Smeddum Essay
...tic atmosphere. I also think the author uses this technique to show that Meg was keeping herself busy and not thinking about her husbands death. The author highlights the change in Meg’s emotional state through this simile “like a great-boned mare”. It shows she has gone from being devastated to dealing with Will’s death. The author also introduces a time, “the next morning” . This is effective as it amplifies that Meg is emotionally strong as she can gather herself in a short space of time. Meg Menzies is not only emotionally strong but physically strong as well. “she’d yoke up the horse and the sholtie together, and kilt up her skirts till you’d see her great legs and cry wissh! Like a man and turn a fair drill,” To convey how physically strong and hard working Meg is the author uses sentence structure, a simile and word choice. Comma’s are used here to create a list which emphasises the fact Meg did most of the work. This also proves Meg is hard working . “great legs” is effective word choice as it tells the reader Meg is a physical person.. To further cement the idea of Meg working hard the author uses “cry wissh! like a man”. This comparison tells the reader Meg does all her work as well as the farm work such as ploughing. Another striking trait of the main character Meg Menzies is she’s very determined. “Meg wouldn’t hear of leaving the toun” Even though Meg would have to do more work she was determined to stay. By starting this sentence with “Meg” it makes clear who is in charge of the family. It shows it wasn’t the families decision it was Meg’s choice to stay. This proves Meg is a determined woman as she does what she thinks is right even though it would be easier to do things differently. With Meg doing all the work in the household and having several children she had to be very organised. “Day blinked and Meg did the same, and was out, up out of her bed, and about the house, making porridge and rousting the bairns, and out to the byre to milk the three key” The author uses sentence structure here to show how many things Meg organises. The use of comma’s makes it seem like a list, which helps build up the power of the sentence. This is also achieved through repetition, “and” is repeated five times in such a short sentence. “Day blinked and Meg did the same” is a effective metaphor as it conveys that Meg organises and works hard all the day. However, I also disagree with this statement. I strongly believe that “Smeddum” appeals to readers not only through its central character but also through its theme and setting. The theme of this short story is doing the right thing even if society disagrees. This is made clear as society has a strong influence in the story. The theme is conveyed through Meg frequently doing and saying what she thinks is right whether or not society agrees. An example of this is, “And tell the Dominie I’ll be down the night to ask him what mischief he meant by leathering Jeannie and her not well” The author uses the word “Dominie” to portray society in this quo...