Exam Practice Paper 1 Question 2: Road to Quoz, An American Mosey

     In Roads to Quoz, An American Mosey, the author reflected on his past travels to a village called Little Lanesboro. He began writing the memoir by giving background information about the lifestyle and then explained his story as if the reader was there in real-time. The writing is in the past tense as it was written about a previous excursion in which Heat-Moon and his wife “Q” undertook. The text was written in chronological order which gives a timeline of the story. This provides the reader with a guide and clearly discusses the events of the account. 

Furthermore, this work is written in first-person as it includes words like “my,” “me,” and “I.” By writing this piece in first-person rather than second or third-person, the reader is able to observe the story from the perspective of the author like when Heat-Moon “expected the customary, personal archive…” This gives the reader a piece of mind and this, in turn, adds to the level of personalness. Personal pieces can be more engaging with the audience, keeping them more attentive. 

During the story, Heat-Moon visited a country store and when explaining what his “fare” is or what he is going to order, Heat-Moon addressed the various names that sub sandwiches are also called. By mentioning how “people may call it a zeppelin,” a “hoagie,” a “bomber,” or a “grinder,” the author presented additional background information as to where in rural America he and his wife were visiting. He also showed how language can be so different even within the same country. Moreover, he broached about how “shaken milk is to a milk shake.” This demonstrates a prime example of how language can be altered and developed in the simplest of ways. 

The author continued to mention numerous ingredients such as “stuffed green peppers, banana peppers, pepperoncini, pimiento olives, Greek olives, sliced olive, sliced tomatoes, chopped lettuce, two kinds of sharp cheese,” “black pepper,” and “olive oil and vinegar.” Heat-Moon touched upon the workers at the “old village-grocery.” He described the family’s work and commented that the “fifth generation [is] soon to enter the throng of Planet Earth.” As a throng is a large group of people, this was a poetic and abnormal way of saying that a newborn was on the way. Most people would acknowledge that one of the workers was pregnant. On top of that, Heat-Moon described the family as very friendly and informative. The use of new and old technology, in the form of the historical pamphlet and Sarah’s laptop, is symbolic of the past and the future. By discussing the variety of available ingredients and family-owned businesses, the author reinforces a nostalgic take on country stores and a small-town way of life that is “diminishing across America.”

In addition, the author is informed of the “recept irruption” that “Old Man Susquehanna” made through the town. The work uses a metaphor to compare the river similarly to a person as it says that it entered the village “with neither invitation nor a wiping of his feet," and how it was "slipping into parlours to leave behind mud and stink.” This personification contributes to the imagery within this piece, providing the reader with a better visual of the situation. The unwanted river flooded the town, destroying its hotel. Afterwards, the village looked like a “mere collection of several houses” which exhibits how small and unurbanized the rural area was. The language near the end of the excerpt emits a saddening and despair-like feeling. This atmosphere is very different from the start of the piece. The beginning of the excerpt was very slow, relaxed, and anti-climactic, representing the word choice of “Mosey” in the title.