Greatness Strikes Where it Pleases/Daughters of the Late Colonel

Figurative Language to convey creation.

Daughters of the Late Colonel:
"Josephine had had a moment of absolute terror at the cemetery, while the coffin was lowered, to think that she and Constantia had done this thing without asking his permission. What would father say when he found out? For he was bound to find out sooner or later. He always did. 'Buried. You two girls had me buried!' She heard his stick thumping. Oh, what would they say? What possible excuse could they make? ... She heard him absolutely roaring, 'and do you expect me to pay for this gimcrack excursion of yours?'"

I thought this passage was really interesting because I know a girl who had a relationship like this with her dad. He was also a colonel and she was absolutely frightened to do anything wrong in his presence. If this passage were about anything other than her father's death, it would be commonplace in a relationship like that. Because it's about the colonel being buried however, I thought it was really funny that Josephine was still locked in the mode of thinking that father would find out that they had done something for him wrong and punish them for it. The problem is, he won't ever find out because he's dead. I also understand how a father like this would be absolutely furious about paying for something he didn't support like a "gimcrack excursion" that the girls would do. It is quite expensive to have someone buried, but it still makes me laugh to think that this is exactly what his reaction would be if he were still alive.

figurative language to convey creation-- that's really good! you are on to something. excellent thinking! I'd like to hear how you arrived at this.

your experience of a friend w a father who was a colonel helps you understand what's going on in this passage. It is funny, even absurd, because the daughters are locked in (as you say) to a certain way of thinking, despite the change that has occurred. This passage really illustrates the extent of their father's domination of their lives.

This passage conveys the father's domination over their lives. This is shown by the way they are terror-struck when they realize that they have done something without his permission.They are so stuck in the mindset of this domination that Josephine can actually hear her father yell: 'Buried. You two girls had me buried!' They've always been small in the shadow of their father and never really had any say in matters, even those that have to do with them. I can see that in the way she can hear father roar about not wanting to pay for something that his daughters did without his permission. Aside from the domination of mind portrayed in this passage, there is also a sort of humor in the nature of the event. All of his responses are funny to me because he is kind of being an impossible speaker about himself. What makes this possible is that this speech is all in Josephine's head, which furthermore captures the fear she has of her father.

LEit, all that you say in this response is true, but you are not grappling with the text itself, which is the point of this exercise. Need to examine the language of the passage itself and see whether it can make your point for you. For example, see Sarah's response to same passage. The task is more analytical than paraphrasing. Keep trying! You are on the right track and you understanding of the reading is clear.