A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat

“We… our… us”

(first person plural pronouns) – though she is an outsider, she isn’t alone – much of the humor will derive from juxtaposition

“lads… Wacky Races”

(colloquial language) – tone of informality and affection; Western cartoon allusion underscores the text’s focus on bridging cultures

“fired up”

(metaphor) – emphasizes the sense of excitement which is contrasted against…

“waited for eternity”

(hyperbole) – humorously overstating her boredom – Levine creates a contrast between her expectations and theirs

“perched”

(verb) – comical image which foreshadows the instability/recklessness that will shortly arrive

“a villager on a wobbly bicycle”

(bathos) – dramatic anticlimax utilized in this comical image as the solitary figure contrasts the ensuing chaotic crowds

“Are they coming?... Coming… coming”

(repetition) – heightens the dramatic tension and expectancy

“a cloud of fumes and dust”

(visual imagery + hyperbole) – wider collateral impact of the race is exaggerated which dramatizes the action

“some fifty vehicles roaring”

(zoomorphism) ‘roaring’ captures the atmosphere and intensifies the sense of tension and action

“Yaqoob revved up the engine”

(onomatopoeic imagery) – aggressive verb of ‘revved’ elevates the sense of recklessness created in the atmosphere

“neck-and-neck”

(idiom) – a relatable horse racing metaphor highlighting the tension, pace and excitement

(structural) – L21-25 – aural paragraph with several onomatopoeic present participles such as ‘tooting’ and ‘rattling’

to evoke a sense of chaotic ongoing activity

“Men… hanging”

(verb) – illustrates the instability and recklessness of the situation

“perched”

(repetition in line 23) – reminds the reader of the sense of danger that affects all ‘participants’ in the race

"“edge out… swerve”

(active verb choices) – Yaqoob’s driving skills appear equally reckless which foreshadows the final revelation that he shouldn’t have been driving

“Formula One without rules”

(metaphor) – provides a relatable point of reference for a Western reader to visualize chaos

“his language growing more colorful”

(euphemism) – comical contrasts in cultures is emphasized by Yaqoob’s free flowing swearing vs Levine’s polite internalized concern

“Voices were raised, fists were out and tempers rising”

(tricolon) – captures the growing tension and her assumptions about the result ‘I assumed’ indicates her confusion and understandable cultural ignorance

“everyone”

(repetition L44/48) – emphasizes the scale of growing disagreement – is Levine intimidated by the cultural difference?

“nervous” of the “volatile situation” and they are “swallowed up in the crowd”

(semantic field) – tone changes to something much nastier which is reinforced by the direct speech of “its starting to get nasty… we should leave”

“A more sedate pace”

(adjective) – underlines her relief at leaving the scene, recalling the fact that she is experiencing something new