This passage from The Crossing
does not give much information about the man or the wolf, only the man’s deep
feelings towards the wolf. As the man looks upon the wolf he develops great
feelings of admiration and respect. These intense feelings are conveyed to the
reader through techniques such as tone, imagery, and figurative language.
The
tone set by the passage conveys the man’s feeling of awe and praise towards the
wolf. The tone reaches a level of praise from lines 40-46 (He squatted over…running
in the starlight). The tone is so engrained into the text that it gives the reader
the same feelings. This tone is evidence of the man’s intense feelings and emotions
that he experienced through this event. These mixtures of tones shows the
impact the wolf had on the man spiritually and emotionally.
McCarthy’s
use of imagery is extremely effective in correlating the man’s emotions and his
senses. Lines 40-44 (He squatted…her bloodied forehead) shows
the man’s actions expressed in a physical form, “sat by her and put his hand
upon her blooded forehead and closed his own eyes”. The emotions expressed through his actions
shows that the man is intrigued and indulged by the wolf’s cold dead body.
The
figurative language used throughout the passage created feelings of admiration
and respect. It is the vivid descriptions of the wolf in her natural habitat
that creates these feelings. For example the description of how the coyotes
react to the wolf in lines 52-54 (Where she ran… was fear and marvel) shows how
majestic and powerful the wolf was. Lines 55-58 the wolf is compared to a
flower that eats flesh. This comparison enlightens us to the beauty of the
wolf.
To what
degree the wolf has impacted the main character is made clear through the man’s
thoughts and actions throughout the passage. The wolf enlightened the man
through her beauty and power. By using these literary techniques the author has
created a mood of admiration and respect that is reflected in the man.
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