Example:
The sentence: "Mrs. Goodwater
nodded, held up her hands, and there was silence."
Unpacked becomes: "Well, the auther calls her Mrs. Goodwater and not Clara to emphasize her position of authority over the audience. The fact that she nodded implies a positive emotional impact, rather than if she had shook her head or
frowned, which would have been negative. This explains that she is on friendly terms with the audience. Since the audience was not living in fear of her authority, they were not quiet immediately. Therefore she also had to hold up her hands, which means she was on the verge of becoming exasperated, and which is also an example of the author's use of
alliteration. But when she did that the audience became silent. Since the author used 'silent' instead of 'quiet,' or 'softer,' it shows that he meant every person had stopped talking and they all had their attention on Mrs. Goodwater."
"That's why I read books, not
English papers."