Beyond the Sky and Earth

Question 1

What does the title tell us?

Answer 1

Hyperbole —> Sense of adventure

Question 2

“Mountains all around”

Answer 2

Asyndeton —> Shows how mountainous region

Question 3

“Bhutan is all and only mountains”

Answer 3

Hyperbole and Metaphor —> Solidifies image of Bhutan

Question 4

“picture a giant child gathering earth”

Answer 4

Humorous imagery —> The dramatic scenery

Question 5

“five different flights over four days”

Answer 5

Alliteration —> Shows how long it took to arrive from Canada

Question 6

“I am exhausted, but I cannot sleep”

Answer 6

Complex sentence —> Entranced so much that even if she’s tired, she’s now thrilled to be there

Question 7

“on the other side of mountains are mountains, more mountains and mountains again”

Answer 7

Repetition —> Shows that the mountains were anticlimactic which connotes back to dissatisfaction of Bhutane

Question 8

“instant coffee, powdered milk, plasticky white bread”

Answer 8

asyndetic listing –> Drab food contrasts with the beautiful environment

Question 9

“the winter air is thin and dry and very cold”

Answer 9

Polysyndeton —> The climate presents a unique blend of beauty and difficulty, making it both challenging and formidable.

Question 10

“population is 20,000, it seems even smaller”

Answer 10

Statistics —> further diminishes Bhutane
Comparative adjective —> Creates claustrophobic feeling

Question 11

“cracked sidewalks and faded paintworks”

Answer 11

Evokes how she’s back to underwhelming and disappointing conditions of the Bhutane experience

Question 12

“Beyond, hamlets”

Answer 12

Language related to peasantry —> Portrays Bhutan as backwards which contrasts to the description of the government buildings

Question 13

“I am full of admiration for this small country that has managed to look after itself so well”

Answer 13

She ends with a bittersweet note and contrasts to her first few thoughts leaving reader with admiration of Bhutan

Personal Pronoun use —> respects Bhutane despite of its drawbacks

Question 14

Themes of?

Answer 14

Themes of facts v.s. description

Question 15

Structure?

Answer 15

• Zeppa uses both 1st and 3rd person narrative to structure her memoir (Account/Story/Experience/Journal)
• use of 1st person: to deliver her personal experiences and to reflect them
• use of 3rd person: to convey factual information about Bhutan: the Bhutanese people and their culture is written in third person
• ALSO Zeppa guides the reader through her experience in Bhutan from start to finish