Essay and feedback

The writer potrays the toy box and its contents as mysterious, abandoned and dangerous. He uses the semantic field of time with "old", "long-ago", and "age", highlighting how long a time they have been here and forgotten by others, creating a sense of mystery aas we wonder why no one has gone near it for so long, creating the secretive imagery of the toy box. This is reinforced by the secretive imagery of the "Jack-in-the-box" being "buried beneath". The alliteration of the plosive sounds of "b" suggests Jack's box is being violently or painfully forced to be at the bottom. This is reinforced by the verb "buried" which implies it is abandoned and hidden by someone, perhaps because it is dangerous so needs to be "buried". The verb "buried" also connotes death, further emphasising its danger and life-threatening nature, adding to the sense of mystery and foreshadowing the danger it brings.

Furthermore, the writer potrays the toy box and its contents as violent, retricted and manipulated. There are "crippled mationettes with their strings irrevocably tangled". The noun "mariorettes" suggests that they are controlled by otehrs and have no freedom, perhaps evoking sympathy from us and adding to the sense of mystery. This is reinforced by the adjective "crippled" whcih implies someone violently damaged them, creating a sense of mystery as to who did that. The adjective "tangled" creates a chaotic image, further emphasising their lack of freedom and being trapped, building tension. The adverb "irrevocably" further emphasises its restriction, suggesting that this tangle is inescapable and also emphasising that they may have been trapped here for a long time. This builds up tension and the mysterious and dangerous imagery, making us feel worried about the danger that the children may be facing.