How does Rawle create tension in this chapter? (Norma meeting Mr Hands)

Rawle has created tension in this chapter by using a combination of metaphors and dramatic irony and through the lexical and visual elements of the chapter in order to highlight the importance of this scene for Norma’s character evolution. Rawle describes Mr Hand’s home as ‘overcrowded’ and ‘filthy’, and Mr Hands as ‘a-fluster’ and in ‘distress.’ This description is clearly negative and hints to the results of the events to come. Rawle’s description of the situation Norma is in, provides the readers with the understanding that Norma misunderstood the kind of man Mr Hand’s is. Therefore the readers understand Norma is in a bad situation long before Norma does.  Norma’s narrative voice helps in showing that Norma is still unaware of the situation and further amplifies Norma’s character throughout the book as being naive and innocent. Following a remark from Mr Hands, Norma says to herself to she is going to maintain her ‘face of innocence,’ this use of dramatic irony shows her character to be very naive and unable to manage in situations such as this one and that she is still unaware of what real danger she is in. Later Norma says she is ‘fleetingly lost in the demanding role of being a woman.’ Norma, not actually a woman and just choosing to dress like one, makes this even more ironic because as a result of her innocence and sheltered life as she actually has no idea the difficulties of being a woman. This also hints to the situation after, which exposes her to one of the hardships of being a woman. Norma’s narrative voice and the use of irony therefore helped showcase Norma’s innocence by her lack of judgement, which builds tension for the readers aware of the danger of the situation. Finally the relationship between comedy and threat helps in-explicitly imply what is really happening in the situation – the uncertainty of this therefore creates tension. After Mr Hands makes an uncomfortable comment to Norma, Norma is described to ‘laugh with the ease of two children.’ This is reflected in the beginning scene of the novel, and the moment right before Norma dies. ‘The ease of two children’ implies Norma and Roy and therefore by referencing this, foreshadows that the situation Norma is in now will also not turn out well. Rawle’s use of metaphors such as  ‘Sausage meat’ and ‘rummaging through the merchandise as if he was in a bargain basement and everything was on sale,’ make descriptions of a situation thats threatening sound less by making them comedic. As a result, we as readers don’t fully understand what happened, and are only implied it, which therefore also builds tension in this scene.