Part one of term paper
McBain aims to lead the reader into the bleak litter-strewn environment of a crowded American slum with its inherent threat of violence. Two dominating forces, Heat and July, established in the first two words, emerge as double personifications, prostitutes, in the first paragraph, their brazen ‘vengeance’, strutting insolently, ...

Part two of term paper
... air is tangible’ personifies the air, giving it purpose in its drab surroundings, and along with the onomatopoeic ‘sticky’ and ‘clinging’, conveys a sense of desolation. McBain then focuses on the visual ‘nastiness’, spraying sensory feelings throughout the next four lines, ‘off-white brilliance’, ‘light that is dizzying’ and ‘shimmer of blue’, all bring with them feelings of intense light, and a harsh, unnat ...