Practice Commentary :: English Literature

Practice CommentaryThis passage taken from Denton Welchs Maiden Voyage, introduces thereaders to the main fictional font (whose name is not mentioned) in a placethat is not well known to the main mention. Through the use offoreshadowing, symbolism, effective setting and characterization the generator is able to successfully display a situation where anadolescents rebelliousness leads him into trouble and unexpected items.This passage begins with one of the characters, Mr. Butler, tellingthe main character, Foreigners ar not very popular here. This veryfirst line of the passage acts as a great opening sentence as itforeshadows the horrifying event that follows and it sets up theominous and menacing mood of the passage. However this sentence iswritten so that it is an understatement and thus even though it stillforeshadows the event that follows in a subtle way, it does notdecrease the effect of that event has on the readers. If theforeshadowing had been made more obvious like, Don t go outside orelse they will kill you. then the readers would not be so surprisedwhen the identity of the inclination found by the main character isrevealed and when the main character finds himself trapped.The author also uses symbolism in order to reveal the identity of the target area found by the main character. It is first mentioned as a unappeasablespeck and because the color black is usually associated with deathand evil it catches the readers attention and arouses suspicion. Nextas the main character gets closer to the object he wonders, if itcould be a cat crouching in the middle of the road, or even a darkboulder. By this time the readers are sure that the object beingmentioned is going to be an unusual yet scary thing because it isbeing compared to a black cat (which is seen as an omen) and a boulder(which is seen as an obstacle in ones path).The most important aspect of this passage is its setting as throughthe setting, the situation of the main character feeling impr isoned inthe villa and then becoming trapped is made to seem morerealistic and is also made easier to imagine. In the starting thevilla in which the main character is staying is express to be surroundedby poplar trees that are tall and thin and are planted in straightlines. This gives the readers the feeling that these trees act asbarriers between the villa and the Chinese city that lies outside andmaybe even guards the people living inside the villa from the outsidedangers. Apart from this it gives a sense of why the main character