Summary-of-Face-to-face-with-hurricane-Camille

1FacetofacewithhurricaneCamille“FacetofacewithhurricaneCamille”isapieceofnarration.Accordingtochronologicalorder,thisarticledescribestheheroicstruggleoftheKoshaksandtheirfriendsagainsttheforcesofadevastatinghurricane.InspiteoftheradioandtelevisionwarningsofhurricaneonAug.17，JohnKoshakJr.wasunwillingtoabandonhishomeinGulfport,Mississippiandfleeinland.HehadconsultedhisparentsandhisfriendCharlieandtheyallagreedthattheywouldbesafehere.Hencethatafternoon,theybegantomakefullpreparationsforthehurricane.Aneighborandhertwochildrenjoinedthem.However,theyhadunderestimatedtheferocityofHurricaneCamille,whichattackedtheGulfCoastseverely.Thenwindbeganrising,andrainfellsteadily.Whenthewindmountedtoanoverwhelmingroar,thehousebeganleakingandshaking.TheKoshaksstartedastruggleagainstthespreadingwater.Thenthepowerfailed.Theceilinginthelivingroomwasfallingpieceandpiece.Doorsburstopenandwindowsdisintegrated.Thespreadingwaterroseabovetheirankles，anditwasrisingbytheminute.CharliewasterrifiedtofindthewatertastingsaltyandshoutedtoJohn.Theyknowtheseahadreachedthehouse,andthewaterwasrisingbyminute.Johnyelledtoeveryonetogoouttothecars,which,however,wouldnotstart,fortheelectricalsystemwaskilled.Asthewaterwastoodeepandthewindtoostrongtofleeonfoot,theyscrambledbacktothehouseandsettledonthestairs.Watching2thewaterrisingandlappingatthesteps,Johnfeltacrushingguilt.Aftertheroofblewoffthehouse，theymovedtotheirbedroomupstairsintheslashingrain.Withtwowallsbeginningtodisintegrate,Johnorderedtheotherstogotothetelevisionroom，whichwasfarthestfromthedirectionofthestorm.Thewindtoredownonewall.Asecondwallmoved.Thehousehadmoved25feetfromitsfoundations.Theworldseemedtobebreakinga-part.Everyonewasinapanic.Whenathirdwallgaveway,Johngrabbedadoorandpreparedtogetthekidsonit.Justatthatterrifyingmoment，thewindslightlydiminished,andthewaterstoppedrising.Fortunately,themainthrustofCamillehadpassedandtheKoshaksandtheirfriendshadsurvived.Afterthehurricane,aidsfromalloverthecountrycametothedisasterarea.TheKoshaksquicklybeganreorganizingtheirlives.Inspiteofthefactthattheyhavelostalmostalltheirpossessions，theywerehappytocomethroughit，justasGrandmaKoshaklaterreflected：“WhenIthinkofthat,Irealizewelostnothingimportant.”Thewholearticleplotiscompact,fastrhythm,letapersontoreadfulloftension.It’sconcernedwithactionanditcentersonpeople,thecharacters,engagedinsomekindofconflictagainstotherpeople,nature,societyorinaninnerstruggleagainstthemselves.Inthisarticle,theKoshaksistheprotagonist,andtheHurricaneCamilleistheantagonist.Thewholeessayfocusontheconflictbetweenthem.Theparas.1-6ofthisstoryare3introductory,givingthesettingofthestory—thetime,place,characters,reasons,preparationsandbackgroundinformationoftheconflict.Thewriterbuildsupandsustainsthesuspenseinthestoryandgivesorderandlogicalmovementtothesequenceofhappeningsbydescribingindetail,andvividly,showinghowtheKoshaksandtheirfriendsstrivetosurvivethehurricane.Thearticleusemanyellipticalsentences,shortsentencesandsimplesentences,especiallyintheprocessofnarrationhurricaneoutbursts.Shortsimplesentences:“Rainfellsteadilythatafternoon;graycloudsscuddedinfromtheGulfontherisingwind.Thefamilyhadanearlysupper.”(para.6)“Itgrewdarkbeforeseveno'clock.Windandrainnowwhippedthehouse.”(para.7)“It’sboundtoendsoon.”(para.15)“Getusthroughthismess,willyou?”(para.17)“Let’sgetthatmattressup!”(para.25)Ellipticalsentences:“Everybodyoutthebackdoortothecars!”(para.10)“Backtothehouse!”(para.11)“Everybodyonthestairs!”(para.12)4“Upthestairs—intoourbedroom!Countthekids.”(para.21)“Intothetelevisionroom!’(para.22)Byusingsomanyellipticalandshortsimplesentences,thewritertriestodisplayhowtensetheatmospherebecomesasthehurricanestrikesatthehouseandhowdecisiveanddeterminedtheprotagonistappearswhenfacingthedisaster.Theauthorskillfullyuseverbs,especially,selectafewbriefone-syllablewords.Forexample:lash，whip，kill,smash,fling,shove,skim,seize，lap，crack，snapandsoon.Thepowerofthehurricanevividdisplayedinfrontofthereaders.Rhetorically,theusingofmetaphor,simile,personificationtransferredepithetandonomatopoeiaenhancethevividnessoflanguage.Metaphor:“Wecanbattendownandrideitout,”“AlongtheGulfCoastitdevastatedeverythinginitsswath”“Spookyflewoffthetopofaslidingbookcaseandalsodisappeared.”“householdandmedicalsuppliesstreamedinbyplane,train,andcar.”Simile:“Thechildrenwentfromadulttoadultlikebucketsinafirebrigade.”“Thewindsoundedliketheroarofatrainpassingafewyardsaway.”“Telephonepolesand20-inch-thickpinescrackedlikegunsasthewindssnappedthem.”“blown-downpowerlinescoiledlikeblackspaghettiovertheroads.”5Transferredepithet:“SeveralvacationersattheluxuriousRichelieuApartmentsthereheldahurricanepartytowatchthestormfromtheirspectacularvantagepoint.”Personification:“Amomentlater,thehurricane,inonemightyswipe,liftedtheentireroofoffthehouseandskimmedit40feetthroughtheair.”“Itseizeda600,000-gallonGulfportoiltankanddumpedit31/2milesaway.”Onomatopoeia:“Telephonepolesand20-inch-thickpinescrackedlikegunsasthewindssnappedthem.”“FacetofacewithHurricaneCamille”isainspiringarticlethattoldusatruth—hum