Let's take a closer look at that important passage.
The dark sky was shattered by a blue-white scar.
An instant later the noise was on them like the blow of
a gigantic whip. The chant rose a tone in agony.
"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!"
Now out of the terror rose another desire, thick,
urgent, blind.
"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!"
Again the blue-white scar jagged above them
and the sulphurous explosion best down. The littluns
screamed and blundered about, fleeing from the edge of
the forest, and one of them broke the ring of biguns in
his terror.
"Him! Him!"
The circle became a horseshoe. A thing was
crawling out of the forest. It came darkly, uncertainly.
The shrill screaming that rose before the beast was like
& pain. The beast stumbled into the horseshoe.
"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!"
The blue-white scar was constant, the noise
unendurable. Simon was crying out something about &
dead man on a hill.
"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do
him in!"
The sticks fell and the mouth of the new circle
crunched and screamed. The beast was on its knees in
the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying
out against the abominable noise something about s
body on the hill. The beast struggled forward, broke the
ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand
by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured
down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck,
bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but
the tearing of teeth and claws.
Then the clouds opened and let down the rain
like a waterfall. The water bounded from the mountain-
top, tore leaves and branches from the trees, poured
like & cold shower over the struggling heap on the sand.
Presently the heap broke up and figures staggered
away. Only the beast lay still, a few yards from the ses
Even in the rain they could see how small a beast it
was; and already its blood was staining the sand
REREAD THIS PASSAGE AND THEN FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTION AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW
1. Underline any sounds or noises
described.
2. Highlight the verbs which
describe movement.
3. Circle any adjectives or nouns you
think have negative connotations.
4. Describe the language of this
extract (and the effect):
5. Who/what is 'the beast"?
6. Do the boys realize this?
7. Why or why not?
8. Describe the boys' behavior in one
word:
9. Explain the irany found in this
extract