Why does the author use each technique in the narrative?
How does each technique affect the pacing of the story?
Every time that headline from yesterday’s Los Angeles News flashed into her mind, MargaritaMaggieCruz gripped the steering wheel of her VW more tightly and assured herself that she was doing the right thing. It wasn’t as if she were in danger from the Greenston plant in the desert hundreds of miles away, but those headlines had been the convincing factor in her decision. Yes, it was the right thing to do, and hour after hour as she drove north of Los Angeles, she had felt more and more competent and more secure. Until now.
For the last hour she had been so intent on the changing countryside that she forgot to buy gas. The gauge said empty. She drove on, dreading the moment when the motor would draw on the last drop of gasoline and give up. She was driving on a narrow country road lined with tall eucalyptus trees and nothing else. Then in a clearing on the left side of the road, she saw a battered old sign with faded red letters: G-A-S. No, it wasn’t a mirage; it was more like a miracle. With a grateful sigh she turned into the run-down station, bumping over broken concrete and coming to a stop by one of two pumps.
A weary-looking old man in grease-spotted overalls appeared beside her. “Fill ‘er up?”
“Is it cheaper if I pump it myself?” It didn’t look as if he’d take a credit card and she was low on cash.
“All the same here, missy,” the man called, rounding the car. “Fill ‘er up?”
