Read the sample answers and write your name in the table .
6 How does the writer describe what Ashok and Eketi see and feel?
You should support your answer with close reference to the passage, including brief
quotations. (10)
Example 1
Firstly, the writer opens the text using imagery to describe the poor, tattered
houses in the slum," small squalid huts held together by bamboo poles and ...”. The
reader can visualize what Ashok and Eketi sees. The writer also describes the unique
unpleasant smell of the slum. It creates an unpleasant and sorrowful mood by
describing the worn-out houses that poor people have to live in.1
He also appeals to the reader's sense of hearing," the sound of flowing water
... with the mechanical hum of the lawnmower". This allows the reader to fully
immerse himself in his imagination of the alluring farmland. The way Ashok describes
the sound of the lawnmower as a 'hum' also shows his cheerful and overwhelmed
mood.1
Simile is also used to describe the slum:" Piles of rubbish and animal waste
littered the ground like dead leaves". This gives the reader vivid impressions of things
that are unpleasant to the eye laid out almost everywhere on the ground. This
describes how dirty and unhygienic the slum is.1
Next, the writer uses juxtaposition between the 'Number Six' and the slum,"
three story marble mansion ...". The writer does this to highlight the disparity in living
conditions between the rich and the poor. This instills a feeling of pity and justice for
the poor in the reader’s mind. 1
Words and phrases such as " directly opposite " and " Set behind high metal
gates" show that the rich do not want anything to do with the slum. "Set behind high
metal gates" can be an example of an allegory for how the rich wants to keep the
disparity between them and the poor as large as possible.1
The writer uses statistics to surprise and shock the reader: " rustcolored boundary wall, fifteen feet high" and "another five hundred metres". The
statistics shows the reader how overwhelming the security of the building is, making
them wonder what the building is for.
Direct speech between the two characters is used to provide implicit
information about their feelings:" How will we ever manage to get through this place?"
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and "We will. Don't worry". The first example shows how Eketi is feeling doubtful and
surprised while the example shows how Ashok was confident. It also provides the
reader with some insight on the characters' personalities.1
The writer uses an idiom:" From there it was child's play... ". The use of this
idiom shows the reader that Eketi was athletic and climbing down the tree was rather
easy for him. It shows how he felt comfortable without any worries during the climbing
experience. 1
After using almost half of the text to describe how Eketi and Ashok tried to get
into the farmhouse, the writer adds the sentence " A minute later the rusted metal
gate creaked open." This creates suspense and makes the reader imagine what
wonders lie beyond the gate for the two characters to put so much effort into getting
there.1
Throughout the text, the writer uses mostly complex sentences to describe their
efforts to get into the farmland and the sceneries that they passed by along the way:"
They went through ... the wind". The writer uses punctuations such as comma and
dashes in the complex sentences to add more detail:" old clothes – anything the
owners could lay their hands on - ...". The added information contributes to creating
a pitiful, sad atmosphere.1
The writer ends the text subtly by describing the man-made waterfall:" Water
cascaded down ... front gate". The reader can imagine water naturally flowing along
its path: through a few boulders and into a canal. The writer does this because he
wants to end the text by making the readers feel relaxed and calm.1
Example 2
In the first paragraph, the writer uses a variety of descriptive words to describe
the slums. The word "warren" describes how densely populated and complex the
slums were. The reader can vividly visualize the huts in the slums with the help of
descriptive words such as "small, squalid huts held together by bamboo poles and
tattered sand bags, their roofs an ugly patchwork of tarpaulin, plastic sheets, pieces
of metal, old clothes and weighed down with rocks as protection against the wind".1
The statement "anything the owners could lay their hands on" in the first
paragraph describes how the people living in the slums were so poor that they had to
scrap off used materials to build their huts. The reader also gets to learn more of the
filthiness and ill conditions of the slums with statements "caked in dust", "mangy" and
"piles of rubbish and animal waste littered the ground". The writer uses a simile by
comparing the rubbish and animal waste to "dead leaves".1
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The writer specifically describes the location of Number Six, a mansion, in the first
sentence of the second paragraph "Almost directly opposite the slum stood Number
Six. The writer also describes the size of the mansion as "three-Story" and "towering
over the neighborhood like a permanent taunt" to highlight the huge gap in the living
standard of the people in the neighborhood. 1
The third paragraph is a long sentence. In this paragraph, the wall surrounding
the mansion is described as "rust-coloured", 'fifteen feet high" and "topped by barbed
wire". This describes how old and dirty the wall is yet it still stands firmly as the
external protection of the mansion. 1
In the fourth paragraph, the reader can learn the pessimistic mindset
of Eketi as he posed a rhetorical question to his friend Ashok "How will we ever
manage to enter this place?", knowing they will never get in. Ashok, on the other
hand, is optimistic they will find a way to get inside, as seen in the beginning of the
fifth paragraph. This shows the contrast between them.1
The writer provides a clear description of how protected and guarded the
mansion with "six guards in police uniforms" although despite the number of guards,
the service entrance was left "unguarded", allowing the two friends to approach it.
The word "firmly" indicates highly secured condition of the house. the strength of the
lock of the door gate. The length of the barbed-wired-topped wall is also described as
stretching for "another five hundred metres", and the statement "no cavities, gaps or
fractures which could be exploited" suggests that the barbed-wired-topped wall is in
perfect condition.1
The sentence "It was only when they were circling the rear boundary that Ashok
saw something which made him pause" suggests that the pair did not find any
entrance in the front boundary which ultimately led them to go to the rear. The
statement "the paint had flaked off and the edges were rusted" indicates how long
the door at the rear boundary is barely ever used. The writer also describes the door's
handle as "rusty".1
After an unsuccessful try to open the door, Ashok grows more pessimistic as
he wondered "if only we could get this door open" while Eketi, in contrary to his initial
pessimism, shows optimism by trying until he got into the mansion. This once again
shows the contrast between them.1
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A simile "like a human arrow" is used to describe how Eketi intended to shoot
himself by releasing from the branches of the eucalyptus tree into the jamun tree
towering behind the wall. It shows Eketi's experience in his profession.1
A lot of description is used to describe the interiors of the mansion when the
pair got in such as "sound of flowing water entering his ears, together with the
mechanical hum of a lawnmower" in which the two contrasts with one another with
the naturally flowing water sound and the man-made mechanic sound.1
The statement " was about to duck behind a tree when he realized that the
natural darkness of the wooded area would make it impossible for anyone on the lawn
to detect him" indicates that while Ashok is excited to enter inside, he is still aware to
be cautious as they are entering private property but soon relaxes when he is in a
place where he can't be detected.1
Example 3
In the opening paragraph, the writer starts off with negative and detailed
descriptions of slum housing "narrow, dark alleyways" "small, squalid huts" and "ugly
patchwork of tarpaulin…”. The use of long sentence "they went through the
Sanjay…against the wind" makes a dramatic and impactful opening, that engages the
reader. 1
Moreover, the negative descriptions of people and animals in the slum are
added in order to emphasize the point that people there are living in poverty. For
example, "a group of men lazed" "women filed pots…" "nicked children caked in dust"
"mangy dogs" are portrayed gloomily. A simile "littered the ground like dead leaves"
is used to make the reader visualize how filthy and miserable the place it is.1
Then, the slum is juxtaposed with Number Six which is " a three-story marble
mansion, towering over the neighbourhood". This contrast between the slum and
mansion is a huge, and dramatic shift in writing makes the audience feel in a particular
way and entertained. The simile "like a permanent taunt" is used to suggest the reader
that the house is higher than any other building in the neighborhood. The alliteration
'marble mansion" is also impressive.1
Next the writer demonstrates vividly how the mansion is highly and securely
guarded. It's conveyed through the words such as "fifteen feet high and topped by
barbed wire" "six guards" and “stretched for another five hundred metres". The use
of figures in the description helps us imagine how gigantic the house compound is. A
list of three "no cavities, gaps or fractures" is added to the description of mansion to
emphasize the fact that there's no way to break through Number Six.1
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Dialogues between Eketi and Ashok are also added to the text not only to
give the sense of the personalities and characters and but also to picture the situation
fully. For instance, "How will we manage to enter this place?" Eketi wondered. "We
will. Don't worry," Ashok assured him. 1
Informal register is applied and this allows to navigate the reader in a
friendly tone. Several phrasal verbs such as "peeked out" "flaked off" "jutting over"
are used to make the text informal and make the reader engaged.1
Then the writer precisely portrays the sights the characters saw and the
thoughts and feelings they had about the door at the entrance of mansion. The reader
can imagine the full picture of the tightly closed and old door through these
interpretations such as "a small brown metal door" "the paint had flaked off" "rusty
metal handle" and "boarded up from the inside".1
Furthermore, the author let the audience imagine the whole scenario vividly
by conveying the observations and survey that the characters did around their
surroundings. For instance, the descriptions such as "behind him was a clump of
eucalyptus trees" "a thorn of jungles" and "full of acacia bushes". It also suggests how
impenetrable the house is.1
The use of adverb "he said wistfully" allows the audience to know the
feelings and emotions of the character. It leaves the reader with a depressed and
melancholy mood. Then the narration, "I will show you," Eketi said and began
sliding…”, grabs the reader's attention and sparks the curiosity of the reader how he
will manage to access the mansion. In this way, the writer makes the readers get
hooked on the writing, and persuades them to read up to the very end. 1
The author uses the simile "launched himself like a human arrow" in the
descriptions of Ekiti’s actions and behaviors, which shock the audiences but which are
still entertaining them. Moreover, the vivid interpretations such as "jutting over the
boundary wall" "flew through the air" and "landed on top of the jamun tree" make the
reader feel how risky the situation and how superhuman Eketi is. 1
The use of onomatopoeia "creaked open" aids the reader to hear the actual
sound of opening the gate. This sound also suggests that they could eventually enter
the mansion. The use of emotive language "in a state of excitement" shows Ashok's
good first impression of Number Six mansion. Two language devices; the alliteration
"glimpsed a gardener" and the metaphor "shaving the grass" are used in one sentence
to show the professional side of writing.
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The scenes and sounds of what Ashok saw and heard are also added to the
descriptions inside the grounds in order to visualize vividly what the mansion looks
like inside. For instance, "the sound of flowing water" "mechanical hum" and "the
wooded area" are portrayed. Other features of mansion pointed out by Ashok "the
Olympic-sized pool," are added to the text to create a vivid picture.1
The illustrations of the woods such as "magnificent peacocks" "a man-made
waterfall" and "water cascaded down…" can establish a pleasant and peaceful
atmosphere. Although the author startes with negative illustrations of the slum and
created a melancholy mood, he concluded the text with splendid descriptions. In this
way, the author creates different moods in the reader's mind and provides the
readers with an entertainment perspective. 1
The writer has achieved his aims by using informal language and several
language techniques. He uses descriptive language so that the audience can visualize
both the slum housing and mansion vividly.1
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