The setting of the prose takes place in a living room in a house. At the beginning of the extract, we become aware of the setting as the word ‘house’ becomes an indication of this. The tea party with its ‘trays of sandwiches and iced cakes,’ with the townspeople engaging in conversations all add to the scenery of the setting. However, later in the prose the reader becomes aware of the rural setting in which the events take place. The setting becomes known as an American country in the South. The reason to how the reader is sentient that it is a southern country is because of its consistent references to agriculture. Throughout the extract there are many occasions in which the reader can make reference to the setting such as the barn, ponies and slaughter yards. Hence, all indicating that the events take place in a rural setting.
The extract consists of more than one character each having adequate descriptions, however the chief protagonist within this extract is Abigail. Abigail has just endured a divorce with her husband, the reader becomes aware of this when she says, ‘John, my ex-husband, yes.’ Not only has she suffered from such a calamity, but has also lost her barn and home in a fire. Even though Abigail appears to have overcome her sorrow of her sudden marital break-up, ‘the sound of that was harsh in the tinkle of laughter and voices,’ it still leaves a great impact on her and the fact that she was able to say such a thing in that crowd appeared to be a courageous act of a woman who may have well been seen as an inferior character in that society.
In the beginning of the extract Abigail states, ‘John always wanted me to go, and I always did what he wanted…’ Hence, the reader views the protagonist as one whose status is not met to that of her husbands, whose husband appears to be more superior than her, hence, ordering her to perform certain tasks. Abigail makes it quite clear to the reader that she had followed his orders, even if it was to attend some tea party. At the beginning of the extract we see Abigail as an inferior character to her husband, one that has no say in anything. However, as the tension builds we see a shift in the personality of the protagonist to one who obeys and follows orders from others to one who sets the rules. Thus, our view towards the protagonist changes along with the extract. The sudden change in the character of Abigail appears a shock, however adds to the suspense of the extract.
Abigail, a character who believes that revenge is sweet goes on saying that even though their barns gone and the equipment she wont build it and she strongly believes that Madison city will go back to what it was thirty years ago, ‘Maybe my son will build it back, I wont.’ We can see that Abigail has some form of abhorrence to that town. This can be because she was a woman, her thoughts and ideas did not matter, her inferiority in society disabled her from expressing her opinions. We become aware of the status of women, or even more so Abigail in this case in which Mrs. Holloway asks if she had recognized who had started the fire. Abigail replied by saying, ‘Did I recognize them?’ ‘They weren’t wearing masks.’ The testimony given by women were not accepted because during those times in order to receive the correct information it must have been heard from a man, thus Abigail sarcastically states that the men were not wearing masks, even though it did not really matter.
As the reader follows on with the extract the change in the lifestyle of the chief protagonist is clearly expressed from a woman who obeys the every command of her husband to that of woman who stands independently expressing her thoughts and insight to certain issues.
Another character in which there is sufficient description is Mrs. Holloway. The reader is first introduced to this character when she confronts Abigail at the front door. Later we become aware that she is the grandmother of the chief protagonist. Mrs. Holloway appears to be those people who are always engaged in conversations even if there is no point to the specific conversation. There is a vivid description given of Mrs. Holloway as the ‘smooth pink face perched atop the round shoulders and heavy breast, tightly wrapped in flowered silk.’ A talkative, however sweet woman is the description the reader captures of this character.
The tone of this extract is one that does not remain constant throughout the prose. However, it varies from the beginning of the extract to the end. At the beginning of the prose there is a sense of happiness where there are references made to sweet smells which represent fruitcakes and pink gladioli. Laughter is also used to depict the happiness in a way that brings out an atmosphere full with joy and laughter. Then this is followed by a conversation stopper which changes the tone from that of contentment to something that appears to be significant. This sudden change of tone becomes
apparent when Abigail states, ‘John, my ex-husband.’ The shift of tone is furthermore expressed as the sound that was harsh in the tinkle of laughter and voices. Grau contrasts the sound to that of tinkling glass. This technique adds to the importance of this sudden shift in tone, thus appearing to the reader as an important feature of the extract.
This tone follows on until Mrs. Holloway states, ‘The fire at your barn was terrible news,’ hence becoming the pinnacle of this extract. After this statement by Mrs. Holloway, there is a major shift in the tone. Abigail becomes tense and instead of her calm approach, she becomes resentful. She talks about revenge and how she would become dominant depicting her goals of reaching a higher status in society.
Hence, the shift of tone throughout the extract adds to employing the significance of certain aspects.
The structure of the extract consists of several paragraphs ranging roughly in the same length each having descriptions of the certain events that are taking place. The use of dialogue becomes an apparent feature of the extract, one that portrays the importance of those lines It becomes a common literary technique that enhances the reader’s understanding and gratitude towards the extract. The use of ellipsis throughout the extract , ‘John always wanted me to go, and I always did what he wanted…’ becomes a literary technique that indicates that other related thoughts or ideas have been left out.
In conclusion, the extract taken from the novel, ‘The Keepers of the House’ is a well written prose that portrays the thoughts and allows the reader an insight to the feelings of the chief protagonist. All this is expressed through the use of various literary techniques such as dialogue and ellipsis which add to the significance of the extract and allow an articulate and descriptive piece of prose.
