Quotations & Analysis: Stanza Four Flashcards
How does the writer use the word choice of “dirt” to allude to the evolution of humanity?
The “dirt” in this case, is the murky though of how humans evolved into what they now are.
When this “dirt”, being this thought, is “swish[ed]” up, it is clear to see who the monster really is in this story.
How does the writer use word choice in the phrase “emerging” corelate to the idea of humans evolving into a greater being?
How does this also convey McCaig’s new found clarity?
Emerging has connotations of coming out victorious, and being the fittest.
This also reinforces this new clarity that McCaig finds with coming out of the dark, into the light, being truly aware of what humans really are.
How does McCaig use imagery in the phrase “slime” to show a link between the shark and himself?
This is referring to a primitive so called ‘slime’ from which we and all other living organisms were created.
This shows to us that both the human and the shark under the same conditions grew so far apart from one another.
What happens in the fourth stanza?
In the fourth stanza, McCaig explains how indistinct humans were from other species in the beginning of the evolutionary process.
