The selected passage is from Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God which was published in 1937. The passage describes the struggles of Tea Cake, Motor Boat, Janie, and other unidentified characters as they attempt to escape from a violent and terrifying hurricane. The purpose of the passage is to emphasize the power and strength of the hurricane in comparison to the helplessness of the people. The use of structure and personification emphasizes the power of the storm, while the use of dialogue stresses the powerlessness of the people who are are witnessing the storm.
The passage is written with fragments and simple sentenced and repeatedly uses participles and gerunds to create a frantic scene of ongoing events. The …show more content…
Personification is the literary technique in which human traits and actions are given to an inanimate object. The narrator describes that “the monstropolous beast had left his bed” and that “under its multiplied roar could be heard a mighty sound of grinding rock and timber” (365). The storm is a mighty creature both in size and in sound which cannot be stopped from destroying everything its way. The beast has no empathy and “seized hold of [the] dikes and ran forward until he met the quarters” (365). The beast is powerful enough to destroy an human structure, even those that were constructed to halt him. Additionally, the beast is described as “walking the earth with a heavy heel” meaning that everywhere it goes it causes catastrophe and leaves its destructive mark (356).
After establishing the destructive power of the storm, the use of dialogue emphasizes how powerless the humans are and who incapable they are of protecting themselves. As Tea Cake, Motor Boat, and Janie look behind them, Tea Cake exclaims in surprise and horror that “de lake is comin” (366). They are reminded by Janie that they have no way to escape its power because “us can't fly” (366). The characters are incapable of doing anything to protect themselves against the mighty storm, so they must resign trying and accept their
The passage is written with fragments and simple sentenced and repeatedly uses participles and gerunds to create a frantic scene of ongoing events. The …show more content…
Personification is the literary technique in which human traits and actions are given to an inanimate object. The narrator describes that “the monstropolous beast had left his bed” and that “under its multiplied roar could be heard a mighty sound of grinding rock and timber” (365). The storm is a mighty creature both in size and in sound which cannot be stopped from destroying everything its way. The beast has no empathy and “seized hold of [the] dikes and ran forward until he met the quarters” (365). The beast is powerful enough to destroy an human structure, even those that were constructed to halt him. Additionally, the beast is described as “walking the earth with a heavy heel” meaning that everywhere it goes it causes catastrophe and leaves its destructive mark (356).
After establishing the destructive power of the storm, the use of dialogue emphasizes how powerless the humans are and who incapable they are of protecting themselves. As Tea Cake, Motor Boat, and Janie look behind them, Tea Cake exclaims in surprise and horror that “de lake is comin” (366). They are reminded by Janie that they have no way to escape its power because “us can't fly” (366). The characters are incapable of doing anything to protect themselves against the mighty storm, so they must resign trying and accept their