The story in the prose written by M.G.Vassanji takes place in Tanzania, a country in East Africa where is undeveloped and strict on the religion. Through the use of imagery, diction and punctuations, it concerns the theme of identity,

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Prose Commentary on M.G.Vassanji’s prose

ENG3UB

Mr. Richardson

2/10/2011

The story in the prose written by M.G.Vassanji takes place in Tanzania, a country in East Africa where is undeveloped and strict on the religion. Through the use of imagery, diction and punctuations, it concerns the theme of identity, the text describes how much people can be influenced by religion and gender under a certain type of culture; as well, it shows how adults are more mature than youths.

The author uses lots of imagery in the text to show the ambient and the situation the brother and the sister are in. He first describes the mosque, it is huge and beautiful; the light bulbs show that there is a celebration going on, and the clock tolls at ten-thirty; on the street, a dog is barking while a bicycle is ringing its bell. This is like any other normal peaceful places with a mosque, yet suddenly there are screams coming out from the shadows, and six youths jump out, “howling like wild dogs, gesturing like demons, mouthing all manner of obscenities; they surrounded us.” This description is like a scene in gangster movies, people are surrounded by others and they start fighting which can get to really scary and violent. As the boy protects his sister, he tries to dash to the direction they come from and step back and forth, but still cannot get out of the circle. They are blocked in checkmate, and wait for their death. The set up of this dramatic action seems random because nothing is introduced yet at this point, but the imagery shows a clear picture of the characters. In the third paragraph, the author explains how and why this action happens. Simply because the boy and the girl are not local people like Tanzanians, but they are Hindus from Kenya, so that they get treated like this. Also, as describes in the quotation, “when men develop contempt for a woman, the vilest, filthiest language escapes their lips.” He expresses this statement with anger or discontentment but has no alternative. His sister suffers much more than the brother for no reason other than she is a girl. That is her identity, a girl, who is from another clan and has another religion; it means that she will get bullied. This is how the prose starts, with the tremor in her arms. From the word “tremor” to other diction he chooses, it reveals this will not be an impassive text.

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The diction used through the whole piece mostly shows how the reactions are different between adults and youths. There are two adults in the story, one is a local millionaire, Mr. Bapu; the other is the brother and the sister’s uncle, Mahesh. Both of them teach something. Mr. Bapu saved their lives when they are surrounded in danger, and he “swerved” to the gate “where [they] stood trapped”. The word “swerve” shows the personality of Mr. Bapu, as soon as he sees them in trouble, he swerves to them and scare the attackers away. Although no one knows Mr. Bapu’s ...

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