"In Hot Water" Prose Commentary

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“In Hot Water” Prose Commentary In the second passage from “In Hot Water” by Kari Bodnarchuk, the reader explores her external and internal battle with the “deep blue waters” as she desperately wrestles with the ferocious currents in a fight for survival. “Despite a decade spent teaching people how to swim,” panic takes the better of her as her fighting seems of no avail. Through Bodnarchuk’s stylistic features and description, the intensity of the situation and the speaker’s emotions of fear and panic are mirrored with the reader. “And then I panicked” immediately establishes the dire situation of the speaker, as she is being pulled out on the deep blue water. The passage is set out on the open vast sea, where “towering” waves dominate the scenery, and the currents are slowly pulling her away from shore. Despite her attempt to “regain control,” she soon finds herself no match for the menacing waters. The overall tone of the poem is one of fright and fear, as the speaker desperately seeks to escape, but she finds her body going against her mind as it turns “useless” and “numb.” Bodnarchuk’s use of imagery to enhance the menacing scenery truly helps to add onto the encounter. As she describes the waves as “towering snow-capped mountains,” she creates an image of immense waves looking down on the insignificant speaker, desperately trapped as the “mountain” unleashes an “avalanche of saltwater [that] crumbles over the speaker.” Here, the froth of the wave is portrayed as a menacing avalanche soaring down on the speaker, highlighting the power of nature and the sea. The juxtaposition between the internal and external battle that she is facing truly captures Bodnarchuk’s style. The italics portray her thoughts as she tells herself to “get up” and “keep going.” The snippets of unfinished sentences mirror her fear and panic as she is unable to finish her

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