A Piece Of Wood
A Piece of Wood by Ray Bradbury
Look at lines 63 - 85
Q: A4.
What happens in these lines? In what ways does the writer try to make this an exciting ending to the story?
In the last section of the piece, the writer has tried to instil a sense of urgency. Using quicker dialogue coupled with the use of the exclamation mark such as “What do you mean, you can’t, God damn it!” and “Listen to me, listen, get your gun ready!” and short creative bursts of description like “the hangers were dusting down in soft red rust” and the “aeroplanes were blowing away on a brown rust wind” add momentum and propels the piece forward. The writer also made use of ellipsis to convey tension in the way the Guard was hesitant about saying what was happening and the things he was seeing as in “My gun… it’s…” All these things combined to make the reader, read with intensity to get to the final twist in the tale.
This twist being, that even with all the weapons disintegrated into rust, the Officials need to continue the violence of war even to descend to ordering the guard to “Go after him, get him; choke him with your hands!” The use of the exclamation mark shows the writer has changed the tone of The Official. This tone is much more serious now, with a violent intent toward the Sergeant, the man who can stop the war, his war, the Official’s war.
In the last two paragraphs I feel that the writer is getting to the point of what he’s trying to say in the piece. The use of the word “instinct” in the opening of line seventy nine the writer is showing that the Official is reverting to his military training and resorting to any means necessary to defeat the enemy. This is shown again in line eighty-one after he grabs the chair and thinks “It’s wood, good old fashioned wood” in my opinion the writer has used wood because it is ancient, it is primal, our ancestors used wooden spears and clubs to make their first kills. The description of The Official “His face bursting red” and
Look at lines 63 - 85
Q: A4.
What happens in these lines? In what ways does the writer try to make this an exciting ending to the story?
In the last section of the piece, the writer has tried to instil a sense of urgency. Using quicker dialogue coupled with the use of the exclamation mark such as “What do you mean, you can’t, God damn it!” and “Listen to me, listen, get your gun ready!” and short creative bursts of description like “the hangers were dusting down in soft red rust” and the “aeroplanes were blowing away on a brown rust wind” add momentum and propels the piece forward. The writer also made use of ellipsis to convey tension in the way the Guard was hesitant about saying what was happening and the things he was seeing as in “My gun… it’s…” All these things combined to make the reader, read with intensity to get to the final twist in the tale.
This twist being, that even with all the weapons disintegrated into rust, the Officials need to continue the violence of war even to descend to ordering the guard to “Go after him, get him; choke him with your hands!” The use of the exclamation mark shows the writer has changed the tone of The Official. This tone is much more serious now, with a violent intent toward the Sergeant, the man who can stop the war, his war, the Official’s war.
In the last two paragraphs I feel that the writer is getting to the point of what he’s trying to say in the piece. The use of the word “instinct” in the opening of line seventy nine the writer is showing that the Official is reverting to his military training and resorting to any means necessary to defeat the enemy. This is shown again in line eighty-one after he grabs the chair and thinks “It’s wood, good old fashioned wood” in my opinion the writer has used wood because it is ancient, it is primal, our ancestors used wooden spears and clubs to make their first kills. The description of The Official “His face bursting red” and