A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat

Question 1

‘A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat’

Answer 1

• Contrast between sophistication and uncultured and silly
• Highlights the variety of sports she has seen in her travels, bringing uncertainty and excitement for what the sport she is about to describe will entail

Question 2

‘wacky races’

Answer 2

• Allusion to a Western cartoon
• Shows how silly, informal and unusual she views the event as, but also foreshadowing how something chaotic and exciting is about to happen

Question 3

‘we waited for an eternity on the brow of the hill’

Answer 3

• Eternity is hyperbole
• Shows her exitement and anticipation for the race

Question 4

‘zoom lens’ and ‘wobbly bicycle’

Answer 4

• Juxtposition between high tech from the west, and low tech in Pakistan
• Shows how she views the event as silly and informal and how she is simply an observer

Question 5

‘coming, coming’

Answer 5

• Repetition
• The ambuguity builds suspense, but also shows the informality of the event

Question 6

‘in front of a cloud of fumes and dust’

Answer 6

• Cartoonish imagery
• Builds suspense and action, but also a sense of chaos and disorganisation

Question 7

‘some fifty vehicles roaring’

Answer 7

• Roaring is onomatopoeiac
• ‘Some fifty’ is ambigious - creates a sense of there being too many to count
• Builds suspense for the soon to come action

Question 8

‘revved up the engine’

Answer 8

Keeps building up excitement and anticipation

Question 9

‘although not cruely’

Answer 9

Shows her positive view on the race

Question 10

‘;horns tooting, bells ringing, and the special rattles used just for this purpose’

Answer 10

• Multiple onomatopoeiac clauses and tricolon
• Adds to the choas and the noise of the moment

Question 11

‘mens standing on top of their cars and vans, hanging out of taxis and perched on the lorries’

Answer 11

• List of active verbs
• Highlighting the excitement, chaos and involvement of the moment

Question 12

‘cars’, ‘vans’, ‘taxis’

Answer 12

• Semantic field of vehicles
• Shows the bustling, busy and informal nature of the event

Question 13

‘this was formula one without rules’

Answer 13

• Juxtaposition
• Comparing formula one to donkey racing, highlights the similiarities such as the danger, but also the differences such as the informalities

Question 14

‘There were two races - the motorized spectators at the back; in front, the two donkeys, still running close and amazingly not put off by the uproar just behind them’

Answer 14

• Clauses of differing lengths
• Adds to the chaos and danger of the moment and shows how there is double excitement due to the two races

Question 15

‘-for it was a main road-‘

Answer 15

• Parenthetical clause
• Adds information which contributes to the lawlessness, chaos, absurdity and danger

Question 16

‘dive into the ditch’

Answer 16

• Cartoonish imagery and alliteration
• Emphasizes the drama and the chaos

Question 17

‘hospital gate’

Answer 17

• Antithesis - healing vs danger
• Shows how dangerous the event is as it needs to finish in a hospital gate, highlighting the absurdity of the whole ordeal

Question 18

‘The race was over’

Answer 18

• Short sentences
• Juxtaposes the longer sentences before which shows how the race came to an abrupt stop but also makes it seem quite anti-climactic
• It creates a sense of anticipation for what might happen next

Question 19

‘And then the trouble began’

Answer 19

• Irony because has there not already been trouble?
• Builds tension for the final events to come

Question 20

‘“officials’”

Answer 20

• Inverted commas
• Discredits them, adding to the informality of the occasion

Question 21

‘Voices were raised, fists were out and tempers rising’

Answer 21

• Rule of three/tricolon
• Adds to the tension and the feeling that things are getting out of hand

Question 22

‘swallowed up by the crowd’

Answer 22

• Personified metaphor
• Makes the crowd seem threatening, adding to the sense of danger and building tension after the race

Question 23

‘But I don’t even have my liscence yet because I’m underage’

Answer 23

• Structure
• Makes the event seem more dangerous in hindsight, but makes it comedic because we know they are alright