The short extract from ‘Smoke, lilies and Jade’ by Richard Bruce Nugent is from a Bildungsroman play foretelling the plight of Alex - a 19-year-old, black, male facing internal conflicts and confusion in regards to his sexuality. Therefore, taking this context into consideration, the extract naturally issues an underlying, thematic patterning of fragmentation, uncertainty, and tension. From a close reading, these themes spill out through the content, the form, as well as the diction. In more specific terms, it is achieved through literary and stylistic devices in the following ways; an abstract stream of consciousness disfigured shifts between time and setting, the disparity between an exterior and interior dialogue, and finally, the rebellious
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This is achieved through short sentences such as, “Alex lit a cigarette”, “he sat and waited”, “Alex had almost gone to sleep” and finally, “Alex had blew a cloud of smoke”. Not only does this include a motif of ‘smoke’ which represents confusion, but the short sentences contain a physical movement performed by Alex that breaks the stream of consciousness, and allows the reader to almost time travel to the “here” and “now”. The reader is taken out of Alex’s chaotic mind and shifted back into the setting of the cafeteria thus playing with the notion of time and issuing a change of perspective and scenery. In terms of form, the short sentences also contribute significantly towards the narrative through creating a sense of realism which allows the reader to become an integral part of the situation, thus evoking an emotional reaction. It is the effective short sentences that signal a shift between exteriority and interiority. Another formatting feature used within the extract is the unique use of ellipses between every sentence “what a vagrant thought…Kroeger…Kroeger”. Similarly, to how the short sentences cut through Alex’s thoughts, the ellipses work through increasing tension through long pauses and spaced out thoughts. In addition, both short sentences and ellipses create frequent breaks between thoughts and a …show more content…
Alex possesses the desire to “go up to the brown cover of the book and knock gently”. This is done to emphasise the disparity between the real world and a fantasy setting, between Alex’s physical reality in the cafeteria, in contrast to his mental setting of delving into the literary world. Imagery is further used to demonstrate Alex’s abstract thoughts through the personification of non-human entities, “If colours could be heard”, “how does blue feel” and the idea of the cafeteria, which “had journeyed to meet him”. These images, create imaginative associations and present a disconnection from reality and the current time through his interior monologue. We are reminded that “there was no one in the café yet” again another physical form of disconnection with other people as we are reminded that he is in solitude. This sense of fragmentation is depicted through the disconnection with society, with reality, but also a disconnection within
This is achieved through short sentences such as, “Alex lit a cigarette”, “he sat and waited”, “Alex had almost gone to sleep” and finally, “Alex had blew a cloud of smoke”. Not only does this include a motif of ‘smoke’ which represents confusion, but the short sentences contain a physical movement performed by Alex that breaks the stream of consciousness, and allows the reader to almost time travel to the “here” and “now”. The reader is taken out of Alex’s chaotic mind and shifted back into the setting of the cafeteria thus playing with the notion of time and issuing a change of perspective and scenery. In terms of form, the short sentences also contribute significantly towards the narrative through creating a sense of realism which allows the reader to become an integral part of the situation, thus evoking an emotional reaction. It is the effective short sentences that signal a shift between exteriority and interiority. Another formatting feature used within the extract is the unique use of ellipses between every sentence “what a vagrant thought…Kroeger…Kroeger”. Similarly, to how the short sentences cut through Alex’s thoughts, the ellipses work through increasing tension through long pauses and spaced out thoughts. In addition, both short sentences and ellipses create frequent breaks between thoughts and a …show more content…
Alex possesses the desire to “go up to the brown cover of the book and knock gently”. This is done to emphasise the disparity between the real world and a fantasy setting, between Alex’s physical reality in the cafeteria, in contrast to his mental setting of delving into the literary world. Imagery is further used to demonstrate Alex’s abstract thoughts through the personification of non-human entities, “If colours could be heard”, “how does blue feel” and the idea of the cafeteria, which “had journeyed to meet him”. These images, create imaginative associations and present a disconnection from reality and the current time through his interior monologue. We are reminded that “there was no one in the café yet” again another physical form of disconnection with other people as we are reminded that he is in solitude. This sense of fragmentation is depicted through the disconnection with society, with reality, but also a disconnection within