Kiss Of The Fur Queen Tomson Highway Analysis

The shocking gut reaction and tempo of the passage from Tomson Highway’s Kiss of the Fur Queen engages the readers to the protracted, iced, and endless polar as the character Abraham Okimasis and the pact of huskies trailing behind other the sled racers to make it to the finish line. Tomson Highway uses a variety of imagery to set the mood and the tone of the trek, as well as put the readers unto an atmosphere where Okimasis’ inner thoughts lie as he approaches the last leg of his race. Okimasis’ experience is dramaticized heavily with the effective use of cold imagery, action-packed tone, and passionate diction.
The tone adds to the overall impact of the drama as Okimasis nears the finish line, and it also adds a heart-racing mood to the situation because of the race he is facing. The tone on the other hand is drastically shifting from being rushed to an at ease feeling, as Okimasis accepts his fate in the race and accept the loss of the championship and marriage. The readers can see the intensity of tone right off the bat with Okimasis “gripping” and “snapping” the reins of …show more content…
An example from the passage is when Highway uses a vivid description of the environment around Okimasis and how “the snow creaked underfoot” and how the rising vapor was “so crisp, so dry.” The description allows the reader to capture the sensation that Okimasis is witnessing in his race, as well as vividly capturing the icy setting in which the story takes place upon. Another example of imagery is how Okimasis’ huskies are facing exhaustion with, “The shafts of vapour rising from the dogs’ panting mouth, the curls of mist emerging from their undulating backs, made them look like insubstantial wisps of air.” Through the image of the exhausted dogs, it only makes the situation and the experience more palpable. In addition to feeling apart of the scene, Highway builds a similar