The passage feet by Seamus Deane is about a childs view on an unfortunate event

in his life where his sister is living, or in words that more accurately represent reality,
suffering, her last moments. She is dying from a deadly strain of Meningitis, a new
sickness at the time. There is an element of vulnerability that arises in this passage as
the relatives of Una are shown to be of lower class who have little disposable income
to be concerned about hygiene and so are powerless to this disease and the suffering it
brings along with it.
The passage is set in September 1948, around two years after the official ending of
World War II; the influence of World War II on the general public is explored through
a repetitive listing of diseases which may have come to the surface due to chemical
warfare.
The main themes discussed in this extract are those of childhood innocence, poverty
and destiny. The passage is narrated through the eyes of a child who makes
metaphorical connections to his world of fantasy. The true seriousness of meningitis is
not understood as the narrator seemingly mocks it through repetition of its
consequences. Poverty is an important theme that sets the tone of this passage and is
seen through the quality of clothes and apparel worn by members of the family. The
theme of destiny is present as the message that one cannot escape their fate and death
is evident.
Ambiguity in meaning is introduced in the very title of the passage to imitate a
childish attitude. The noun-title feet is childlike as it is ambiguous in meaning. It
could be simply describing what he is seeing from under the table or it could hold
blatant connotations such as the true socio-economic condition the family is in as the
noun feet describes the very bottom.
The theme of poverty is first introduced by describing the belongings of the family.
The concrete noun-phrase plastic tablecloth hung has negative connotations as it
portrays an image of desperation through the dynamic verb hung. The pre-modifier
plastic is used to emphasize the theme of poverty as plastic is normally associated
with cheap, low quality products. The child and his relatives, due to their poverty,
seem to lack identity as the visual imagery I could only see their feet suggests that
they are at the bottom of the social hierarchy. It also shows that the main character is
hiding under a table in a very uncomfortable manner.
A childs perspective is introduced as the narrator hides under a table - a place where
he feels comfort as he does not have to directly face the harsh reality of his sister
dying. From here he describes his sights and explains his opinions. The constrictive
modal verb could in the simple sentence I could only see their feet shows how the
child is restricted and limited to being under the table by his fears of panic amongst
the adults. The idea of fear in the heart and mind is further emphasized by the verb
phrase I was so crunched up as it is an imagery of someone hiding and protecting
themselves. The adverb of manner so exaggerates the situation and is typical for
children to utilize such language, thereby developing the theme of childhood
innocence. The verb phrase crunched up portrays fear and denial of his sisters
eventual death as he tries to hide himself from the cruel reality. The dog Smoky can
be seen to be a representation of the narrators thought and emotions and so whatever
happens to Smoky, happens to the narrator. The dynamic verb whimpering
describes the fright being faced by both the collie dog and the narrator as they see

their sister slowly and painfully die from a disease for which there is no cure. The
reality seems to be ignored almost completely as the child makes acute observations
of his surroundings. Smoky is also described by the dynamic verb quivering which
shows how the fear and imbalance in the household is felt even by the dog who
literally trembles despite not being able to actually understand English which
magnifies the loudness and extremity of the panic. No minor details are over looked,
as already in the first paragraph we can smell the plastic of the tablecloth, hear the
deafening voices of the adults and sympathize with the whimpering dog.
The theme of childhood innocence is explored through the behaviour of the narrator
as he describes his experiences. The fact that the narrator could make out very little
of what they were saying shows that he cannot comprehend the commotion. To him,
the panic-stricken conversations do not matter or even make sense. To him, their
communication is merely noise which he rather not hear. The simple sentence I
became deaf to their words and alert to their noise once again shows how the child
does not understand the shouting and screaming being done by adults and just
considers it to be sounds he does not like.
The human-animal connection between children is particularly evident as this
reintroduces the theme of childhood innocence. The subordinate clause [Smoky] he
came to huddle himself on me shows how the dog and the narrator feel comforted in
the roughest of times when they are together. The simple declarative sentence He felt
the dread too. reinforces the idea that the dogs actions are a representation of the
feelings of the narrator. Smoky and the narrator are emotionally bonded. The dog is
the link to happiness in testing times for the narrator as it is seen a dog, which here
represents the young narrator, knows no evil or jealousy or discontent.
In the second paragraph, the complete focus is given to Una, the narrators younger
sister as she lives her last moments beside her family members. The one word
declarative minor sentence Una. grabs the spotlight from everything else and here it
is shown how sorrowful he truly is. It highlights her value to the family and especially
to the narrator. He is in denial of Unas foreshadowed death as he repeats her name
time and time again. The unfairness of life is portrayed through how the narrator feels
prejudiced as his younger sister is being stolen from him. The comparative younger
conveys an image of fragility and connotes the idea of how life can be taken from an
individual in such a short period of time. His language is not at all emotive but he
indirectly gets across a very emotional tone as the reader can comprehend with his
lack of proper understanding. He has a matter of fact attitude as he declares She was
going to die after they took her to the hospital. He seems to be dictating a panicstricken scene but does not realize the true sensitivity of the matter as he uses
insensitive dynamic verbs such as clumping to describe the ambulance men rushing
Una into the hospital. He simply cannot accept the condition of his younger sister and
is in complete denial.
The childlike perspective is explored in further depth by focusing on the little objects
and colours the narrator notices and gets amused by. For example, the red handles,
glossy shoes and shiny black shoes. The colour red is often associated with blood
and so this attention to detail on bright, attractive colours shows that the narrator does
not really understand the foreshadowing of painful death. The colour black is repeated
to also foreshadow death and agony. Short, simple subordinate clauses are listed to
give us details of surroundings which gives a sense of immediacy and excitement.

There is a metaphoric comparison of Unas physical health to a sunken fire. The

negative imagery is a foreshadowing of the pain and pressure she is feeling and
invites sympathy in an indirect manner. The pre-modifier sunken is as if life is
slowly fading and diminishing. This childlike view also brings out the raw poverty
within which this family lives in as the child notices linoleum which is a cheap
form of flooring.
Meningitis, a deadly disease, is isolated amongst all else to shows its significance.
The simple sentence This was a new illness puts importance on the real devastation
meningitis can cause, especially amongst the poor due to lower sanitation standards.
There is slight ambiguity in this as the question of how the disease has formed. Could
the disease be due to the effects of the prolonged chemical warfare that ended only
two years ago? Or could the disease be due to poor sanitation and health standards
rooting from little disposable income amongst the poorer families in society? The
ambiguity creates more and more tension as it become clear that Una has no chance of
survival. The theme of childhood innocence is revisited as the child is obviously
amused by the names of diseases as he says I loved the names and lists diseases
before relating them, through the literary technique of tripling, to celebrities: Italian
footballers or racing drivers or opera singers. The lack of hatred, disgust and fear
towards the other diseases shows his lack of knowledge and inexperience. Modal
verbs such as couldnt are used to describe how trivial a particular disease is
perceived to be to show how innocent and nave he truly is. The severity of diseases
are often judged by the words pronunciation. For example, mumps is deemed not
frightening and so is diphtheria. The repetition But this was a new sickness really
emphasizes the seriousness of the disease and the fear it brings in the minds of even
the most innocent and ignorant children. Meningitis seriousness is judged by the fact
the you had to bite on to say it. It shows meningitis to be harsh and merciless just
because it is hard to say. The auxillary had makes his judgements apply to one and
all just because he personally has to bite on it to say it which is characteristic of
young and nave children. The siblance in the cacaphonic noun hiss further
emphasizes the fatality of the disease as the abstract noun hiss has negative
connotations of a snake which shows how the disease can sneak up on even the most
healthy and no one is safe from it.
Serious symptoms are described in a very fun and amusing manner to develop the
theme of childhood innocence. The simile Unas eyes were wideningas if helium
were pumping into them shows that the only way he can understand the slow death
of Una is as though shes filling up with a gas, one that very easily amuses children,
as if she were a balloon. It is ironic that helium balloons are merely toys which are
meant to make children happy and joyful but in this case, it is used to describe a
young girls slow and painful death. The modal verb would in the simple sentence
They [eyes] would burst shows him to be applying his balloon example to a serious,
real life situation where death is eventual. The pain Una has to endure in her final
moments is also described by a metaphor as the narrator says pure helium pain. The
plosive alliteration symbolizes the severity and has a childlike tone to it to emphasise
the theme of childhood innocence.
The attention to detail shown by the child helps develop the theme of poverty in
detail. Uncle Dan and Uncle Tom had identical shoes, heavy and rimed with mud
and cement showing them to of lower working class. Construction workers live a
rough life with few financial rewards causing them to be the most vulnerable when it

comes to sicknesses like Meningitis. Knowledge claims are posited such as the fact
that Dan was higher up in the corporate hierarchy than Tom and so his shoes were
cleaner. The narrator then goes into explaining excitedly his stories of his childhood,
for example when he had to reach right into a bucket to find a lock. He delves into
his happy memories of getting his hands dirty as the slick oil swarmed down his
skin. The siblance personifies the oil and is as if the child is in his own fantasy world.
He loves the experience as he describes how he saves himself and metaphorically
converts his human hand into a bright oatmeal sleeve. Paralinguistic features are
described in detail to allow the reader to know that the narrator is just a playful and
innocent child. He sprinkled handfuls of sawdust onto his hands showing him to be
very energetic, playful and obviously childlike. The exaggeration in the noun
handfuls shows his excitement in getting himself dirty and dusty.
The focus shifts suddenly and jumps from one person to another - accurately
depicting the thought trains of young children as excitement overcomes their
rationality. He watches his mothers and fathers feet the most which shows his love
and affection towards his parents. The superlative most shows how, to a child, only
immediate family matters. Then, he begins describing his mother who is a symbolism
of poverty as herself and her apparel, both are not in good physical state. The fact that
her low heels needed mending and her feet were always swollen shows the
hardships a lower class member of society often has to go through. The compound
words cough-crying is emotive as it shows that the mother is trying to keep her
family strong by not crying. It shows her supportive nature.
The constantly changing tenses show how the child does not realize the seriousness
and is just so excited to share his experiences and ideas. His priorities are different to
those shown by adults as throughout the passage he jumps from idea to idea. When
the tenses swap between the present to the past and back to the present, a sense of
immediacy is given as the narrator delves into his own childhood stories.
A melancholy atmosphere is built up through the use of relatively short, simple
sentences which increase the pace of the extract in the last paragraph. A very matterof-fact tone is used to describe Unas death but it is still evident that the boy misses
her presence as he lists her positive characteristics and features such as her great
smile. The siblance Smoky shook represents the pain of loss faced by the young
narrator. The pathetic fallacy autumn air darkening symbolizes an end of life, as
autumn is a symbol of ageing. The personal affection and grief of loss is described by
the short subordinate clause of a simple sentence younger than me. This shows how
life is perceived to be unfair as the fragility of life is shown by the death of a young,
innocent girl in a very fast-paced manner. The child is in denial as he tried to imagine
her not there to forget her so that he doesnt have to endure the pain of loss and even
asks rhetorical questions such as Wouldnt she miss us? with the modal verb
wouldnt showing his childhood innocence as he believes she is still able to feel
emotions.