1: SETTING- The entire first chapter tells about the setting. The mood shifts from nice and calm at the beginning to sad, almost urgent at the end. We are told about how the land is grassy and lush and beautiful, until the hills swoop down into a canyon that is infertile and dry and coarse. It makes us think of a frightening place surrounded by beautiful land.
2: LANGUAGE- The characters use use quite a lot of dialogue on the first page of chapter two. They address each other a lot, "I bring a letter, umfundisi" ... "Where did you get it, my child?" ... "The store, umfundisi." ... "Go well, small one". "You might be hungry, small one"... "Not very hungry, umfundisi" ... "a little hungry, umfundisi" ... "thank you, umfundisi". Could this be telling us that people in this land are very respectful to eachother?
3: NARRATIVE- The style of writing when characters are talking is a little bit different and seems to set distance between the reader and the characters. I notice this when newly named Stephen and his wife begin to look at the letter. Quotation marks are not used. It particularly made me think in this sentence: "She mustered up her courage, and said, is it not from our son.". Quotation marks are not placed where they should be, and a question mark is not used at the end of her question. Yet some how the un-grammatically-correct-ness of it has a bit of brilliance.
4: CHARACTER- Stephen is introduced in chapter two. The fact that the author didn't introduce him to the second chapter gives an ominous feel. I like the word umfundisi. Perhaps Stephen is a large man, since the little girl is referred to many times as a small child.Or maybe the girl is just really tiny. I'm thinking that the fact that the girl is not referred to as a "girl" but as "child" in the first few pages of chapter two has some relevance (even though they use the word "she").
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