Explore the Way in Which Language Is Used for Effect in a Game of Polo with a Headless Goat

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This extract from A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat is part of a travelogue written by Emma Levine. In this extract she writes about a donkey race which she experienced during an Asia tour in Karachi, Pakistan. Levine describes the race as being total chaos but sensational at the same time. The ‘lads’ joined in with the mayhem making the experience even more energetic and memorable. This extract also gives us a vision of the cultural events such as sports in Karachi. Levine generally incorporates an informative tone in her passage. This extract draws the attention of the reader by providing factual information as well as giving the reader an insight into the culture of Karachi. For example: ‘the Kibla donkey is said to achieve speeds of up to 40 kph’ implies that along with using creative language, Levine also includes facts in her travelogue. Levine starts with a short conversation at the beginning of the extract, ‘We’ll open the car boot, you climb inside and point your camera towards the race. As the donkeys overtake us, we’ll join the cars.’ ‘But will you try and get in the front?’ ‘Oh yes, that’s no problem.’ This little dialogue seems like a brief description of what should happen and what Levine expects from her team. The short sentences and dialogues create this fast atmosphere building an immediate excitement and interest for the race. Everything is very optimistic in the beginning; ‘they loved the idea’ and superlatives like ‘the best viewing spot’ are examples of high expectations. They wanted ‘the best’ place they could get so they could take a good shot of the donkeys. It signifies that she wants everything to be perfect and work according to plan but the confusion in the place makes it very difficult to do so. Levine uses literary devices such as personification, ‘vehicles jostled’ which suggests a humane presence in the cars – they are confused

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