Stuewe 1

Bradley Stuewe

Mrs. Yeaton

Pre-AP English 10

23 April 2018

Dialectical Journals

Satirical Technique: Sarcasm

“He sat alone and confident and strong. His life was straight and fine. He had money enough for

brandy, and if you had that, you had the world.”

Goldman begins chapter 6 by describing the events of Indigo Montoya slowly falling into

the old routine of drinking and how that effects Montoya. The sarcastic tone Goldman uses while

narrating what comes to Montoya creates the understanding that even though the drinking was

benefiting Montoya at the time, it was actually an awful idea that could cause a large amount of

pain in the future. Goldman uses this to show how drinking is never a solution in real life and

only leads to more misery and anger. “He was suddenly back to what he had been before Vizzini

had found him. A failure” While coming to this thought, Montoya decides to suddenly give up

sobriety and drink away his sorrows. After Indigo drinks for sometime, he slumps down and

passes out, “All he had to do is wait and drink until Vizzini came…” Montoya therefore became

dependent on others which ties into the message Goldman is delivering by showing the effects of

drinking.

Literary Device: Tone

“The soldiers could not stop her, and the old woman kept coming on, her voice getting louder

and louder and Louder! And LOUDER! and LOUDER! and- Buttercup woke up screaming. She
 Stuewe 2

was in her bed. Alone. Safe. The wedding was still sixty days away. But her nightmares had

begun.”

This section of the story comes after Buttercup, in what seemed like reality, wanted to

walk among the people for the last time before she became Queen. While walking, an elderly

woman proceeded to boo her and kept on booing. When Buttercup approached and confronted

the lady, the old woman told her she was “Not worthy of cheers.” Buttercup wondered why but

the old lady criticized her for leaving Westley for riches and royalty. The overall tone of this

section is very eerie and frightening when Goldman reveals that Buttercup was just dreaming due

to the fact that the scene was so dramatic and revealed many things about how Buttercup truly

felt. After Buttercup awakes, Goldman says, “She was in her bed. Alone. Safe.” This means that

Buttercup felt safe while alone which contributes to the eerie tone that she was alone.

Open-Ended Discussion Questions:

1. Both Buttercup and Westley’s strength was being tested in chapter 6, in what ways were

their struggles similar and how were they different?

2. In her dream, why do you think Buttercup would want to walk with the people one more

time before becoming Queen?