Henry Shute's novel Farming It is set at the turn of the twentieth century and relates the experiences of a lawyer
who decides to try living and farming in the country. In this
excerpt from the chapter The Shower,' the lawyer
describes what happens when a thundershower comes to
How does the author's description of the period
before the storm impact the development of the
story?
town.
It makes the events seem more exciting by
predicting an even bigger storm that is still to
come.
Excerpt from Farming It
by Henry A. Shute
It makes the events seem more dramatic by
providing a contrast between the seemingly lifeless
town and the very active weather.
A blaze of sunlight, a yellow gleam of dusty
haad, a brown expanse of parched and dying
lawns, of drooping leaves, a dry filing of
crickets in the hayfields, and a bank of
purple-black clouds rising rapidly in the
west...
It makes the events seem more unsettled by
offering a glimpse of the frantic preparations being
made for the storm's arrival.
On the main business street the sun blazes
with an oven-like heat. Under the shade of
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It makes the events seem more perilous by
foreshadowing the great damage done by the
storm.