Commentary on the Cousine Island Passage

The purpose of the text is for the writer to convince the

audience that Cousine Island is the ideal destination for
the people wanting a time away from their busy, boring
lives. The writer has extensively used adjectives and
hyperbole to emphasize the beauty and individuality of
the island to the other islands in the vicinity.
The writer begins on a very inviting note. It is as if the
writer is addressing to all those people who need
seclusion, and an opportunity to mingle with nature.
When the writer invites to ‘experience a sense of
ownership’, the writer makes the audience feel as if the
island will never make the visitors feel homesick. This
idea is further emphasized with the use of Italics. It
makes the audience feel being pulled to this beauty of
nature. Further on, the writer uses strong imagery to
portray the ‘birds and tortoises’, and stinks ‘quietly
awaiting a crumb to fall from your table…’ Through this
imagery and ending the paragraph with the dots, the
writer allows the audience to fantasize this awe-inspiring
feature of the island.
However, the writer quickly shifts his attention to newly
wedded couples and the unmarried ones who are
seeking a place to plan their wedding. The long
description the writer gives of the facilities provided to
these couples makes it obvious that Cousine Island is
ideally for these people. The thought is first emphasized
when the writer says to these couples that choosing
Cousine Island ‘will be one of the wisest choices you
make’. And then the writer says later on that ‘this is what
Cousine Island is all about’. This clearly informs the
audience that the staff working at this island expects
couples more than ordinary tourists.
Soon after, the writer shifts the attention from the
couples to the general audience multiple times. The
writer adds that Cousine Island will provide you with ‘a
perfect day rounded off by a romantic beach barbeque’,
and after a pause the writer continues ‘or a feast in the
pavilion with family and friends’. This implies that the
writer hopes to see family and friends to come on this
island more for the sake of celebration.
Despite the writer’s attempts to invite the couples more,
the writer ends the article by calling upon anyone who
would enjoy the facilities provided by the staff working
on this island. The writer does this by exaggerating that
upon coming to this island, the visitors ‘will be taken on a
sensory journey’ and that the place will make them
‘experience true paradise’. With this, the writer clears
any doubts the audience might have developed of
thinking that the island is mainly for couples.
In conclusion, the writer makes the audience feel as if
anyone who arrives at this island will enjoy, but the
couples will enjoy more. With the strong use of imagery,
the writer makes the audience feel dragged to the place
because of all the promises by the writer provided to
them.
By Hafsa Hussain (AS-M)