Q. What is the significance in the ways in which writers use the pinnacle?

1. 2. Synaesthesia Intense description of the birthing scene, using animalistic language and imagery. Barry vividly relates to touch and sound – ‘the storm swelled up and howled and howled’ and ‘my child also swelled… and howled out in miniature’; repitition and relating to the storm means that Roseanne cannot go through a storm without feeling the same sensory pull to her son. • Introduction • Syntheasthesia • Sudden revelations • withholding catharsis Thematic conclusion Dichotomy evident between positive and negative; ‘she may be disappointed with me as a son, as being not sufficient recompense for all her travails’, p307 Irish vs English Entrapment vs Liberation Belonging vs Alienation Q. What is the significance in the ways in which writers use the pinnacle? 3. Sudden revelations Compared to the majority of the narrative, crucial information comes thick and fast – much like the sudden birth of Roseanne’s son. Even at beginning of c21, ambiguity and tension is still being built up – ‘at the end of the day she is ‘just another patient’ – before the wildly sudden plot twist of the novel. Four dinki are used to fragment the narrative further, in order to hold off the revelations until they are all together 3. Withholding catharsis ‘My main thought is, let her be.’ Evident from the salutations in C20 – ‘dear reader, God, Dr Grene’ – Roseanne was already aware of the symbiotic connection between her and her son. The reader knows that both characters are aware of the connection but neither address it directly, thus holding back on the emotional release the reader is seeking.