Beyond the sky and the earth Flashcards
how does the writer convey her feelings about the country (landscape)
She conveys her fasination and devotion towards the Bhutan landscape, and describes it in an imaginative way to capture its true essence.
‘mountains all around, climbing up to peaks, rolling into valleys, again and again’ uses hyperbole here and personification to show that she is in awe of the great expanse of her surroundings and to set the tone of the piece.
she mentions that she ‘know(s) the technical explanation of the landscape’ but is totally astounded when faced with the actual sight and cannot understand how it was formed as it is something incomprehensible to her, she then uses the metaphor of ‘‘it is easier to picture a giant child gathering earth’ to help the reader get a clear image in their minds of how the moutnains look, in a way which is simple and easy to understand, the use of the metaphor reflects the image of the randomness of the peaks.
‘i am exhausted, but i cannot sleep’ juxtaposition used within the phrase shows just how amazed she is of the landscape that despite her tiredness, she cannot rest from looking around
‘i watch the mountains rise to meet the moon’ personification, alliteration, hyperbole, shows how large they are.
‘on the other side of mountains are mountains, more mountains and more mountains again’ repetition of the word mountains emphasises the vast number and hi lights the visual repetition she saw
how does the writer convey her feelings about the country (town)
‘it took five different flights over four days to get here, from Toronto to Montreal, to Amersterdam to New Dehli to Calcutta to Paro.’ The long journey and number of flights she had to go on shows just how remote the capital city is from her home country, and the long sentence mirrors the length of the journey and emphasises this to the reader.
when describing the food she ate in the town, she uses a semantic field of mediocrity and tastelessness, to convey the blandness/ less commercialised way Bhutan was in comparison to her home town, it was not what she was used to ‘powdered milk, plasticky white bread and flavourless red jam’ also shows how remote it is that they have to stock up on packaged things, since it takes a while to get them shipped in from other places and need to be able to buy in bulk
‘timphu is actually new’ use of short sentence shows her shock as her definition of ‘new’ differs immensely to the ‘cracked sidewalks’ and ‘faded paintwork’ presented before her. The use of the word ‘actually’ emphasises her surprise and conveys a sense of judgement towards the town.
‘timphu will look like new york to you when you come back after a year in the east’ use of simile in the phrase just after describing the uncleanliness and bareness of the town shows just how rural and remote the east is in comparision to the town.
how does the writer convey her feelings towards the country ( people)
she describes the two canadian girls who she is with in the hotel in an admirable way, one with ‘ringing laughter’ and ‘stories’ and the other with an ‘impish smile’ who have both ‘traveled extensivley’ and are ‘ecstatic’ to be in Bhutan. This mood and experience contrasts with that of the writer who is not enthusiastic and not an experienced traveller, to show that she feels like an outsider in Bhutan, even when surrounded by people of her own country.
‘the women wear a kira… and the men a gho’ description of foreign clothing shows how their cultures differ.
‘explaining politely in impeccable enligsh’ delivers an element of surprise in her writing, suggests she previously thought that they would not be able to communicate, is impressed by his bilingual understandings, suggests admiration of intelligence.
‘they have beautiful, aristocratic faces’ describes their beauty and is ironic because they are poor and reflects the fact that you don’t need money to be beuauiful.
‘i search for the right word to describe the people, the quality that impresses me most’ suggests she had negative impression of them before she met them and now is surprised at how lovely they are and can’t put it into words
how does the writer convey her feelings towards the country (history)
repetitive use of dates shows she is very interested in the history of bhutan and has researched it extensively
‘earlier names for Bhutan are just as beautiful.. lotus grove of the gods’ presents a majesty around the place and shows its mysterious and religious qualities.
‘the area is thought to have been inhabited long before that’ the use of the word ‘is thought’ presents unsureity, and emphasises the fact that it is a very historical and cultured place.
‘Bhutans preservation of its independence was remarkable’ reflects her admiration of the history
