Literary Close Reading of “A Wind from the North”

The continuity of the story has been well maintained and the plot is consistent. The use of adequate imagery imparts clear imaginations of the events. The use of figurative language to represent objects is exemplary. For instance, the definition of the car as the cold glass and made up of silvery metal is a kind of improvisation that creates a vivid image in a reader’s mind and let one see how the car looked like. Coherence in this piece has as well been catered for, and the flow of events contained is in-line with none of them going astray. The author talks of divorce and the later demise of his uncle, marking the beginning and end of his troubles. The writer chronologically discusses the story events, taking readers little bit back up and to the later. This style brings the essence of storytelling. That is the style of literature. This paper explores the aspects of the text “A Wind from the North” and what makes it work and seem interesting.

The rhythm of the artwork is seamless. The writer deployed the rhythm to insist and to bring along the emotions. He talks of death, and mentions it in different instances with different constructs of sentences such as “my uncle had been dead for six days, dead of heart attack some time earlier in the week, dead perhaps in his sleep” (Capossere 104). The repetition of the word “dead” creates an imagination of death was real to the writer. In his sense of humor or sarcasm, he uses the rhythm. The words follow a pattern that appears to be better uttered than written. The writer tries to share his grief emotions in his story through repetition among other stressing styles. He reiterates about the death of his uncle.

Rhetorical questions appear within the writer’s piece. They show the standing of the writer. The fact that the writer is in disbelief of how life is superseded by death left him with many imaginable questions, i.e. “What sort of life creates this sort of death?” (Capossere 104) Some of those rhetorical questions are there to evoke the audience, let them enter into the writer’s world of imagination or else the world of disbelief. Most of these questions appear in form of monologue. The audience full participation is well grabbed by the unanswerable questions. Most of the rhetorical questions carry humor with themselves. They indicate points at which soliloquy occurred. That marks the certain crucial message or topic within the piece.

To convey the message appropriately, the storyteller has deployed the visual images. The use of real world images that are well-known, so that to bring clear ideas that can vividly be identified. He provides the full description. The writer talks of “my own memories of him are dim” this gives us a clear indication of how not clear he remembers the deceased (Capossere 105). The word “dim” creates the best image of how unclear his memories are. The graphical images are always used to create better imagination than those created by their respective words. They bring clear pictures in audiences’ minds.

To intensify the feelings and the depth of his situation the author used similes. He compares his situation, conditions and even his surrounding with different objects to deliver the message appropriately as he wish. He talks about “the metallic loneliness like an old coin held too long in the mouth” (Capossere 105). This insists on how lonely his uncle was. He compares loneliness with the loneliness that the audience is aware of henceforth creating then appropriate impression to the reader. He wants us to realize the great loneliness of his uncle.

Moreover, various objects within the story have been rendered the abilities of human such as the sun glares. That represents a capability of humans only. Moreover, this style makes the story captivating. The midwinter is featured as simple. The trait of simplicity is well-known for human beings. Most importantly, the life has been given the ability to create. “What sort of life creates this sort of death” (Capossere 104)? This statement represents life that is condemned for creating death. Only human have the ability to create death. The force has been given the ability to crowd. The personification used gives the writer the total freedom to decorate the story. It is style of artwork.

Repetition enables the persona to explain a certain scenario or act in an interesting way. The repetition of certain words explains well the condition of things. For instance, “stainless steel sink” elaborates well the visual appearance of the sink, not only bringing the physical aspects but also the interesting captive way of delivering literature work (Capossere 106). Where the writer has to intensify or insist on something, he or she probably uses the repetition. Moreover, the selection of words suits best. The writer provides ample names to refer to the snow, he does this to emphasis on the subject matter and to color the whole story to the audience.

Moreover, symbolism has been used to signify ideas. The audiences ought not to take the literally meaning of the objects used. They must be aware of the deeper meaning of the words. Various phrases or objects have different meanings. In return, it derives significant and deeper meaning. In the piece provided, the “track” mentioned signify the wealth, activities and all structures built by man. The author talks of how they are all covered by the blanket of snow. The couch he talks tells us of the cozy life the deceased lived before his demise. The writer talks about the “fort” which symbolizes the mechanism that his uncle had deployed in all manners. “The fort he had built around himself began then to notice the metallic taste of loneliness” (Capossere 106).

Irony and satire appear in the piece where the writer of the story talks about the untouchable property of his uncle. It is quite ironical that the well-built fort could not protect his uncle despite his dedicated efforts. “I think he began to realize even the fort he had built round himself, began to notice the metallic taste of loneliness…” this is kind of sarcasm (Capossere 106). The writer is criticizing his uncle folly efforts. Satire is well evident in the story, and it shows us the true characters of the persona. Apart from delivering the message, the writer tells the story in an interesting way. Here he gets a perfect chance to criticize the human wit. From the piece, the writer makes us aware of the mechanism and alertness of his aloof uncle yet he blames him of his carelessness, “I wonder if he saw it’s accumulation the heavyweight of lifetime chances gone by and felt in its cool smothering force that pressed him back into his seat and finally crowded out untethered motions of his heart” (Capossere 106).

The paradox in the story comes where the writer talks of the quiet death. It is contradicting of how he features death as quick and destructive, and yet he refers to it as quiet. The audience must expect them agility of death but the writer goes on and mentions quietness. The snow had covered the region, and the writer talks of heated home. That is quite contradicting, it unimaginable how only his house could be heated at such conditions. He even talks of “the counter growing colder by the minute.” It is obvious to the audience that the weather must have been very cold.

In conclusion, it is evident that all literature work requires incorporation on linguistic style. All necessary styles should be considered and be taken care of. This helps to bring the sense of humor throughout the story. The writer had placed the styles appropriately. The best incorporation of style is to prevent any mixing up of ideas. The writer should create as many styles as needed to vividly communicate with the audiences via images created in mind. Literature is all about molding of languages to deliver message in the best appropriate ways. Languaging can be understood as taking old texts form memory and reshaping them into present contexts. Bringing all aspects of styles in languages makes a story interesting and, hence, easing communication. The selection of words is also crucial while describing various instances. Proper selection of words ensures that the entire language is changed to fit different audiences or moods.

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