Essay 1 and analysis

I am the ploughman, telling the story to my friends in the pub. 

HEY guys.

Hey!

How is work at the moment?

It’s getting better.

That's good then but you will never guess what has happened. You know how we were told that king Minos was coming up with a way to get rid of that awful Minotaur?

Yes?

 Well he didn't even get rid of it. You know what he done? He tried to come up with a way to keep it trapped here. Some sort of trick, an erm... labyrinth I think he calls it. God knows what that even means but apparently it is some sort of maze that the Minotaur is stuck in. And you know that Daedalus?

The one who was in here the other week with his son?

Yeah, King Minos instructed him to build the trap. Surprisingly he did and then King Minos called for him and his son to be put in the trap with the Minotaur. To me that don’t sound fair at all does it?

No, definitely not. I mean he didn't deserve that but his son, he did not even do anything wrong.

I don't actually know if he did or not but that's what I thought anyway. Well, they got out. I have no idea how but they did. I suppose it would be because Daedalus knows his way about it. Anyways that's not even the end of it. It’s probably hard to believe but it got worse for Daedalus and especially his poor son Icarus.

What happened then?

Apparently they went to hide out on the beach for a while so King Minos didn't find them again. Then Daedalus had the strangest thought ever.

The strangest?... What was that then?

Actually, it might only be me who thinks that it is strange. Anyway he thought he would build wings!! How out of this world is that?  

That is pretty out of this world! 

No-one I know has ever thought about doing that never mind trying to do that. There is all sorts of things that could go wrong isn't there? 

Of course.

Things like hitting a bird and falling or flying for too long and the wings breaking and falling. Anyway back to what happened. It took them six weeks but the wings were finally done today. 

Today?

Yes, today! They used seagull feathers and bee's wax. Daedalus told Icarus not to fly too close to the sun as the wax would melt. Some say that Daedalus warned Icarus but some were not convinced. I for sure think he warned him. Icarus done what any young boy with wings would do, not listen to his dad of course. 

Oh no, I'm not sure i want to hear the rest of this...

Once up in the air the boy was far too excited and because he did not listen to his dad, he did exactly what he wasn't supposed to do. Before Daedalus knew it he could hardly see his son. Icarus had flown so incredibly high that his father was nothing but a small dot below him. 

oh no... 

Daedalus then saw feathers falling down towards him, one by one. Icarus had almost lost his feathers and started falling. He had flown too close to the sun and his wings had melted. 

Just like he wasn't supposed to do.

He fell with a huge wallop into the sea just along the road over there. It’s such a shame. The only things that came to the surface were a few feathers. The only ones left attached to him. Daedalus, well nobody knows where he is. 

I'm sure I heard someone say that he was planning to go to Sicily?

Well on the way here I saw one of the passing boats pulling that poor boy’s body out of the sea. And that's where i got told what had happened by one of my mams pals. I just can't believe that something so out of the world could happen right on our door steps.

Oh I know, It’s crazy.

It sure is.

Analysis

I have used many questions in this piece as this is how someone would normally try and fully explain a situation that has happened. This helps the listener to fully engage into the conversation and also helps them with remembering people or even just understanding the story. I have also tried to use assonance within this piece. This makes these small sections of the text hang together and flow better. It draws the attention to these parts and also helps the listener to be fully engaged in the conversation. This piece is written in colloquial language. This is suitable as this is how a ploughman would speak. They wouldn't speak in formal as that's not the social group they are in. This shows that the social group of the ploughman is relaxed and free flowing. I have also used minor sentences throughout this piece. This makes was used to try and set the scene a bit more. Using shorter sentences suggests that the ploughman is comfortable with his surroundings which he is.