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Moon7296 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
interpretation
In the mid-1980s, as a panicky, sensitive freshman being systematically bullied and beaten by my jealous best friend, all I knew was that the act of exiting my home and pulling into the school entrance caused every last spark of energy within me to short circuit and drain from my body. And once "Elle," the name I'll use for my friend, learned to infiltrate the fortress of my home with strategically timed phone calls and wicked notes slipped in with the regular mail -- thank goodness the Internet wasn't yet available as an efficient conduit of cruelty -- summoning the strength to leave my bed consumed my allotment of will for the day.
I'm not sure how the underlined parts should be interpreted.
I think the last part can be shorted like this.(I cut some parts)
And once "Elle" learned to infiltrate the fortress of my home with strategically timed phone calls and wicked notes slipped in with the regular mail summoning the strength to leave my bed consumed my allotment of will for the day.
Q1)How is "summoning" connected? is it "...with the regular mail that summons the strength...?"
Q2) What about "consumed?" How is it connected to the sentence?
Is it "...to leave my bed that is consumed my....?"
I'm not sure how the underlined parts should be interpreted.
I think the last part can be shorted like this.(I cut some parts)
And once "Elle" learned to infiltrate the fortress of my home with strategically timed phone calls and wicked notes slipped in with the regular mail summoning the strength to leave my bed consumed my allotment of will for the day.
Q1)How is "summoning" connected? is it "...with the regular mail that summons the strength...?"
Q2) What about "consumed?" How is it connected to the sentence?
Is it "...to leave my bed that is consumed my....?"
Top answer
(The act of) summoning the strength (to leave my bed) is the grammatical subject of the verb consumed.
- (The act of) summoning the strength (to leave my bed) is the grammatical subject of the verb consumed.
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3 Answers
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(The act of) summoning the strength (to leave my bed) is the grammatical subject of the verb consumed.
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Summoning the strength to do something means gathering all your strength, willpower or courage to make an effort to do something.
Consumed means used up.
The writer is saying that it was very difficult for her to even get out of bed in the morning (because she knew her day would be miserable), and it took all her will power to do so,
Consumed means used up.
The writer is saying that it was very difficult for her to even get out of bed in the morning (because she knew her day would be miserable), and it took all her will power to do so,
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"Summoning" here means "collecting" or "gathering up." "Consumed" means "used up" or "depleted." That is, fearing the bullying that was sure to occur that day at school, the writer would dread leaving her bed in the morning. Leaving her bed required summoning up all her willpower, which would deplete all of her reserve of willpower that she had for the day.
The writer here is trying
The writer here is trying
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