1. the Story is set in a Villege where the two Charakter traverse the abandoned villege to find the kidnapped wife of the head of a oil company.

2. The Atmosphere is very depressing and dark.

3. The Auther uses a lot of strong Imagery such as discribing the scenary of the dead animals such as crows and chickens.

4. He also uses a creative way to discribe the buildings such as „abandoned house hold.

Narrative Perspective:

1.

• The story is narrated by Rufus, one of the journalists.

  2. 
     

• Deserted villages

• Abandoned oil equipment

• Decomposing animals

• Polluted water

• Overgrown vegetation

  3. 
     

• Expresses revulsion

• Describes stench vividly

• Notes a sense of sadness

• Conveys a feeling of desolation

  4. 
     

• Close

• First-person perspective

• Detailed sensory descriptions

• Emotional reactions shared

  
  

Language & Figurative Speech:

Comparisons in the text:

• The village is compared to a place struck by a deadly epidemic.

• The square concrete platform is likened to a sacrificial altar.

• The mangrove roots are described as "proboscises gasping for air."

• The oil blotches on grass blades are compared to "liver spots on a smoker's hands."

• The presence of ghosts is suggested to describe the eerie emptiness.

  
  

Examples of words used in a special way:

• Personification: "The atmosphere grew heavy with the suspended stench of dead matter." (gives the atmosphere a living, oppressive quality)

• Symbolism: The dead birds and fish symbolize environmental destruction.

• Imagery: "Dead and decomposing, the maggots trafficking beneath the feathers." (evokes strong visual and sensory reactions)

  
  

How these words/comparisons help visualize the scene:

• They create a vivid and immersive image of decay and abandonment.

• The comparisons make the scene feel more intense and almost surreal.

• They emphasize the devastating effects e' il drilling on nature and human life.

  
  

Phrases or sentences that make the text strong/interesting:

• "The barrenness, the oil slick, and the same indefinable sadness in the air..." (reinforces the emotional weight)

• "Something organic, perhaps human, lay dead and decomposing down there..." (builds suspense and horror)

• "Dead birds draped over tree branches, their outstretched wings black and slick with oil." (haunting imagery)

• "As if a community of ghosts were suspended above the punctured zinc roofs..." (adds a supernatural, tragic element)

Reader’s Reaction:

• Sadness - The empty houses and dead animals show that life is gone.

• Disgust - Words like "stench" and "maggots" make the place feel dirty and rotten.

• Fear - The village feels ghostly and abandoned, which is scary.

• The village is described as empty, broken, and dirty.

• Smells: "a rank smell", "the smell of oil" - These describe how bad and polluted the place is.

• Sounds: It feels mostly quiet and lifeless, which adds to the sad feeling.

  
  

Narrative Perspective:

• The narrator seems tired and upset by what he sees.

• He describes the awful sights and smells in clear, detailed ways to show how bad the situation is.

• The phrase "No, no more villages" shows that the characters feel exhausted and hopeless and don't want to see more sad places.

  
  

Language & Figurative Speech:

• Personification - "The stench slapped my face." (The smell is so strong it feels like an attack.)

• Metaphor - "A community of ghosts were suspended above the roofs." (The village feels haunted and abandoned.)

• Simile - "Grass covered with blotches like liver spots on a smoker's hands."
  (Shows how poisoned the land is.)

  
  

Reader’s Reaction:

• Sadness - The empty houses and dead animals show that life is gone.

• Disgust - Words like "stench" and "maggots" make the place feel dirty and rotten.

• Fear - The village feels ghostly and abandoned, which is scary.

Narrative Perspective:

1. Who is telling the story?

🎀 The story is told by first-person perspective, by Rufus, a journalist who is in the village

🎀 Words like i and we

2. What details does the narrator choose to mention ?

🎀 The narrator describes how the village looks

🎀 He describes dead animals and empty houses

🎀 The smell and dirty water full of dead fish, make the place feel ruined and hopeless

3. How does the narrator show his feeelings about the scene?

🎀 words like ,,decomposing”(l.11) ,,dead”(l.11) and ,,deserted household”(l.16) make the place sound terrible

4. Do you feel close to or distant from the events because of the narrator? how?

🎀 The way the narrator describes the place makes me feel like i was there, seeing and smelling everything

🎀 I can imagine what it’s like, because he is telling the story from his own experience.

Language & Figurative Speech:

1. What comparisons are in the text?

🎀 The village is compared to a place destroyed by a deadly disease.

🎀 A person is compared to a scarecrow.

2. Are there any special uses of words (like personification or symbolism)?

🎀 The phrase “stench of death” creates a strong image of horror.

🎀 The sentence “This is what war does” shows war as a powerful, destructive force.

3. How do these words or comparisons help you see the scene better?

🎀 They make the village seem very empty and frightening.

🎀 They help you feel the sadness and horror of what happened.

4. Which phrases or sentences make the text strong?

🎀 “The village looked as if a deadly epidemic had swept through it.”

🎀 “We found the body of a child next to a broken pot, the mother not far away.”

🎀 ”This is what war does.”

Reader’s Reaction:

1. How does the text make you feel when you read it?

🎀 The text makes me feel sad and uncomfortable. It describes a dead and abandoned village in a very dark way.

2. Which parts of the text cause you to feel sad, shocked, or uneasy?

🎀 The description of the dead chickens with maggots, the dirty water with mosquito larvae, and the smell from the well make me feel uneasy. Also, the dead birds covered in oil are shocking.

3. What words or images make you react emotionally?

🎀 Words like "dead," "decomposing," "stench," "oil slick," and "sulfurous" create a very strong and sad image. The picture of the village looking like a place of ghosts is also emotional.

4. How would you describe the overall mood of the text in a few words?

🎀 Dark, sad, hopeless, and disturbing.

Setting & Imagery

What images or pictures does the text create about the village?

• • Story Happens in a Village and is about 2 Journalist

• • The author describes the village as terrible and it looks like a deadly plague were there.

• • We find out that the buildings are abandoned and destroyed

• • A lot of dead animals (Chicken)

How do the descriptions make the setting feel?

• • The Village is described scary and gives a grim feeling

What details (smells, sounds, colors) add to the gloomy mood?

• • l.12 We covered our nose

Narrative Perspective:

1. The story is told from the first-person perspective. The narrator is Rufus, one of the journalists traveling in the Niger Delta to report on a kidnapping.

2. The narrator describes the place in detail. He talks about the abandoned villages, the broken oil equipment, the bad smell, and the dirty river. He also mentions dead animals, insects, and polluted water. This shows how bad the situation is.

3. You can see that the narrator feels uncomfortable. His descriptions are very negative – everything is broken, dirty, and dangerous. The sentence “No, no more villages” shows that the characters are tired and frustrated.

4. Because the story is told from the first-person view, it feels close. The detailed descriptions help to imagine the place and feel the atmosphere. But sometimes, the narrator sounds a bit distant because he describes what happens without always saying his emotions.

Language & Figurative Speech:

Reader’s Reaction:

How does the text make you feel when you read it?

• It’s was very interesting. I caught mz self reading further  and want to know more.

Which parts of the text cause you to feel sad, shocked, or uneasy?

• The part where they described the situation in the village. (Empty, dead animals and human)

What words or images make you react emotionally?

No words

How would you describe the overall mood of the text in a few words?

dark, Exciting, Interesting (you want to read further),Gloomy,

•deadly

•dominated

•rusty rigging wasps flew in and out of their nests

•wide open windows

• roofs had big holes

•chicken pen with about ten chickens inside

Second task

•lonely

•abandoned

Third task

•bad smell

Narrative Perspective:

1)•one of the journalists

2)•surrounding (village etc.)

• powerless,

3)• We feel distanced because of the descriptions the author made about the place in general

Language & Figurative Speech:

Reader’s Reaction:

Important: Don't forget to fill in the lines!