragraph 3 )
" He've have said more , maybe , but up came , Gopchik , Ukrainian lad , pink as a suckling pig , to complain that the other squad wouldn't give them the box ".
In this phrase , we can see a simile being used by the author. A simile is when a comparison is made using the word like or as to compare a similar thing. This allows the reader to understand and imagine the object or person in a better way. This text from the book emphasises the discussions and arguments between the prisoners in the camps. Prisoners become mad and furious when something they don't like happens.
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In this book there are many words meaning different things, because there are some phrases that would mean imagery and others would be simile's, it shows that this book for the better understandment of the way the author writes the story, for example this imagery is used for the better understandment of the book.
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ReplyDeleteJuan,
ReplyDeleteI like how you explained what the author uses in each sentence. Good work.
While looking through your post, the second sentence you talked about caught my attention. The reason is because the author might be also using another way to "hook" the reader's attention. You said that the author might be using a rhetorical question, but, in my opinion, he is using an exaggerated idea so that it looks like it is worse than before. To explain, let's look at the sentence you chose. If the author simply said "What had he eaten for eight years," the statement would be extremely weaker. Continuing my idea, this sentence is general, and doesn't have a lot of evidence to support it, meaning that it is more difficult for the reader to put themselves in the book. Now, because the author added "no, more than eight years," this piece became fortified because the reader can put himself in the book, and feel how it is to suffer not eight years, but more than eight years of starvation. The reason this sentence works better is because it adds more information to the general question, making the new sentence even more thoughtful than before. Because the question gets more thoughtful (More than eight years), the reader gets granted a doubt to know the exact number of years Ivan suffered.
Overall, I really liked your post, but this line was what stood out the most.
Daniel
Daniel ,
DeleteI agree , this rhetorical question could also be an exaggerated idea stated by the author. I also agree that this might be a hook , it gets the reader curious about Ivan's life there.