Prof. Jessica Penner | OL10 | Spring 2021

Rakib Hassan, Coates’ Critique

I enjoyed how Coatesā€™ foreshadowed the incident at the bridge in the second paragraph, ā€œI had always avoided that bridge, for it was stained with the remembrance of mothers, uncles, and cousins gone Natchezway.ā€ Then in page six the bridge fell apart. I also enjoy how the author describes the emotion and feeling of drowning, the way the narrator described it made me feel uncomfortable and developed a niche fear of drowning. ā€œThere is no sensation like drowning, because the feeling is not merely agony, but a bewilderment at so alien a circumstance.ā€, ā€œ…the urge to breathe is such a matter of instinct that it requires a kind of focus to belay the orders.ā€ 

The only question I have for the author is why did the character cross the bridge if he was scared of it before? Was it the only way to go to get to their destination?

5 Comments

  1. Yasmine

    I do agree that the narrators descriptions were what made the chapter more intense and also liked that you pointed out the foreshadowing that occurred.

  2. aaamrin

    Same ^! It’s so cool as to how detailed all the information was. It seems kind of scary at the same time too to be honest but I feel like this really helps readers feel more whilst reading.

  3. Zhen Deng

    I agree with “…the way the narrator described it made me feel uncomfortable and developed a niche fear of drowning.” because the author described the action in detail, and their thoughts and dialogue made the whole scene more convincing and intense.

  4. Felix Mejia

    I agree that his very descriptive language describing drowning and the whole situation is very interesting. It seems like his past and present at the moment when he was drowning was infinite, he was so calm in a situation where he was supposed to be scared.

  5. Ariel Itshaik

    I completely agree that the narrator was able to capture and foreshadow the tragic incidents that unfolded and were going to unfold when he was describing the bridge and the memory of it.

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