Summary Of Working At The Fair By Annie Larson

660 Words3 Pages

“In August alone the building took three lives. Elsewhere on the grounds four other men died and dozens more suffered all manner of fractures, burns, and lacerations. The fair, according to one later appraisal, was a more dangerous place to work than a coal mine” (Larson 178). Larson’s comparison of a coal mine to the fair serves to show how hazardous the fair was to work in. Larson explains the danger of the fair by listing the various injuries that ailed the miners, such as “fractures, burns, and Lacerations.” This makes the reader realize how truly dangerous it actually was to work at the fair . This realization is further emphasized when the fair is compared to a coal mine, where injuries and deaths are fairly common. The words “laceration” …show more content…

The words “effervescence” and “physical brightness” show how Emiline was always lively and enthusiastic. This paints a picture in the reader's mind of a woman who exudes an aura of joy wherever she goes. Emeline's pleasant personality is exaggerated further when her “prettiness” and “sunflower hair” are compared to the “sullen” halls of Holmes's building, which makes Emeline seem even more beautiful. All of the words used by Larson in the quote were clearly chosen to emphasize Emeline's beauty and attitude, especially once she is shown along with Holmes’s …show more content…

Many of the instruments in Holmes's kits were “fearful things,” which helps to make the operation seem more menacing and unnatural. The “sunflower of polished steel” paints a picture in the reader's mind of a collection neatly arranged surgical tools waiting to be used. Larson used the words “hard, eager gleam” when describing the tools to show that they were cruel and that they looked as if they couldn't wait to cut into Julia. Larsons use of vivid imagery helps the reader to better understand what Julia saw when she was observing the wicked tools that were going to be used on her during her surgery. 4. “‘The body,’ he said ‘looked like that of a jack rabbit which had been skinned by splitting the skin down the face and rolling it back off the entire body. In some places considerable amounts of flesh had been taken off with it’” (Larson