Q4 - A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat

At the beginning of the text,

Levine creates a sense of anticipation, exploring both her and the lads' excitement for the race while displaying uncertainty of whether it will actually happen to engage the reader.

"viewing" and "join in"

Shift from passive to active - indicates Levine's desire not simply to observe but to actively participate, indicating her desire for immersion in the experience and her impatience.

"Wacky Races"

Allusion to a children's cartoon - suggests the chaotic nature of the race and the surreal quality of the experience - even the absurdity from an outsider's perspective.

"fired up"

Metaphor - suggests the lads' burning desire to get involved in the drama of the race, and their passionate excitement.

"We waited for eternity"

Hyperbole - builds tension and anticipation for the arrival of the race.

"perched" and "on a wobbly bicycle"

Participle "perched" has zoomorphic connotations of a bird, suggesting she is poised and ready for action, only to be disappointed by the bathos of seeing a "villager on a wobbly bicycle". This is a comic image which destroys and undermines any sense of build-up, creating uncertainty and a seemingly lower chance that the race will ever happen.

In the middle of the text,

Levine keeps the reader engaged through vivid, fast-paced descriptions and chaotic action, turning the race into an intense and unpredictable spectacle.

"roaring"

Zoomorphism - creates a sense of the animalistic danger and violence of the race.

"horns tooting, bells ringing"

Present participles - suggests a variety of sounds all happening at once, in the present moment, developing the chaotic soundscape.

"standing on top of their cars and vans, hanging out of taxis and perched on lorries"

Pattern of images - suggests the precariousness of the spectators' actions, and therefore highlighting their desire to be involved at any cost.

"Formula One without rules"

Analogy - indicates the speed of the scene, but Formula One would be extremely dangerous without rules, highlighting the disregard for safety.

"at the back; in front"

Reverses the syntax to highlight the contrary. Makes the race seem more chaotic through the closely packed action - mimetically recreated through the lack of distance between "back" and "front".

At the end of the text,

Levine shifts to the chaotic aftermath, focusing on the heightening tension, danger, and uncertainty of the situation to engage the reader.

"And then the trouble began"

Tonal shift emphasised by the dramatic simple sentence - telling that Levine does not perceive what went before as "trouble" - the danger before was good-natured.

" 'officials' "

Inverted commas - lends a sceptical / sarcastic tone; could such a chaotic race have officials presiding over it?

"Voices were raised, fists were out and tempers rising"

Tricolon - culminating in "tempers rising"; indicates the building tension and the developing "trouble" discussed above.

"swallowed up by the crowd"

Metaphor - suggests the crowd is a kind of monster: indicates the danger that awaits them.

" 'But I don't even have my licence yet because I'm underage!' "

Structurally delayed information - acts as a kind of punchline for the passage; the danger was even greater than Levine realised!