Hints of Danger

In a pair, make notes on the following extract, showing which words and phrases hint at danger and how they achieve this.

‘Look over there,’ said Bruno, and Gretel followed the direction of the finger he was pointing and saw, emerging from a hut in the distance, a group of children huddled together and being shouted at by a group of soldiers. The more they were shouted at, the closer they huddled together, but then one of the soldiers lunged towards them and they separated and seemed to do what he wanted them to do all along, which was to stand in a single line. When they did, the soldiers all started to laugh and applaud them.

(page 37)

Your notes:

How does Boyne use language to hint at danger in this extract?

Boyne evoked a sense of awareness towards danger by using words to describe harsh actions such as 'shouted' and 'lunged'. Boyne also meticulously detailed the condition of the children such as being huddled together; signifying fear as they grouped together for support. Besides that, when Boyne illustrated the act of the children being forced to stand in a single line, I assume that this made the soldiers’ work easier of controlling them and not letting them being able to escape.