Explorer's Daughter, Kari Herbert

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LANGUAGE FEATURES

'my heart also urged the narwhal to dive, to leave, to survive'- Rule of 3, desperation for narwhal to escape despite wanting the hunter to win- dilemma.

'How can you possibly eat seal?'- Direct speech to represent opinions of Westeners- (expected readers)

'Every hunter was on the water'- Short sentence= Tension. 

'glittering kingdom'- Metaphor, this phrase conveys beauty of the Arctic scene giving it a fairy tale feel.

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QUOTES

'Spectral play of colour'- Play on words, beauty of Arctic. Can resemble a spectre of a ghost= unreality. OR colours, waves of light. Physical + Mystical- ongoing theme throughout text.

'evening light was turning butter-gold' - 'butter' with 'gold' intensifies the colour- richer and more luxuriant.

'Valuable part of the diet for both man and dogs...Its single ivory tusk...was used for harpoon tips'- Factual and detailed paragraph, showing the necessity of hunting narwhal- simple, prepares us for hunting scene.

'The women clustered' - Suggests a sense of community. Just like narwhal have 'pods', the humans have their grouping too.

'Each wife knew her husband instinctivley'- Word 'instinctivley' reminds us of animals= Herbert suggests a balance of forces of mad and whale.

'It was crucial...staple diet'- These words emphasise that hunting is a matter of survival.

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QUOTES P.2

'they talk to one another under water' - 'talk' builds our sympathy, also shows how they too are a community or family.

'The hunter had no rifle'- shows vulnerability of the men and also shows that it is fair, no advantage like a gun.

'My heart leapt for both hunter and narwhal'- feels sympathy for both men and whales. Tension of situation- 'heart leapt'.

'Hunting is still an absulte necessity in Thule'- concludes with a clearly stated opinion using a simple sentence.

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STRUCTURE

  • First paragraph- Herbert invites reader to share the appreciation of the Arctic's beauty. 
  • Creates sympathy for both men and whales
  • Focus shifts, langauge becomes more factual, she establishes the necessity of hunting in Thule.
  • Focus shifts again to hunt- excitment, tension, but dilemma of who to support. After this she doesn't tell us what happened.
  • Passage ends with her firmly supporting the need to hunt in Thule
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IDEAS AND PERSPECTIVES

  • Sympathises with both sides- both have the right to exist in their traditional ways.
  • Understanding of someone lived in Thule- experienced
  • Factual knowledge to persuade
  • empathise with attitudes of Westerners, whilst disagreeing
  • Believes in the necessity on hunting in Thule.
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METHODS

  • Descriptive language
  • Factual, informative language
  • Structure for persuasion
  • Direct engagement with an opposing view
  • Complex sentences for description
  • Short sentences for tension
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