Sample Close Analysis of a Passage

Learning Intentions:
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Students are able to accurately identify the language techniques and

narrative conventions used in a passage from Fireshadow
Students can analyse the language techniques and narrative conventions
used in the passage and understand how they aid in conveying the main
themes about acceptance

Language Techniques and Narrative Conventions Used in this Passage:

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Point of View (PoV) The view point from which the story is told i.e. First
Person, Second Person, Third Person Limited and Third Person Omniscient.
It changes what thoughts and emotions from the characters the reader
sees which in turn change how they view the events occurring and the
connection to individual characters.
Characterisation How the author develops the character through their
thoughts, actions, dialogue and how others view them. It also includes any
object that might symbolise a character etc.
Allusion A reference to an well-known or assumed well-known person,
place or object whether from history or another work
Variation of Syntax The change in sentence length i.e. short and
sharp, staccato like sentences to long winded ones. It emphasises certain
sentences and can create a particular mood.
Descriptive Language The description of situations, objects or people.
Helps the reader visualise
Personification The giving of human quality to an otherwise inanimate
object. It has the effect of enriching a description and giving it a tone e.g.
the wall crept which gives off a secretive vibe.
Metaphor Saying something is another instead of comparing. It is
stronger than a simile and creates a striking image.
Connotative Language Words that have associated feelings and ideas.
It conveys a message to the reader about the text and contributes to the
presented ideas.
Imagery The use of language and the senses to evoke a powerful
picture or sensation. It gives readers a visualisation and sensory
experience of what the author is trying to describe
Symbolism The use of symbols that represent an idea and gives the
reader a better understanding of the what the writer is trying to convey
Juxtaposition The putting together of two contrasting things that can
evoke a powerful image or emotion.
Hyperbole An exaggeration beyond the truth that creates a strong
image which can be either serious or comic.

Annotated Passage:
What is happening? Vinnie previously ran away from home after a car accident
and is now walking in Marrinup as he reflects why he ran away.

Fireshadow by Anthony Eaton, Pages 3 4

He glanced back towards the trees. The wall they formed was broken by patches
of darkness undergrowth not yet trodden flat. The path stretching away out of
sight, an insignificant curve against the wild.
This would do.
The decision to run had not been difficult. Home was cold and lifeless now, his
mother introspective, his father bound up in the hatred of loss. And Vinnie knew
that despite their assurances, their empty protestations, his presence there
would do nothing to exorcise their grief. Just the opposite. As long as he was
around, with their pain etched in the scar tissue on his face, they would look at
him and see not their son but their daughter. Would imagine the screams of their
eldest child, trapped in her coffin of burning steel, and would resent him.
And what of him? Vinnie wasnt stupid. He knew that his life was never going to
be as it was. Not now. The moment hed made the decision to crawl alone from
the flames to let the monster engulf Katia he knew hed changed everything.
In many ways it was only fitting the scarring so that for the rest of his life he
would be reminded, each and every day, of his cowardice.
You let your sister burn.
Later on, his father had apologised for those words. But why?
He was right, wasnt he? The proof was there, in the livid red tissue that covered
the right half of Vinnies face. His own personal mark of Cain. How could he stay
in the house knowing that every time he entered a room his dad would think of
Katia?
Unconsciously his hand lifted, fingertips tracing gently over the ridges and
valleys of his skin, searching for the point where the old met the new.
No, the decision to run had been right. The thought of being in a place without
people was appealing.

Connotative Language and Symbolism Mentioned throughout some

descriptions of other language techniques/narrative conventions. A brief
overview would be the symbolism of fire (which is a motif throughout the story),
expressing the change and how fearsome it seems to be and how the
Connotative Language used nearly all have negative associations.
PoV and Characterisation This passage is in 3rd Person limited with the
reader being able to see Vinnies thoughts and emotions on the car accident and
the aftermath. This makes Vinnie more relatable as readers are more likely to

understand and connect with him. Third person limited, while not as personable
as first person, is more character centred than third person omniscient. It gives
readers an insight to Vinnie but can still take a focus on the environment which is
important as the bush is an integral part of the story. In the passage, it also gives
the readers an insight to Vinnies feelings of unacceptance from society and as a
consequence a lack of self-acceptance. He is characterised through his thoughts
and emotions which readers feel and see through the PoV. Vinnies actions of
running away also shows the central issue of acceptance and one of the themes
that stem from it, when a person has acceptance they feel loved and can grow as
a person except in reverse. Vinnie, as he doesnt have acceptance, doesnt feel
loved and thus has run away as he is unable to cope. This act is not good for him
and shapes his character, which readers can see clearly.

Allusion The Mark of Cain is a well-known symbol of suffering and punishment,

in addition a sign that promises rejection. It is from the Book of Genesis, an early
version of the Bible. Most people have heard of it and can relate it to what is
symbolises. In the context of this passage, it shows what Vinnie thinks his scar is
to him and gives reader a further idea of his pain and depth of emotion
concerning not just the scar, but the events that resulted in it.

Variation of Syntax The sentences highlighted are the ones that have been
emphasised when reading through the variation of syntax. The emphasis placed
on phrases such as But why? and This would do, gives readers a better
understanding of Vinnies emotions and thoughts. All the sentences stressed are
the ones highlighting his hopelessness and need to be alone. It shows how he is
lost and desolate, having yet to fully recover from his accident and suffering from
a lack of acceptance.

Personification The personification used for the path stretching away and
the tissue that covered his face creates a different mood for each use. Paths are
unable to stretch, hence this is personification. It creates the image of a path
that goes on and on and his very long. It also shows how wide and vast the bush,
which the path is in, is. Due to the connotations within the word stretch, it gives
a relaxed, almost tired, atmosphere to the story which reflects how Vinnie is
feeling. For the tissue that covered, the tissue had been described has red and
livid. This covering his face gives the image that nothing else can be seen either
than the tissue. Because of Vinnies situation, it can also be thought of as how
the accident has concealed the old Vinnie leaving the new one red and raw.

Metaphors, Imagery and Descriptive Language This passage contains a

lot of metaphors, imagery and descriptive language that provides a powerful and
strong visualisation for readers and aids in creating the atmosphere. The
description within the first paragraph created an excitement that seemed to be
previously lost with imagery of a vast wilderness, ready to be explored and ready
to let him start over again, whereas the pain described in Vinnies memories of
home paints a grievous, desperate tone with descriptions such as cold and

lifeless, screams of their eldest child and coffin of burning steel, all of which
touches on the six senses. It shows the contrast between the environments of
home and the bush and the different effects it has on Vinnie in terms of how
accepted and comfortable he feels i.e. he prefers the bush as he feels as if he is
part of something (as he later on thinks in the novel) The metaphors used are
trapped in her coffin of burning steel and the monster engulf, both being
references to the burning car but enables for a better description of how
desperate and fearsome the experience was. Finally, there is also the imagery of
his fingertips tracing gently over the ridges and valleys of his skin, searching for
the point where the old met the new. This, in addition to the personification
used earlier with the covering tissue, emphasise how Vinnie cannot see his
previous self in his new identity post-car accident.

Juxtaposition Juxtaposition is used in the forest when describing the path

Vinnie is travelling on in comparison to the vast wild. It makes Vinnie seem small
and insignificant which at this point of the novel, is exactly what Vinnie feels but
also is in a way, what he wants to be after his accident, not a source of pain.

Hyperbole The hyperbole used within the passage is used to a serious effect
to exaggerate the negative atmosphere at Vinnies home and his mothers and
fathers suffering which caused his feelings of unacceptance. The author takes
everything Vinnies parents do and everything that Vinnie does and blows it out
of proportion because of wanting to convey his desolation which would aid in the
readers understanding how much pain and suffocation Vinnie endured at home in
addition to the parents. An example is with their pain etched in the scar tissue
on his face. This is an exaggeration as while his parent feel pain when looking at
him, it goes further by saying it is etched in the scar tissue although it is
physically impossible for that to happen. It is a way of saying how he feels that
their pain is inexplicably tied to him and nothing else.