Fur Queen Analyse

In the opening passage of the novel “Kiss of the Fur Queen” by Tomson Highway, the author uses vivid, descriptive imagery, diction, and allusion to describe Abraham Okimasis’s desperation to win a sled race. Not only does this passage show how Okimasis is struggling, but how it emotionally drains him. Highway creates an intense tone and also gets the audience to visualize Okimasis’s mentality through strong use of diction.
Vivid imagery played an important role in this passage due to the fact that it helped the audience understand the conflict between man and environment. Okimasis describes how “through the rising vapour of a northern Manitoba February, so crisp, so dry, the snow creaked underfoot.” Reaching the finish line is already hard enough but the the environment is …show more content…
These literary devices play an important role throughout this passage since it is something that creates more suspense and drama. The way he was “gripping handlebar of sled” and “his right snapping” emphasizes how anxious he is to urge his huskies to continue moving forward. The tone is kept strained when he repeatedly cries “Mush!” Okimasis believes if he were to continue saying “mush,” it would be the “sole word left that could feed them.” Okimasis believes that he was running out of ways to keep the dogs and himself motivated to stay alive and continue to push for victory. To Okimasis, repeating “Mush!” is what will push the huskies to keep going. Additionally, in the third paragraph of the passage, it was highly emphasized that “he was so tired, his dogs beyond tired, so tired they would have collapsed if he was to relent.” In other words, if they were to give up, they would have fallen to exhaustion. Nevertheless, he chooses to persevere and overcome these obstacles. The repetition of phrases help the audience understand his emotions more and his willpower to keep