How Does The Author Create A Sense Of Empathy In The Rattler

When in times of danger, people must often take the actions they see best fit. In "The Rattler," the author depicts a vivid story of a man who has to make a difficult choice while facing a rattlesnake in the desert. Although the man sees a threat in the snake, it is him that becomes a threat to the other. By using the descriptions of the man, the snake and the specific setting, the author affects the reader by creating a sense of empathy for the narrator and sympathy for the snake. With such a connection it adds a greater depth to the story for the reader to analyze.

To begin with, the sense of empathy for the man is formed by including his point-of-view and a description of his character. One of the first examples of these techniques is when

Rather than portray the rattlesnake as a vicious and offensive creature many associate them as, the author chooses to highlight a different side: a rational and defensive one. From the beginning, the man often explains how less threatening and more cautious the snake’s actions were. In their first encounter, the man describes that the snake “held his ground in calm watchfulness [and] was not even rattling yet.” For whatever reason the snake continues to remain calm, this is more of a rational approach to assessing a threat by choosing to see what the man will do next. The author most likely chooses to show the snake’s characteristics as such so it can be considered when debating the decision of taking his life. When faced with the man preparing to kill him, it is then that the snake becomes defensive by signaling with a rattling that “he would have no choice” but to kill the man if he continues the threat. Once again this action can show how reasonable the snake is by warning the man instead of immediately defending himself by attacking. With this the readers are left to reevaluate if the final decision of the man to kill the snake is the right thing to do. Although the snake holds his composure for most of the passage, he does fight for his life against the man only to lose. In his last moments the snake “struck passionately once more at the

The author does so by having the setting and the events starkly contrast one another and the earliest example is in the very beginning. To start the story, the passage opens with the description of the desert stating, “Light was thinning; the scrub’s dry savory odors were sweet on the cooler air.” The story starting off with such a relaxing scenery makes it is surprising when the events following the description contrast it, which are the man coming across the deadly snake and killing it. From the details in the beginning, the readers get a background to imagine that can intensify the violent actions occurring and can strengthen any accompanying feelings. Additionally, the detail of the “close green guardian-ship of the paper-bag bush” also serves as an important aspect of the setting to produce emotional effects. Although it is only another part of the desert, by the man using it to lay the snake’s body to rest, it becomes a symbol of his grave and also serves to hide the body discreetly in the once “pleasant” setting. To end the story, the author uses the setting again to close similarly to how it starts. What the narrator says to finish the passage is that he sees the snake’s body as “sinuous and self-respecting in departure over the twilit sands.” After reading this ending, the audience gets one final reminder that grisly incidents can happen even