Practice Commentary :: English Literature

Practice Commentary This passage taken from Denton Welch’s Maiden Voyage, introduces the readers to the main character (whose name is not mentioned) in a place that is not well known to the main character. Through the use of foreshadowing, symbolism, effective setting and characterization the author is able to successfully display a situation where an adolescent’s rebelliousness leads him into trouble and unexpected events. This passage begins with one of the characters, Mr. Butler, telling the main character, â€Å"Foreigners are not very popular here.† This very first line of the passage acts as a great opening sentence as it foreshadows the horrifying event that follows and it sets up the ominous and menacing mood of the passage. However this sentence is written so that it is an understatement and thus even though it still foreshadows the event that follows in a subtle way, it does not decrease the effect of that event has on the readers. If the foreshadowing had been made more obvious like, â€Å"Don’t go outside or else they will kill you.† then the readers would not be so surprised when the identity of the object found by the main character is revealed and when the main character finds himself trapped. The author also uses symbolism in order to reveal the identity of the object found by the main character. It is first mentioned as a â€Å"black speck† and because the color black is usually associated with death and evil it catches the reader’s attention and arouses suspicion. Next as the main character gets closer to the object he wonders, â€Å"if it could be a cat crouching in the middle of the road,† or even a dark boulder. By this time the readers are sure that the object being mentioned is going to be an unusual yet scary thing because it is being 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 through the setting, the situation of the main character feeling imprisoned in the villa and then becoming trapped is made to seem more realistic and is also made easier to imagine. In the starting the villa in which the main character is staying is said to be surrounded by poplar trees that are tall and thin and are planted in straight lines. This gives the readers the feeling that these trees act as barriers between the villa and the Chinese city that lies outside and maybe even guards the people living inside the villa from the outside dangers. Apart from this it gives a sense of why the main character