The Unseen Commentary

Passage X - Adolescence II

In this extract, Rita Dove provides an "emergency room" feel through her discomforting imagery. This is mainly done in the way she describes the setting, the appearances of the three men, and tone.

Body 1: setting
-Venetian blinds slice up the moon
^allusion
-the tiles quiver in pale strips
In a clean bathroom, Venetian blinds and tiles seem expensive. Venetian blinds SLICE the moon, and tiles QUIVER... violence and fear.

Body 2: appearances
-...eyes as round as dinner plates and eyelashes like sharpened tines.
^similie
-They bring the scent of licorice.
-... sits in the washbowl, ... the bathtub edge, ... leans against the door.
-sleek bodies
-And they rise, Glittering like pools of ink under moonlight, and vanish.
^simile
These three men seem like doctors or aliens, "seal men" suggest soldiers, like Navy Seals. With giant round eyes and sharp eyelashes. Their fork-like eyelashes clincking every time they blink against their round white plate eyes. They sit where they want, one leans against the door so the main character cannot escape. When they get up underthe moonlight they vanish, like an alien teleporting under this celestial body.

Body 3: tone
-Night rests like a ball of fur on my tongue.
^simile
Final line. This is what is left with the reader, a feeling of discomfort, confusion.