WL

Maiden Voyage

In synthesis, this extract from ‘Maiden Voyage’ by Denton Welch is about a young teenager that finds himself in a stable that decides to explore the countryside even though he is advised not to do so. The opening lines of this passage establish the typical rebellious nature of an adolescent.  The character mentions ‘I hated to be dependent on other people. They would never want to do what I wanted to do’. This type of characteristic is mainly present in a teenager who doesn’t get enough attention. Moreover, the voice in the opening passage adds that he feels ‘imprisoned’. This again suggests the reader that the character here is a rebellious teenager that wishes to do what he wants. Another point to note from this quote is that this passage is written in first person narration. The author’s intention for doing this was probably to show the reader the character’s thought flow.

Through the technique of using first person narration the author shows the reader the development of the state of mind of the character. In the first part of the passage as mentioned before the character seem to be rebellious and confident. In fact the character leaves to explore the countryside because he ‘could not stand it no longer.’ Then soon after, a descriptive and detailed description of the journey through the countryside is given. The description was given from the character’s point of view. Through a detailed description the author manages to create an atmosphere of suspense. ‘Everything was still and silent.’ An alliteration is used here to emphasize the silence. The voice also attempts to extend the suspension by mentioning ‘The only sound came from the stunted bushes which squeaked and grated linguistically as the wind passed through them.’ Here the author has also used onomatopoeias such as ‘squeak’ and ‘grate’ in order to make the situation more real to the reader. Moreover the author also utilizes another technique: personification in order to stretch the suspense that is created. ‘Scarves of dust and sand rose up from the ground’. By attributing human behavioral characteristics to non-living elements the author depicts an eerie atmosphere.

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Followed by the descriptive atmosphere, the author also provides the reader with the character’s sensations about the new surrounding. Initially when the teenager was at the stable, he feels ‘unhappy’ but now he ‘enjoyed the dreamlike stillness and wanted to stay out for as long as possible’. This also shows that the character has the typical teenager’s adventurous spirit because the character seems to be enthusiastic to carry on with the journey even though the description of the atmosphere is isolated and uncared. After giving the reader a summary of the character’s feelings, the plot moves on.

The ...

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