Analysis Of Beth Ann Fennelly 'I Survived The Blizzard Of' 79
Fear, isolation, and the shear will to survive. The selection “I Survived the Blizzard of ‘79” by author Beth Ann Fennelly has a forceful impact on its reader because the use of personification amplifies the severity of the storm and in using personification Fennelly helps to understand the age of the characters.
Throughout the entirety of the selection one thing remains prevalent when discussing the use of personification and that is the severity of the storm. One example of this is the line “This blizzard would earn itself a moniker that would be silkscreened on T-shirts”. The fact that the blizzard would earn itself a name is already a human characteristic. Second, the fact that the name would be “Silkscreened on T-shirts” shows us that …show more content…
With the line “My dad had a snow blower, which spewed sheets of snow out of the sides of it’s mouth” we catch a glimpse of just how old the narrator is when she mentions her father and how he would use the “snow blower” to make a clear pathway to walk down. The vocabulary in that sentence specifically exudes childish sensations, which makes it clear for the reader to understand the age of the narrator at the time. Another time we come across some youthful diction is when we are faced with lines “the wind like a squirrel wielding knives”. This exudes childish tones, with the exception of the use of knives. This same line also relates to the first point showing us the dangerous and horrifying characteristics of the storm as told from the view of a child. There is many other phrases and examples such as “my plump child’s neck” and then when the dad is getting them ready. Even though these are not examples of personification and they do obviously let us know that the narrator is child at the time of the storm, personification does assist in painting a picture and allowing us to use our senses and really connect with the story which essentially makes it emotionally powerful.
In conclusion the selection “I Survived the Blizzard of ‘79” is very strong because the uses of personification which allow us to picture the story and events more vividly.
Throughout the entirety of the selection one thing remains prevalent when discussing the use of personification and that is the severity of the storm. One example of this is the line “This blizzard would earn itself a moniker that would be silkscreened on T-shirts”. The fact that the blizzard would earn itself a name is already a human characteristic. Second, the fact that the name would be “Silkscreened on T-shirts” shows us that …show more content…
With the line “My dad had a snow blower, which spewed sheets of snow out of the sides of it’s mouth” we catch a glimpse of just how old the narrator is when she mentions her father and how he would use the “snow blower” to make a clear pathway to walk down. The vocabulary in that sentence specifically exudes childish sensations, which makes it clear for the reader to understand the age of the narrator at the time. Another time we come across some youthful diction is when we are faced with lines “the wind like a squirrel wielding knives”. This exudes childish tones, with the exception of the use of knives. This same line also relates to the first point showing us the dangerous and horrifying characteristics of the storm as told from the view of a child. There is many other phrases and examples such as “my plump child’s neck” and then when the dad is getting them ready. Even though these are not examples of personification and they do obviously let us know that the narrator is child at the time of the storm, personification does assist in painting a picture and allowing us to use our senses and really connect with the story which essentially makes it emotionally powerful.
In conclusion the selection “I Survived the Blizzard of ‘79” is very strong because the uses of personification which allow us to picture the story and events more vividly.