Question

Read the excerpt below from The Call of the Wild and answer the question. This other man was shorter of leg and longer of arm, with muscles that were stringy and knotty rather than rounded and swelling. The hair of this man was long and matted, and his head slanted back under it from the eyes. He uttered strange sounds, and seemed very much afraid of the darkness, into which he peered continually, clutching in his hand, which hung midway between knee and foot, a stick with a heavy stone made fast to the end. How is the author using rhythm in the passage above? What feeling is created by using this rhythm? Cite specific examples from the excerpt. Your response should be no less than 150 words.

Answer 1

The author uses  this  long  descriptive sentence but his use of commas makes the long sentence run smoothly. " ...was shorter of leg  and longer of arm , with muscles........stingy and knotty rather than..... swelling."  The author also  sets a balance with adjectives belonging to the same group : " shorter .... longer "; " stingy ..knotty".  The sentence the author uses to describe the  fact the man is afraid of darkness is also long but runs smoothly ; this makes the reader get a clear picture of the beastly  characteristics  of this man. " ........ into which he peered continually , clutching ...., which hung ....., a stick ..." There is a repetition of clauses begining with 'which' . This makes the reader get a picture of the man as if he were being shown with a movie camera. The man was afraid of darkness. He showed his feelings through the sounds he made. He also peered into the drakness without stopping . He was so scared that he held his walking stick tightly.

The author has described a man who had animal characteristics. The man looked like an animal and he was scared of the dark. The picture of a frightened wild man has been created.