Devices
What is the literary device used in the following quote, "For when at last the steps were heard, they had already, he was quite sure, come a little down the hill, to the first house; and even so, the steps were curiously different—they were softer, they had a new secrecy about them, they were muffled and indistinct; and while the rhythm of them was the same, it now said a new thing—it said peace, it said remoteness, it said cold, it said sleep."
Personification
What object of Paul's imagination is the deciding factor towards the development of the plot?
Snow
What POV does the author utilise in "Silent Snow, Secret Snow"
Third Person Limited
Both "Secret Snow, Silent Snow" and "Paul's Case" have the protagonist Paul escaping reality. Paul in "Secret Snow, Silent Snow" escapes mentally while Paul in "Paul's Case" escapes physically
Name the theme(s) in “Silent Snow, Secret Snow”. Show evidence from the text.
reality VS Fantasy:
The snow is presented as the softer reality to the jarring one Paul lived in. His final integration is in the fantasy by being surrounded by the snow, “everything was solved, everything became all right…it said peace, it said remoteness, it said cold, it said sleep”.
Isolation:
“A gash of horrible light fell brutally across the room…this cruel disturbance? It was as if he had to reach up a hand toward another world for any understanding of it,—an effort of which he was only barely capable.” Paul is already mentally severed from his old world/reality. This states his complete submersion into the snow and what it brings (new supposed ‘reality’).
For the following quote what literary device is used, "And the mist of snow, as he had foreseen, was still on it— a ghost of snow falling in the bright sunlight, softly and steadily floating and turning and pausing, soundlessly meeting the snow that covered, as with a transparent mirage, the bare bright cobbles."
Metaphor
How does the Geography class Paul is in introduce the obsession to snow?
Instead of focusing on the tropical regions mentioned in class, Paul continues to think about the snowy regions of the Arctic and Antarctica.
Why does Paul continue to question himself throughout the text?
This represents Paul's refusal to believe in his imagination, which slowly disappears throughout the story ending in the acceptance of the snow.
Compare "Secret Snow, Silent Snow" to "Miss Brill"
Paul rejects the outer world and withdraws into his inner world while Miss Brill tries to seek connection in the outer world but gets rejected
Using evidence from the text, portray how Aiken describes the process of Paul’s detachment from one reality to enter another. How does this lead to a central theme?
The sensory depictions of the snow being a tangible force (compared to the past blurred perspective of Paul and snow) portrays how Paul leaves one reality to another. Eventually, as the snow encompasses his world, the line separating physical reality and mental fantasy come crashing down, erasing the past definitions of Paul’s life to form a new world of snow.
Explain the difference between a metaphor, allegory, and motif.
A metaphor is a direct comparison between two ideas or things, an allegory is extended metaphor where the entire text acts as a comparison. A motif is a recurring element, similar to a symbol that represents an idea or a thing.
What is significant about the doctor's visit to Paul's house?
The visit shows the distrust Paul has with reality and his vulnerability when talking about his "secret world". It shows his attachment and his self-pride in keeping the world his own. All appropriate answers acceptable.
Identify the tone(s) used in this story including the shifts in tone if there are any and how it affects the story.
The story begins in a dreamy tone then shifts to a tense tone and ends in a isolating tone. This shift in tone represents the deterioration of Paul's mind and his loss of sanity near the end of the story.
Compare "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" to "Cathedral"
There is isolation in both stories but isolation in "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" results in mental deterioration and breakdown while in "Cathedral" isolation is overcome through human connection. "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" falls deeper into isolation while "Cathedral" escapes from isolation.
Relate “Silent Snow, Secret Snow” to another text by their themes. How is a contrast formed by the characters/texts themselves?
“The Cathedral” and “Secret Snow, Silent Snow” both depict emotional withdrawal from their realities. But while Paul is completely detached from reality and submerges into the reality, the edges of the snowy reality leading to the deep hatred of his original reality barring him from the truth of what the snow promised (sleep, peace, stories). The text ends with the mental extraction from his original world and life.
The main character of “the Cathedral” leans more to being emotionally blind. He is introduced to the world of physical blindness, which pulls him from the state of being emotionally detached from his world to being empty of any such perceptions as he draws the Cathedral blind and by his imagination.
They serve as two direct contrasts from individuals tethered to their minds in different ways. Paul is ‘seduced’ by fantasy, while in “The Cathedral”, the main character is brought back to the world by being ‘blind’. This reflects upon what Paul experiences at the end of the text: being blind to one reality to embrace another. They share comparisons and contrasts in their experiences at the same time.
Describe the imagery used in the story.
There is sensory imagery, primarily the visual imagery regarding how the snow takes over everything and the auditory imagery, where the snow muffles the real world around Paul.
How does the story use characterisation to develop?
The story started with a slow pacing and then quickly developed to a fast pace speeding up the deterioration of Paul's mind.
Compare "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" to "Noon Wine"
In "Silent Snow, Secret Snow", society is hesitant and misunderstands Paul's conditions and is powerless in helping Paul in any way. On the other hand in "Noon Wine", society is very active and hostile in judging the characters, accelerating Thompson's mental breakdown.
In the text, does Aiken depict a story of tragedy or a flight of personal transcending? Find evidence from the text.
He is no longer able to come back from the “snow”, being permanently closed off in the sealed spaces of a seductive presence to imagination. The speculations one might hold to such a figurative presence taking over in his life is ignored by Paul, as the initially innocent daydreaming becomes into the acceptance of the loss of self.
Transcending:
Paul goes through the gradual presence of the snow as a companion to the messenger towards a new world that borders on imagination and true reality, if one defines such with their mental potential. His surrender to the snow depicts true victory, as the peaceful implications of snow being the inner reality of a calm world (in his mind) show the underlying truth in how he reaches true satisfaction.
Explain the importance of the motif of snow in representing Paul.
The snow represents Paul's secret life where he is isolated and away from his family and the real life itself. Appropriate answers all acceptable.
How does the ending of the story represent Paul's deterioration through the description of the snow?
The increasing intensity of the snow's sounds represents the rapidly deteriorating of Paul's mind.
Explain why the author would choose to use third person limited instead of first person or third person omniscient, and from that describe a situation in which first person is better and should be used instead of third person limited.
Compare "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" to "How the Two Ivans Quarelled"
The downfall of Paul in "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" is caused by psychological issues and it is self-imposed while the downfall in "How the Two Ivans Quarelled" is caused by ethical and moral conflicts between the two titular characters.
Show how the transformation of Paul from the beginning to end illustrates a contrast of themes. Support your contrast with evidence and reasoning. (Hint: reality and..?)
The transformation to the physical world and the inner reality vividly presents the contrast of reality and fantasy. The absolute privacy of the snow shutting out the rest of the reality that he comes to see as noisy was initially met by the slow arrival of the snow seeping into his perspective of the world. This fantasy of peaceful snow chosen over the active realms of his past life is conclusive: the lure of such a universe being too overcoming to resist is the central theme of Paul’s story in “silent Snow, Secret Snow”.