April 13, 2016
Jing Li
1. The narrator speaks of the 3 ways she owes her existence to her mother. Identify the three ways and the literary techniques used to reveal them.
The first time is when the mother saved herself. The mother and father were both trapeze artist. One day, a lighting struck the main pole in the tent that there were performing at. That strike killed her father, while her mother could have caught on to her father ,but she turned around to hold on to the pole to save herself. The literary technique that was used to reveal this is detail.
The second time that the narrator states she owns her life to her mother is when the mother was at the hospital and she found her second husband there. The father was a doctor at the hospital and every day he would come and read to here eventually they fell in love ,which lead to the narrator being born. The literary technique used to reveal this is detail.
The third time that the narrator owns her life to her mother is when the house caught on fire. The narrator was in the house when the fire started. She tried to escape from it ,but she was trapped by the fire. When the mother came home from work she stayed calm and she didn't hesitate to go in herself and save her daughter. The mother stripped and leap onto the window of the narrator's window in order to rescue her. The literary technique used to reveal this is figurative language. The word leap is referred to as her mother taking a literal leap in order to save her from the burning house.
2. Interpret two times that flashbacks or foreshadowing are used in the story to build suspense and tension. Cite specific lines.
In lines 30-32, "The day was mildly overcast, but nothing in the air or temperature gave any hint of the sudden force with which the deadly gale would strike." which foreshadows the tragic weather that caused the death of Harold Avalon. The weather shows no evidence of a thunderstorm ,but it did occur at the most crucial moment during the act where both trapeze artists were blindfolded. The lighting struck the main pole and the electricity strike Harry Avalon, which led to his death.
In lines 29-30, "Harold Avalon, her first husband" This foreshadows that Harold and the narrator's mother could be either divorced or the mother is a widow. This builds tension by leaving the reader's unknown of what might happen to Harold and how his part in this story plays out.
3. Draw conclusions about the relationship between the mother and daughter. How would you describe their relationship?
The relationship between the mother and daughter is that they have a deep love for each other. When the daughter was trapped inside of the farmhouse the mother risked her life to save her beloved daughter. The mother is illiterate ,but when she was in the hospital, she finally learned how to read and write ever since then she has never been without a book. Since the mother is practically almost blind because of her cataracts and ever since Harold passed away, there is no one to read to her. Therefore the daughter came home to read to her mother all night if she has too. Which shows how much the daughter loves her mother. They have such a strong mother-daughter bond.
