Characterization Of Happiness In The Hand By Collette
502 Words3 Pages
In "The Hand" by Collette, a young newlywed is in bed admiring her husband. She studies him and notices his handsome features. Surprised by her new state, she starts to enjoy the joys of living with someone unknown. The more she studied him, though, the more she started to question him. She notices quivers through his hand and starts to perceive him differently. She sees the hand as a beast instead of the protector it once was. This characterization in "The Hand" creates the initial mood. For example, the first characterization that takes place in these occurs in the first three paragraphs. In these paragraphs the woman is said to be "Too happy to sleep..." and " ...suprised by her new state". This characterization shows us that the woman is very happy about the two weeks that she has lived the "scandalous life of a newlywed". With these paragraphs, the author tries to create the tone of happiness within the reader. In doing so, the reader's mood at this point in the text should be a happy one. The reader should feel the love and happiness she gets just from laying beside her new husband.…show more content… This starts to happen in paragraphs seven to fourteen, when the woman says "It's as if I were lying on some animal", in regards to lying on her husband quivering arm. She goes on to describe her husband's hand as being bigger than her entire head. Furthermore, she continues to characterize his hand, stating that varnish and pink polish don't go with a hand such as her husband's, a hand that has "powerful knuckles" and " engorged veins". All of these things she is just now realizing about her husband starts to freighten her. This mood of fear becomes more apparent the further you read on in the