The short story “What Happened During the Ice Storm” utilizes two major literary elements; one of which expresses a current social issue. The author, Jim Heynen, employes allegory and imagery to represent charity and self-sacrifice. Imagery is often used in this short story to create a somber tone, for instance “most animals were safe… But not the pheasants” and ”The boys stood still in the icy rain. Their breath came out in slow puffs of steam.”
Gary Paulsen's unique and descriptive style of writing creates a vivid image to the reader through his simple word choice. Although his writing may seem simple, he creates an idea in the reader's mind that seems as though the reader is actually living in the short story Winter. By doing this, the reader is further engaged in the story. Paulsen creates an imaginary idea of the story for the reader of what life on the farm in the beginning of winter feels like, which engages the reader to read on. Paulsen’s vivid description creates an idea for the reader, of what it must be like it listen to Uncle David’s Stories.
With the use of imagery, Gary Paulsen shows us that the outdoors is unpredictable. Furthermore, with the help of description, the reader can experience what it's like being in Gary Paulsen's shoes without going through the cruel, frigid temperatures and gruesome deaths. Finally Paulsen can change the mood with his words faster than you can say WOODSONG! While nature is also mesmerizing, it can still surprise you with memorable casualties that can cause an unanticipated turn. Paulsen starts off by taking us to "a grandly beautiful winter morning, the
David Laskin’s The Children’s Blizzard explains the devastating force of an intense blizzard, which caught several people unprepared, and it tells the tragic stories of these people. On January 12, 1888 a massive blizzard struck the center of North America, killing between 250 to 500 people and affecting thousands. There were many factors that made this blizzard exceptionally deadly. Many farmers and children who were outside were unprepared to deal with any cold conditions, “a day when children had raced to school with no coats or gloves and farmers were far from home doing chores they had put off during the long siege of cold” (Laskin 2).
The authors words give a feeling of looming death in this scene, and puts that in a brutally cold winter
The three similarities between “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowing Evening” and “Four Skinny Trees” are the theme, the speakers’ emotions, and the focus on nature. However, they also have differences, which is the setting, who they are, and the purpose in nature.
Their use of compare and contrast lets them effectively explain the difference between their experiences and those around them. Using these modes of rhetoric both writers are able to communicate a common theme of being or fearful of what the future holds for them. The fact that there is a common theme between these two essays shows that messages can transcend time, works of literature and experiences. Narration is most commonly used to tell a story. Both writers use narration to tell their stories and by doing so make them more personal.
When one thinks of nature, the first thoughts that may come to mind are bright flowers, green landscapes, and endless beauty. However, in the short story “Snow”, written by Frederick Philip Grove, readers learn that nature will stand down to no man and can take lives in the blink of an eye. In short, this tale is about a man, Redcliff, who goes missing in the middle of a blizzard and is eventually found dead, leaving behind, a widow and family depending on him. He is found by a group of three men: Abe, Bill, and Mike who recovers his body and in the end, breaks the tragic news to the family.
Details, such as the “wild weather” and “cold sky” (62), form the basis of this foreboding tone. In learning that “[t]he wind warbled wild as it whipped from aloft” (62), the audience’s feelings of uneasiness about what is to come grow. Furthermore, the personification of weather as an antagonistic force allows for the description to have more of a
In the middle of the poem she recounts, “or the storm that drives us inside / for days, power lines down, food rotting” (Trethewey 4-5). Trethewey opens up a new stanza with describing the storm that forces her family into the house for days, then moves to describe all the damage the storm has done outside and to her family. The storm has knocked down power lines and created rotting food for her family. Moreover, Trethewey ends the poem in the same structure, “why on the back has someone made a list / of our names, the date, the event: nothing / of what’s inside – mother, stepfather’s fist?”
Rich 's "Storm Warnings" has more than one meaning. One being literal, and another being metaphorical. The literal meaning of the poem is that there is an impending storm, and the author is anticipating and preparing for the storm to come. The metaphorical meaning of the poem is the author is suffering from an emotional storm. The literal and metaphorical meanings of the poem are shown to be similar when Rich writes, "Weather abroad and weather in the heart alike come on regardless of prediction.
Carver’s opens his story with a brief, yet detailed imagery describing the weather and comparing it to what’s going on with the family inside. “Early that day the
From my perspective, I believe that both stories show us that no matter what bad situation you are in there is always a solution to be happy. I can see love, respect and strong woman the authors is talking about, that they choose to give a better life to their kids. The similarities that I have found in these two stories are basically the love of a mother towards their children and teach them that even if you love someone and that person is hurting you, you need to move on to provide a better life.
Snowfall is a pretty sight, the world is still; no movement, even the air stays still. When you look up at the cloudy gray sky and see the snowflakes fall they float down in a graceful path that would make ballerinas look clumsy. It 's a euphoric moment almost, the kid inside you wakes up and without thinking everyones impulsive habit is to scream “It 's snowing!” and raise their hands to the sky asking for more. In this case, I wanted less snow.
The author introduces the approaching storm: “There is something uneasy in the Los Angeles air this afternoon, some unnatural stillness, some tension”. Describing the weather as unnaturally still, having tension, and being uneasy, indicates the people’s response to the anticipated storm. She continues describing the storm’s violence as well as the people’s violence stating how an attorney “shot and killed his wife, their two sons, and himself” and how a divorcée was “murdered and thrown from a moving car”. Meanwhile, “the San Gabriel fire was still out of control, and the wind in town was blowing eighty miles an hour”. The storm causes chaos in the environment as well as in the people.