Commentary

1. ”I’ve neglected the warnings of my lord the stomach too long.”

The seemingly jocular reference to the stomach shows Dick’s desire to cheer himself up, his attempt at putting down his eye trouble to indigestion, at fighting his growing fear.

2. Dick saw the face as it hurried out into the street.

An instance of metonymy. Speaking of the face that hurried out into the street Kipling means the man whose face really impressed Dick. The use of metonymy here draws attention to the expression of the man’s face, the expression that caught Dick’s eye and gave rise to a new wave of fear.

3. Many people were waiting their turn before him.

Note the transitive use of the verb “to wait”. This is rather a rare case. Commonly the verb “to wait” is used intransitively with the preposition “for”.

4. “That’s idolatrous bad Art,” he said, drawing the book towards himself. “From the anatomy of the angels, it has been made in Germany”.

The binding and the illustrations of the Christmas-carol book revealed bad taste and God-worship. The manner of painting the bodies of the angels (sentimental and photographic) was that of the German school.

5. The doctor wrapped himself in a mist of words.

Again the whirl of words…

In these sentences we come across the stylistic device known as the metaphor.

* Catherine-wheels – rotating fireworks

** dorglums – here evidently stands for “doggie”

In the present selection one comes across the metaphorical use of verbs:

The doctor wrapped himself in a mist of words.

…a man cannoned against him.

And nouns:

Again the whirl of words…

…a mist of words.

The images created by these metaphors accentuate the fact that the doctor tried to escape telling Dick the tragic truth. He enveloped it in a stream of words called upon to cloak the true meaning of what awaited Dick—the loss of his sight.

6. “frontal bone”, “optic nerve”, “mental anxiety”.

The introduction of medical terms into the narration creates the atmosphere of a doctor’s consulting-room.

7. Many sentences were pronounced in that darkened room, and the prisoners often needed cheering.

Another instance of the metaphorical use of nouns could be observed here (sentence, prisoner). These words are commonly associated with the court of justice, not with the doctor’s consulting-room. Their use in this context stresses the hopelessness of Dick’s position. The word “verdict” used above plays the same role.

8. “One cannot ascertain the extact amount of injury inflicted by the sword-cut.”

Note a vast difference in the vocabulary used by the doctor and by Dick. A careful selection of dry unemotional terms characterizes all the doctor’s remarks. Professional coolness and indifference of a successful practitioner are felt beyond his measured speech. It is all the more evident, as contrasted with Dick’s informal emotional utterances: “Verdict?” “What do you make of it?” etc.