'The Explorer's Daughter'

Two hours after the last of the hunters had returned and eaten, narwhal were spotted again, this time very close. Within an hour even those of us on shore could with the naked eye see the plumes of spray from the narwhal catching the light in a spectral play of colour.

first sentence establishes scientific voice through the objective focus on facts and timing → second sentence shifts into descriptive, poetic register → tension in register foreshadows the internal conflict of the speaker between conservation of the narwhals or Inuit people

pods of narwhal circled in the fjord

macaronic language (’pods’ and ‘fjord’) → evokes geographical and cultural specificity of Arctic setting → adds credibility to the speaker’s voice by highlighting her familarity with such details

evening light was turning butter-gold

visual imagery → conveys a peaceful, magical atmosphere of warmth and beauty → depicts speaker’s feeling awe and overwhelmed by beauty of landscape → highlights speaker’s emotional connection to Arctic

and in a place where the climate prohibits the growth of vegetables or fruit

subordinate clause → treating extreme climate as background information rather than focal point → maintains a calm, observational tone to avoid the situation becoming overly dramatic and biased → encourages reader to appreciate the resilience required to survive

Its single ivory tusk, which can grow up to six feet in length, was used for harpoon tips and handles for other hunting implements (although the ivory was found to be brittle and not hugely satisfactory as a weapon), for carving protective tupilaks*, and even as a central beam for their small ancient dwellings.

list → emphasises the abundance of uses of narwhals to Unuit people → reinforces idea that every part of the narwhal is valuable and carefully utilised

seems to

tentative language → reflects careful, reflective voice → creates a tone of credibility as the narrator acknowledges the limit of the Inuit’s people’s ability to value every aspect of the narwhal

clustered on the knoll of the lookout, binoculars pointing in every direction, each woman focusing on her husband or family member, occasionally spinning round at a small gasp or jump as one of the women saw a hunter near a narwhal

saturation of dynamic verbs → create an intense sense of movement and liveliness → allows reader to picture the anticipation, tension and excitement of the moment → emphasises the high emotional stakes of this hunt for the Inuit community

like watching a vast, waterborne game

analogy → makes the scene relatable → allows reader to recognise the association of the hunt with the movement, strategy and unpredictability of a game → underscored dramatic, cinematic quality of the hunt → interesting to the reader

I urged the man on in my head; he was so close, and so brave to attempt what he was about to do — he was miles from land in a flimsy kayak, and could easily be capsized and drowned.

long, multi-clause sentence → cumulative syntax → accelerating rhythm → each new detail intensifies the precariousness of hunter’s situation → mirrors the intensity of the narrator’s fear and emotions

to dive, to leave, to survive

asyndetic tricolon → omission of conjunctions and rhyme further increases the speed and urgency of the rhythm, alongside repetition → reflects instinctive longing for the safety of the narwhal → engages reader in writer’s powerful, ocnflicted feelings about the hunt and what the outcome will be

nor do they kill for sport

word order follows grammatically formal pattern that is less common in casual speech → shift to formal register → conveys authority and deliberation → emphasises the ethical seriousness of Western misconceptions about hunting being a sport not a necessity

Hunting is still an absolute necessity in Thule.

short, declarative sentence → conveys sense of finality and resolution through its brevity and the term ‘absolute’, leaving reader with a clear, unambiguous statement about the necessity of Inuit hunting practises for survival