Sentence Structure - Brooklyn Cop

Question 1

He hoped it, he truly hoped it

Answer 1

1. repetition of “hoped”
2. emphasises how much the cop wants to get home to his wife at the end of the day because his job is dangerous and he is constantly putting himself at risk.

Question 2

Whose home is a place/ he might, this time, never get back to?

Answer 2

1. parenthesis, rhetorical question
2. The parenthesis of “this time” emphasises the uncertainty and danger the cop faces on a daily basis, that there is always a chance he will be killed in the line of duty.
3. Rhetorical question is used to make the reader think about how dangerous the cop’s job really is and makes us feel sympathy for him that he is constantly putting himself at risk in order to help others.

Question 3

And who would be who have to be/ his victims?

Answer 3

1. rhetorical question, enjambment
2. The rhetorical question forces the reader to think about the people the cop encounters as part of his job and how well he treats them
3. By calling them “victims” it suggests he perhaps does more harm than good and deals with them in a violent way.