Examples Of Annotations

1) Throughout the passage, the author creates an obvious and overwhelming mood of fear, horror, and dread through descriptions, vocabulary, and literary devices. For example, when the passage says, "little ice-cold hand," it almost makes us feel like we are in a dream or the same state the narrator is in. An example of how the passage uses vocabulary to create these feelings or the story's mood is when the author uses the word tenacious, which allows us to feel the horror of the sound the protagonist hears. An example of the author using literary devices to create the mood is the phrase, "a most melancholy voice, sobbed,
'Let me in! let me in!'" This phrase allows us to feel the horror directly and establishes the mood for the rest of the story.

For example, the word "importunate" and the phrase "terror made me cruel" would be difficult to understand without context.  The word importunate in this passage describes the sound the protagonist is trying to silence. There are many other more familiar words with the same meaning, as importunate, such as the word persistent or unrelenting. Therefore, many readers don't encounter or fully understand the word importunate. Since we are provided context to this word, readers can better comprehend it. We know the definition of importunate, which is "persistently demanding attention or effort," is remarkably similar to the context because, in the story, the protagonist is trying to muffle the sound that is insistent and persistent. The phrase "terror made me cruel" may be perplexing without context readers. It is not understandable how fear can lead to cruelty. But within the passage's context, this could be described as the protagonist's behavior as they are confronted with a child's hand and imploring face. This phrase describes the influence of fear on behavior and thought and how the effect of fear can drive individuals to do something that may be regarded as cruel. The vocabulary choices used in the passage are not common, and many words, such as "obscurely" and "tenacious," cannot be fully understood without context.