Martin and the Hand Grenade
Martin and the Hand Grenades:
Narrator: Teacher
Scene: Class room (History lesson)
Meanings of - '..the class pauses/for history..' has two
Specific Quotes: meanings/definitions. The first, more literal one means the class is stopping to listen to a history class. The second, more deeper meaning, is one where the class stops to experience the past - The word 'bleak' in the sentence, 'his father's bleak skill' means somber or dull. It's also a sign of negetivity - The use of '...he fingers the serations...' suggests a sensual,sexual mood. This is in reference to how the boy is handling the grenade. It is like he is being taken to another world - The word 'bristles' in the phrase 'bristles with shrapnel/possibilities', is an example of a word which shows the anger of the narrator. He talks about how the boy plays with an object which can kill, or badly injure a person - The line '...the spread/became too loose to catch a man's mortality...', means after a certain distance it is no longer powerful enough to kill someone. The effect of this line is one of sarcasm, questioning sarcastically, why it only kills people that far away and not futher
Additional Notes: The classroom is a battle zone due to the way each student is 'wounded' every time they hold the grenade. The classes reaction to the grenade is one of great excitment. This is a contrast to the narrators views, who is in fact disgraced. This can be seen as the teacher
Narrator: Teacher
Scene: Class room (History lesson)
Meanings of - '..the class pauses/for history..' has two
Specific Quotes: meanings/definitions. The first, more literal one means the class is stopping to listen to a history class. The second, more deeper meaning, is one where the class stops to experience the past - The word 'bleak' in the sentence, 'his father's bleak skill' means somber or dull. It's also a sign of negetivity - The use of '...he fingers the serations...' suggests a sensual,sexual mood. This is in reference to how the boy is handling the grenade. It is like he is being taken to another world - The word 'bristles' in the phrase 'bristles with shrapnel/possibilities', is an example of a word which shows the anger of the narrator. He talks about how the boy plays with an object which can kill, or badly injure a person - The line '...the spread/became too loose to catch a man's mortality...', means after a certain distance it is no longer powerful enough to kill someone. The effect of this line is one of sarcasm, questioning sarcastically, why it only kills people that far away and not futher
Additional Notes: The classroom is a battle zone due to the way each student is 'wounded' every time they hold the grenade. The classes reaction to the grenade is one of great excitment. This is a contrast to the narrators views, who is in fact disgraced. This can be seen as the teacher