Use of Language Techniques: Examples from ‘Big World’ in The Turning

Term Definition Example and explanation Idea that is expressed about Journey (or
alternative example and explanation).
Connotation The associated ideas or feelings that The use of the word “horizon” (p.2) connotes our
a word or phrase has. cultural understandings of the horizon being the limit of
our journey, thus the journey is limitless and likewise
the future and all its attendant opportunities.
Contrast (you When two things that have very Winton emphasises the lack of future and opportunities
could reference different qualities or associations are for Biggie and the protagonist through the juxtaposition
juxtaposition) described together. of the connotations of the word “horizon”, and locating
it around the protagonists’ ears (p2).
Direct speech Dialogue or extracts of conversation The absence of direct speech brings a liminal quality to
that are placed within a prose text. the writing whereby the boundary between the narrator
and character is blurred and ownership of the voice that
is speaking is not made explicit. This creates the effect
of “thinking” with the character and aligns the reader
very closely with the character’s own personality.
Furthermore the absence of a name for the protagonist
further enhances this alignment.
Emotive language The use of words or phrases that “Some days I can see me and Biggie out there as old
arouse a particular feeling in the codgers, anchored to the friggin place, stuck there
reader. The composer uses them to forever.” The use of “anchored”, “friggin place” and
elicit this effect “stuck forever” highlights the perspective of the
character as seeing Angelus as a place that you get stuck
in. The tone is negative. The protagonist perceives
Angelus as a town that can offer him nothing.
Hyperbole Extreme exaggeration for effect of “Until that moment I was disappearing” (p. 8). By
emphasis. drawing on the implications of disappearing into
nothingness, Winton emphasises the almost total loss of
self experienced by the protagonist in his misery.

Incongruence When something is said or done that “to be honest he’s not really my sort of bloke at all, but
appears in contrast to the subject somehow he’s my best mate” (p.4)
matter.

Irony When someone says or does We see irony in the protagonist’s return to Angelus to
something that has the opposite re-sit his exams after all the emphasis on his “dreams of
meaning to its intention. the big world beyond” (p.6) and “escaping” (p.2) from
Angelus.
Linear and non- Linear structure is the arrangement of
linear structure events of chronological order in the
narrative. Non-linear structure refers
to the arrangement of events not in
chronological order. Flashback or
cyclical structures are types of non-
linear narratives.
Metaphor A comparison between two things
when one thing is described as
another thing.
Personification A type of metaphor in which an
inanimate object or concept is given
human qualities.
Repetition Refers to the use of a word, sound or
phrase used more than once in close
proximity for effect or emphasis.
Rhetorical Questions posed to a person, oneself
questions or the audience without requiring or
expecting a response.
Simile A comparison between two things
using as or like.
Symbolism The use of an object (inanimate or
animate) to represent something else.
Often it is a tangible object that
stands for an intangible idea.
Tone and mood The tone is the feeling that the
(attitude) author demonstrates toward his/ her
subject matter. The mood is the
feeling that is aroused in the
responder by the description of a
particular thing, place, person, or
event.
Winton uses the metaphor of “the horizon around our
ears” to illustrate the apparent lack of a successful or
meaningful future for Biggie and “I” (p.2).
Winton uses personification viz. “…the burning kite
consumed its own tail” (p. 12), to undermine the
protagonist’s sense of “power and promise” (p.12) that
had been aligned with the beauty of the kite “looping
and spiralling … against the night sky”.
“We’ve reached a world where … nobody knows us and
nobody cares” (p. 4). The repetition of nobody
emphasises the sense of freedom the protagonist feels
on his initial escape from Angelus and furthermore that
freedom meant anonymity.
“is there anything sexier than a mango?” (p.8)
“A long long kiss, deep and playful as a conversation”
(p.10).
The use of this simile emphasises the naturalness of the
interaction with the girl of his fantasies, that the kiss is
fun, friendly, easy but also intimate.
Winton depicts the kite, which ordinarily will fly as
long as there is wind, as burning and eventually
“consumes” (p.12) itself. The kite is carrying with it its
own destruction, its own failure to fly and is symbolic
of the path of escape that Biggie and the protagonist
undertake.
“The southern sky presses down and beaches and bays
turn the colour of dirty tin” (p.1). Winton is
simultaneously describing the environment and the
mood of the protagonist. The “sky press[ing] down”
signals the protagonist’s perspective of being trapped
and suggests this feeling of being trapped carries a
heavy emotional weight for the protagonist. “Dirty tin”
carries the implications of grotty and cheap, thereby
emphasising the unpleasantness of the place he is
feeling trapped in.