Alex Rider Snakehead Sparknotes

I am reading Alex Rider: Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz and I am currently on page 383. In the events prior to the current state of the plot line, teenage spy and M16 agent, Alex, returns back from outer space after his most recent mission, which then results in Alex consequently having peace of mind after prolonged periods of intensive stress ; However, Alex’s situation takes a turn of events as the Australian agency, ASIS, requires him to take part in their latest operation codenamed Snakehead. In brief, Alex, along with his renowned godfather, Ash, must disguise themselves under the identities of Afghan refugees while simultaneously gathering intel on how the Snakehead, a southeastern gang, smuggles illegal immigrants into the borders of

Australia. In addition, Alex must remain discreet and not reveal any plausible info about himself whether it is physical or his own personal identity. Although relatively straightforward, the mission yields an unsuccessful outcome after Alex is dragged into undisclosed areas by the snakehead without Ash’s guidance, which then results in Alex consistently breaking into gunfights or quite possibly experiencing near-death plights. On the other hand, the snakehead completely separates Alex and Ash from contact after they are smuggled into the shipyards of Jakarta in Indonesia. The plot line later on reveals, however, that the malicious association of Scorpia, along with the Snakehead, were anticipating Alex’s encounter firsthand and were prepared to assassinate Alex as retaliation for previous skirmishes. As a result, Alex must turn his investigation away from the Australian border and liquidate Major Winston Yu, Scorpia executive officer and snakehead leader, before Yu detonates a bomb in the Pacific ocean that will result in the full-scale destruction of the western coast of Australia via an artificial tsunami. In this paper, I will be evaluating Anthony Horowitz’s use of suspense and foreshadowing within the novel’s plotline. I will also be connecting to an event in the story with my own personal experience.

After experiencing the rich storyline elements of Snakehead, one could otherwise conclude that the plot is satisfying and excellent due to various figurative devices that Anthony Horowitz utilizes throughout the novel.

In this particular case, the plot is satisfying particularly due to the presentation and buildup of suspense throughout the book and also due to the usage of foreshadowing of future events. In detail, Anthony Horowitz’s use a particular presentation of suspense in the manner of building up one’s urge to read more and then releasing the demand in a series of decisive events. In other words, Anthony Horowitz builds up such urgency in the reader by first presenting events that do not reveal many details other than the environment and the character actions, which leads to the reader wanting more action. In an example, such style is used when Alex first meets the Aussies at the barbecue. The Australians, who are SAS recruits, invite Alex to an afternoon barbecue at a beach after Alex meets up with ASIS. The men, however, act strangely during the gathering and command Alex to perform bizarre acts that one would simply not think of. Furthermore, the crew landed on a restricted military operation zone, which is off limits for non-military personnel. Secondly, the same style is brought about when Alex explores the cargo ship of Scorpia entirely by himself with only his thoughts and statements. And lastly, such suspense is built up when Alex is formulating a plan to escape the snakehead hospital alone and with no M16 assistance. Evidently, by describing the character's thoughts and environment, Horowitz creates a sense of urgency and vagueness within the reader that wants the full truth of the situation. Correspondingly, Horowitz releases the urgency that is built up within the reader by disposing of the vagueness in a series of petrifying events. In this situation, Horowitz releases the suspense that is built up within the barbecue scene by allowing the area

to be bombarded by several military practices and APCs. By doing so, Horowitz finally has an answer to the suspense that was built up previously. Equally important, Horowitz's result from the solo cargo exploration is for the crew to be alerted of Alex’s location. Which then results in a large scaled hide and seek chase. Finally, the urgency that is built within Alex’s mind of the escape is presented by Alex executing the events in a chain of distressful actions. All in all, Snakehead in part is satisfying due to the presentation of suspense within the plot, however, it is very much the same when it comes to the mass amounts of foreshadowing in the novel. In an illustration, Anthony Horowitz foreshadows in the storyline by omitting various details that leave an imprint on the reader’s mind. In an example, the first set of foreshadowing occurs when Ethan Brooke, ASIS head, mentions briefly and incomprehensibly about Ash who is unknown to the reader at the time of the quote. Similarly, Scorpia mentions about an object known as Royal Blue early on in the story, which is later revealed as a devastating bomb that will be used in order to create and artificial tsunami. Lastly, the last time the story partially reveals a character occurs when a mysterious photographer takes a photo of Alex in the city of Bangkok, yet it is not mentioned that the photographer is a Scorpia agent until much later on. In addition to omitting, Horowitz also presents foreshadowing in the novel by saving seemingly useless items for later. In the beginning example, a GPS capable beacon is placed in Alex’s sneaker for SAS practice; However, the beacon comes back into play later on when Alex uses the voltage within the beacon’s battery to provide his dead transmitting watch with energy, which allows Alex to contact M16 at the hospital. Also, Alex utilizes a seaplane that is moored into the lake of the hospital. Although the seaplane renders useless at first as Alex does not know how to fly, he later proves otherwise by morphing the plane into a raft for escape. And finally, foreshadowing is presented in Snakehead after Alex configures his handprint into the Royal Blue terminal, which proves useful after Alex uses his handprint to deactivate the bomb before an explosion occurs. In conclusion, Snakehead is satisfying due to the particular presentation of suspense within the novel and also due to the foreshadowing that Horwitz formulates carefully.

In constant scenarios throughout the plotline, Alex is in desperate situations that require him to take complete considerations of his options and circumstances. Similarly, I have also experienced various situations of such nature that require me to do actions beyond scope from other people; Therefore, I will be connecting my past experience to the experience of Alex Rider in Snakehead. Firstly, on Alex’s side of the connection, he is told that the Snakehead will be easy and simple to follow. To illustrate, Ethan Brooke mentions to Alex during the mission briefing that dressing up while staying in cover as an Afghan refugee is going to be simple and straightforward. In addition, Ethan Brooke also mentions that no further action will be required by Alex after the core intel is aggregated. On the contrary, however, both statements prove to be false after Alex’s identity is revealed to be compromised and exposed. On the other hand, Alex is required to deactivate Royal Blue before it detonates in the seabed and shifts the tectonic plates, resulting in an artificial tsunami towards Australia’s western coast. Likewise, my experience is similar in the sense that I was instructed by my peers that the task at hand would be simple and non-time consuming until I was proved otherwise. In brief, my friends and I, who immigrated from New York City, were playing an intense game of Test Cricket in an unwise location relative to the Sauk River and various neighborhood houses. In short, the match was playing out well until one of my friends hit a six on the ball which resulted in the sphere crashing into a skirt of land beyond the reach of the river, and although this may sound rather redundant, it should be noted that Indians take their game to the point of extremity and brutality; Therefore, I was commanded by my friends to wear my spare swimming trunks and help them fetch the ball across the river. Initially, I refused and was told by my peers that I was a crybaby for not swimming across a minuscule strip of water and that they do such actions all the time without hesitation. Overthrown by peer pressure, I went along with the act but regretted doing so in the midst. The current was unusually faster than I anticipated, and the water was cold to the point of death and hypothermia. Also, on top of everything, I was a relatively an inexperienced swimmer which lead to me lagging behind severely and nearly suffocating from the screams within my lungs. In the end, however, the swim was relatively short and we made a full trip back to the main grounds, but even so, just when I began to appreciate the fact that the rule of tyranny was over, the group realized that cricket ball had been snapped in half after one run of Cricket. In result, I had to take further action within the situation by biking to the nearby Walmart and buy mediocre tennis balls in order to continue the game. All in all, my situation is ultimately similar to Alex’s plight because he was told by his fellow agents that the situation at hand will be simple, easy, and free of risks. On the other hand, he is also told that there will be no need for him to take on further action, which in reality, could not be further away from the truth.