now also lying in the sand. Sneer emphasizes the superior attitude of the ruler. Read means that the sculptor has seen these passions in the real Ozymandias and now has embodied them in the visage. The pedestal is the base of the statue where the legend is written. Despair means that other rulers should feel fear and know that they are outmatched. Boundless emphasizes how far from all civilization this statue is to be found, with only sand stretching off into the distance.
1. The "conspiracy of shame" shows how poor these people are that they live in such a small place that the men and women must agree to dress in the same room and not watch one another. Their morning routine is to waken, dress, give thanks, and eat breakfast before going their separate ways, all while trying to create an illusion of privacy. The scene shows how difficult their living conditions are and that they can do nothing about them except to accommodate one another.
2. Bigger is a young man who would like to help his family but who cannot, and this creates anxiety in him and makes him thin he hates them because he believes himself to be a failure who can do nothing for them. His sassiness is a cover for his seine of failure, and so is his denial of self and his touch act. Bigger's sassiness comes through in his dialogue, as when he says, "You done told me that a thousand times." The reason comes from the narrator, as in lines 129 to 130.
3. The mother wants Bigger to get a job because the family needs the money, but she also wants Bigger to make something of himself. She says someday he will wake up and regret his life. She is as worried about his sense of self and his future as she is about the needs of the family.
1. The novel opens with the sound imagery of an alarm clock going off. This is effective as a representation of the family coming awake. It is also a wake up call to the reader. Other sounds follow--the sound of the clock g...