Tobacco Case
What is happening in this passage? How did the morning’s event conclude?
Within this passage, the narrator, the daughter of a tobacco farmer accounts the ways of the trade and events that occur when selling tobacco. From what we know, they are a poor family living off the sales of tobacco, hence, when confronted by the seller, there is a great feeling of tension because what they live for is on the line. The narrator goes on to tell us about the events that occur if the buyer's of tobacco offer her Father a good deal, or a lousy deal. When a lousy deal is offered to the father, “he tears the ticket” out of anger, for now he has to maintain the tobacco until a new buyer is in need of tobacco. If the ticket has a price the father can agree with, …show more content…
he keeps the ticket and simply walks away with the rest of his family, without showing any emotion of happiness until him and his family can no longer be seen by the buyers. Within this passage we see the father triumph, getting a good offer and as always, he follows the same actions as always by walking away without emotion, waiting to reach the car to be able to turn to his wife to say, “Fair price.”
How does the author create the sense of anticipation and tension in the various members of the family (i.e. the father, the mother, and the narrator)?
The author creates a great sense of anticipation and tension by prolonging each event that occurs within the text. By going into detail and explaining each and every step the family takes in their effort of making sale, the anticipation and tension to see whether or not the dad succeeds in selling the bales builds up within the whole family. The fact that the family relies so heavily on their sales also means the tension is just that much greater. Using a simple sentence describing the actions of the Father, tension is quickly developed, the narrator states, “If Dad disagrees with the price the buyer has offered, he tears the ticket”. By tearing the ticket, not only does the author create tension between the father and the buyer but the father’s family as they watch on knowing that, if this occurs they have failed to sell their bale at a fair price. The author uses adjectives very well to describe the emotional state of different characters to convey both tension and anticipation, the narrator states, “Waves of her anxiety sink down into my belly”. This indicates the amount of anxiety flowing through the family as the wait to see if someone buys their bales. The author expresses how deep the tension really goes into the narrator by stating anxiety sinks down into his/her belly. Very descriptive language is used to convey different ideas and meaning for every character within the text, the mother explains, “Mum tightens her clutch. She whispers, “Here they come.” The mother carefully watches the buyers, clearly anticipating their arrival. The mother along with her children concentrate on their father and whether he is able to sell the bales.
What are the implications of the use of the “ticket” in the transactions?
Consider the multiple denotations of the word as well as its connotation.
The use of tickets in the transactions can be understood and implied in a variety of ways. This is for the reason that tickets, in literal meaning, is, “a piece of paper or small card that gives the holder a certain right.” The buyers of tobacco use tickets as a method of communication to offer a price to the dad selling the product. In other ways, the ticket acts almost as a contract, signifying that the transaction has been made and it can now be finalized at the will of the seller (the father). On the other hand, the ticket has different meaning in terms of the family, as it is a way in which they can escape poverty. The offer on this ticket can help the family for months to come and allow them to support themselves. The ticket has a deep emotional meaning towards the family, especially the children as noted when the author says, “But if he is walking quickly over the line of tobacco, leaving the tickets pristine, beautiful whole rectangles of yellow, we are giddy. Vanessa and I start to run between the bales, exuberant, silly, loud”. The father’s approval/disapproval of the offer on the ticket creates hope as well as suspense and adds emotion to the characters, helping to either commence a new joyful tone or continue the ongoing melancholic
tone.
What is the role that adjectives and adverbs play in creating the tone of the passage?
Tone is achieved through word choice, sentence construction and word order, and by what the viewpoint character focuses on. The use of both adjectives and adverbs, especially throughout this text help convey the tone wanted by the author. Adjectives, when used sparingly, can add clarity and focus, and serve as a way to convey tone or attitude and direct attention. The author uses an adjective to convey tone within the text, the protagonist states, “Vanessa and I start to run between the bales, exuberant, silly, loud, and Mum doesn’t say, Shhh girls! Behave yourselves!” The use of these adjectives makes the tone of happiness, relief and excitement very clear within this passage. The use of three adjectives (loud, silly, and exuberant) consecutively emphasizes the emotions felt by the family and especially the two children, therefore defining the tone very well. Meanwhile the presence of more adverbs would create for more descriptive actions, which would give the writing a more active feeling, therefore having an effect on the tone conveyed by the author. Adverbs were used many times by the author helping to convey tone, for example, the protagonist explains, “None of us look at the other farmers and their families, who are also hovering with palpably jittering nerves over their bales.” A tone of both eagerness and nervousness is set by the author, considering that the family, and the farmers watching the event take place are on edge waiting to see the response of the buyers. The use of the adverb palpably made it evident that the family and the farmers emotions of eagerness and suspense was very clear, therefore developing the tone.
Within this passage, the narrator, the daughter of a tobacco farmer accounts the ways of the trade and events that occur when selling tobacco. From what we know, they are a poor family living off the sales of tobacco, hence, when confronted by the seller, there is a great feeling of tension because what they live for is on the line. The narrator goes on to tell us about the events that occur if the buyer's of tobacco offer her Father a good deal, or a lousy deal. When a lousy deal is offered to the father, “he tears the ticket” out of anger, for now he has to maintain the tobacco until a new buyer is in need of tobacco. If the ticket has a price the father can agree with, …show more content…
he keeps the ticket and simply walks away with the rest of his family, without showing any emotion of happiness until him and his family can no longer be seen by the buyers. Within this passage we see the father triumph, getting a good offer and as always, he follows the same actions as always by walking away without emotion, waiting to reach the car to be able to turn to his wife to say, “Fair price.”
How does the author create the sense of anticipation and tension in the various members of the family (i.e. the father, the mother, and the narrator)?
The author creates a great sense of anticipation and tension by prolonging each event that occurs within the text. By going into detail and explaining each and every step the family takes in their effort of making sale, the anticipation and tension to see whether or not the dad succeeds in selling the bales builds up within the whole family. The fact that the family relies so heavily on their sales also means the tension is just that much greater. Using a simple sentence describing the actions of the Father, tension is quickly developed, the narrator states, “If Dad disagrees with the price the buyer has offered, he tears the ticket”. By tearing the ticket, not only does the author create tension between the father and the buyer but the father’s family as they watch on knowing that, if this occurs they have failed to sell their bale at a fair price. The author uses adjectives very well to describe the emotional state of different characters to convey both tension and anticipation, the narrator states, “Waves of her anxiety sink down into my belly”. This indicates the amount of anxiety flowing through the family as the wait to see if someone buys their bales. The author expresses how deep the tension really goes into the narrator by stating anxiety sinks down into his/her belly. Very descriptive language is used to convey different ideas and meaning for every character within the text, the mother explains, “Mum tightens her clutch. She whispers, “Here they come.” The mother carefully watches the buyers, clearly anticipating their arrival. The mother along with her children concentrate on their father and whether he is able to sell the bales.
What are the implications of the use of the “ticket” in the transactions?
Consider the multiple denotations of the word as well as its connotation.
The use of tickets in the transactions can be understood and implied in a variety of ways. This is for the reason that tickets, in literal meaning, is, “a piece of paper or small card that gives the holder a certain right.” The buyers of tobacco use tickets as a method of communication to offer a price to the dad selling the product. In other ways, the ticket acts almost as a contract, signifying that the transaction has been made and it can now be finalized at the will of the seller (the father). On the other hand, the ticket has different meaning in terms of the family, as it is a way in which they can escape poverty. The offer on this ticket can help the family for months to come and allow them to support themselves. The ticket has a deep emotional meaning towards the family, especially the children as noted when the author says, “But if he is walking quickly over the line of tobacco, leaving the tickets pristine, beautiful whole rectangles of yellow, we are giddy. Vanessa and I start to run between the bales, exuberant, silly, loud”. The father’s approval/disapproval of the offer on the ticket creates hope as well as suspense and adds emotion to the characters, helping to either commence a new joyful tone or continue the ongoing melancholic
tone.
What is the role that adjectives and adverbs play in creating the tone of the passage?
Tone is achieved through word choice, sentence construction and word order, and by what the viewpoint character focuses on. The use of both adjectives and adverbs, especially throughout this text help convey the tone wanted by the author. Adjectives, when used sparingly, can add clarity and focus, and serve as a way to convey tone or attitude and direct attention. The author uses an adjective to convey tone within the text, the protagonist states, “Vanessa and I start to run between the bales, exuberant, silly, loud, and Mum doesn’t say, Shhh girls! Behave yourselves!” The use of these adjectives makes the tone of happiness, relief and excitement very clear within this passage. The use of three adjectives (loud, silly, and exuberant) consecutively emphasizes the emotions felt by the family and especially the two children, therefore defining the tone very well. Meanwhile the presence of more adverbs would create for more descriptive actions, which would give the writing a more active feeling, therefore having an effect on the tone conveyed by the author. Adverbs were used many times by the author helping to convey tone, for example, the protagonist explains, “None of us look at the other farmers and their families, who are also hovering with palpably jittering nerves over their bales.” A tone of both eagerness and nervousness is set by the author, considering that the family, and the farmers watching the event take place are on edge waiting to see the response of the buyers. The use of the adverb palpably made it evident that the family and the farmers emotions of eagerness and suspense was very clear, therefore developing the tone.