Minimum of Two - Development of Major Concerns essays

Minimum of Two - Development of Major Concerns essays Relationships, crisis, fear of change and letting go of the past, ultimate survival and the never-ending Web of Life are all major concerns of Tim Winton. They play a major role in his collection A Minimum of Two and are the base on which the characters and their lives stand. Each soul within the stories faces a crisis and change, along with the consternation of letting go of what was before change took place. Family and friendship give support to lean upon, or sometimes, an endless black hole to fall down. The Web of Life ties closely with the will to survive and both figure prominently in the collection. Winton explores and develops his concerns using a range of writing and language techniques that aid his stories to touch the reader on a deeper, more emotional level. Some of these techniques are simple, such as alliteration, repetition, juxtaposition and short sharp sentences. These help to ignite strength in the words to get Wintons adamant point across to his readers. Out behind garlands of surfers and waist-deep swimmers, she scored the swells with her strokes. Alliteration used in this passage from the story Laps encourages us to see Queenie not just as an ordinary surfer or waist-deep swimmer but as a determined person who cuts through the waves with strength and power. Short sentences used in The Water was Dark causes the reader to see the urgency and desperation of the situation as the girl drowns, and the repetition of words such as machine, cut, and harder also add to this feeling. In the last paragraph, as the girl dies, Winton juxtaposes some of his words and we see the girls hopeless fight against a force that will consume her in the end. The deliberate selection and placement of each sentence, of each word, shows her plight on a devastating level. That body thrashed and whitened the water, throttling o...