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AS AT 2 (6 SEPTEMBER, 2021) CORRECTION

GUIDANCE

 The analysis should address the style, form, genre, structure and language of the text
(including specific and relevant references), explaining how they create meaning in
relation to audience and purpose.

 The comments below are illustrative and are not intended to be exhaustive. Candidates
may make other valid comments that should be credited.

 Candidates may organise their response in any appropriate way. They are not required
to focus on form, structure and language in separate sections.

Responses might analyse the following:

Form
 the typical text conventions used in the description, e.g. IMAGERY, ADJECTIVES,
ADVERBS, NOUN PHRASES, VERB PHRASES, LINGUISTIC DEVICES, CAMERA
TECHNIQUES
 the ways in which the purpose affects the content and style of the text, e.g. THE TONE
SHIFTS FROM FRUSTRATION TO SYMPATHY TO CONTEMPLATION/REFLECTION
 details which suggest the writer’s attitude towards his employer; details about the relationship
between Balram and Mr Ashok
 the first and last paragraph are of equal length suggesting how the writer commences using a
frustrated tone but ends on a reflective note, implying how being stuck in the traffic leaves
him thinking and musing about the deep chasm between the rich and the poor.
Structure
 chronological sequence
 direction of the text takes the reader forward as the traffic inches slowly
 shifts in perspective focus the reader on key aspects of the traffic and then moves to the
writer’s inner musings/stream of consciousness as he explores the lives of the people on the
pavement.
 One sentence paragraph that shifts the focus from the physical description of the traffic to the
writer’s more profound thoughts about people like him who have come from the ‘Darkness’ –
remote parts of the country to ‘Delhi’ – where they expect to find light.
 The use of hyphens mimics the stop and move jerky motion of the car in the traffic
 Short simple sentences to depict the scene of the traffic jam to show how dramatic and fierce
the jam was – a culmination of all senses to immediately locate the reader in the traffic jam
 In between the description of the writer’s setting – the writer’s loud thoughts are expressed to
give a glimpse of Balram’s character – sympathetic and considerate attitude towards all those
who are not as privileged just like him
 Use of verbs in the past tense – glared, raised, cringed and namasted to show a series of short
actions that happened all in that moment
 Longer, complex sentences when the writer contemplates about the dire condition of the less
privileged outside the ‘dark egg’ to delineate his continuous chain of thoughts
Language
 Adjectives – ‘fierce, sluggish and glossy, dim, orange-hued (adds to the mood of gloom that
comes with poverty)
 Metaphor and Simile – ‘one continuous wail’ ‘like a calf taken from its mother (this
comparison resonates with his rural upbringing) ‘concert of spitting – highlights Mr Ashok’s
privileged and arrogant stance
 Symbolism – ‘fat and thick could not rise or escape’ – representing the feeling of those stuck
in the jam – trapped, imprisoned and suffocated
 Power of three – ‘small, thin, grimy’ to emphasize the dark side of city life
 Personification – ‘Darkness to Delhi’ – The d in Darkness is capitalized to define the far-
flung, remote areas from where these ‘poor creatures’ come in large numbers to seek light
(juxtaposition)- hope of a brighter future in a metropolitan city like Delhi, but ironically their
current condition is as oppressive as the darkness from where they hail.
 Exaggeration – ‘hundreds of them’ to imply that even though they weren’t as many, they
looked that many because of their large scale problems and poverty
 Parallel – ‘my father…under a street lamp’ sees his fathers in the lost souls on the pavement
to show how he had to manipulate and use his shrewdness to be in the ‘right part of the city’
unlike his father and others on the pavement who were still riddled by abject poverty.
 Ends his inner musings with a lasting thought – theme of the last paragraph – the deep rift
between the rich and the poor /social standing in society and how despite working for a
wealthy man, he will always be treated as a ‘driver’. He will never be able to match up to
being accepted as one of them.