Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A journey into Bhutan
By Jamie Zeppa
Genre: Memoir (a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge)
Purpose: to inspire people to travel and share personal her experience
Bhutanese vocabulary: The frequent use of Bhutanese vocabulary throughout the middle
and end, adds an authenticity to Zeppa’s writing. Her attempts at familiarizing herself with
this new country are reflected in the way that she integrates key words into her memoir. She
is making every effort to inform herself about its people, history and traditions. These new
words bring us closer to a vivid portrayal of a remote culture. It also forces us to embrace
the culture.
Title – metaphorical, It is derived from an expression of thankfulness in the Bhutanese
language, hyperbolic – sense of adventure/emphasises how remote it is and how far
Points for beginning:
She describes the geographical features of Bhutan - grabs the reader’s attention
She describes the long journey she had to make which emphasises how remote it is
She describes her first night
Quotes for beginning:
‘Mountains all around…’ – setting description creates an isolated environment, repetition
of ‘mountains’ emphasises the vast landscape and difference to where she lives
‘a giant child gathering earth’ ‘piling’ ‘pinching’ ‘poking’ – metaphor creates natural
imagery, the noun ‘child’ has connotations of innocence which creates a sense of innocence
around Bhutan, plosive sounds convey the harsh terrain
‘It took five different flights…’ – very rural + removed, listing emphasises isolation
‘I watch mountains rise to meet the moon’ – personification – sense of wonder
Structure for beginning: long sentences allow her to describe in detail and may reflect the
long journey she had to take to get there, listing, repetition
Points for middle:
The focus of the memoir shifts as she begins to describe Thimphu and its people
Quotes for middle:
‘slight and dark, with an impish smile’ – her admiration of the people of Thimphu is
exaggerated through her simplistic description of the Canadian girls as it juxtaposes her
detailed description of the Thimphu people
‘It doesn’t even have traffic lights.’ – short declarative sentence, surprised tone
‘onions, rice, tea…’ – asyndetic listing, semantic field of food and cutlery, reminds us that
Thimphu is not as removed from the rest of the world as we might think
‘very old’ ‘cracked sidewalks’ ‘faded paintwork’ – semantic field of poverty, unexcited tone
juxtaposes ‘a grand, whitewashed, red-roofed, golden-tipped fortress’ – asyndetic listing,
emphasises how small the town is, connotations of grandeur and wealth
By Jamie Zeppa
Genre: Memoir (a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge)
Purpose: to inspire people to travel and share personal her experience
Bhutanese vocabulary: The frequent use of Bhutanese vocabulary throughout the middle
and end, adds an authenticity to Zeppa’s writing. Her attempts at familiarizing herself with
this new country are reflected in the way that she integrates key words into her memoir. She
is making every effort to inform herself about its people, history and traditions. These new
words bring us closer to a vivid portrayal of a remote culture. It also forces us to embrace
the culture.
Title – metaphorical, It is derived from an expression of thankfulness in the Bhutanese
language, hyperbolic – sense of adventure/emphasises how remote it is and how far
Points for beginning:
She describes the geographical features of Bhutan - grabs the reader’s attention
She describes the long journey she had to make which emphasises how remote it is
She describes her first night
Quotes for beginning:
‘Mountains all around…’ – setting description creates an isolated environment, repetition
of ‘mountains’ emphasises the vast landscape and difference to where she lives
‘a giant child gathering earth’ ‘piling’ ‘pinching’ ‘poking’ – metaphor creates natural
imagery, the noun ‘child’ has connotations of innocence which creates a sense of innocence
around Bhutan, plosive sounds convey the harsh terrain
‘It took five different flights…’ – very rural + removed, listing emphasises isolation
‘I watch mountains rise to meet the moon’ – personification – sense of wonder
Structure for beginning: long sentences allow her to describe in detail and may reflect the
long journey she had to take to get there, listing, repetition
Points for middle:
The focus of the memoir shifts as she begins to describe Thimphu and its people
Quotes for middle:
‘slight and dark, with an impish smile’ – her admiration of the people of Thimphu is
exaggerated through her simplistic description of the Canadian girls as it juxtaposes her
detailed description of the Thimphu people
‘It doesn’t even have traffic lights.’ – short declarative sentence, surprised tone
‘onions, rice, tea…’ – asyndetic listing, semantic field of food and cutlery, reminds us that
Thimphu is not as removed from the rest of the world as we might think
‘very old’ ‘cracked sidewalks’ ‘faded paintwork’ – semantic field of poverty, unexcited tone
juxtaposes ‘a grand, whitewashed, red-roofed, golden-tipped fortress’ – asyndetic listing,
emphasises how small the town is, connotations of grandeur and wealth
