Brooklyn cop

• built like a gorilla but less timid 


  simile - implies he is primitive, powerful, perhaps lacking intelligence only has instincts purely of violence
• thick-fleshed, steak-coloured, with two hieroglyphs in his face


  metaphor - implying his complexion is red and raw, these words compare him to a bit of meat suggesting he is raw and uncompromising
• when he said "see you babe" to his wife, he hoped it, he truly hoped it


  repetition - shows his desperation and suggests that he is unable to take coming home for granted
• "hiya honey" is no cliche


  tone appears casual, chatty and upbeat however in relaity he can only hope to return at the end of the day
• should the tissue tear, should he plunge through into violence 


  alliteration- creates a quick phrase that implies a sudden and sharp pain
• he walks the sidewalk and the thin tissue over violence


  metaphor- violence is never far away in the streets and suggests that safety can be lost at any moment
• home is a place he might, this time, never get back to?


  rhetorical question - his situation is precarious and tone is sympathetic
• and who would be who have to be his victims?


  enjambment - feeling of distress and adds to the sense of inevitability