An American Childhood Annie Dillard Analysis

Annie Dillard, author of "An American Childhood" and Luis Rodriguez, author of "Always Running" describe dramatic encounters with unique writing strategies and styles. The reader can identify other similarities and differences throughout their stories-as well as their use of sentence structure and verbiage to aid the dramatism. In the article, "An American Childhood", Dillard builds suspense and uses the element of surprise by giving only small bits of information at a time; the reader obviously knows that there will be two outcomes of the chase, either being caught or getting away; but as the story progresses, the reader can never be too sure, which is creating the suspenseful uncertainty and thrill. The story takes off when the group of children throw a snowball at a man 's car. When the snowball misses their target, which is the man 's Buick and hits the his face instead, he steps out of the vehicle running towards them in fury. Running for their lives, each time the children take a short cut through a backyard or a gap in the hedges to have a chance at escape, the reader assumes the man is going to give up, only to be surprised through each short cut he is determined to not give up until the children are caught.
In "Always Running", where Dillard does not, Rodriguez uses dialogue and relatability to some readers to make his narrative dramatic. Tino and Luis, two 10-year-old boys, trespass after-hours into a closed basketball court for a game. Luis is reluctant to